◆ SpookStack

I1JP SECRef going business of the DDP office, be- cause this was taking a great deal of my time. Question: This was a tacit agreement, this wasn't a session in which you and Helms ••• Bissell: Let me say this was probably not that explicit. I would make an observation here, and I don't want you to infer anything really beyond what it says, it was not particularly easy -- I did not find it particular- ly easy -- to discuss things clearly and derive a clear understanding with Dick [He~s] about the division of labor between us when he was my Deputy. I don't imply by this any sense of conflict or rivalry, but he would go ahead and handle certain kinds of matters, and I would go ahead and handle certain kinds of matters. We saw one another, of course, all the time. Quite often I would consult him about something that I was handling. I think rather less often he would con- sult me. I don't mean to imply however in that any kind of concealment from me -- I never had that feeling at all -- but it really was our habit during the, whole time that we were in those posi- tions that the division of labor between us was more tacit than explicit. 12/ Simultaneously with the decision to create a separate Branch in WH Division to handle the anti- Castro activity discussions were begun by both the Special Group 5412 and on an inter-agency basis as to the nature of the anti-Castro effort. Among the many questions raised early in the game was whether - 42 -