James F. Leonard Quotes
It is our responsibility not to make charges we can't substantiate
The original charge of biological weapons was made by the Afghan Mudhjadeen, who had retrieved a substance from an area the Russians had shelled. Some Americans echoed the charges and upon inspection, the substance turned out to be bees wax and droppings. Some CIA officials thought that true of not, the charge amounted to good propaganda eliciting the ambassador’s response.
James F. Leonard, U.S. ambassador to the UN Conference on Disarmament, Lead U.S. negotiator for the Biological Weapons Convention, Reaction to some CIA and other officials who had claimed that the Russians were using gas and biological weapons in their Afghanistan incursion
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President Eisenhower, who had a very high degree of trust—domestically and internationally—was persuaded to lie to the country and the world about U-2 Spy Plane Program. As soon as the nation and the world, had accepted Eisenhowers word for the program, the Russians not only displayed a U-2 that they had shot down over Soviet territory, but trotted out the pilot who they had captured. Generally, American Presidents since have avoided lies until LBJ lied about the Gulf of Tonkin, Ronald Reagan lied about Irangate, Bill Clinton lied about his sex life, and George W. Bush lied about the reason for invading Iran. All these lies have turned out badly for the President and the nation.
These Maxims would be useful for any political campaign staff or government agency.
The intelligence agencies had in many cases not shared critical information with the oversight committees and the White House and in a number of cases actually lied to them.
James Fulton Leonard Jr. was an American diplomat who served as Foreign Service Officer and United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1977–1979). He was born in Osborne, Pennsylvania in May 1920. He served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. He was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy. He was educated at Princeton University (B.S. 1942), Harvard University (1952–53), and Columbia University (1963–64). He married Eleanor Martha Hanson, and they raised five daughters together, as well as a son from Eleanor's previous marriage. He died in August 2020 at the age of 100.
