REVITALIZATION OF PNIOS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82R00129R000100060020-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 18
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 7, 2005
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: May 27, 1963
• Content Type: MF

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MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. Ray S. Cline, Deputy Director (Intelligence),
Central Intelligence Agency
Mr. Allan Evans, Deputy Director for Research,
Intelligence and Research, Department of State
27 May 1963
Chief of Staff,
Defense Intelligence Agency
Mr. Ludwell L. Montague, Board of National
Estimates, Central Intelligence Agency
Deputy Assistant Director for
Production, National Security Agency
1. The attached draft of a Memorandum for the United States
Intelligence Board and its attachments has been prepared under
Mr. Cline's direction as a proposed report by the PNIO Review
Committee.
2. The attached papers are circulated for consideration by
the PNIO Review Committee at a meeting scheduled for 1430 hours,
Tuesday, 4 June in Room 7 E 30, CIA Headquarters.
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C E N T R A L I N T E L L I G E N C E A G E N C Y
27 May 1963
SUBJECT: Revision of DCID 1/3, Priority National
Intelligence objectives
1. The USIB, when it adopted the January 1963 revision of
DCID 1/3, appointed a Special Committee to review the basic
concept, purpose, and form of the 'DCID and to submit findings
and recommendations.
2. Attached hereto is a copy of a draft report based on
the Special Committee's consideration of the subject. The
Appendices, A and B. are intended for adoption by USIB as a
substitute for the present DCID, in accordance with the considera-
tions set forth in the preceding discussion.
3. The Appendices, A and B. are hereby submitted to the
Board and interested Offices for advice regarding their substantive
content within the context of the revised concept proposed by
the Special Committee. The remainder of the draft report is in-
cluded only to elucidate that concept
k. The Board will meet to consider this subject at 1000
on Friday, 31 May, in Room 7E62. The representatives of CCI,
ORR, OSI, and DD/P are hereby requested to attend.
Executive Officer
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DRAFT
MEMORANDUM FOR THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
SUBJECT: Priority National Intelligence Objectives
REFERENCES: A. USIB-M-250, 3 January 1963, item 4b.
B. USIB-M-251, 9 January 1963, item 5
C. NSCID No. 1, 18 January 1961
D. DCID 1/2, 15 September 1958
E. DCID 1/3, 9 January 1963
F. DCID 2/2, 26 June 1959
1. Pursuant to References A and B, a Special Committee has
reviewed the basic concept, purpose, and form of DCID 1/3 and
herewith submits its findings and recommendations.
2. The members of this Special Committee are Mr. Ray S. Cline,
Deputy Director (Intelligence), CIA; Mr. Allan Evans, Deputy Director
for Research, INR, Department of State; L 25X1
Chief of Staff, DIA, Department of Defense; Deputy
Assistant Director for Production, NSA; and Mr. Ludwell Montague,
Board of National Estimates, CIA.
3. The Special Committee recommends that the United States
Intelligence Board:
a. Note the study of the subject in the Enclosure.
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b. Adopt Appendix A as DCID 1/3 (Revised June 1963).
c. Adopt Appendix B as an initial Supplement to the June
1963 revision of DCID 1/3.
d. Assign to the Board of National Estimates, in coordi-
nation with USIB representatives, continuing responsibility for
submitting to USIB an annual revision of DCID 1/3 and a quarterly
supplement similar the initial one proposed.
e. Request the USIB committees concerned (EIC, GMAIC,
JAEIC, SIC, CCMOR, IPC, SIGINT) to report to the Executive
Secretary of USIB the procedures adopted and actions taken or planned
to discharge their responsibilities with respect to the implementation
of DCID 1/3 pursuant to their respective Charters.
f. Direct the Critical Collection Problems Committee
(CCPC) to take cognizance of the collection actions taken or planned
in implementation of DCID 1/3, in accordance with the terms of its
Charter (DCID 2/2, para. 1), and to submit its recommendations to
USIB as occasion may require.
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ENCLOSURE
THE FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PRIORITY
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OBJECTIVES
Page
The Requirements of NSCID No. 1 .......................
Concepts Underlying the PNIOs.........................
Problems of Formulation ...............................
Problems of Implementation........... ..................
The Assignment of Responsibilities ....................
Recommendations .......................................
