THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM

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CIA-RDP79T00827A000400160002-5
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RIPPUB
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T
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33
Document Creation Date: 
December 19, 2016
Document Release Date: 
June 3, 2005
Sequence Number: 
2
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Publication Date: 
October 6, 1966
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NOTES
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Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79T00827A000400160002-5 ,This is our standard speech on the Intelligence Community and CIA, with which the Admiral is completely familiar--he has given it three or four times. It would need some changes to reflect the fact that he is now Director-emeritus. I can make those by tape- and-paste Friday afternoon, have a new version photographed and printed over the week-end, and deliver it to him Mon- day or Tuesday. (FYI, Mr. Helms is tentatively booked for same subject at National War College latter part of October.) If DCI-emeritus wants a global package for back-up, this will have to be ordered up first thing Friday mor- ning, available for delivery to him Tuesday morning. 25X1 May I have text back to work it over, please? I'm running low on copies, it has been used so much. Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approved For Ta&p2& FiIA-RDP7WO0827A000400160002-5 ^r ff.'s ADDRESS BY ADMIRAL RABORN THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM Gentlemen, I just hope that I have been because I programmed correctly for this lecture, a retired stand before you as a retired admiral, Director of Central Intelligence, and if you really crowd me I'll probably sell you some aeronautical equipment* But before anyone remarks that I must have a tiring nature, let me say that Admiral Hayward re arm very hard to get me didn't have to twist my ence u here to discuss the United States Intellig p Community. I was Director of Central intelligence for only about a year and a quarter, but in that time they managed to give me a second set of loyalties to go along with my Navy background. I have become a missionary for our intelligence people, and I ortunity to am delighted to be here with the opp ive ou my assessment of their contribution to our g y round on how national security, and some of the backg this is done. -1- Approved For Release 2 0 p r I i :O- i 0827A000400160002-5 12 October 1966 Approv9,6For ReEQFbQ /&fD R& rFRDP790827A000400160002-5 The very fact that you are here attending the Naval War College demonstrates that you gentlemen are a select group of men on your way up. I don't have to tell you that the regulations-- and the requirements of our government--now dictate that on your way up, you are going to be doing a considerable amount of joint staff and joint committee work. A very substantial proportion of that work is going to involve you in special task forces and in inter-agency committees where you will be working with--or even possibly for--the intelligence commu- nity. I think therefore that it will be helpful to you, to your services, and particularly to the intel- ligence community, for you to be familiar with the concept, the organization, and the functions of the various elements in our government working together to produce national intelligence. I was interviewed--rather extensively--when I left the Central Intelligence Agency, and I was some- what surprised to find that some of the reporters assigned to cover the United States Government were not quite sure what I was talking about when I referred to the "intelligence community." Approved For Relep$ /(SC1P79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv*j6For ReQBoS L CmREa RDP79j0827A000400160002-5 The National Security Act of 1947 did not create the intelligence activities of the U. S. Government. It created the Central Intelligence Agency to coordinate these activities. We had intelligence agents--and good ones, too--in the Revolutionary War. Our government was obtaining intelligence from the Navy, and the Army, and the Department of State, and the FBI, before CIA was established, and these same organizations are still providing it. The National Security Act of 1947 was written against the backdrop of Pearl Harbor. All of the investigations of that black day showed that the intelligence was there; it had been gathered; but the problem was that all of the bits and pieces in the hands of various elements of the government were not put together, and evaluated, and coordinated, and furnished in time to the people who needed the information in order to act on it. The obvious remedy was to ensure that all of the intelligence agencies work together, exchange and compare information, and provide the decision- makers with the best combined, agreed intelligence that is available--what we call "national intelligence"-- and that is the concept of the intelligence community. -lb- Approved For Rele!s gg5S p R RPP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approvor RP29SE6]MqA-RDP791j0827A000400160002-5 There are a number of agencies in the United States Government which are involved in the