The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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Chapter 3
remaining opposed to flights over most of the Soviet Union,
Eisenhower finally agreed to permit some flights over peripheral
areas such as Kamchatka Peninsula and Lake Baikal, as well as the
Soviet Union's atomic testing area at Semipalatinsk. Such overflights
could be staged from Pakistan if the Pakistani Government consent­
ed. The President rejected the Air Force's request to take over the
U-2 program, stating that he preferred to have the aircraft manned by
civilians "during operations of this kind." 71
The President had once again agreed to allow overflights of the
Soviet Union, although only over certain areas, because the need to
learn more about the capabilities and intentions of the Soviet Union
was too compelling. In particular, the President and top administra­
tion officials wanted to gather more data on the Soviet Union's mis­
sile program, a subject for which considerable Soviet boasting-but
no hard data-was available.
Even after he had authorized the resumption of overflights,
President Eisenhower maintained tight control over the program. He
personally authorized each overflight, which meant that Richard
Bissell would bring maps to the White House with the proposed routes
marked on them for the President to examine. More than once, accord­
ing to Bissell, Eisenhower spread the map out on his Oval Office desk
for detailed study, usually with his son John (an Army officer serving
as a White House aide) and Colonel Goodpaster looking over his
shoulder. On occasion, the President would pick up a pencil and elimi­
nate a flight leg or make some other correction to the flight plan.71
RADAR-DECEPTIVE "DIRTY BIRDS"
One additional reason why President Eisenhower had again autho­
rized overflights of the Soviet Union was renewed CIA promises that
Soviet detection or tracking of the U-2 was unlikely. At the 6 May
1957 meeting with the President, Richard Bissell reported on the
progress that had been made in developing radar camouflage and
" Andrew J. Goodpaster, Memorandum of Conft:rence with the President. 6 May 1957
(TS); "Record of Action-Meeting of May 6. 1957," WHOSS, Alpha. DDEL (TS).
'' Bissell interview by Welzenbach (S); Beschloss. Mayday. p. 140.
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