Appendix A (Draft DCID 1/3) ...........................
Appendix B ( Draft Quarterly Supplement) ..............
The Requirements of NSCID No. 1
1. NSCID No. 1., subparagraph 3 b, requires the issuance of
DCIDs to provide "general guidance and specific priorities" for
the production of intelligence and for collection and other
activities in support thereof, including:
a. The "establishment of comprehensive National Intelli-
gence Objectives generally applicable to foreign countries and areas";
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b. The "identification from time to time, and on a
current basis, of Priority National Intelligence Objectives with
reference to specific countries and subjects."
2. DCID 1/2, "Comprehensive National Intelligence Objectives",
is intended to meet tho first requirement specified above (sub-
paragraph a). The DCID is criticized as being all-inclusive (and
therefore of no practical utility), but that is precisely what the
NSCID requires. Amplified by the NIS Standard Instructions, } rhich
are incorporated by reference, the DCID does fulfill the intent of
the NSCID, as revealed by its legislative history, and does make
formal provision for indispensable intelligence coverage of those
countries and subjects not singled out for special attention as
Priority Rational Intelligence Objectives (PNIOS).
3. DCID 1/3, "Priority National Intelligence Objectives,'`
is intended to feet the second requirement specified by the NSCID
(subparagraph lb above). The language and the legislative history
of the NSCIDmake it evident that PNIOs should be:
a. Selective, with explicit reference to specific coun-
tries and specific subjects.
b. The basis for special ("priority") attention and
effort. "Priority" may be interpreted in terms of order in time.
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In this context it should be understood to mean preferment in
the allocation of resources, without implying the denial of
adequate resources for the general and basic intelligence coverage
prescribed by DCID 1/2.
c. Subject to periodic revision ("from time to time"),
but also to constant review ("on a current basis").
Concepts Underlying the PNIOs
4. Prior to December 1954 the DCID on Priority National
Intelligence Objectives was a list of seven highly generalized
topics related exclusively toI
The present PNIO criteria
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and format were developed during 1954 in response to demands for:
a. Broader coverage, in recognition of other major
concerns of the NSC.
b. More specific guidance than could be derived from
the generalities of the then existing DCID.
c. A means of distinguishing at least broad categories
of relative priority within an expanded and more specific listing.
5. The present concept presupposes that the bulk of the
intelligence required for the formulation and execution of
national security policy will be the product of normal intelligence
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collection and research pursuant to DCID 1/2. DCID 1/3 seeks to
provide priority guidance through the identification of specific
critical intelligence problems within the general body of the
intelligence required for that purpose, particularly those re-
vealed in the preparation of NIEs. For this reason, the task
of formulating the PNIOs has been assigned to the Board of National.
Estimates in coordination with USIB representatives.
6. USIB identification of specific critical intelligence
problems within the general body of the intelligence required for
policy planning purposes is conceived to be but the first step
toward determination of the priority, if any, to be accorded to
specific collection requirements. Not every bit of information
somehow related to a priority problem will be required with equal
urgency; some may be procurable by routine means. The full
process requires further analysis by research perdonnel to de-
termine (a) the elements of information essential to the solution
of the problem indicated, (b) the elements already available or
readily obtainable through research, (c) the additional information
obtainable through routine collection, and finally (d) the residual
information of such critical importance as to warrant a priority
collection effort.
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7. Even when it is thus determined that a real and specific
priority collection requirement exists, problems remain with respect
to its consignment to one or more of the various and disparate
systems of collection. A priority requirement appropriate to one
system may be of no priority whatever with respect to another be-
cause unsuited to it. The PNIOs cannot be expected to provide auto-
matic solutions for such problems. They require consideration and
coordination among personnel familiar with the operational capa-
bilities of the various collection systems.
Problems of Formulation
8. The latest revision of DC ID 113, dated 9 January 1963,
lists 47 PNIOs in four categories of relative priority. These
47 items vary greatly in scope and specificity. Most of the
subjects included might be considered the ordinary grist of the
intelligence mill (e.g., political stability and orientation,
economic development), the only effect of their inclusion being
to emphasize the special importance of such matters in the cases
of particular countries deemed to be of critical significance.