business of collecting information somebody else does not want us to have--in other words, in intelligence. This is, after all, far from being an exclusive profession: a football coach has to learn the strengths and weak- nesses o I f next week's opponent, and every department store wants to know what its rival is charging for toasters. But if the services, and the State Department, and CIA, and the FBI are all engaged in gathering in- formation, any good bureaucrat can tell you that there are two great dangers: The first and the greatest danger is that some vital assignment will fall between stools--that each agency will think somebody else has the responsi- bility. The other danger is duplication of effort-- and this is not a mere matter of extravagance. In intelligence, uncoordinated efforts in the same field can lead to disasters. To cope with both of these dangers--to ensure enough coordination so that there will be no gaps -2- Approved For ReleTD3p0fpREgRDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Appro a ,For fR0SELMR.B DP751 0827A000400160002-5 and no undesirable duplications--the National Security Act of 1947 gave the Director of Cen- tral Intelligence two responsibilities: he is, as his title implies, the Director of the Cen- tral Intelligence Agency. But he is first and foremost the principal intelligence adviser to the President. In this capacity,'ae directs and coordinates all intelligence activities--anywhere in the government--relating to the national security interests of the United States. (CHART, The Intelligence Community) Let's take a look at the composition of this intelligence community. The first element most people think of in this context, of course, is the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA, under the National Security Act, is charged with assembling all intelligence from all sources, collating it, analyzing it, reporting on it, and preparing estimates from it as to the likely course of developments. I found the CIA in all these respects to be a very professional and an exceptionally competent agency. It is a rather large agency--they never -3- Approved For Release i20,Q5V6/gEh t9T00827A000400160002-5 Appro For' eSd MTCIA-RDP7W0827A000400160002-5 say just how large, Second, there is the Defense Intelligence Agency, which reports to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and through the Joint Chiefs, to the Secretary of Defense. The DIA is responsible for intelligence essential to the dis- charge of the responsibilities of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense, in assuring the defense and security of the United States. There are still the intelligence units of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, which serve the particular missions of each one of the services. Within the community, of course, the three service components are integrated and closely coordinated by the Director of DIA. Then there is an intelligence component in the State Department which serves the Secretary of State and the policy planners. All of our diplomatic personnel, of course, are intelligence gatherers in a sense, but there is also a requirement for men who apply themselves professionally to the analysis of that information, and its projection into present and future implications for State Department policy. 25X1 el D 00 Approved For Releasw4005/681tl$'`.MTDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approvd%W or RelTaaG.F0fi E &l i-RDP79TM827A000400160002-5 There is an intelligence component in the Atomic Energy Commission with a highly specialized charter devoted entirely to the very vital field of intelli- gence on nuclear energy developments. The primary functions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are concerned with internal security, but you can easily imagine the connections between foreign intelligence and internal security, so the FBI, too, is a member of the intelligence community, and a very important one. The FBI and the CIA work very closely together, because they are both combatting an international conspiracy, whose operations and agents move back and forth between the US and foreign countries. Those, then, are the individual members of the intelligence community--CIA, State, DIA and the service components, AEC, and FBI. In order to round out the picture of the community, there are a number of "services of common concern," to call them by their formal title--it might be more enlightening to call them national intelligence activ- ities, or national intelligence assets. These are activities which do not serve any particular department or agency, but serve the entire government. One agency may manage them, and even provide most of the personnel Approved For ReleasT/09168`r'TkJRDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approvor ffeQReSGETC1A-RDP79827A000400160002-5 and equipment, but they actually operate directly for the entire intelligence community. The oldest and the largest of these is the Na- tional Security Agency, the cryptological service The National Photographic Interpretation Center deals with intelligence acquired by photographic means, examining the films in detail and interpreting what is to be seen. I think I need only mention the detection of the Soviet medium range ballistic missiles in Cuba in October, 1962, to prove how essential NPIC is to our 25X1 25X1A Approved For ReIXQ.E00M19P{21T-RDP79TO0827AO00400160002-5 Approve, For Rel"P085,B.