NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR NO. 15

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP05S00620R000601400047-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 5, 2009
• Sequence Number: 47
• Publication Date: November 17, 1977
• Content Type: MISC

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Notes from the Director No. 15
During my recent European trip I met with a number of Agency personnel who
asked questions which I believe are of concern to all employees. I answered some in
the last issue of my "Director's Notes" and will continue to do so in this and future
issues.
1. What are the prospects for an official secrets act?
While neither the Congress nor the Executive Branch has been or is considering
legislation akin to an "official secrets act" such as that in force in Great Britain,
legislation has been introduced this year in the House that would establish criminal
penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of intelligence sources and methods
information by any person who obtained authorized possession of such information.
This legislation would penalize only the person divulging the information, but would
not criminalize receipt of the information by, for example, a newspaper, as would be
the case under an "official secrets act." A similar bill was introduced during the last
session of the 94th Congress, but no action was taken on it. Prospects for enactment
of the bill during this Congress (which continues through 1978), however, are slim,
although the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is giving this matter
consideration.
2. Will the Agency provide legal assistance to someone indicted for
illegal actions carried out under orders?
The Agency has no authority to represent CIA employees in their individual
capacities. This representation function belongs to the Department of Justice (DOJ)
by statute.
On 31 January 1977, the Attorney General issued a statement of policy as to
limits within which the DOJ will provide legal counsel for federal employees or
former employees who are involved as individuals in employment-related judicial or
Congressional proceedings. In general, the DOJ will undertake to represent a current
or former employee who is sued or subpoenaed as an individual in a state criminal
proceeding, or in a civil or Congressional proceeding, in connection with actions
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which reasonably appear to have been performed within the scope of employment,
providing the employee is not the target of a federal criminal investigation or an
indictment with respect to the same actions. The Office of General Counsel has been
designated as the recipient of requests-for such representation.
The policy and procedures are explained more fully in ~ dated 28
September 1977. The information was made available to the field several months ago
in a cable.
3. Do the new rules on annuitants mean that retired military on
contract will be let go?
The regulations that we have published on hiring of annuitants, military or
civilian, are intended to protect the interests of our full-time career employees in
advancing within the Agency. The regulations simply state that we will not hire an
annuitant if the position can equally well be filled by someone inside the Agency. The
extension of current contracts with annuitants will be looked at in exactly this same
light. In short, if some Agency employee could move into the annuitant's position
satisfactorily, we will give preference to the regular employee. On the other hand, if
the particular skill necessary is not available and we would have to go outside to
recruit it, there is no bar whatsoever to hiring or renewing a contract with any type of
annuitant.
4. What is the status of our current relationship with Congress and
our oversight committees?
Our relationship with the Congress on the wide variety of legislative and liaison
matters of mutual interest is excellent. We have been following closely, and analyzing
the impact on the Agency and the Intelligence Community of, a large number of bills
now active in the Congress ranging from changes in mandatory retirement to use of
polygraphs by Government agencies. We have been working with the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence for well over a year now, and our relationship is extremely
good on both oversight matters and on issues relating to legislation (including the
matter of drafting a new intelligence charter). We are also providing current
intelligence briefings to our oversight Committees and substantive intelligence
product to these Committees and to other members and committees. The new House
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is off to a fine start, and from my
dealings thus far with the Committee I fully anticipate we will have the same
beneficial relationship with that Committee just as we do with the Senate
Committee.
5. How has our intelligence product been received at the White
House?
I have had considerable give and take with the White House since my
appointment. This has resulted in new emphasis on the President's Daily Brief, and
we have attempted to focus our coverage on those intelligence questions of top
concern to the President. He tells me he is well satisfied with what we are providing
to him. On occasion he has requested coverage of specific items of particular concern
to him, or made marginal comments on what we have sent him; and this aids us
tremendously in our efforts to hit the mark.
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In my one-on-one briefing sessions, I like to offer the President a few short
information items and/or an in-depth presentation on a major policy issue. The
President has indicated that he finds this placing of his problems in perspective
extremely useful:
Dr. Brzezinski has suggested he would like to see improvements in our collection
and reporting of "political" situations worldwide. This is not an easy task with our
access limited in some critical areas. We nonetheless are striving to fill this need, and
I believe the setting of new priorities by the PRC under the reorganization plan will
aid us in this effort.
