DO YOU LIKE MAPS?

• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Collection: Declassified Articles from Studies in Intelligence: The IC’s Journal for the Intelligence Professional
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0000620488
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Release Date: July 30, 2014
• Case Number: F-2013-02322
• Publication Date: June 1, 1984

TITLE:AUTHOR:VOLUME:Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Do You Like Maps?(b)(3)(c)28 ISSUE: Summer YEAR: 1984Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488aproved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488STUDIES ININTELLIGENCEA collection of articles on the historical, operational, doctrinal, and theoretical aspects of intelligence.All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed in Studies in Intelligence are those ofthe authors. They do not necessarily reflect official positions or views of the CentralIntelligence Agency or any other US Government entity, past or present. Nothing in thecontents should be construed as asserting or implying US Government endorsement of anarticle's factual statements and interpretations.Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Applications in intelligenceDO YOU LIKE MAPS?(b)(3)(c)So geographers, in Afric maps,With savage pictures fill their gaps.And o'er uninhabited downsPlace elephants for want of towns.Jonathan Swift(b)(3)(n)It was a hot, muggy June day in 1951 when I was admitted to TemporaryBuilding 11, located near the intersection of Twenty-third Street and Constitu-tion Avenue in Washington. Although I was there for an interview with an of-ficial of the Central Intelligence Agency, I knew little about the CIA at thattime beyond its insistence that I complete a tiresomely long application form.But hints of CIA and its activities gleaned from newspapers and magazineshad piqued my curiosity. And when the secretary announced that a Mr (b)(3)(c)(b)(3)(C) vould see me, I hoped to learn?or at least receive an inkling?about job opportunities that might lead to an exciting, perhaps exotic career.(b)(3)(c) then Chief of the Geography Division, Office of Researchand Reports, was a man of few words. He asked: "Do you like maps?"The question of my affection for maps, or lack thereof, had seldomcrossed my mind. As a graduate student in geography, I had used maps as asource of information and as a way to present and record data. And as a for-mer navigator in the United States Army Air Corps, the importance ofaccurate maps and charts?and my dependence on them for survival?hadbeen amply demonstrated. My first reaction to  (b)(3)(c)  question was torecall maps I did not favor, such as those based on the mercator projection thatportrayed the Soviet Union occupying most of the northern hemisphere and ofthe erroneous impression this created in the minds of cartographic innocents.A particular pilotage chart once used in navigation school also came to mind; Ihad grievously misread the chart, leading me to direct the pilot of our twin-engine Beechcraft toward Mexico rather than to San Marcos, Texas. Despitethese quirky thoughts I managed, after a brief pause, to respond that I didindeed "like maps.""Good," replied  (b)(3)(c)  -I think you'll enjoy working with us."With that he stood up, indicating the end of our brief conversation. Before thesummer was over, and after suffering through the indignities administered inBuilding 13, then housing the Polygraph Division of the Office of Security, Ientered on duty with the Geography Division in the profession of intelligence.(b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 00062048815____SEGRETApproved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)UnclassifiedMapsFigure 1. Progress in Mapping. The "T in 01 map of the world, strongly influenced by religious history andthinking, was in common use in Europe until the thirteenth century. Greek maps made more than a thousandyears earlier were much more accurate representations of the world known to the Greeks. These maps wereforgotten, later "rediscovered", and in use at the time.of Columbus. The lower map is a section from a moderntopographic map at 1:25,000 scale, providing good terrain definition (contours at 3 meter intervals), trans-portation routes from trails to paved roads, areas covered by vegetation, and individual buildings.1 Mediterranean Sea, Don and Nile Rivers form a "7"" inside a circular Ocean.16Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Maps _?SZ-eftETKnowledge about PlaceMaps are ways to represent knowledge about place; the map is a means, adevice, to help understand the complexities of the earth. As a representation ofthe earth's reality, maps depict the spatial relationships existing amongphysical, cultural, political, and other natural and man-made features thathave attributes of space and place.Maps originated as a means of improving communication. Some of theearliest known maps delineated property limits and land ownership in denselysettled areas. (The tax assessor, no doubt, soon followed.) The maps of theancients were centered on the country or area where the map was made. Areasunknown were left blank or decorated with cartographic or mythologicalgraffiti. Measurement was essential for accuracy, as was the realization of thedifficulty of depicting the round earth on flat paper, for which projectionswere devised to lessen the distortions inherent to map making. Knowledge ofthe earth was gained, and sometimes lost. Columbus sailed West to reachIndia, believing the earth was about two-thirds smaller than its actual size,even though Eratosthenes by 200 B.C. had made a reasonably accurateestimate of the earth's dimensions.