`M-RDP7 i'0827A000400160002-5 25X1 intelligence effort. 25X1 B Nov, these government agencies I have just en- numerated, together with the various intelligence assets, comprise the intelligence are tied together, for management United States Intelligence Board. (CHART, USIB) community. They purposes, by the The Director of Central Intelligence, by presi- dential designation, is the Chairman of USIB--and this, by the way, is one place where the Director's two Jobs, or his "two hats," are very carefully differentiated. When he chairs the United States Intelligence Board, he Approved For Release7t"6SE(ZL DP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv For Relea 5/, ,.j - bP79d&0827A000400160002-5 is there as the President?s principal intelligence of - ficer, not as the Director of CIA. USIB--as I will ex- plain in a minute--acts on and approves the agreed,co- ordinated judgments of the entire intelligence community --what we call "national intelligence"--and it might hamper this objective if the Director were simultaneously to chair the meeting and to present the views of the Central Intelligence Agency. For this reason, CIA has separate representation on the board in the person of the Deputy Director of CIA. .The other principals are: The State Department Director of Intelligence and Research; The Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; The Director of the National Security Agency; The Assistant General Manager of the AEC; and The Assistant to the Director of the FBI Since the consolidation of intelligence under DIA in the Pentagon, the intelligence chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force attend and make contributions, but not as official members of the United States Intelligence Board. They retain, however, the right and in fact the duty to express any dissent they have on matters under discussion. If you have seen the National Intelligence Estimates, with their footnotes, you know that this is a right they do not hesitate to excercise. Approved For Release qP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv4For ReleaWQA ArRDP7W0827A000400160002-5 The United States Intelligence Board meets at least once a, week--sometimes more often--and concerns itself with a wide variety of matters. I think there are three in particular which pretty well define the responsibilities and functions of USIB. First of all, the United States Intelligence Board establishes--and periodically reviews--the national priorities for the guidance of the intelligence commu- nity in choosing the targets and assigning assets for our intelligence effort. Secondly, the United States Intelligence Board con- tinuously reviews the activities of the members of the community to determine whether they are in accord with those priorities, and to make sure that we are doing everything possible to close gaps, and to avoid unnec- essary duplication. (Please note that I have modified the word "duplication" each time I have used it--when we are trying to get hold of the other fellow's secrets in the interests of our own national security, a certain amount of duplication is not only desirable, but even mandatory for the sake of confirmation.) Third, the United States Intelligence Board reviews in great detail the National Intelligence Estimates which the Director of Central Intelligence submits to the President and the National Security Council. Approved For Releas M06 CTP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv+ For Re1e'sOD5l b*'R 79O827A000400160002-5 These estimates are generally drafted within CIA, and produced by the Board of National Estimates which sits in CIA, but they are National Intelligence Esti- mates, and therefore they must reflect the considered judgment of the entire intelligence community. This starts with the participation of all appropriate ele- ments of the community at the outset, in the drafting process, and is ensured by the USIB review at the end of the line. The objective of the Estimate is a careful and thoughtful judgment which will be of the greatest possible assistance to the policy maker. I wart to stress that the met engaged in arriving at an estimate are not striving for unanimity. It would be possible to achieve unanimity by overriding the dissenting minority in a vote, or by watering down the estimate to the cot-non denominator--to the narrowed area of complete agreement in the thinking of the en- tire intelligence community. This, however, would be a disservice to the policy maker. All that is asked is that the dissents be based on honest differences of opinion over how the available facts are to be evaluated and interpreted--not on per- sonal convictions, hunches, or parochial interests. Within that frame of reference, it is policy to encourage Approved For Release, a/fj/Q$ ftr,,7fr00827A000400160002-5 Approve&#or ReleaseT206D79TQW27A000400160002-5 25X1 C 25X1 encourage dissents, and you may have noted in reading the National Estimates that they appear quite fre- quently. The Board of National Estimates, which I men- tioned a minute ago, deserves special mention.1 As established by General Smith when he was Di- rector of Central Intelligence