European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 7, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Agazine top secrets in Low level hands by Stephen Engleberg new York times s ome of the most sensitive secrets of the United Stales Are in the hands and Heads of men and women in the armed forces Junior government employees and Low paid workers of contractors who May be vulnerable to entreaties by foreign intelligence agents. A primary example of whal can happen according 10 the government was on display in . District court in Baltimore at the trial of Ronald w. Pelton. The former employee of the National Security Agency was convicted last thursday o spying for Ine soviets by Selling hem details on sensitive programs for intercepting communications. Government officials say they Are formulating tighter procedures to reduce the vulnerability of government employees and also the Lemp lation Lor employees to initiate Contact with foreign agents. But they acknowledged that code machines satellites and other listening devices will probably remain susceptible to Compromise by the employees who operate them and process their data. L. Drift Snider director of information Security at the Kjep Armeni of defense said certainly we Hope the things we re doing Are having an effect. But with Many people necessarily involved in so Many sensitive operations you re going to have very Large numbers of people with Access to very sensitive information even the very Low level person May need to know very sensitive information to carry out their  Tow pro Tom posed by Low level employees with wide Access to informal Ion has become even More acute in recent years officials say. The Reagan administration with the backing of congressional intelligence committees has More than doubled spending in intelligence collection in Fiva years. While the figure is classified officials said a Largo part of the Money Many billions of  according to one source has gone into technology such As satellites. These projects can be rendered useless if divulged. Over the last two years the . Has taken several Steps to make it More difficult for the soviet Union and other countries to collect intelligence. The number of employees and contractors holding Security clearances who replies enl More than 90 percent of the 1ofal number of people holding clearances has been Cui from 4.3 million to 3.5 million Snider said. In in it decade there have been Many examples of Low level employees who have provided the soviet Union or Othor countries wish intelligence coups there was William Kamples. An employee of the Central intelligence Agency who received 53,000 from the soviet Union for the manual to a surveillance satellite with some of the most innovative . Technology. John a. Walker or organized a spy ring in the Navy that provided the soviet Union with the ability to read secret messages transmitted by the Navy s satellite communications system. Christopher Boyce an unskilled employee of try a military contractor and a Friend Daulton Lee. Disclosed a Host of secrets about satellites Tor monitoring soviet nuclear weaponry. Administration official contend hat Pelton fils the soviet intelligence operatives pattern of exploiting disgruntled present or former employees who need Money. . Intelligence generally tries to recruit officials at a upper Levels of foreign governments. But the soviet Union officials say concentrates attention on the Little  officials Nola that Many of those who have done the most damage have sought out soviet intelligence operatives to make deals. Officials assert that Pelton a Case is an example. The prose Cullon charged that he telephoned the soviet embassy in Washington in january 1980 with an offer o something very interesting to sell. Months earlier Ronald w. Pm ton Ofir hit arraignment. He had filed for bankruptcy and resigned from the National Security Agency. According to hit bankruptcy filing he had unsecured debts totalling $34,050. His salary Al the Agency in 1979, his Linal year of employment was $24,500. Alter leaving the Agency Pelton tried his hand at a variety of unsuccessful business ventures and poorly paid jobs. At the same Lime prosecutors charge he supplemented his income by Selling to soviet intelligence operatives virtually every Hong he could remember about Agency projects. He was paid a total of $35,000 by the russians the government charged. Pelton served As a budget officer of his Branch at the National Security Agency. This gave him Access to both current and future projects according to testimony by a former supervisor. This business of secrecy by w. Dale Nelson associated press a la that remains for me to add is. That you keep the whole matter As secret a possible the general wrote. For Ponse Cocy. Success depends in mos enterprises of the kind the general was George Washington and the Enterprise he was talking about was procuring Good intelligence or in Short spying. What he had to say about it in 1777 is being repealed in his own words and others in 1996 As official Washington and the journalists who report on la grapple with what president Reagan Calls this business of  keeping secrets does not come easily to us americans the president said in a speech recently to Light lipped veterans of the office of strategic services the world War ii predecessor of the Cia. It certainty does to judging from the administration s experience so far in dealing Ullh what ii says is an alarming leakage of intelligence information in the news Media the trial in Baltimore Federal court of Ronald w. Pelton. The former National Security Agency communications worker convicted last thursday of Selling secrets to soviet agents he talked with Over a pizza pastor Telephone focused the Issue most sharply. Bui As White House spokesman Edward Djerejian told reporters there is a larger question going beyond Pelton s Case. Every method we have of obtaining intelligence our agents our Delallo ships with other intelligence services our photographic our electronic our communications capabilities have been damaged. By disclosures of sensitive information Cia director William j. Casey said. To Del Elf traction it attacking the problem on two fronts and is not finding the going easy on either. As seeks to Stop its own people from making unauthorized disclosures it encounters disagreement in its ranks Over How far to go. And when in cautions news organizations about publishing sensitive intelligence information ii is accused of trying to muzzle she press. Meetings have taken place at the working level of look at How the government can have better discipline Over unauthorized  Djerejian said. When the senior group that would hav to make recommendations on this Issue Meels then you get Inlo the area where recommendations to the president will be discussed in an authoritative  he said he did t know when this would happen. Among the issues being discussed Ere How extensively to administer polygraph or lie Detector Testa to government employees. Casey supports polygraph use. But Secretary of state George p. Shultz has said he would resign ii a were asked to take one. Also at Issue is a 1950 Law again so publishing any classified information concerning the communications intelligence activities of the United  Casey cited this Law in referring to the Justice department for possible prosecution an Abc to report on Trie Pellon trial. The Law has never been invoked against a news organization and some administration Otic Las Are said to believe it should not be. Djerejian conceded there Are disagreements within the administration but said he would t gel into who is advocating  saturday june 7, 1986 As the government unfolded its Case again Pelton in court Casey and Asa director i. Gen William e. Odom issued a warning those reporting on the Irlam should be cautioned against speculation and reporting details beyond the information actually released at trial. Such speculation and additional facts Are not authorized disclosures and May cause substantial harm to the National  liar inc a Gram Ryan president of Abc news responded there Are some countries where speculation or analysis must be authorized by the government before it can be published or broadcast. That does not happen in a democracy and our Constitution will no allow it to happen in the United  sen. Charles Mathias red. A senior member of the Senate judiciary committee said to believed Casey is genuinely concerned by these teams genuinely feels that some damage will be done but i think that society at Large has to balance whatever that damage May be As against the much greater damage of muzzling the  the administration retreated a bit on the Issue of the verb speculate which Webster s new world dictionary defines As to think about the various aspects of a Given subject meditate Ponder especially to  if i had it to do Over again i might not use that word said Casey. I might use extrapolation " extrapolate is defined As to arrive Al conclusions or results by hypothesizing from known facts or observations or to speculate As to consequences on the basis of known facts or  Djerejian. Too. Said thai a better word than speculation could have been  the stars and stripes Page 13