COORDINATION STAFF REPORT REGARDING THE COMMITTEE STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD

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CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1
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RIPPUB
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S
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17
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December 19, 2016
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August 8, 2006
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40
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Publication Date: 
May 31, 1962
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MF
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Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 USIB -D-27.1 / 18 31 May 1962 U SrI3 - ~- d2 ~? ,`'9 SECRET crs 1t3- - 47 JJ UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD SUBJECT: Coordination Staff Report. Regarding the Committee Structure of the United States Intelligence Board Attached for review is a memorandum report by the Coordination Staff on Committees of the United States Intelligence Board. This matter will be placed on the agenda of an early USIB meeting. (probably that of 27 June), for discussion and action on the recommendations contained in paragraphs 8 through 12 of the attachment to mernor andum. l Copy No. 2 As approved by USIB, 18 July 1962 Executive Secretary' MORI/CDF ages 1 thru 12 and 14 ru 17 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 ti Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Attachment USIB-D-27.118 28 may 1962 MEMORANDUM FOR: Chairman, United States Intelligence Board SUBJECT: Committees of the United States Intelligence Board (USIB) 1. The attachment on the subject is a response to your assign- ment of 18 December 1961 to the Coordination Staff to conduct a review and prepare recommendations for revisions in the present committee structure of the USIF. 2. The attachment is also a response to Joint Study Group Recommendation No. 33 which called for a review of the functions and activities of the USIB committees, including consideration of possible changes and improved reporting procedures, and will also provide a basis for a response to the White House request of 25 October 1961 for information regarding interdepartmental com- mittees and task forces. 3. The attachment concludes that USIB needs some type of committee structure to assist it in meeting its broad responsi- bilities and that the desirable modifications to the present structure would be those that: a. recognize the generally greater cohesiveness of the intelligence community occasioned both by the experience and mutual confidence gained over the past 15 years, and by the potential for greater coordination within the Department of Defense resulting from the establishment of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA); b. recognize that services of common concern, like assigned functions or primary responsibility, are essentially functions which can and should be charged directly to an individual agency, both for the principal conduct of the particular service or function and for its coordination throughout the community; GROUP 1 Excluded from automatic downgrading and declassification Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08 S.t i e 8TM00097R000900080040-1 c. recognize that USIB needs, on a permanent basis, only those committees that are clearly required to support functions specified for USIB in National Security Council Intelligence Directive (NSCID) No. 1 or to coordinate certain important functional programs (other than services of common concern) which are carried out necessarily by several agencies to meet their own and community needs. On that basis, the following 12 committees and ad hoc working groups would be disestablished and their functions reassigned as indicated: Committee Assignment of Functions Exploitation of Foreign Language CIA Publications (CEFLP) Procurement of Foreign Publications CIA (PROCIB) National intelligence Critical Communications (CCC) Emergency Planning Steering Cuban Military Build-up (ad hoc) Berlin Situation (ad hoc) Legislative Proposals re Personnel (ad hoc) LA-A CIA DCI Defense When and if it resumes activity, subordinate to Watch Committee. (ad hoc) USIB in connection with weekly survey of cold war situation. Not required once committee has completed its current report. The following 12 committees would be retained: Security; SIGINT; Documentation (CODIB); Watch; Critical Collection Problems (CCPC); Economic Intelligence (EIC); Scientific Intelligence (SIC); Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence (JAEIC); Guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence (GMAIC); Overhead Reconnaissance (COMOR); Intera, enc Clandestine Collection Priorities (IPC); an 25X1 4. With respect to committee chairmen, the attachment concludes that selection of a chairman should be based on the concept that the principle of personal qualification rather than agency affiliation Corrected page - 7 June 1962. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-R?P82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 should prevail where there is difficulty in determining a single dominant agency interest; that where the interest of a single agency is clearly dominant, that agency should furnish the chairman. 5. With respect to the USIB Secretariat, the attachment concludes that the Secretariat should devote increased efforts in ensuring that papers coming before the Board have had, where appropriate, adequate preliminary coordination and in conducting an effective follow-up system on Board decisions. 