Charleston Post & Courier ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Former spy urges U.S. to stay course on terror By: TERRY JOYCE 2/06/99 Page: B03 Be patient and stay the course is the advice retired Lt. Gen. Samuel V. Wilson, president of Hampden-Sydney College, dispensed Friday when asked how he thinks the United States should react to threats. ``Terrorism is probably the greatest threat,'' he said in an interview. ``We'll never be completely secure. That's impossible. But I think we're doing some things right.'' Wilson, 75, has a personal history that includes work as a Cold War spy master and a hot war soldier. He spent 37 years in the Army at work ranging from Merrill's Marauders behind Japanese lines during World War II to deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In between, he was a Cold War spy who dodged bullets along the Iron Curtain and served as a Russian translator at various Summit conferences. He was in Charleston to attend a Hampden-Sydney board of trustees meeting and to award retired Army Gen. William C. Westmoreland with an honorary doctorate. Wilson shares a heritage with Hampden-Sydney, whose founders include one of his ancestors, Nathaniel Venable. The private school is one of three all-male colleges in the country, he said, a condition he believes fosters bonding among students and produces exceptional graduates. He teaches U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security and an Overview of U.S. Intelligence. He laughs because his students call the second course ``Spying 101.'' Wilson said he asks his students to adopt certain roles, such as a top post at the CIA or defense attache in Moscow. Then he tells them to dig up some real information and report back. ``Ninety percent of all intelligence is out in the open,'' he said. ``The students learn they can pick up a lot in the library and on the Internet. Often, before the course is over, we can tell if they were right.'' External threats aside, Wilson seemed more concerned about what he believes is a decline in moral values throughout the country. Last month, he said, the editor of Hampden-Sydney's college newspaper appeared on the PBS Newshour along with campus editors from Princeton University and the universities of Southern California, Wisconsin and North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Only the Hampden-Sydney editor reported that students at his college seemed more interested in President Clinton's impeachment trial than in the stock market or graduation. ``If he (Clinton) were a student at Hampden-Sydney, he would be expelled for lying,'' Wilson said, quoting the Hampden-Sydney editor. The college has an honor code much like the U.S. military academies. ``I was proud of him,'' he said, referring to his school's editor. ``But I was worried about the other four.'' Wilson feels that the U.S. military does well in several areas, especially in helping people in Third World countries. He applauded units of the S.C. Army National Guard, which have helped teach people in places like Honduras how to improve their lives. Wilson said he recognizes the dilemma that Clinton's impeachment trial represents. He doesn't want to reward Clinton's behavior, he said, but he also doesn't want to damage the presidency. He insisted there's ``no quick fix'' to any of our problems. The military especially needs the funding that comes from a consistent defense policy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Click here to send feedback. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright © 2000 Charleston.Net. All Rights Reserved.
