Battling the Behemoth

Bruce Taylor Odell is an enigma. He calls himself a "quiet man," but he is eager to tell stories. He will preface a story with the admonition "this is off the record, deep background," and then spell out all the names in the forbidden episode. He denies any egocentricity, yet, like most people, he seems to like the sound of his own name. After serving as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative for 17 of the last 25 years, he claims to have "come out" in order to "turn the agency around," but he is reluctant to publicly reveal the specifics of what he calls "the lies the American people are being told." An enigma, indeed.

Odell, who took leave of active CIA duty in 1965 to study for a year at the Littauer School of Public Administration, tells his tales with conviction and sincerity despite their incredible content. He first began to reveal some of his history in late October to William Beecher, diplomatic correspondent for the Boston Globe. At that time, Odell decided to "go public" about his background and disclose some of the things he knows. ("I'm wired," he says. "I know more than you'll ever dream.") With passionate intensity he states his motivation in coming out: "I finally got tired of Americans being lied to by elected and appointed officials. Who needs a charismatic emperor in this country?" After the Beecher interviews resulted in two consecutive frontpage stories on October 24 and 25, Odell began to accept speaking engagements and interviews ranging from a small gathering at his church in Wellesley to an appearance on a television talk show. For a quiet man, he is eager to talk.

Odell's involvement with the CIA began after he graduated from Queen's College in Canada in 1951. An American citizen, he joined the United States Army and entered the officer training program. He was contacted by CIA recruiters when he joined the army, but his decision to enlist didn't end the agency's interest in him. "Once they have their claws in you, they never let go," he says. After quitting the army in disgust over the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954, Odell applied to the Harvard Business School. He was accepted and on the verge of entering when the CIA offered him a job.

The CIA trained Odell and sent him to run its operations in Tehran, Iran. He is reluctant to describe in detail the incidents of these three years, but in 1965 he was removed from active duty after being interrogated and beaten by the Egyptian secret police.

After recuperating from this incident, Odell escaped the dangers of intelligence work and enrolled in Harvard. Don K. Price, dean of the Kennedy School of Government, knew Odell as a student and still regards him as a friend and one-time fishing partner. He recalls that Odell "had a very good record indeed" as a student, and he was surprised when informed that Odell did not receive a degree for his work at the school. He was not aware that before Odell could obtain a degree, he had returned to the CIA's technical division, supplying agents with the exotic gadgetry their operations required.

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Odell seldom relates specific incidents from his CIA career, but the shadowy references that come out in his conversation are just as revealing. When talking about the agency or its operations, Odell emphasizes its omnipresence. Although hesitant to discuss domestic CIA operations, he does admit that he "was extensively involved" with the "mail-intercept" program. Pausing slightly, he adds that the CIA gave the Senate Intelligence Committee some documents dealing with that program that were "without question falsified." Odell also charges that the CIA aided the Washington, D.C. police in quelling anti-war demonstrations during the 1960's. All of these operations were illegal," he says, because the CIA charter allows it only to act outside the United States.

John Chandly, a deputy assistant CIA director, said yesterday that Odell's allegations concerning the falsified documents submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee are untrue. Chandley said the documents were "definitely not falsified" and that the agency had cooperated completely with the committee. Chandley declined further comment on Odell's background, his reliability as a source, or the extent of his knowledge of the CIA. However, Odell says that his knowledge of these types of operations and their "cover-ups" impelled him to quit the agency.

Although, after nearly two decades of CIA work, Odell still retains the meticulous memory and powers of observation that his former occupation demanded, he does not fill the stereotype of the cold, calculating secret agent. One of his favorite words is "compassionate." He is heavily involved with charitable organizations, spending much of his time and energy on causes like the Jimmy Fund. Yet his personality is still intense. He exudes the presence of a man who is in complete control of his surroundings.

Odell says that he hopes his revelations, such as they are, will serve to turn the CIA around. He believes that it is possible that the Agency can once again perform what he sees as its rightful task without exceeding the bounds of morality and legality.

But Odell will not make much of an impact on the CIA behemoth if he continues his reluctance to deal with specifics. The media is unlikely to take notice of him for unspecific "wrongdoing" and "lies." If, on the other hand, he comes completely clean and goes "on the record" with the information he claims to possess about CIA indiscretions, he very well might make the waves he so fervently desires.