6. Recommendation: That the attachment, together with this memorandum, be circulated to the USIB for consideration of the recommendations contained in paragraphs 8 through 12 thereof. Assistant for Coordination Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 S-E-C-R-E-T Attachment USIB-D-27.118 28 May 1962 COMMITTEES OF THE U. S. INTELLIGENCE BOARD 1. Recommendation No. 33 of the Joint Study Group (JSG) reflects, with respect to the intelligence community, the growing general disillusionment within the Executive Departments of an excessive use of the committee system of business. That recommendation calls for a review of "the functions and activities of the several committees and subcommittees of the United States Intelligence Board." It further directs that "this review should include consideration of possible change in the committee structure and improved reporting procedures." Implicit in the Joint Study Group's recommendation on this point and in its recommendations for a reorganization of USIB itself is concern at the ponderous appearance of the complex com- mittee structure which now characterizes the organization of the intelligence community. The concern, however, does not appear to be directed at the functions with which the committees are charged but rather at the question of whether the functions need to be assigned to committees or, in fact, can most efficiently be performed by committees. 2. Now that the membership of USIB itself may be reduced and that the Defense Intelligence Agency has the responsibility for coordinating all intelligence activities within the various elements of the Department of Defense (save those under the control of the National Security Agency), there are occurring basic changes in the high-level structure of U. S. intelligence which even more clearly imply a need for change at the supporting level. The observations that follow are directed at establishing a concept of coordinated support for the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and for the USIB that is workable, efficient, and compatible with the top structure. As will appear .-- and again the point is emphasized -- there is little question that the great majority of the USIB com- mittees have been and are performing useful functions. The suggestions below are designed to ensure that the functions are carried out under closer supervision and clearer assignment of responsibility. 3. At the present time, USIB has 20 permanent and four ad hoc committees, concerned with a variety of production, collection and support activities. The purposes for which these committees have been established fall, in a general sense, into three categories: a. to provide a mechanism for achieving coordination of a specific community-wide activity, such as economic intelligence; GROUP 1 Excluded from automatic downgrading and declassification Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R00009900080040-1 me S-E-C-R-E-T b. to provide a mechanism for providing community guidance 25X1 25X1 c. to assist USIB in carrying out one of its assigned functions, such as security. ii. The general functions of USIB are specified in NSCID No. 1. In addition to assisting the DCI to carry out his coordination functions, USIB has certain other specific responsibilities, in brief: a. Establish policies and programs for the guidance of departments and agencies. b. Establish priority national intelligence objectives and requirements. c. Review and report to the National Security. Council (NSC) on the national foreign intelligence effort. d. Make recommendations on foreign intelligence matters, particularly to the Secretary of Defense concerning matters under the cognizance of the Director, National Security Agency (NSA). e. Develop and review security. standards and practices. f. Formulate policies concerning arrangements with foreign governments on intelligence matters. 5. It is clear that USIB needs some type of committee structure to assist it in meeting these broad responsibilities. The variety of problems for which the Board has responsibility places a heavy burden upon the members. The Board deals effectively with national estimates, in large part because the mechanism of the Office of National Estimates (ONE) provides for community-wide staffing of the problem and for clear definition of points at issue. It also receives comparable coordinated support through the Watch Committee procedure. On other problems, particularly in the field of collection, the Board has had less effective machinery for coordination and for the initiation of remedial action and too often has faced such problems at a late date, sometimes without benefit of community-wide proposals for their solution and with less than adequate knowledge of the views and reasoning of other agencies regarding them. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 _e Nww~ 6. Various alternatives have been suggested. One that has some appeal is a structure composed of three high-level committees, one for Production, one for Collection and one for Support. Within this trio could be logically encompassed, functionally, the various responsi- bilities now charged to all the USIB Committees and to USIB. Under this.concept, the senior committees would be composed of the chiefs ors their deputies of the production, collection and support components, respectively, of the USIB agencies. At this level the individuals involved, being specialists in production, collection or support, could take action to ensure that their principals in USIB were called upon only for decisions of the highest order. Upon further analysis, however, it becomes apparent that there are important weaknesses in this line of solution. In the first place, there is no demonstrable need for a "Support" committee, since USIB is not charged with the administrative, logistics, legal, comptroller and similar responsi- bilities inherent in the operations of the individual intelligence agencies. In the second place, it is very difficult to establish that a production committee is necessary or even appropriate to meet USIB's needs for coordination of the production effort of the community. As mentioned earlier, the estimative process developed and operated by the community through the ONE as the DCI's instrument is a proven and effective method of demonstrating in broad terms the community's capability to produce all types of intelligence required in support of national security policies. The Watch Committee process adequately covers the problem of indications of hostilities. Two major fields of intelligence production for which responsibility is necessarily assigned to a number of agencies and therefore require community coordination, are scientific and economic. For both of these technical, specialized fields, mechanisms for coordination are already available through existing scientific and economic committees. The factors which argue against the establishment of production and support committees are not, however, so apparent in the field of collection. In this field, in fact, (as will appear in paragraph 9.h. below) it would seem that a modification of the existing Critical Collection Problems Committee could well benefit the community. 