in 1950, it is a body of very E:enior, very knowledgeable men of varied ex- perience, who have no other duty than to study and seek answers to the fundamental questions of national security. The board is composed of about a dozen such men, relieved of all administrative duties and daily chores, coming from extensive backgrounds in the military, diplomatic, legal, academic, and in- telligence professions. Their sole function is to hear and consider evidence and argument from the entire intelligence community, and then to recommend to the Director and to USIB what estimate the Director shall submit to the President and his advisors on mat- ters of critical importance to national security. Approved For ReleaseQv5 C P79T00827A000400160002-5 25X1 Approves .For Rd opQg' A-RDP79= 0827A000400160002-5 The activities of the United States Intelligence Board are carried on by a number of committees for specialized functions. Some of them are regular standing committees, such as the Joint Intelligence Committee on Atomic Energy, which follows nuclear developments 1A similar committee, the Guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence Com- mittee, concentrates on Soviet Space and Missile Activity. Then there are a number of Ad Hoc committees to deal with specific crises or recurrent headaches--a Berlin committee, an Arab-Israeli committee, a Taiwan Strait committee, to give you some examples out of the past. The Watch Committee of the United States Intel- ligence Board concentrates on the very highly specialized field of what we call indications intel- ligence, looking for the indicators which might give us early warning of hostile intentions against the United States or its allies. There is a full-time activity staffed jointly by the intelligence com- munity- -the National Indications Center--at work in 25X1 Approved For Rele@s'(MbMGI I DP79T00827A000400160002-5 ApprovetlrFor ReleTORQ 16& BT-RDP7g 827A000400160002-5 the Pentagon. It keeps track of possible indicators, and reports those which may be significant--or for that matter the absence of any significant indicators-- to the Watch Committee. The Watch Committee has a regular weekly meeting, timed so that the conclusions will be ready for the weekly USIB meeting, but in times of crisis the Watch Committee may meet one or more times a day. Against this background, I want to take a minute to describe how the intelligence community makes its contribution to the decision-makers in our government. (CHART, USIB-PRESIDENT-NSC) Let me say first of all that when it comes to de- cision-making, it is a firmly established rule that the onIZ role of intelligence is one of supplying objective, substantive intelligence. It may be hard fact. It may be an intelligence appreciation--the best judgment of the situation. It may be estimative--again, the best judgment of how the situation is likely to develop. The intelligence elements neither make nor advocate policy while they are functioning as an integral part Approved For Relea 5 j &9 DP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv 4For R 2Y1 f8 'gIA-RDP79Ti 827A000400160002-5 of the intelligence community. Now, a man who sits in USIB as the representative of an agency with a responsibility for policy formulation may well leave the USIB Conference Room out at Langley, go back to his own office, and engage in a meeting at which the policy recommendations of his department or agency are formulated. As long as he is sitting in USIB, however, he-is not a policy-maker. The intelligence community gives the President and his policy advisers in the National Security Council three kinds of intelligence--basic, current, and estimative. Basic intelligence is the durable type of bread-and-butter fact you find in the Na- tional Intelligence Survey--the railroad system, the number of ports, the police machinery, the military forces of a particular country. Estimative intelligence projects into the future --a year, three years, maybe five years, as to how many submarines we think the Chinese Communists will have, or what the chances are.for stability in Egypt. Basic intelligence is voluminous--the complete National Intelligence Survey on the'Soviet Union has run as high as 8,000 pages--and it takes time to com- pile, coordinate, produce and distribute such a Approved For Relea 205 IZDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approveddfer Relea5;15STRDP79TQU27A000400160002-5 document. The National Intelligence Estimates, if they are to be given thoughtful treatment and full coordination, also take time. As a result, there is always some chance that the basic and estimative intelligence will be more or less outdated when a sudden crisis hits the decision- maker. Current intelligence is not only going to alert the decision-maker to that crisis, but also serves to fill him in on any gaps which may have developed in his basic and estimative intelligence since those documents were committed to print. We have one other label to describe all of the intel- ligence provided to the President and the National Security Council: it is national intelligence--which the NSC has defined as information affecting the national security "which transcends the exclusive competence of any one agency or department" of the government. It is the ob- jective and the