State of December 1962 Questionaire on NIS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-05597A000100010022-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 4, 1998
• Sequence Number: 22
• Publication Date: January 29, 1963
• Content Type: MEMO

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29 January 1963
State of Iceber 1962 Quectiozmalre on NIS
1.Twenty-one Enbassy replies to the above-cited questionnaire
have been received. I do not know how many questionnaires were
sent out. The twenty-one replies on hand, however, constitute a
fair sampling of the field, since they represent all regions of
the world (five each from the Soviet Bloc, Middle East -- South
Asia, and Latin America, four from Western Europe, and two from
the Fir East) stibstantially covered by the NIS.
2. Insofar as the gemeral attitude toward the BIS can be
deduced from the replies, this attitude, as is to be expected,
varies. Some Bebe-sales appear to regard the NIS with something
approaching enthusiasm (e.g., Prague, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Rangoon,
and Tbk7o).. A few seem, at best, lukewarm (e.g., Tunis and
Helsinki). The feelings of the majority apparently range somewhere
between these two extremes. The most frequent criticism is that
some Sections which could be moSt useful are out-of-date.
One Embassy (Stockholm) WhiCh reports minimal use of the NIS for
this reason adds this interesting postscript to its reply: "---the
Embassy wishes to point out that the review undertaken in connection
with the instruction has been helpful in bringing to the attention
of the Ealbassy'S officers the wealth of material available in the
HIS and has stimulated a new awareness of its value to the Etbassy.
Procedures are being developed to insure that all offieerd with
reporting responsibilities read the sociological sections of the
NIS in addition to the seetions of primary interest to them."
3. Because of the bulk of the detailed collation of the
replies, I have not had it typed. I an produce it, =typed, at
any time or, if desired, an have it trpd The following is
a summary of it:
a. (Exteet of use - speia1 uses)
. 1) The main uses of the HIS reported most nearly
unanimously are for orientation and briefing and as a work for
background and reference.
2) The following special uses are reported:
bocumENT winvestigat on of
reports of diversion of U.S. wheat and investigation
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of the status of milit.z7 bass in Albania within the context
CC Soviet-Albanian Belgrade); consular
use in detemmUeLnie 14ibfljt4 CC visa applicants and MIS use
for long-range planning (Tokyo); use by reporting officers to
determine leverrange trends and as guidae forEmbassy
collection to fill gaps in information Prague, Warsaw, Rangmen?
Sam ); Hassey mikes its copies of NIS available to consular
posts Bane)
? 3) Six Eihaesies report that IS Sections dealing
with the more static topics (e.g., SioerePhYp transportation,
characteristics of the people, struature of government) remaia
dseentially valid for a considerable period of time, despite
their see, While Sections dealing with more fleeting topics
(e.g., those involving extensive political and economic data)
rapidly become outdated.
4) Seven Embassies report
use:malay other sources provide more up-to.date
Selsitki, Stockholm, Jbmomm); RIS used almost exclus
Arm, Attachi (Tunis); no specific reason given ( City);
because of theiebniance of other published material on Prance
Maris); because of the present very fluid situation in Brazil
Rio de Jeneiro).
5) Six Debase/es report the NIS to be particularly
useful to the Service Attachils.
b. (Ikekfulees* of 24112 critic* iiittgitiOA)
MAR= Embassies th eV that the NIS would be useful
he event of a critical situatiog, fl ie do not, and five beg
question.
c. (Mount ssE
AMMO
of
Fifteen &lassies think that the NIS ha. adequate
detail, one that it has too much detail,and. two that it has too
little detail; three give unclear answers or do nQt answer
the question concerning detail at all. Eight Eebassies
consider the summary passages useful, four do not and nine did
not answer the question about summary passages.
d. (PatetAiskihiga Soco3.cical1 Pol
amems. Sectioas meowed t of otrctions
Twelve Embessies consider that the Sociological, Political,
and Recommit Sections are more valuable than the others, four
that they are less valuable, and two that the difference to value
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s ina ifi . Two Eisbassie do not answer
t.
e. V
Chapters II-
Many of the answers to this question are not clearcut.
bas lea that have seen Chapter I reeognize =.4th practical unanimity,
its value as a briefing instrument. Ti Eablesies believe that
the other Chapters are generally more valuable than Chapter I, and
five that Chapter I is more valuable thae the other Chapter
mainly because the former 19 more up-to-date. Four Debassies
(includieg Faris!) have not seen Chapter I, rd two beg the q1e3tion.
/bur Embassies think that ChaptersI on surrounding countries would
be particularly valuable.
r. (Adiraut,ges of the ;o4in&te, interdeprtmental
111.in rovjtngat tlligence to U.S. missions
tal roduction would not provide.
Chepter I as compared eith that of
Seventeen sies believe that the co-ordinated?
1ntcrdeprtenta1 RIB Program has definite advantages over any
individual department production in providing batiste intelligence
to the field. One Embassy (Caraeas) believes that the so-ordinated,
interdepartmental program has two disadvantages: 1) it makes
the output itself full of both extraneous materials and excessive
generalizations insofar as the specific ead user is concerned and
2) it increases the already unfortunately long time lag between
collection of source material and distribution of the finished
Survey. One Embassy (Eelsinki) considers itself unqualified to
express an opinion, and two EMbassies (Paris and Copenhagen) beg
the question.
4, State sent out a iutiiar queiozrnaire 1953, which I
analyzed in 1954, and another in 1957 or 1958, which I did not
analyze. The 1953 replies, made at a time when fewer NIS Sections
were available to those canvassed than in 1962) were substantially
the same as the 1962 replies regarding sucli matters as the use
of which the EIS is being put, the value of the NIS in emergency
situations, and the scope and format of the EIS. Inview of this
fact, I do not see any useful purpose that would be served by
sending fUrther BIS questionnaires to posts of the Foreige Service.
LH*
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