7. The desirable modifications in the present USIB committee structure would be those that: a. recognize the generally greater cohesiveness of the intelligence community occasioned both by the experience and mutual confidence gained over the past 15 years, and by the potential for greater coordination within the Department of Defense resulting from the establishment of the DIA; Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 low 144W Revised 17 July 1962 b. recognize that services of common concern, like assigned functions of primary responsibility, are essentially functions which can be and should. be charged directs town individual__gency, both for the principal conduct of the particular service or function and for its coordination throughout the community; c. recognize that USIB needs, on a permanent basis, only those committees that are clearly required to support functions specified for USIB in NSCID No. 1 or to coordinate certain important functional programs (other than services of common concern) which are carried out necessarily by several agencies to meet their own and community needs. RECOMMENDATIONS 8. The following USIB committees should be disestablished: a. Committee on International Communism. This Committee has been relatively inactive for some time and there does not appear to be a demonstrated justification for the con- tinuation of a committee in this field. The Committee's assigned functions are essentially elements of an important aspect of political intelligence for which the Department of State has production responsibility, except for the production of National Intelligence Survey sections which have been transferred to CIA. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Revised 17 July 1962 c. Committee on Exploitation of Foreign Language Publications. DCID No. 2 charges CIA with providing for the exploitation of foreign language publications as a service of common concern. The Committee should be eliminated as a USIB instrument. d. Committee on Procurement of Foreign Publications (PROCIB). DCID No. 2[5 assigns to CIA responsibility for coordinating the foreign publications procurement programs. The Committee should be eliminated as an instrument of the USIB. e. Committee on Exchanges. The Committee was established for two main purposes: a to provide coordinated advice to the Department of State on the intelligence aspects of the East- West exchange program in order that State can consider those aspects alongside other policy considerati overall responsibility for that pro ram? a -1 1 Moreover, much of the Committee's advice on substantive ma ers, because of the specialized nature of such matters, is in reality the product of ad hoc groups or existing specialized committees. The need for the Committee has thus become minimal. It should be disestablished. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R0000900080040-1 1W S-E-C-R-E-T f. National Intelligence Survey NIS) Committee. NSCID No. 3 assigns to the Director of Central Intelligence responsi- bility for coordinating production and for accomplishing the publication and dissemination of National Intelligence Surveys. The NSC, by its approval in 19+8 of the NIS Standard Instructions, required that CIA provide overall coordination of the NIS Program. By the same action it created the NIS Committee to assist the CIA in carrying out this primary responsibility for the program. The Committee should be eliminated and CIA receive whatever assistance it requires through specified points of contact designated by interested agencies.* g. Emergency Planning Steering Committee. This committee was created by USIB action and., when active, concerned itself largely with emergency relocation matters. The Committee has been inactive for more than a year. It is doubtful that this committee or any similar committee can proceed successfully in the broad field of emergency planning since thereis uncertainty as to the respective intelligence responsibilities of the USIB agencies within the continental U. S. in time of general war and with respect to the wartime role of the DCI in providing intelli- gence advice and support to the President. A clarification of national policy on these points is essential to realistic overall intelligence war planning. The present Committee should be dis- established and the DCI, as the principal intelligence coordinator of the U. S. foreign intelligence effort, should undertake to obtain this clarification. h. Critical Communications Committee (CCC). This committee was formed primarily to assist USIB in establishing and monitoring the system for reporting critical intelligence. The role of USIB itself is to assist the DCI in carrying out the latter's responsi- bilities under NSCID No. 7 to provide continuing guidance to the Secretary of Defense concerning the communications requirements of the intelligence community for the transmission of critical intelligence, and to define critical intelligence and establish uniform criteria for the identification, selection, and designation of relative priority for the transmission of critical intelligence. Now that a well understood system for reporting critical intelligence NSC approval far this change is not required, since NSCID No. 3 of 18 January 1961 permits amendments to the NIS Standard Instructions by interdepartmental approval. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 S-E-C-R-E-T has been established, this Committee should be disestablished,* and the CIA should be made responsible for assuring continued monitoring of the reporting system, and for assisting the DCI to carry out his continuing responsibilities under NSCID No. 7. The Secretary of Defense also has continuing responsibilities under NSCID No. 7 for the establishment, operation and perfection of the means of communication for critical intelligence, which he should continue to exercise. Specific points of contact should be designated by all interested agencies as well as by the Department of Defense and CIA to ensure proper coordination of their respective efforts in this field. 9. The following USIB committees should be retained or modified (See Tab A): a. Security Committee. The Security Committee provides direct support to USI13 with respect to a specific function assigned to USIB by NSCID No. 1, namely, the development and review of security standards and practices. It should therefore be retained. b. The SIGINT Committee. The SIGINT Committee provides advice and assistance to USIB in direct support of all the functions related to COMINT and ELINT matters assigned to USIB by NSCID Nos. 1 and 6, including particularly recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and other officials, as appropriate, on intelligence matters within. the jurisdiction of the Director, NSA. It should, therefore be retained. c. Committee on Documentation (CODIB). The Committee on Documentation should be retained since it supports USIB with respect to the coordination of important, complex, accelerating programs necessarily conducted by most USIB agencies and influenced by similar programs in progress in many non-USIB agencies. Moreover, it directly supports USIB in carrying out approved JSG Recommendation No. 4+0 relating to automatic data processing systems. d. Watch Committee. The Watch Committee, in view of its special relation to an important USIB function directly related to the national security and the necessity for broad. community participation in finalizing reports within urgent time limits on imminence of hostilities, should also be retained. In view of certain unfinished business that is now before the Committee, it is suggested that the act of disestablishment be deferred until 1 July 1962. Corrected page - 7 June 1962. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 e. Economic Intelligence Committee (EIC). The work of the EIC and its subcommittees covers a wide variety of specialized fields of economic analysis to which specialists within and without the USIB agencies can make unique contributions. Moreover, no single USIB agency has such a primary responsibility, either on an area or functional basis, that the concept of a "service of common concern" can be made to apply. Thus, the Economic Intelligence Committee should be retained, since its responsi- bilities involve the coordination of important functional programs necessarily related to the normal responsibilities of the various USIB agencies as well as some nine non-USIB agencies. f. Scientific Intelligence Committee (SIC).* The Scientific Intelligence Committee should be retained because of its general production and coordination responsibilities in an important field in which several USIB agencies have large active programs. g. Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence Committee (JAEIC)* and Guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence Committee (GMAIC).* The Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence Committee and the Guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence Committee should also be retained because of the critical importance of their individual responsibilities, the direct and priority national security significance of these subjects that touch upon the responsibilities of all USIB member agencies and the concomitant need for civilian as well as military agencies to participate actively in the deliberations of the two Committees. h. Critical Collection Problems Committee (CCPC). Recent USIB actions to intensify collection efforts in Southeast Asia and Berlin, as well as current community interest in improving collection in a number of important scientific and technical fields, illustrate the need for a mechanism which can ensure that collection efforts utilizing all community resources in these and other similar major problem areas are adequately coordinated, and which can anticipate collection problems and undertake remedial action thereon on its own initiative. * Because of the close relationship of these three scientific com- mittees, close coordination is imperative. The SIC should be charged with taking the initiative in insuring that such coordination is effected in areas of joint or overlapping concern, such as the field of anti-ballistic missiles. This does not imply that SIC should-have a !supervisory. role, over the normal activities ' of JAEIC and GMAIC in their respective fields. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 A S-E-C-R-E-T Nw~ Committees of the United States Intelligence Board USIB-D-27.l Substitute for Paragraph top of Page 9 The CCPC, as now established, cannot fill the need, since its activities are limited by DCTD? No. 2/2 solely to those collection problems of a critical nature specifically referred to it by the USIB. The required mechanism could be provided by broadening the present charter of the CCPC (DCID No. 2/2) to permit the Committee to concern itself with collection problemsof general community interest, not only when referred to it by USIB, but also when identified by a USIB committee or agency or by the committee itself, subject to approval by the DCI of the nature and scope of the committee study prior to its initiation. In dealing with such problems, the revised CCPC should have essentially those responsibilities listed. in paragraph 1 of DCID No. 2/2: Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08] (jl, F E8 M00097R000900080040-1 -AV, Vai The CCPC, as now established, cannot fill the need, since its activities are limited by DCID No. 2/2 solely to those collection problems of a critical nature specifically referred to it by the