Circle of Treason by Sandra V. Grimes Page B

regarding management’s theory about the Monster Plot and the Polyakov case were well known to management and he was not about to reverse his opinion or perjure himself to the incoming division chief.
    During his briefing Lomac presented Colby with two written reports summarizing Polyakov’s production in both the counterintelligence and positive intelligence areas. Colby seemed impressed with the reports and asked for Murphy’s opinion on the contents of the reports. Lomac had not sought Murphy’s approval of their content before passing them, knowing that such approval would not be forthcoming. Indeed he had not even told Murphy of their existence because they had been prepared specifically for Colby’s briefing. (Colby’s assignment to the Soviet Division never took place as he was chosen to head the Phoenix Program in Vietnam instead. Rolfe Kingsley, a European Division officer, was selected as Murphy’s replacement in lieu of Colby.)
    Not surprisingly, Murphy was enraged. He called Lomac into his office the next day and gave him a “directed assignment” abroad, which in DO parlance meant you packed your bags and went where ordered. You did not argue and you did not complain. Should you choose not to comply, the consequences were understood. The next “directed assignment” would lead out the door.
    Lomac returned to his office immediately after his meeting with Murphy, called the branch together, and announced that he had been assigned to Africa. Several officers gasped. For an SE Division officer who was responsible for a major operation, an assignment to Africa was banishment—the equivalent of an FBI officer being sent to Idaho. Lomac, however, chuckled and said: “Thank God Murphy doesn’t know his geography. I’m going to Nairobi!” Laughter erupted from those in the know. Africa may have been exile, but Nairobi at the time was a jewel of a location—wonderful climate, beautiful and spacious housing, Western amenities and conveniences, and a fertile environment for operations against Soviet and East European targets. Lomac would have rewarding work and his family would be comfortable, but he also understood that he no longer would be considered part of SE Division’s pool of candidates for advancement.
    While Lomac did subsequently have a long and productive career, his assessment was correct in terms of advancement—a GS-14 in 1968, he retired as a GS-15 in 1979, awarded one promotion in twelve years. But Lomac’s story did not end there. The CIA finally acknowledged his sacrifices and in 1979 publicly recognized his stand in the Polyakov case during a medal ceremony in the director’s conference room, where hewas awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit. Lomac had put Polyakov’s security and the viability of the operation above career and personal ambition and in direct opposition to every man in his chain of command. He had lived by his principles of intellectual honesty and personal integrity during a difficult and unfortunate time and he richly deserved the belated recognition.
    In 1968 there were major changes in the Polyakov operation. At headquarters Lomac’s duties were assumed by caretaker Richards Heuer, deputy chief of the SE CI Group and a Black Hat hard-liner. In the field Jim F was replaced as Polyakov’s case officer by another Russian speaker, Al K. Al was a devotee of the Angleton/Golitsyn Monster Plot theory and in essence reflected division management’s continued belief in the KGB-controlled-source saga.
    Al K was a plodding case officer and his operational skills did not impress the full colonel in the GRU. Nevertheless, during their year together they developed a collegial relationship that had been nonexistent with Jim F. Al, like Polyakov, was of Ukrainian descent. He had a jovial personality and, again unlike Jim, masked his feelings that the colonel was under KGB control. Moreover and of