Ex-Nazi spies had dubious benefit for US - report

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. government apparently derived no clear benefit by recruiting ex-Nazis as Cold War spies, but potentially huge gaps remain in the public record of U.S. ties to World War Two war criminals, according to a report issued on Friday.

The report to Congress, by an interagency group that examined the United States' use of German and Japanese war criminals during and after the war, also said the CIA had no set policy for hiring former war criminals to spy on postwar foes including the Soviet Union.

The group, created by the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act of 1998 and Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act of 2000, has released more than 8.5 million pages of previously classified government documents dating back to 1933.

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Richard Ben-Veniste, another group member, said in the report that some of the latest documents, which were declassified in late 2006, show that the CIA had no clear policy about hiring former Nazis.

He cited a November 1960 CIA document quoting an agency official as saying: "We have no strong feelings against the use of a convicted Nazi today, provided he has something tangible to offer and is kept under close control. The question remains -- what has he to offer?"...[Open in new window]