USIB. The required mechanism could be provided by broadening the present charter of the CCPC (DCID No. 2/2) to permit the Committee to concern itself with collection problems of general community interest referred to it by USIB, by a USIB committee or agency, or identified by the committee itself. In dealing with such problems, the revised CCPC should have essentially those responsibilities listed in paragraph 1 of DCID No. 2/2: (1) Making an inventory of collection capabilities or action being taken or planned. (2) Allocating by agreement or.recommending actions to be taken to improve collection capabilities. (3) Fostering the generation of new ideas and techniques for collection; selecting those of value and supporting their development and use. (1i) Studying results of collection actions in order to recommend improvements. (5) Recommending actions to improve speed and accuracy of collection and dissemination of information. The revised and strengthened CCPC should keep itself fully informed of the collection activities of the more specialized USIB committees in order to ensure that the activities of such specialized committees bearing on an identified problem are appropriately coordinated and correlated with other collection activities. The chairman should be prepared, at least in the initial stages of development of the new CCPC, to devote his full time, perhaps assisted by a small professional staff, in establishing a continuous basis for community-wide scrutiny of and action on collection problems. i. Committee on Overhead Reconnaissance (COMOR), Interagency Clandestine Collection Priorities Committee (IPC) It might appear at first glance that these three committees, each of which has a significant role in the collection of critical or priority intelligence information, could logically become subcommittees of the proposed strengthened CCPC. The efforts of COMOR, IP ight, and frequently would, contribute to a CCPC under ng. However, the responsibilities of the new CCPC Corrected page - 7 June 1962. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-R DP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 ./ S -E -C -R -E-T wr would be attuned to particular collection problems focused either area-wise or subject-wise or both and normally involving consideration of s of collection assets. On the other hand, COMOR, IPC provide the community with necessary operational and policy guidance in their respective important and specialized intelligence fields. Their work is of direct concern to USIB and frequently involves urgent policy decisions either by USIB, other governmental bodies or individual agencies. Their subordination to CCPC would simply interpose an extra echelon that would inevitably impair their recognized effective- ness. For these reasons, COMOR, IPC~should be retained 10. The following USIB ad hoc committees and working groups should be removed from the USIB committee category and be redesignated or disestablished as follows: a. Ad Hoc Committee on the Berlin Situation. The work of this substantive committee covers a continuing problem directly related to the responsibilities of the Watch Com- mittee and involves military, political and psychological factors. The Committee has been recessed by recent USIB action. When and if the Committee resumes activity, it should be redesignated as a subcommittee of the Watch Committee. b. Ad Hoc Committee on the Cuban Military Build-up. The work of this substantive committee covers, by definition, a military problem that is clearly the primary responsibility of the Department of Defense. The Committee should be disestablished and its functions performed in accordance with normal production responsibilities. c. Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Proposals re Personnel Security. The Committee will soon complete the work for which it was established. Upon completion of that task, the Committee should be disestablished. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 w S-E-C-R-E-T 11. Committee Chairmen. The coordination responsibilities of the Director of Central Intelligence and of the Central Intelligence Agency have, traditionally, tended to suggest that CIA provide the chairmen for the great majority of the USIB committees. In fact, however, these committees are responsible to the USIB and not to any single agency. Nonetheless, where the interest of any one agency is clearly dominant, that agency should furnish the chairman. Under the proposed new com- mittee structure, however, there are a number of cases in which it is difficult to demonstrate that a single agency has such a dominant interest as would clearly entitle it to leadership; in such cases, the principle of personal qualification rather than agency affiliation should prevail. In any case, a chairman of a USIB committee should in that capacity be considered as a representative of USIB and should report to the Chairman of USIB.* To state these principles of chairmanship is not to imply that changes in existing chairmanships are necessary or warranted. It is proposed,, however, that in the future a USIB committee chairman be selected on the basis of the principles outlined, and that he be expected to report on his chairmanship to the Chairman of USIB who should also evaluate his performance of this task. 12. USIB Secretariat. The USIB Secretariat should devote increased efforts in ensuring that papers coming before the Board have had, where appropriate, adequate preliminary coordination and in conducting an effective follow-up system on Board decisions. In cases where it is determined that the chairman should be assigned on a full-time basis, his parent agency should provide another individual as its member on the committee. Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1 cumen Securit ation CODIB atc ritical Inter-agency Overhead col- Clandestine Reconnais ection Collection sance ob- Priori- COMDR Uies (IP^) ) ed E Scien- Ilti.fic Intell. (sic) Corrected page 7 June 1962 oint uided con. Atomic issil Intell. Energy & Astr EIC Intell. autic JAEIC` Intell. GMAIC Approved For Release 2006/08/08: CIA-RDP82M00097R000900080040-1