rule, in serving the policy maker, to give him the agreed, coordinated view of the entire intelligence community, with all of its assets, all of its expertise, all of its sources and methods of gathering in- telligence. There may be disputes over interpretation; there may be footnotes; but every part of the intelligence community has had its say. Approved For ReleT R0 1'iiRDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv*A.For Release? R&M X79 O827A000400160002-5 Now, policy is formulated by the President with the advice of the National Security Council. The Director of Central Intelligence, since the NSC was created, has sat there as an invited guest and observer. He is, in fact, a participant; Mr. Dulles, and Mr. McCone, and I have all opened NSC meetings with an intelligence briefing. But we were there to support the decision- makers with intelligence, not to make the decisions themselves. As the President's principal intelligence officer, when I was asked for my advice, I gave it, but I was not there as advocate of any particular policy. In another way, this is reflected in some of the regular work of the intelligence community. The esti- mative machinery is sometimes asked to evaluate and report on the possible consequences of--or reactions to--various alternative courses of action by the United States. It is the same thing. Intelligence is being asked for its advice and its expertise, and is respond- ing to that request. The facts and the conclusions will certainly contribute to the decision, but the intelligence Approved For Release Ei9/&/&EGY, 9-79T00827A000400160002-5 ApprovVc For ReIWOJbQ IEIT-RDP790827A000400160002-5 community must be objective and steer clear of advocacy. A number of writers recently have raised the question of whether the activities of the intelligence community are coordinated with the policy-making authorities of the US Government. Let me say, in reply to this, that we are not shadow-boxing--we have an opponent. The Soviet Union carries the fight to the free world by projecting political activity and clandestine op- erations through its intelligence organizations, through diplomatic representations, through groups of sympathizers. This political activity is intended, at a minimum, to capture the minds of the people and the governments in unstable and developing countries. It is even aimed at overthrowing the governments of older and more established nations which are opposed to the, spread of Communism. .If only in sheer self-defense, we find that there are occasions and circumstances where this engage in political government must similarly activity to counter this Communist threat. Where it can be done openly, through information programs, through economic or military assistance, any of the -17- Approved For Release 2IQS& 9T00827A000400160002-5 Approv dJor ReIZ;QPOOS awF3-RDP79W827AO00400160002-5 agencies in the intelligence community may find them- selves engaged openly in such activities. Naturally, there are also occasions when the necessary counter- action will only be effective, or will only be pos- sible, if it is done covertly, or without attribution to the United States Government. These assignments generally fall to the CIA and its clandestine services. It has become fashionable for some writers to harp on the theme that the CIA, in its clandestine operations, makes its own rules. They say it engages in activities which are not only independent of, but sometimes even contrary to, the established policy of the United States. I can tell you without reservation, with specific reference to the clandestine operations of the Central Intelligence Agency, and with regard to any such ac- tivities of the intelligence community, that they are carefully coordinated and controlled by the various mechanisms of the National Security Council and the United States Intelligence Board. The activities of CIA are coordinated with the White House, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State. When they involve matters which might in some way conflict with -18- Approved For ReleasTOR/0i .~ZIDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approvor ReleasT0 B0ASJJ-'P79827A000400160002-5 policy, the subject is invariably put before the Presi- dent for his final approval or disapproval. The book, "The Invisible Government," makes much of the sinister way in which a "Special Group"--some- how beyond the control of the policy makers--approves or directs the operations of CIA. In actual fact, the Special Group to which the book refers is the very organization set up by President Eisenhower, and continued by President Kennedy and President Johnson, to ensure and guarantee that the intelligence com- munity is coordinating and conforming with the de- sires of the policy makers. Ordinarily, as you know, the CIA ignored com- plaints and charges against the clandestine services, for reasons which are rooted in the tradecraft of the profession. I feel that this much of an answer, how- ever, is germane to your consideration of the relation between the intelligence groups and the policy makers. I want to touch on one more point which bears on this question of the direction and control of the intelli- gence community. -19- Approved For Release 20EAM8+ 5A-4E9WlTT00827A000400160002-5 ApprovFor ReT 2S G