NOTE FOR THE ADCI FROM JOHN MCMAHON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M00165A001700140092-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 10, 2004
• Sequence Number: 92
• Publication Date: January 31, 1977
• Content Type: NOTES

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INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY STAFF
31 January 1977
NOTE FOR THE ADCI
Hank:
Attache are three identical letters
to Mahon, Mc ellan and Inouye which will
transmit the justification book for the IC
Staff. The letters note the accomplishments
to date, set forth all that has yet to be
done, and acquaint the addressees with the
intelligence process from the resource allo-
cation/coordination point of view.
The justification book accompanying
the letters will pretty much stand alone, and
lays out in fine detail how the IC Staff in-
tends to spend its money.
As head of the IC Staff per 11905,
it is appropriate that you sign the letters.
fin McMahon
AD/DCI/IC
ACTION
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 CONFIDENTIAL I SECRET
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1 FEB 1977
The Honorable George H. Mahon, Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
House of Representatives
Washington, D. C. 20515
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Executive Registry
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Attached is the Fiscal Year 1978 Budget Justification Book
for the Intelligence Community Staff. This is a particularly im-
portant submission.for the IC Staff in that it represents the first
budget preparation separate from CIA and appearing in the President's
"open" budget. Because the innermost workings of the IC Staff
remain highly classified, it is necessary that the supporting justi-
fication to the budget also be classified. We are particularly
anxious through the medium of the Justification Book to permit Congress
total visibility in how the Staff is composed and what it plans to do
with the dollars it has requested.
`While the IC Staff as a unit of the DCI has been in being
since 1972, the makeup and responsibilities of the"'Staff as-we know
them today are far different. Executive Order 11905 in, February 1976
assigned to the Staff new responsibilities; namely, suppor'tirig-the
Committee on Foreign Intelligence of the National Security Council in
its responsibilities for budget preparation, resource allocation and
policy management of all the assets that make up the ?-Nat i onal. Foreign...-.
Intelligence Program. That historic charter, which gave to the DCI
as Chairman of the CFI the leverage necessary to contro~i' the programs
to be undertaken within the Community, was fully implemented. by the
IC Staff in support of the CFI. Fruition of its efforts was accom-
plished this fiscal year when a single consolidated National Foreign
Intelligence Program was developed and submitted to the President for
the first time in intelligence history. Inherent in that implementa-
tion was an intensive review of each program within the NFIP. Issues
were raised by members of the IC Staff with the program managers
concerning their budgets and programs and those issues which could not
be resolved were carried forward for CFI decision.
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During the summer program hearings for the Fiscal Year 1978
budget, a series of issues was raised to the CFI which ordered that
certain studies be undertaken to validate the requirements, the needs,
and provide the necessary program visibility. These issues, with
accompanying studies, were then again addressed by the CFI during the
budget review and decisions rendered which now comprise. the national
foreign intelligence budget for Fiscal Year 1978. The whole exercise
of iteration between the IC Staff, program managers and CFI members
held the budget to a precision which we feel is a hallmark of balanc-
ing requirements, programs, costs and risks. The process reduced the
program managers" initial budget request by A
number of programs well worth funding were delayed by the CFI because
it felt that to add them to the present. program would be too much- for
the national budget to support at this time. An example was the delay
in proceeding with the telemetry follow-on system in favor of insuring
adequate imagery coverage. Programs' which certainly would aid depart-
mental needs were deferred until greater rationale could demonstrate
their national value and justify their inclusion in the national
program.
,Concomitant with the budget process, evaluations of systems
and program performances were factored into the budget decisions.
This in itself was a considerable task. In response to a requirement
of the National Security Council'an evaluation of the national foreign
intelligence product was also undertaken and submitted to the.NSC in
December 1976. Such assessment gives us the assurances that the pro-
grams were producing valuable intelligence but, more importantly, that
the. users of intelligence were being served. Extensive interviews
were conducted with the intelligence consumers from cabinet rank on
down covering our economic, political, nuclear and military intelli-
gence users. This review not only provided us with the confidence
that the thrust of our intelligence efforts is pertinent, but also
identified gaps wherein we must allocate resources to fill, if possible..
IC Staff.
The CFI met some twenty times to address the budget and re-
source issues of the NFIP. The onus for staffing those decisions and
assuring all factors, Community-wide, were considered, rested upon the
The transfer of the DCI collection committees to the IC
Staff for SIGINT, imagery and HUMINT has permitted the ease of coordi-
nation in orchestrating our collection efforts against targets or
activities requiring such. An example was the Sub-Sahara. By identi-
fying the intelligence requirements for that area we were able to
assess what the various collection systems could do to satisfy those
requirements and then allocate resources to satisfy that need.
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Let me not pass over too quickly the DCI committees and
the role they play in a very complex but essential function of
coordinating our intelligence throughout all member agencies of-the
Community. The IC Staff is the home for the staff of four of those
committees (Imagery Requirements and Exploitation, Human Resources,
Intelligence Information Handling and SIGINT) and the chairman of
the fifth (Security). The head of the IC Staff is responsible,
however, for overseeing the activities of all twelve DCI committees.
The remaining seven not housed in the IC Staff (Exchanges, Critical
Collection Problems, Economic Intelligence,
Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence, Scientific and Technical Intelli-
gence, and the Weapons and Space Systems Intelligence) are composed
of representatives from various agencies of the Community whose
committee function does not require full-time devotion to that k.