(b)(3)(n)The intensified European exploration of the earth from the SixteenthCentury onward and the growth of trade and communication heightened theneed for improved navigational materials and equipment and specifically foraccurate sailing charts and maps. Charts showing coastal features andnavigational hazards usually were regarded as state secrets. By the lateEighteenth Century many countries had established national survey andmapping organizations to survey their territories and compile detailed topo-graphic maps. National leaders came to realize that it was difficult togovern?and to fight one another?without adequate maps. Geodeticallyaccurate topographic maps were also necessary to the building of a modern,technically advanced society.Many people, including intelligence officers, are unaware of the varietyin uses of maps. Others give lip service to the utility of maps, but fail to under-stand the significance of scale, projection, and purpose. Historians and others,for example, often place small and frequently unreadable maps at thebeginning of their books and articles, an apparent propitiatory act that in mostcases tells more about the author and publisher than the map conveys to thereader. Still others feel vaguely reassured if a map or two is nearby, perhapshanging on a wall, to ensure that the participants in a conference do notmistake Africa for South America.While many think of maps as primarily useful to show simple relation-ships and prosaic physical and cultural details, the data and types ofrelationships mappable are infinite. For example:? The National Atlas of Japan contains maps of the "Mean Date of theFirst Coloring of the Red Maple," the "First Warble of the BushWarbler," and, by administrative unit, the number of tatami (reedmats) per household.'(b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 00062048817Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)Maps? Maps were used to illustrate key findings in what is rumored to havebeen the most widely read article in the staid Annals of theAssociation of American Geographers, a presumably well-researchedwork that described the characteristics, clientele, dynamics, anddistribution of brothels in Nevada.'? A series of maps in the Geographic Review illustrated the geographicimplications of football in the United States, depicting such factors asareas of higher than average per-capita production of players and theinterregional migration of high school players to colleges anduniversities.'A recent atlas contains a map with the provocative title -UrbanHeavings in the Seventies- that depicts the worldwide locations ofurban strikes and riots during that fractious decade.'Maps and IntelligenceIn intelligence, the use of maps and other graphics has increased over theyears along with a greater sophistication in the use and understanding of theeffect of color, symbols, and design to convey meaning. Some of the ways touse maps:As intelligence sources containing valuable locational and distribu-tional data?sometimes unique and highly classified, such as of missilesites, and sometimes unclassified but representative of official policy,such as territorial claims.? As analytic tools serving as graphic representations of a discreteportion of the earth, useful to assess the spatial or locational factors ofthe data arrayed (and sometimes added) and their significance.As a means to present research results, particularly to highlight keyfindings.? As a means to record and report data, particularly in fast-movingsituations.Maps are crises crutches. Surprise events?the building of the BerlinWall, seizure of the Mayaguez, invasion of the Falklands?bring instantdemands from intelligence producers and consumers for 'map coverage. Incrises, maps are used to track rapidly changing developments, to help identifya glut of often unfamiliar place-names, to provide background details fromwhich briefing boards can be constructed, and to analyze military andclandestine situations, particularly where operations are taking place or areplanned.The relationship of maps and intelligence extends to the acquisition ofinformation used in the compilation of maps. The history of such intelligenceoperations goes back to Biblical times when Moses instructed his spies -to seethe land, what it is; and the people whether they be strong or weak . . . whatcities they be that they dwell in."Modern wars have spurred topographic mapping. The advent of aerialphotography and the recent development of more sophisticated imagery18Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Maps(1?Er_)systems have made possible the rapid acquisition of vast amounts of informa-tion, thereby greatly speeding new mapping -programs as well as the updatingof older maps. The availability of imagery has also spawned the making oflarge-scale photomaps on which points of interest are highlighted, e.g.,photomaps of Beirut and environs. Maps and their imagery-derived mutantshave significant intelligence