ZIA-RDP79 W 827A000400160002-5 I have already indicated that CIA receives its direction and authority from the President and the National Security Council, formalized in general terms in what we call NSCID's or National Security Council Intelligence Directives. There is one more level of checks and balances I should mention in the executive branch--the Presi- dent's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, presently known as the Clifford Committee for its chairman, Clark Clifford. This is a group of distinguished citizens, originally established by President Eisenhower under Dr. James Killian, which convenes in Washington every six weeks or so to look into the operations of the intelligence community and determine how well it is doing its work. They ask for briefings on past operations, present operations, and future operations, without any restriction as to classification or sensi- tivity--and they get the answers. The membership in- cludes such men as General Maxwell Taylor, Professor William Langer of Harvard, Ambassador Robert Murphy, and Mr. Frank Pace. The board reports periodically to the President. This is a standing group, but CIA ,bas also been surveyed periodically in the past by the Hoover Commission and other task forces, under Approved For Rel ")A0S1 1 gPRDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approve or ReE&Bo& DP79W&827A000400160002-5 the leadership of such men as General Mark Clark and General Jimmy .Doolittle. And contrary to public belief, CIA is also responsive to the legislative branch. I recall that when I had been Director for six months, I asked for some statistics on the extent of CIA briefings for Congress. I found that I had been talking to some committee of the Senate or house on an average of about once every four days. In addition to frequent meetings with individual Senators and Representatives, senior officials of the Central Intelligence Agency meet with at least 10 separate committees or subcommittees of the two houses as standard procedure. Some of these meetings are straightforward substantive intelligence briefings on the state of the world, normally ivcn to a round of Senate and souse committees ac c=4 session of Con- gress gets under way in January each year. The most frequent uoetinr;s, however, Arc with three specific subcommittees which are authorized to concern themselves with the operations and methods of the Central Intelligence Agency. 25X1 25X1A 25X1A Approved For Release 2005/06/08: CIA-RDP79T00827A000400160002-5 ApproviFor ReIGaQTh0gf66I ITRDP79 0827A000400160002-5 25X1 25X11 A second group is a special ',IA subcommittee of the House Armed Services committee, with which I net on almost a regular weekly basis. In the Senate, there is a special CIA subcommittee which jointly represents the Armed Services and Appro- priations Committees of the Senate, and I also had lengthy regular sessions with this group. In addition to straightforward intelligence briefings, these Senators and Representatives can and do ask for anything they want to know about CIA opera- tions, methods, and future plans. They have never, to my knowledge, been refused an answer. They are regularly informed, and in considerable detail, Approved For ReleafcQB50V i-RDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv +For Re1X_QAO Q> ITRDP79i 0827A000400160002-5 on matters which are so sensitive in some instances that even inside CIA, not one man in 50 has access to that information. You may have gathered by now, looking at the clock, that I am not going to go into too much de- tail about the Central Intelligence Agency itself, For one thing, one of the main principles is what is called the "need to know" basis, which means that when you need to know the details of CIA operations, you will be told. More to the point, however, in describing to you how the intelligence community serves our national in- terests, I have at the same time described to you how the Central Intelligence Agency plays its role, be- cause the CIA is an integral part, and in fact the coordinating link, of the intelligence community. There are some functions, of course, which are peculiar to the CIA within the community, and I should probably tell you where CIA derives its charter for these activities, and how they are generated, planned, and specifically authorized. Under the authority provided by the National Security Act of 1947 which established the CIA--(and incidentally the Department of Defense)--the National Approved For ReleaTdM586iATRDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv%,O,For ReT QM FITA-RDP7 d0827A000400160002-5 Security Council issued two intelligence directives. These provide the basis and the authority for the con- duct of clandestine intelligence and counterintelli- gence activities and covert action overseas by the CIA. NSCID 5 assigns to the Agency the primary re- sponsibility for the conduct of these clandestine and counterintelligence activities. It also provides for the conduct of similar activities by the military services under coordination by the CIA. In the field of intelligence and counterintel- ligeuce, the guidelines and collection requirements are stated in the Priority National Intelligence Objectives, -24- Approved For Relea7519E;RE 'DP79T00827A000400160002-5 25X1 Approv For