Former CIA officer sees better tomorrow

Holm viewed 1990s as decade of decline for organization

Baldwin ? After a decade of decline in the 1990s, American intelligence services are rebuilding their capabilities and having successes in the war on terrorism, according to a former CIA officer.

“They are feeling the pressure,” Richard Holm said of terrorists, during an appearance Tuesday night at Baker University. “We have operations under way globally.

Holm’s appearance was part of the Baker Artist & Lecture Series. He spoke to about 70 people in Owens Hall.

Despite the intelligence successes, there is no guarantee that another 9-11-style terrorist attack won’t occur, Holm said.

“There still is a lot to be done,” he said.

Holm is the author of the book “American Agent: My Life In the CIA.” He joined the CIA in the 1960s and became bureau chief in Paris. He earned the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the CIA’s highest award. He also served in Laos and then the Congo, where he was almost killed when his plane crashed in the jungle.

Holm described the 1990s as the worst decade in the CIA’s history. When the Soviet block fell and the Cold War ended, Congress cut the CIA’s budget, leading to a decline in adequate intelligence, the hiring of unqualified directors and senior officers, and low morale.

“The bottom line was, whatever you do, you are going to do it with less resources,” Holm said of the attitude in Congress.

The CIA also was restricted from dealing with people who had questionable human rights backgrounds, such as gun runners, even though those people also had value to intelligence gathering.

“We had to recruit nice guys,” Holm said. “We could recruit choirboys and Boy Scouts. We were less effective.”

The tide turned after 9-11, and the CIA now has the money to recruit better officers and conduct covert operations, he said.

“I’m convinced we need to do a lot more of that in the war on terror,” he said.

Loren Mock and his son, Jason Mock, of Baldwin, said they found Holm’s speech interesting but lacking.

“He’s a spy. Everything was kind of vague,” Loren Mock said. “I would have liked to have heard more about his personal experiences.”