value and play an important role in communicat-ing facts, relationships, and findings to assist decision makers in choosingcourses of action.The use of maps to serve intelligence needs and to help resolve problemsis illustrated by several examples.The Great Game In Asia: Knowledge is PowerA biting wind swept through the Himalayan pass, whipping the Buddhistprayer flags that marked it. A lone traveler, head bowed, slowly descendedinto the forbidden land of Tibet. The year was 1865; the traveler was NainSingh, an Indian born in the high Himalayas who spoke one of the Tibetandialects; and the purpose of his journey was shrouded in secrecy.A few days later Nain Singh joined a caravan of traders from westernTibet bound for Lhasa. He arrived in Lhasa in January 1866 and remainedthere until the traders began their return journey some three months later.Slipping away from the caravan one night, Nain Singh hurried south to hisdestination?the Indian hill station of Dehra Dun?where he was received bySurvey of India (SOI) officials anxiously awaiting his return.Nain Singh was no ordinary traveler. He had been carefully selected andtrained over a period of years by SOI officials in reconnaissance surveytechniques. During his time in Tibet, Nain Singh had surreptiously paced hisroute, observed latitudes with a sexant, measured elevations by boiling water,and kept precise notes of his observations.The results of Nain Singh's efforts were impressive. At last SOI officialscould start filling in the large blank places on their maps of Tibet withreasonably accurate information. Not only were SOI officials gratified overobtaining geographic details about Tibet, but the program spelled progress toofficials in Great Britain intent on obtaining reliable maps of Tibet. ForLondon, this mapping caper represented another card in the "great game inAsia" that preoccupied British and Russian governments during the latter halfof the Nineteenth Century as they vied for influence in Central Asia.From 1864 to 1885, the SOI trained dozens more for missions similar toNain Singh's. Collectively known as the "pundits," they took different guises,some as traders, others as pilgrims or holy men, exploring different areas andfollowing different routes. Those who traveled as pilgrims, for example,carried genuine rosaries, except that their rosaries contained only 100 of theregulation 108 beads and each tenth bead was slightly larger to aid in countingpaces. The cylindrical Buddhist prayer wheel hid compartments for storingnotes, and clothing and baggage concealed pockets where equipment could becarried. The accuracy of the pundits' reconnaissance surveys proved remark-able when many years later the British were able to map parts of Tibet.5(b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 00062048819Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)MopsAlmost a century later a minor replay of the -great game" took place.Tibetan refugees who joined the resistance movement (1959-66) to oppose theChinese occupation of Tibet were instructed in the art of field sketching andmapping as part of their overall training in intelligence reporting prior toreentering Tibet. At that time maps of Tibet still were based in part on thework of the pundits, and were not superseded until imagery-based maps wereproduced in the late 1960s."Make Me a Map of the Valley"On 26 March 1862 Jedediah Hotchkiss, a topographic engineer, wassummoned to the tent of General T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson. -I want you," saidJackson, -to make me a map of the Valley, from Harpers Ferry to Lexington,showing all the points of offense and defense in those places." 6Jedediah Hotchkiss drafted his maps of the Valley of Virginia undertrying circumstances. He was superb in the skills of field reconnaissance. Onhis horse, laboriously bending over his sketchbook and drawing -curious lines"on a scrap of paper, Hotchkiss was a familiar sight to Confederate soldiers.From notes and observations, Hotchkiss would rapidly draw his maps,particularly important for Jackson, who had little facility in visually graspingthe lay of the land. Hotchkiss supplemented his maps with quick fieldsketches, using colored pencils for greater clarity in defining nearby surfacefeatures and in showing troop locations. Hotchkiss' maps and sketches,according to Civil War historian Douglas Southwell Freeman, -were tocontribute to the speed and boldness of all Jackson's future operations in theValley." 7 Throughout all but the final year of the Civil War, Union generalswere repeatedly bamboozled by Confederate armies that moved swiftly?andusually undetected?via the Valley of Virginia to threaten the North andWashington itself.Moscow and its MapsAcquisition of topographic maps produced by the Soviet Union has been ahigh priority US intelligence objective dating from early in World War II.Topographic maps, which are highly detailed, geodetically accurate mapscontaining contour lines (lines that connect points of equal elevation), areessential to military planning and operations and for precise target locations.During the 1950s many operational studies based largely on availabletopographic maps were prepared for use in exfiltration and infiltrationoperations in denied areas, principally Eastern Europe and the USSR. Somecoverage of the western