The entire committee structure does touch upon over[ _1~
which at first blush may seem large, but when viewed against the
intricate nature of our collection, production and special committee
needs, is a rather modest commitment of art-time resources. The
fact that most committee personnel- carry on normal full-
time jobs in addition to their committee function is an excellent
example of the Community making efficient use of expertise from all
walks of the Community life.
The committee structure is vital to the Community program.
It affords the DCI the visibility he needs to provide the leader-
ship and-coordination necessary and to offer the best intelligence
product to our nation. In short, the committees permit the DCI to
run a community of which he is not sole commander.
Planning has been-somewhat the stepchild of the Intelligence
Community, possibly because the DCI never had the resource control to
ensure that the proper planning resulted in program. execution. The
IC Staff has now developed a comprehensive planning system to close
that-loop by addressing U.S. foreign intelligence needs in short-
range, mid-range, and long-range periods in context with the overall
Government Planning-Programming-Budgeting System.
The planning system addresses the current fiscal year by
producing national foreign intelligence requirements and priorities
which provide broad guidance concerning the focus of collection and
production. This element is then further refined by such fine-tuning
mechanisms as the identification of "Key Intelligence Questions" and
national requirements for specific countries. The key intelligence
questions have been held to a minimum--fifteen in all--in order to
emphasize those areas where improved performance is both needed and
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feasible. The short-range planning documents thus allow program.
managers to employ their efforts against key needs. The planning
system also provides for the identification of current year "Goals
and Objectives" which the. DCI provides to the entire. Intelligence
Community in his role as leader of the Community and senior intelli-
gence officer of the U.S. Government. The goals and objectives are
given wide dissemination to insure that program managers and other,
senior officials. throughout the Community understand and orient
their activities, to the degree feasible, in the total effort.
For the mid-range, the DCI issues "Perspectives for Planning
and Programming" covering the next five fiscal years providing a sub-
stantive framework within which annual program guidance can be
developed. The "Perspectives" also provide the DCI a vehicle for
outlining the nation's needs for intelligence information during the
program period. By ending up with implications for planning and
programming, the "Perspectives"-stimulate early development of those
assets and capabilities which may be required for the U.S. to maintain
its intelligence technological superiority.
Long-range planning, the final element of the system, has
received little attention in the past. Traditionally, long-range
planning has been accomplished by individual components within the
Community in support of individual departmental needs. We have long
recognized the hazards of trying to look five to twenty years into
the future in any logical, analytical fashion. While not attempting
to achieve any dramatic breakthroughs the Staff is experimenting with
such techniques as system and world dynamics modeling to give us a
better idea of population problems, energy resources, food production,
climate, and other factors which cause pressure points and which are
likely to prompt the need for intelligence information. These efforts,
together with the establishment of a small group to review "futures"
research which has already been done within and outside the govern-'
ment, should.give us a better feel for where intelli9ence,,effor-ts
should be focused in our changing world. While not foolproof, these
actions do provide a framework against.which to work, permitting us
to address the long-range planning needs with some intellectual
underpinnings.
All in all, I feel that the IC Staff has done a remarkable
job of accomplishment in so short a time. The Community does work
together. It does produce good intelligence. We do not have waste.
We have moved to consolidate and avoid duplication where such is.
merited-
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The 1977 Annual Report of the DCI on the Into igence
Community was forwarded to you on 19 January 1977. It is, as I am
sure you have noted, a candid and comprehensive discussion of the
things we have accomplished in the past year and, more importantly,
the challenges which lie ahead and our plans for dealing with them.
Underlying all of this is the development of a Community approach
and a Community perspective. We have made very substantial progress
in that regard, which has largely been attributable to the efforts
of the Intelligence Community Staff. The Annual Report itself is
an example of how the Community perspective has helped to solve old
problems and to open up prospects of dealing creatively with those
still unsolved. In its forthrightness and candor it exemplifies
the determination of the Community leadership, to meet fully the
expectations of efficiency, legality, and propriety in all of our
endeavors.
For ease of comparison, we have included in the justifica-
tion details regarding the IC Staff Fiscal Years 1976 and 1977, as
well as the 1978 budget requests. We have provided specific analysis
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,. The 1977 Annual Report of the DCI on the Intelligence
Community was forwarded to you on 19 January 1977. It is, as I am
sure you have noted, a candid and comprehensive discussion of the
things we have accomplished in the past year and, more importantly,
the challenges which lie ahead and our plans for dealing with them.
Underlying all of this is the development of a Community approach
and a Community perspective. We have made very substantial progress
in that regard, which has largely been attributable?to the efforts
of the Intelligence Community Staff. The Annual Report.itself is
an example of how the Community perspective has helped to solve old
problems and to open up prospects of dealing creatively with those
still unsolved. In its forthrightness and candor it exemplifies
the determination of the Community leadership, to meet fully the
expectations of efficiency, legality, and propriety in all of our
endeavors.
For ease of comparison, we have included in the justifica-
tion details regarding the IC Staff Fiscal Years 1976 and 1977, as
well as the 1978 budget requests. We have provided specific analysis
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and explanations for 1977 as well as 1978, and specific descrip-
tions of the external research and analytical support contracts
which we submit are essential to supplement the IC Staff efforts.
Sincerely yours,
E. H. Knoche
Acting Director
Attachment:
ICS FY 78 Budget
Justification Book
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Letter to Chairman'Mahon forwarding ICS FY 78 Budget Justification
Book.
DCI/IC/7T--G]58
Distribution:
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1-ADCI
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1 - D/DCI/IC
1 - AD/DCI/IC
1 - IC Registry
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1 - D/0/PBD
1 C/IC/SS
AD/DCI/IC:JNMcMahon:mo 29Jan77)
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