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Served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WW2 and was appointed as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1981 to 1987. When Casey became the DCI he was given the task of rebuilding the agency after the effects of President Carter's 're-organization'. His aim was to give intelligence officers unrestricted authority to carry out operations throughout the world in the United States best interests. Casey wanted the CIA also to be able to legally operate in the United States and in the interests of combating terrorism, have the right to break-into private property, carry out physical surveillance and to infiltrate US domestic organiztions.
The CIA counter-intelligence staff was seen as seriously weakened following the dismissal of Anleton and several hundred experienced officers. Casey, however as a non-career DCI was widely and probably rightly criticized for his lack of experience and despite a good analytical brain, was often inarticulate. In the end though he raised moral at Langley, increased the budget and staffing levels and had some success at lifting some of the restrictions previously imposed, he failed to rebuild the CIA that both he and the Reagan administration had wanted. He failed miserably at persuading his political opponents and as one CIA colleague commented "He has taken mumbling and turned it into an art form". While serving as DCI, he was heavily involved in one of the major scandals of President Ronald Reagan's administration. The Iran-Contra affair involving the trading of arms to Iran for the attempted release of Americans held hostage in the Lebanon, the illegal transfer of arms to anti communist forces in Nicaragua and the deep involvement of the CIA in drug related crime. Casey resigned in February 1987 after undergoing brain surgery for a malignant tumour. He died in May 1987. |