USSR had been acquired by Germany during theSecond World War and hence by the US. But many areas, particularly newerurban and industrial areas east of the Urals, were without reliable mapcoverage. As the change from manned bombers to missiles took place, the needgrew for geodetically accurate topographic maps. Moscow, of course, recog-nized their value and placed strict security controls on their use anddissemination; despite considerable efforts and a high priority, various collec-tion efforts have been largely unsuccessful in ferreting topographic maps outof the USSR.20Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)MapsApproved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488--SECRET(b)(3)(n)The advent of satellite imagery in 1960 and the immense areas that couldbe covered led to a joint CIA/Department of Defense program using the newimagery as a base for compiling maps at the scale of 1:250,000. CIA analystsadded intelligence annotations to the maps. In 1965 the program wasexpanded to include China, extensive areas of which were also poorly mapped.Later, satellite imagery specifically designed for mapping use permitted thecompilation of topographic maps with fairly good geodetic control.00037 3-84Figure 2. Nevel' Area. The extent of locational distortion in the 1967 Soviet World Atlas is demonstrated bycontrasting its map of the Nevel' area (in red) with the corresponding map contained in the 1954 editionof the Atlas (in this instance using the lakes as a control). Note the resulting shifts in the geographic gridand the town of Nevel'. The railroad lines have been twisted out of their true alignment, with one linecutting across a lake which has been conveniently distorted in the 1967 edition.Moscow's preoccupation with security led to a bizarre decision in theearly 1960s that went far beyond the restriction on the release of Soviet mapsfor public sale. Maps, including those in the prestigous Atlas Mira (worldatlas), were degraded by a systematic distortion program that depicted citiesand towns several kilometers or more from their true location. To do this alsomeant that Soviet cartographers had to relocate and realign all base maphydrography and transportation detail to make everything "fit."Soviet officials, fearful of improved US intelligence collection systems,were seeking ways to frustrate US efforts to develop conventional and radar-matching maps for bombing Soviet targets. The great effort and time spent indevising such obvious cartographic distortions seems irrational, given thetechnology available to the US mapping establishment and about which the--SECRET (b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 00062048821Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)MapsSoviets presumably had some knowledge. There is some evidence that Sovietscientists were privately chagrined by the clumsy and foolish attempts atdeception.An Unseemly ScrambleJapan's attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 not only demonstratedthe lack of preparedness by US defense forces but also brought to light thegeneral untidy state of US readiness for global conflict. This lack of readinessextended to the availability of maps. The US did not have the maps and atlasesessential for intelligence research and planning military operations against itsenemies.A small beginning had been made in the autumn of 1941 to create withinthe Coordinator of Information?to become the Office of Strategic Services(OSS) in July 1942?a section to provide a centralized point for mapinformation. The mission was eventually broadened to include the acquisition,evaluation, and distribution of maps. But the coming of war initiallyoverwhelmed the small unit and in the hectic months following Pearl Haborthere was a frantic and often unseemly scramble for maps and informationabout previously obscure places. In the search for maps, various governmentagencies sent out individuals on procurement missions, mostly to universitylibraries and to private collections. These missions were often duplicative. Thepaucity of maps for certain areas, such as the Pacific and Asia, led to anationwide radio appeal by Major General William J. Donovan, head of OSS,in mid-1942. In time, coordinated efforts and a systematic foreign proCure-ment program, along with airborne photo-reconaissance mapping missions,augmented and updated map resources needed for wartime use.The SA-5 DebateA major intelligence controversy arose in the mid-1960s over the missionof a defensive missile system then being deployed in the Soviet Union.Intelligence derived from study of the configuration of the system and itscomponents had been used by analysts to support two different viewpoints.Some analysts said it was an antiballistic missile defensive system; others heldthat it was a surface-to-air missile system directed at aircraft, specifically low-flying aircraft.The Defensive Missiles Systems Division, Office of Scientific Intelligence,decided to approach the problem from yet another viewpoint and asked thatthe Geography Division, Office of Basic and Geographic Intelligence, under-take studies of the physical characteristics at and near several of thedeployment sites. