Editing Richard Helms (section)

==Later years==
[[File:Swearing in of DCI George Bush.gif|thumb|150px|DCI [[George H.W. Bush|Bush]] (1976–1977), DCI Colby (1973–1976), President Ford (1974–1977)]]

Helms resigned from his post in Iran to face allegations brought by Carter's Justice Department that he had earlier misled Congress.<ref>See above subsection "Plea, Aftermath".</ref> Helms allowed the journalist [[Thomas Powers]] to interview him over four "long mornings" about his years of service in the CIA. The interview transcript totals about 300 pages.<ref>Powers (1979), 'Introduction" pp. xii–xiii, 360, n6 (interviews for the book).</ref> Although not overly pleased, Helms was apparently satisfied with the product: a widely praised book by Powers,<ref>Woodward, ''The Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981–1987'' (New York: Simon and Schuster 1988, reprint Pocket Books 1989) at 41. "Even when his wife, Cynthia, and three leading conservative columnists, [[William F. Buckley, Jr.|Buckley]], [[William Safire]] and [[George Will]], each told him it was brilliantly written, Helms could not bring himself to accept that."</ref> ''The Man Who Kept the Secrets. Richard Helms and the CIA'', published in 1979 by Knopf.<ref>Powers (1979), 456 pages.</ref> Helms writes, "In the event, the book's title ... seemed to bear out my intention in speaking to Powers."<ref>Helms (2003), "Preface" at v (quote).</ref>

In the years following his retirement from government service in 1977, Helms was interviewed many times. Always guarded, Helms spoke for the record with British television personality [[David Frost]] in 1978.<ref>Ralph E. Weber, editor, ''Spymasters. Ten CIA Officers in their own words'' (Wilmington: Scholarly Resources 1999), Frost transcript pp. 265–301.</ref><ref>Frost's famous interviews with Nixon had occurred the year before. Later he interviewed Kissinger, Helms, and the Shah. Shawcross, ''The Shah's Last Ride'' (1988) p. 344.</ref><ref>Powers (1979) pp. 420, n5, 423, n23, 428, n57.</ref> The CIA's 1982–84 sessions conducted by Agency historian Robert M. Hathaway and by Russell Jack Smith (former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence under Helms) were used for their classified, 1993 CIA book on the former DCI;<ref>Hathaway and Smith (1993; released to public in 2006), e.g., p. 4, notes 3 and 4.</ref> other agency interviews followed.<ref>The CIA website at the "Helms collection" contains over 300 pages of transcripts of twelve oral interviews from 1982 to 1987, including four by Hathaway and four by Smith, plus a 1988 CIA-published article featuring an interview of Helms.</ref> In 1969 and 1981, Helms had participated in the ''Oral History Interviews'' for the [[Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum|Johnson Library]] in Austin.<ref>Weber, editor, ''Spymasters: Ten CIA Officers in Their Own Words'' (1999), pp. 242–264 (Mulhollan), 301–312 (Gittinger).</ref> Other interview requests arrived, and eventually Helms was queried by many authors and journalists including [[Edward Jay Epstein]],<ref>Epstein (1989) pp. 43–46.</ref> [[Thomas Powers]],<ref>Powers (1979), 'Introduction" pp. xii–xiii; p. 360, n6.</ref> [[John Ranelagh]],<ref>Ranelagh (1986), e.g., p. 777, note 18 to text at p. 435.</ref> [[William Shawcross]],<ref>Shawcross, ''The Shah's Last Ride'' (1988) p. 436.</ref> and [[Bob Woodward]].<ref>Woodward, ''The Veil'' (1988, 1989) pp. 24–27, cf., 40–45.</ref>

[[File:Nationalsecuritymedal.jpeg|thumb|left|75px|[[National Security Medal]]: Helms 1983]]

After returning home from Tehran, Helms in late 1977 started an international consulting company called Safeer. The firm was located in downtown Washington on K Street in a small office on the fourth floor. Safeer means ambassador in Persian.<ref>William Shawcross, ''The Shah's Last Ride: The Fate of an Ally'' (New York: Simon and Schuster 1988) p. 288.</ref><ref>Bob Woodward, ''The Veil'' (1988, 1989) p. 24.</ref> It was "a one-man consulting firm" set up among other reasons "to help Iranians do business in the United States". Helms was back to doing familiar work on the phone. "Within a year, however, Helms' business was reduced to a trickle by the Iranian revolution, which caught him completely by surprise," according to Powers.<ref>Powers (1979) p. 353, and note 12 at p. 435.</ref> The firm then morphed into acting as "consultant to businesses that made investments in other countries."<ref name=":0">Christopher Marquis (2002).</ref>

As a consequence of General [[William Westmoreland|Westmoreland]]'s lawsuit for libel against CBS over its 1982 documentary ''[[The Uncounted Enemy|The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception]]'', Helms was required to answer questions put by CBS attorneys. CBS insisted on video-taping its deposition of Helms, who then declined. The issue was litigated with Helms prevailing: no video.<ref>[[Robert S. McNamara]], ''In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam'' (New York: Times Books/Random House 1995) pp. 241–242.</ref><ref>Cf., Ranelagh (1986) p. 739, note 7 to text at p. 25.</ref>

In 1983, President [[Ronald Reagan]] awarded Helms the [[National Security Medal]], given to both civilians and the military. That year, Helms also served as a member of the President's Commission on National Security.<ref>Ranelagh (1986) at 731.</ref> After Reagan's election in 1980, Helms had been a behind-the-scenes proponent of [[William Casey]] for the DCI position. Helms and Casey (DCI 1981–87) first met while serving in the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS) during World War II.<ref>Woodward, ''Veil'' (1988, 1989) pp. 25, 27.</ref><ref>Evidently former President Ford ("not qualified") and former DCI, then-Vice President Bush ("an inappropriate choice") considered Casey in a different light. Weiner (2007) p. 376. Weiner writes that "Casey was a charming scoundrel".</ref> Also in 1983, Helms gave a prepared speech on intelligence issues,<ref>Text of Helms' "Donovan speech" at CIA website, in the "Helms collection".</ref> before dignitaries and five hundred invited guests gathered at a Washington awards banquet held in his honor. Here Helms was given the ''Donovan Award''.<ref>Woodward, ''The Veil'' (1987, 1988) at 280–281. It was attended by Vice President Bush and DCI Casey, and celebrated as well the OSS and its founder [[William J. Donovan]].</ref><ref>Cf., Ranelagh (1986) p. 774, note 57 to text at p. 415.</ref>

Eventually Helms began work on his memoirs, ''A Look Over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency'', published posthumously in 2003 by Random House.<ref>Helms (2003), 478 pages.</ref> William Hood, formerly of the OSS then CIA (1947–1975),<ref>At CIA Hood served in Central Europe during the 1940s and 1950s (chief of station), was a deputy of Angleton at counterintelligence, and before retiring in 1975 was "chief of operation for Latin America". [http://www.easthamptonstar.com/?q=Obituaries/2013207/William-J-Hood-92-Novelist-CIA-Officer Wm. J. Hood obituary].</ref><ref>Hood had served the CIA in Vienna in the early 1950s, and later as chief of operations for its East European division. Murphy, Kondrashev, Bailey, ''Battle Ground Berlin: CIA vs. KGB in the Cold War'' (Yale University 1997) at 206.</ref> assisted Helms with the book. Henry Kissinger wrote the foreword.<ref>Helms (2003) pp. ix–xii.</ref>

Richard Helms died at the age of 89 of [[multiple myeloma]] on October 23, 2002.<ref name=":0"/> He was interred at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] in Arlington, Virginia.