The CIA Scare

Foreign observers often attribute to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency more power and influence than Ian Fleming's infamous SMERSH. But a story front-paged in the Times of London --that a beefed-up force of CIA agents was on the trail of subversives in the British labor movement--seemed almost a Mission: Preposterous. The chief source was an American named Miles Copeland, who says that he advises overseas U.S. firms on security problems. Copeland told the Times that there was "no doubt at all" that CIA agents were operating inside Britain's trade unions. CIA officials, he explained, believe that Britain's current labor unrest is motivated by a more sinister objective than better pay. The implication was that some known Marxist sympathizers within the more militant unions were out to topple the government.

Indignant readers deluged the Times with letters protesting U.S. meddling. The American embassy in London, which houses the local CIA staff, hotly denied the allegation. Last week the Times printed a front-page article by Deputy Editor Louis Keren suggesting that the embassy's denial, while understandable, should not be taken too seriously; the CIA was only doing its duty "Militant trade unionists are in direct confrontation with authority," wrote Keren. "Seen from abroad, Britain could be moving into a pre-revolutionary situation." The Times and Keren were unprepared for Copeland's next bombshell. In a follow-up letter to the Times, Copeland backed off his story, admitting: "I had no facts of my own with which to corroborate the information." His statements, he suggested, were more a case of wishful thinking.

Perhaps Copeland's reputation as a former CIA employee who has ostensibly kept abreast of agency affairs impressed the Times. Other acquaintances describe Copeland, 57, as a man who has acquired some status as a CIA expert by trading on his intelligence background. He is readily accessible to journalists seeking material on the CIA. Recalls one: "Miles is the only man I know who uses the CIA as a cover." Nonetheless, Editor Keren insists: "We still believe the Times account to be correct."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.