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of ter-rain masking on the capabilities of the target acquisition radars. The studiesprepared were done through detailed map analysis, supplemented by imagery;a formula was devised to calculate the effect of the earth's curvature todetermine the maximum distance of radar intercept of targets at specifiedaltitudes.From an examination of several SA-5 sites, a wrapup study concludedthat -location of the Moscow area SA-5 sites on relatively high ground well22 ?SE-Eiter (b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Mops ___,SEERET(b)(3)(n)forward of obstructive terrain features indicates a potential to intercept low-level targets at distances limited only by the earth's curvature.- Thus, thisanalysis helped pin down the primary mission of the SA-5, information whichwas vital in the context of the complex debate and negotiations that led to thesigning of the ABM Treaty between the US and USSR in 1972.Every Road, Every House, Every TreeIn her autobiography, My Life, Golda Meir recalled the prolongednegotiations in 1974 over the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces on theGolan Heights and the role played by then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.She stated that -there wasn't a road, a house, or even a tree there about whichhe didn't know everything there was to know.- 8 In her tribute to Kissingerand his -shuttle diplomacy,- Golda Meir was reflecting on the criticalimportance of maps in the negotiations.In Middle East negotiations, the United States has provided maps for thenegotiations, so that there will be a common data base for each side. Almostevery locality, mountain, ruin, and other landscape feature possesses somehistoric, symbolic, or religious significance that complicates negotiations onterritorial readjustments.Maps used in negotiations have included large- or medium-scale topo-graphic maps or maps compiled from several topographic map sheets. Mapsprepared especially for use by US negotiators have shown population distribu-tion, the location of settlements, water supply data, ethnic composition ofvarious areas, and military installations?topics important to an understandingof the range of problems and issues involved in territorial negotiations andexchanges. In most cases the larger scale maps used by the negotiating teams toreach agreement on disengagement, resettlement, and territorial exchangeshave been updated by imagery and intelligence reports. Frequently, photog-raphy was annotated to identify specific points, show various installations, andhighlight areas discussed by the negotiators.In the 1974 Syrian-Israeli negotiations, maps were prepared to showwhether the pre-1967 Syrian settlements in the Golan Heights still existed orhad been razed, and to identify the location of new Israeli settlements. Theup-to-date intelligence to the basic topo-graphic map was essential, since Syrian negotiators were often ignorant of thestatus of individual settlements in the Israeli-occupied areas. Annotatedphotomaps, town plans, and similar types of briefing materia:s were instru-mental to the success of these talks. Henry Kissinger noted in his memoir,Years of Upheaval, one of the many proposals put forward to President Assadcalled for a -. . . line . . . drawn 200 meters west of Quneitra measured fromthe line of buildings on the west side of the western road.- This was indicativeof the extreme detail required.9After the October 1973 War, in the negotiations that led eventually to theMarch 1979 Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, geographic tools and analysisproved valuable in selecting and verifying roughly three parallel north-southroads so that the Egyptian, Israeli, and UN forces could be equally serviced, in(b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 00062048823(b)(1)(b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)Mapsdetermining the placement of lines through the Sinai passes, and in recom(b)(1)mending the best locations for US monitoring sites, and th(b)(3)(n)Egyptian and Israeli surveillance stations. Although delineation of the lines inthe Sinai passes, Mitla and Giddi, was done in Washington, Israeli representa-tives were not satisfied with the alignment until a senior Agency geographerpersonally examined the area. According to Edward R. F. Sheehan's book, TheArabs, Israelis, and Kissinger, the CIA official (b)(3)(C) now retired)strolled through the Giddi pass with Israeli Geneivb3A-- echir and stated,-General, you're still inside the pass.- '? (Meaning that the original Washing-ton view, rather than the Israeli, prevailed.)Maps provided for the Camp David negotiations included severalannexes, prepared by a technical working group made up of Israeli, Egyptian,and US personnel. The base map, compiled from existing US topographicmaps, was initially updated with road and other transport details by USrepresentatives. In preparing the maps for use in the treaty, Israeli andEgyptian representatives carefully purged the map of hundreds of -offend-ing- names and references, particularly those reflecting Israeli occupation ofthe Sinai. The representatives let stand the names of physical features,regardless of their cultural origin.Maps, Map Users, and TruthThe examples cited indicate the value of maps in intelligence analysis,operational planning, the presentation of intelligence findings, and in report-ing. There are many opportunities for greater uses of maps in both