Casey's Well-Groomed Successor

The frail old man sat in a wheelchair, his emaciated right arm hanging limply in his lap, his eyes staring vacantly overhead. His lip was curled, as if he had lost control of his facial muscles, and his bald pate bore the green marks that are used for radiation treatments. As a nurse guided his wheelchair out of a hospital elevator, only the presence of an escort with an official- looking radio suggested that this was a special patient: William Casey, until last week the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Casey's resignation followed increasingly widespread rumors in Washington about his debilitated condition. When the CIA Director was hospitalized in December and underwent surgery for the removal of a malignant brain tumor, President Reagan at first refused to discuss replacing him, believing it would slow Casey's recovery. CIA spokesmen insisted their boss was "reading and absorbing" reports and taking telephone calls, but others who saw Casey were skeptical that he could take telephone calls from anyone. Indeed, Administration sources confirm that the President's aides have communicated with the Director principally through CIA officials and his wife Sophia, who actually signed Casey's letter of resignation.

Thus, it came as no surprise when the White House finally announced that Casey, 73, would step down from the post he had held since 1981. To smooth the departure, he was designated a special counselor to the President. Reagan's 1980 campaign manager and close friend will assume the new duties when he feels well enough to do so.

The desire for a smooth transition also seemed to be a factor in choosing the new Director of Central Intelligence: Robert Gates, a 20-year CIA veteran and Casey protege who has been running the agency since Casey was hospitalized. Gates, who at 43 is the youngest Director ever named, is expected to help restore the CIA's public image and repair its damaged relations with Congress. Says former CIA Director Richard Helms: "They wanted a pro, and Bob's a pro."

Gates has a doctorate in Russian and Soviet history and in the 1970s spent nearly six years on loan to the National Security Council staff, where he worked for Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski. A career analyst, Gates had no experience in CIA intelligence-gathe ring operations until he became Casey's deputy in April. Although his demeanor is mild, Gates once wrote a blistering critique of the CIA's ill-focused analytical process, and in 1981 Casey picked him to sharpen the agency's information-reporting procedures. The results helped to restore the CIA's reputation after a succession of intelligence failures during the Carter Administration. Today, says State Department Deputy Secretary John Whitehead, "the agency is amazing. I can ask for an arcane report in the evening, and it will be on my desk in the morning."