6. What is the National Intelligence Tasking Center, and how is it
going to task operations in the field?
On 4 August 1977, after completing his review of the NSC studies on the
organization and functions of the Intelligence Community, the President issued his
decisions which effect certain changes in the Intelligence Community. One purpose
of these changes is to centralize one of the most critical national intelligence
management functions-tasking of our collection assets. The President's decisions
give the DCI full control of a new mechanism for coordinating and tasking all
national foreign intelligence collection activities. This new mechanism is the National
Intelligence Taski:ig Center (NITC). The NITC will be the central mechanism by
which the DCI:
- Translates national foreign intelligence requirements and priorities
into specific collection objectives and targets for the Intelligence
Community;
- Assigns targets and objectives to national foreign intelligence collec-
tion organizations and systems;
- Establishes standards for the timely dissemination and processing
exploitation of data for national foreign intelligence purposes gathered by
national foreign intelligence collection means, and ensures the resulting
intelligence flow is routed immediately to relevant components and
commands;
- Integrates Intelligence Community collection efforts in support of the
National Security Council and Special Coordination Committee in crisis
management activities; and
- Provides advisory tasking with respect to collection of national
foreign intelligence information to departments and agencies that have
information collection capabilities or intelligence assets that are not a part of
the National Foreign Intelligence Program. In this regard, particular
emphasis will be placed on increasing the contribution of departments or
agencies to the collection of information through overt means.
On 3 October 1977, I appointed
Deputy to the Director of Central Intelligence for Collection Tasking.
will be responsible for directing the NITC. The new organization is
still in the formative stages pending the issuance of an Executive Order to implement
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the President's decisions. It is anticipated, however, that. the new organization will
evolve from and build on the existing collection committees.
7. What is the future of Management by Objectives?
Management. by objective (MBO), popularized by management theorist and
consultant Peter Drucker, has been employed in both Government and industry for
many years. It was introduced within the Government in 1974 as a formal
management "system" by the Office of Management, and Budget. With the change
of Administration, OMB's requirement for a formal MBO system was removed. The
future use of the MBO technique in CIA is currently under review.
S. What is our relation with the National Security Council?
As the President's principal intelligence advisor, I continue to attend the NSC
meetings. The Policy Review Committee (PRC), which was established to develop
Presidential national security policy, is under my chairmanship when it meets on the
business of intelligence. When so convened this group has assumed the full functions
and responsibilities of the previous Committee on Foreign Intelligence (CFI).
CIA participation in NSC Departmental Groups and Ad Hoc Groups is much
the same as it was in similar groups under different names in previous administra-
tions. For instance, our close intelligence role in the critical SALT negotiations
continues unabated here in Washington.
CIA daily, ad hoc support of NSC staff is quite extensive; quick response
memoranda are frequently solicited and delivered. A significant segment of this work
has been in support of US review of critical problems like the Middle East and
Africa, including visits to those areas by Secretary Vance and Ambassador Young, as
well as papers designed to prepare for additional visits to the USSR and China by the
Secretary.
9. Are you as Director satisfied with the Inspector General's handling
of complaints? .
There are few processes that cannot be improved upon and I believe that the
grievance and complaint handling process, which is vital to the well-being of the
Agency, should be improved in whatever way possible. I have already authorized an
increase in the size of the Inspector's General Staff, in part so that grievances and
complaints may be investigated more expeditiously. The Inspector General, for his
part, has established a new group within his office which will specialize in such
matters and is personally available for consultation if any person is dissatisfied with
the handling of a grievance or complaint.
In its staff capacity to me the Inspector General's Office is the apex of the
grievance and complaint system which starts with an employee's immediate supervi-
sor and proceeds through the normal chain of command within an employee's
component, including component grievance officers, beyond that to the Director of
Personnel, and then to the Inspector General (except in the case of EEO grievances
which are processed according to a special system). Grievance and complaint
handling is thus the business of all supervisors. While those with complaints may
lodge them.directly with the Inspector General, or with me personally if they wish, it
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