ReIW(OlbQ, / iREITRDP7900827A000400160002-5 which are issued by the United States Intelligence Board. On the basis of these summaries of intelligence objectives, a USIB subcommittee called the Inter- Agency Priorities Committee produces periodic lists of priority requirements, representing the interests of the entire community. These are requirements which are accepted for servicing by the Clandestine Services of the Agency. In addition to these formal requirements, there are, of course, always spot requirements, accepted by CIA if they cannot be satisfied through overt or other normal collection means. By National Security Council directive, CIA baa the responsibility for acting as the central repository of foreign counterintelligence information for the US Government. This is a major responsibility. 25X1 25X1 Approved For Releas7' /4SJRP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approv For Re@W.POSEAW-EW-RDP7 0827A000400160002-5 responsibilities of CIA people overseas is to work against the intelligence services of the enemy. Many of the cases publicized within the last couple of years of Soviet and satellite agents working against this country and our allies were cases in which the CIA played the principal role. It is through our counterintelligence activities that we have been able to pinpoint and expose the Dis- information Department of the KGB (the Soviet in- telligence service) and its chief, Ivan Ivanovich Agayants. We have traced to this Soviet directorate many forgeries and other deceptions and subversive activities designed to undermine the confidence of our Western Allies and of our own people in our government. Of course, they make excellent use and take full advantage of our democratic process here, under which anyone can write what he pleases about anything and get it widely publicized, whether it is true or not. The Agency has kept the top levels of the Executive Department and the appropriate committees and subcommittees of the Congress in- formed on the work of the Disinformation Department. Approved For Release 7i6/SEGRP 79T00827A000400160002-5 25X1 Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approved For Release 2005/06/08 : CIA-RDP79T00827A000400160002-5 Approvq,For ReJTOGH-RDP790827A000400160002-5 to go before a top-level policy committee, which is chaired by the White House and includes the Under Secretary of Defense and a top-level representative of the Secretary of State. Only after this top- level policy group agrees on a course of action, can the CIA proceed with it. That is a streamlined account of the coordination that has gone on before a specific operation is under- taken by CIA, and I have already described to you how we report to elements of both the executive and legislative branches before, during, and after the activities. i neglected before to mention the Bureau of the Budget, which also goes into our work in considerable detail. It is a difficult job indeed to maintain the delicate balance between the need for protecting sources and methods from unauthorized disclosure--the Director's personal responsibility by statute--and the need for reporting as fully as possible to these various committees and boards. But I would not have had it any other way, to make sure that the Central In- telligence Agency is doing the best it can for our national security interests. Approved For ReleaT6R5C.DP79T00827A000400160002-5 ApprovedWor Rel e ,O/C8'-RI E-qBP79TW827A000400160002-5 To sumimzarize, then, the intelligence community of the United States Government comprises all of the intelligence components of the various agencies and departments, operating under the direction and control of the United States Intelligence Board;, and the Director of Central Intelligence as the principal intelligence officer of the President. Its principal function is to provide the intel- ligence appreciations which the decision-makers need in order to formulate policy, and to give them timely warning and expert analysis of developments bearing on the national security of the United States. Intel- ligence supports policy--it does not formulate it. The authority for intelligence, covert and clan- destine activities comes from the President and the National Security Council, and these activities are subject to approval and review by appropriate bodies of both the executive and legislative branches. Authors writing about the Central Intelligence Agency have often been fascinated by the scriptural quotation in the lobby of the CIA Headquarters buil- ding: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." -29- Approved For Rele 0,5/9$-i6 F i R79T00827A000400160002-5 Appro\ For R6e&POS 0 f2DP7 0827A000400160002-5 The folks at Langley see nothing wrong with adopting this as the CIA motto, and can cite you a considerable number of biblical precedents: the spies Joshua sent into Jericho; the agents Moses was told to send into the land of Canaan; and oven before that, the first aerial reconnaissance and meteorological mission, flown by a sub-sonic clove which Noah launched from the Ark. In the present day, maybe the outsiders would have more understanding for the role of intelligence in the free world if the quotation said: "The truth shall keep you free." -30- Approved For ReleaT QQ~(0~/2ft- t ? '9T00827A000400160002-5