analysisand in the communication of intelligence results.Unfortunately, many analysts seldom think of maps as useful in theirresearch. Moreover, availability of imagery may cause analysts to forget theuse of maps as a research tool. They are overlooking something that isvaluable, often essential. Some examples:? Resource estimative analyses. Predictions of oilfield production poten-tials rely in part on data supplied by structural or schematic geologicmaps, geographic profiles, and other maps based on geophysicalexploration and drilling records.? Analysis of territorial disputes and boundary disagreements, includingjurisdiction over maritime areas. Maps are frequently cited in polem-ics, but authoritative maps are mostly limited to those that are part ofthe documentation resulting from treaty implementation, e.g., demar-cation maps prepared by official boundary survey teams and signedby officials from each country. In some cases official maps may not beavailable, requiring the plotting of the coordinate locations of bound-ary points on a suitable base.24(b)(1)(b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)Line F Line EApproved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488fr./OrliierraFcri,;.:1 treir.r.Line JBrJffjMah /k ISRAN,\\Figure 3. The Second Sinai Disengagement, Egyptand Israel, September 1975. The exact alignmentsof the several lines, the locations of watch andsurveillance stations, and the transportation routesserving and supporting the various positions wereworked out on larger-scale maps during the courseof lengthy negotiations. The September 1975arrangements were, of course, superseded by theterms of the current Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty,signed in March 1979.i-?,,,,N/ i?\\ L\EGYPTEgypt-Israel AgreementSeptember 1975Line E: The Egyptian lineLine J: The Israeli lineThe lines E and J will extend 12nautical miles into the MediterraneanSea perpendicular to the direction ofthe coast and the area between thelines will be U.N. buffer zone.Line K: The limit of the Israeli area oflimited forces and armaments.Line F: The limit of the Egyptian area oflimited forces and armaments.Line M: The line separating the Israeli-con-trolled area from: the area south ofline E and west of line M; and theareas of buffer zones 2A and 28.81.-1: The buffer zone between lines Eand J.8.Z.-2A, & The buffer zones along the Gulf of82.-28 Suez.Road section for common use.E-1: Egyptian surveillance station.J-1: Israeli surveillance station.UsSA.-W.S.: USA. watch stations 1, 2, & 3.U.SA.-ES.F.: U.S.A. electronic sensor fields 1, 2, 3.U.N. Posts in the Hamam Faroun area.aSAUDIARABIAharm ash Sharh20 4 410 Miles I '20Unclassified eciiind?rt mritemnislion is /0 Kilometers not necessarily authoritative. k_Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Rd Sea800038 3-84Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)MapsPolitical and economic studies that have a significant spatial charac-ter. Analysts can use maps to sort out complex aspects and relation-ships for making intelligence judgments. Examples: problems associ-ated with refugee groups located in sensitive frontier areas wherecomplex ethnic rivalries exist, the availability of access routes to therefugees, the dispensing of aid to the refugees, the feasibility ofmilitary action against the refugees from nearby countries, andsimilar problems in which locational factors are important.? Locational factors in military and strategic analysis. Maps are highlyimportant tools in the analysis of most military situations and in theconstruction of scenarios anticipating military actions and responses.For example, possession by Iraq of aircraft equipped with the Exocetair-to-ground missile required map analysis of probable target areas inthe Persian Gulf area based on airfield locations, aircraft range, andrange of the missile.Maps as ShorthandComplex topics and data often can be explained succinctly through use ofa skillfully compiled map. How better to undersand the complex linguistic anddialect patterns existing in much of Europe than by maps? International tradein petroleum and petroleum products is easier to comprehend if data aretransformed by graphic techniques and displayed on a map base. A map is es-sential to understand complex maritime claims. The most successful unclassi-fied Agency products, measured by the number of copies distributed andfavorable comments received, were the atlases published by the Office ofBasic and Geographic Intelligence (later the Office of Geographic andCartographic Research) during the 1970s. These atlases focused on areas(China, polar regions, Indian Ocean) and topics (USSR agriculture) by blendingcarefully designed maps and graphics with text on the major characteristics,problems, and potentials of the subjects. The Agency's most lavish use of maps,photos, and other graphic materials has been in highly classified and limitedreadership products that describe and evaluate the Soviet strategic forces.Maps often add dazzle to dull data. A decade ago, a 729-page report waspublished, consisting mainly of voluminous tables of the type that warm thehearts of statisticians and glaze the eyes of others. The tables represented theresults of a massive research project undertaken by the National CancerInstitute that tabulated deaths from cancer for every county