Agent’s burial arranged

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34037, 29 December 1975, Page 13

Agent’s burial arranged

(New Zealand Press Association —Copyright I

VAIL (Colorado), December 28. President Ford arranged to have Mr Richard Welch, the Central Intelligence Agency official who was murdered this week in Athens, buried in Arlington National Cemetery, the “New York Times” reported.

The President said through’ a spokesman that publication; of Mr Welch’s C.I.A. identity had been at least partially responsible for his death. Mr Welch was shot outside his home in Athens as he was returning from a Christmas party. He was officially listed as an assistant to the United States Ambassador to Greece, but that description was a cover for his actual function as the C.I.A. station chief in Athens. A few weeks ago. the “Athens Times,” an Englishlanguage newspaper published in Greece, identified Welch as the C.I.A. station chief there.

Earlier. a publication called “Counterspy,” put out bv an organisation called Fifth Estate, which includes former intelligence officials in its membership, printed a list of 150 C.I.A. station chiefs. Mr Welch’s name was among them. Mr Ron Nessen. the President’s Press Secretary, said that President Ford had waived restrictions to enable Mr Welch to be buried in Arlington, which normally is reserved for those who served in the Armed Forces. One of Mr Welch’s former colleagues said today that Congress must share the blame for the assassination.

“It is unforgiveable to send officers overseas without adequate protection,” said Mr Mike Ackerman, a former C.I.A. case officer.

“These people are taking risks, but they cannot get the job done because of the risk of disclosure.”

Mr Ackerman has opposed! the trend of investigations by the Senate Intelligence Com- ■ mittee — inquiries which, he I said, were needed but should have been conducted without Iso many disclosures by the I chairman. Senator Frank i Church and others I Mr Ackerman said that he

worked for Mr Welch on C.I.A. operations m South] America for 18 months. He; called Mr Welch his best friend in the agency. “What happened to Dick was a recurrent nightmare for me for 11 years,” Mr Ackerman said. “Every C.I.A. officer, everywhere in the world, feels 'this very, very intensely.”