in the UnitedStates for the period 1950-69. The report gathered dust until the informationwas repackaged and later printed as a 103-page Atlas of Cancer Mortality inU.S. Counties. A national map used different tints to show the incidence ofcancer deaths by county. A great red blotch covered the industrial northeastwith the center of this oncological disaster area roughly coinciding with thestate of New Jersey. The atlas became news. Headlines talked about -canceralley,- and photographers and television crews stalked the northern end of theNew Jersey Turnpike to film the miles of smokestacks, refineries, and othermanifestations of industrial America." Nothing had changed since the originalreport?except the manner of presentation.26 seEr (b)(3)(n)  Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488MapsBoundary representation isnot necessarily necessarily authoritativeU.S.Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)Canadaort hPacificOceanUnited StatesNorthAtranticOceant Christopher and Nevisand Barbudaica4ta!biedosd and TobagoGuianaaSouthPacificOceanTerritorial sea claim3 4 6 12 15 20 30 50 70 100nautical miles200150Economiczone claim3 6 12 15 25 50J i I 4,150 200Fishing zone claim200-nm limitMaritime limits shown do not necessarily representthe position of the US Government.200Unclassified800039 (547678) 12-81Figure 4. Mapping Maritime Claims. The increasing economic importance of national maritime areas hasgiven rise to UN-sponsored international conferences on Law of the Sea issues to attempt to reach agreementover the definitions of the various types of maritime claims. National claims to maritime jurisdictions and theircartographic representation are the responsibility of the Office of The Geographer, Department of State. SECRET/ (b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 00062048827Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)MapsAn example of a map that is both an excellent intelligence source and astriking presentation of research findings is a map of Lebanon in a recentlypublished German atlas showing the distribution of religious adherents?Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Jews." All populated places are shown bycircles proportional to their size; a scale in the legend is used to determineapproximate population numbers. The circles are color coded as to the per-centage of the religious group found in each locality; numbers in each circlerefer to an accompanying list of place names for the hundreds of smallersettlements not identified on the map. The map allows users to comprehendthe major areas of religious concentrations and to compute, by use of the scale,the approximate numbers of religious adherents in the individual settlementsand in larger areas.With all their advantages, maps also have limitations?sometimes appar-ent but often unrecognized:? Maps symbolize reality; they also distort it.? Maps communicate, but the message received depends on the presen-tation and the map user.Maps do not usually receive the critical scrutiny that the written wordis given. John K. Wright dissected this uncritical view of maps and thelack of logic behind it in his paper, -Map Makers are Human.-Wright warned that -the trim, precise, and clean-cut appearance thata well-drawn map presents lends it an air of scientific authenticitythat. . . may not be deserved.- 13 In 1946 the chief of the cartographicunit, then in the Department of State and later transferred to CIA (theorganizational progenitor of the present Cartography and DesignGroup) noted that -it is a well known fact that the branch seldom pro-duces a map without noticeable errors.-Map projections are important. The difficulty of depicting the roundearth on flat paper introduces distortion and sometimes confusion when themap covers large areas of the earth. A common problem is with long-distanceair or sea routes?for example, from Washington to Toyko?where the mostdirect route via Alaska will not be clear unless the proper projection and maporientation is used.Map scale dictates detail. A page-size map of France limits the amount ofdetail and to some extent purpose of the map. A wall map of France. on theother hand, at a much larger scale can display a much more detailed slice of-reality,- though predelictions of the particular mapmaker in translatingpurpose into cartographic product will make each map distinctive. Highwaymaps of a state or group of states, though made for the same purpose but bydifferent cartographic units, will vary significantly in the amount of detailprovided and in the readability and ease of use. The degree of detail relativeto scale that the cartographer may think appropriate may not be that wantedby the requester?particularly if the requester is a senior level official. Therequester may want only one message on the map and order -clutter- removed.Maps distort reality; it is sometimes unintended. The professional cartog-rapher is sometimes loath to leave large blank areas on maps. In the desire to28 ?4E-C?Re17 (b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Maps(b)(3)(n)-_okyoGnomonic ProjectionMercator ProjectionFigure 5. The problem of transforming the spherical Earth onto a flat surface is illustrated by navigationlines (above) and different ways of representing an area of the Earth's surface (below). In the examplebelow, Greenland is shown on five different projections, all with the same scale at 600 North.Azimuthal Equal-AreaProjectionUnclassifiedLambert ConformalConic ProjectionMercator ProjectionMiller CylindricalProjectionSinusoidal Projection800040 (A03840) 3-84__SE-G1E1 (b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 00062048829Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488Maps?`complete- the map, the cartographer may fill in the blank areas with symbolsthat mislead the viewer. Erroneous conclusions about population density maybe drawn from a superficial scanning, particularly if populated places are notsymbolized by size. Examples abound of maps -pleasing- to the eye but in factdistorting meaning and purpose. Monmonier's comment in his essay, -Maps,Distortion, and Meaning,- is appropriate: -Acclaim by other cartographers isno guarantee that a map is suited to its audience.- "Maps are out of date the day they are printed; and because they are mostlycompiled from other maps the perpetuation of error is a constant problem.Intelligence maps that portray order-of-battle and other types of military dataparticularly susceptible to rapid change are kept up to date by the demands ofcurrent reporting. But some types of map detail that in themselves are seldomtopics of intelligence interest may continue unchanged and outdated. Adminis-trative maps, for example, may not reflect current status, particularly incountries where a change in government may cause experimentation in thenumber and designation of internal administrative units. Place names are oftenaltered in the wake of political change or when a new system of romanization isadopted, such as China's 1979 shift from Wade-Giles to the pinyin system(Peking became Beijing). There is also the problem of official names policy andunofficial usage, and differences in reporting names in cables and presstreatment. Consistency is not always possible nor even desirable. Medium- andlarge-scale maps often do not reflect such changes as new reservoirs, transporta-tion additions and deletions, and similar detail because of the infrequency oftheir revision. Many of these changes are not made for some time because ofpractical difficulties in keeping the cartographic data bank current.The objectives of those who make maps and those who use them inintelligence reports are to communicate intelligence findings, to assist readers insorting out the spatial dimensions of the analysis, and to provide a convenientgraphic reference for important locations and installations highlighted in thetext. Although the objectives are to prevent ambiguity in meaning and message,map use is not effortless and users should be aware that maps alone areimperfect communicators. Map use requires participation on the part of theuser, similar to that required to decipher statistical tables, and this effort isneeded to complete the communication link.As a measure of the growing awareness and acceptance of graphics inintelligence presentations, statistics of the Cartography and Design Group showthat the annual number of maps produced has risen from about 6,000 in themid-1960s to approximately 16,000 in the early 1980s. The increased outputreflects not only an awareness of product value but also the advent of improvedtechnology.The wider use of maps does suggest that intelligence consumers increas-ingly -like maps.- The question put to me in 1951 as I embarked on a careeras an Agency geographer seems even more important now, and it applies to allin the profession and discipline of intelligence.This article is classified.SZettET (b)(3)(n)30Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488(b)(3)(n)MapsApproved for Release: 2014/07/29 000620488REFERENCES(b)(3)(n)1. The National Atlas of Japan, Geographic Survey Institute, The Japan Center, Tokyo, 1977.2. Richard Symanski, -Prostitution in Nevada,- Annals, Association of American Geog-raphers, Vol. 64, 1974, pp. 357-371.3. John F. Rooney, -Up From the Mines and Out From the Prairies: Some GeographicalImplications of Football in the United States,- Geographical Review, 1969, pp. 471-492.4. Milton Kidron and Ronald Segal, The State of the World Atlas, Pluto Press (Simon andSchuster), New. York, 1981.5. Kenneth Mason, Abode of Snow, Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1955, pp. 84-91.6. Archie McDonald, Jedediah Hotchkiss `Make Me a Map of the Valley,' Southern MethodistPress, Dallas, 1973.7. Douglas Southwell Freeman, Lee's Lieutenants, Vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York,1942, pp. 321-322.8. Golda Meir, My Life, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1975, p. 443.9. Henry Kissinger, Years of Upheaval, Little Brown and Company, Boston 1982.10. Edward R.F. Sheehan, The Arabs, Israelis, and Kissinger, Reader's Digest Press (Distrib-uted by Thomas Y. Crowell), New York, 1976, p. 178.11. Anthony DePalma, -State of Anxiety,- Harpers, August 1983, p. 8.12. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Tubinger Atlas Des Vorderen Orients, Geographic Institute,Wiesbaden, 1977.13. John K. Wright, -Map Makers are Human,- Geographical Review, Vol. 32, pp. 527-544.14. Mark S. Monmonier, -Maps, Distortion, and Meaning,- Resource Paper No. 75-4,Association of American Geographers, Washington, D.C., 1977.--sJEetrr (b)(3)(n)Approved for Release: 2014/07/29 00062048831