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9. It is evident that DCID 1/3 has been overloaded with
subjects which should have been left to normal intelligence
coverage pursuant to DCID 1/2. This is attributable to a wide-
spread lack of understanding of the concept set forth in para-
graph 5 above, and to consequent pressure by analysts, through
USIB representatives, to obtain priority listing for every matter
of more than passive intelligence interest, on the ground that
otherwise no attention will be paid to it. Obviously, if every
matter of active interest should be made a matter of priority,
the concept of priority would lose all meaning.
10. Another reason for the disparities evident in DCID 1/3
is confusion of purpose -- an attempt to provide a stable basis
for planning the allocation of research and collection resources
and at the same time to restrict the listing to specific current
problems (see DCID 1/3, Annex, paras. 3 and 4).
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11. In the judgment of the Special Committee, these problems
should be met by redesigning DCID 1/3 to serve as a basis for long-
term intelligence planning, excluding topics of current but
transitory interest (see DCID 1/3, Annex, para. 3). Under this
concept the DCID, to be reviewed and revised annually, would
attempt to look ahead for about five years and to identify the
really critical intelligence problems deemed likely to persist
or to develop during that time. Such guidance would have to be
expressed in broad terms, but nevertheless could explicitly identify
the subjects of primary concern with respect to particular coun-
tries (the USSR) or regions The DCID would
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correspond roughly to the first two categories of the present
DCID 1/3, with the addition of a few generalized items from the
other two categories. (For an example, see Appendix A.)
12. If this revision of DCID 1/3 be accepted in principle,
the requirement for more specific guidance on a current basis
could be met by the quarterly production of a supplement like the
example in Appendix B. This supplement would not attempt to
catalog every subject of current intelligence interest, but rather,
within the context of the basic DCID, to anticipate specific develop-
ments in the situation, looking forward six months or so, which
might require some shift of emphasis in the employment of existing
research and collection resources.
Problems of Implementation
13. The USIB has never made comprehensive provision for the
systematic implementation of the PNIOs. Consequently, actual
practice in this respect varies according to the interest and
initiative of the various components of the Intelligence Community.
More often than otherwise, particular research units generate
specific collection requirements spontaneously, in accordance
with their particular concerns, but then tend to claim priority
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attention for them on the basis of a sometimes tenuous relation-
ship to some PNIO, generally without any authoritative determina-
tion that the information called for is in fact essential to the
solution of the problem indicated by the PNIO and obtainable only
be a priority collection effort. (See para. 6 above). Such
"priority" requirements are often served on several oy'stems of
collection, without sufficient consideration as to which may be
appropriate for the task, in the hope that some one of them will
act to fulfill it.
14. As indicated in paragraphs 5-7 above, the PNIOs have
been intended to provide guidance for the administration of in-
telligence research and collection through the identification of
critical substantive problems, but have never been intended to
provide an automatic determination of the priority to be accorded
to particular collection requirements by particular systems of
collection. Their use for this latter prupose, in default of re-
sponsible determinations by research authorities as to which re-
quirements are really of such importance as to warrant a priority
collection effort, and by collection authorities as to which means
of collection are best suited for the task, is an abuse of the
system.
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15. Reference has already been made (para. 9 above) to the
tendency of analysts to seek priority status for ordinary in-
formation requirements on that ground that otherwise no attention
will be paid to them. This attitude results in large part from
the assertions of specialized collection agencies that they have
no time or resources for any matter not a matter of priority. In
this, both parties ignore the consideration that the designation
of certain subjects as matters of priority, in DCID 1/3, is not
intended to cancel the requirement for general coverage pursuant
to DCID 1/2.
The Assignment of Res onsibilities for the Formulation and
Implementation of the PNIOs.
16. The task of formulating the PNIOs, conceived as the
identification of specific critical substantive intelligence
problems, has been assigned to the Board of National Estimates
in coordination with USIB representatives. This is as far as the
Board is qualified to go in relation to the total process; further
determinations regarding the priority of specific collection re-
quirements, and regarding the suitability of various systems of
collection in each case, require the participation of research
and collection personnel.
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17. For this reason, the Special Committee has considered
proposing the establishment of a new USIB committee on which all
the required competences would be represented, not only to formulate
the PNIOs, but also to supervise their implementation. The
Committee has rejected this suggestion for the following reasons:
a. ;general aversion to the proliferation of USIB com-
b. Consideration that a single committee on which all
the specialized competences and USIB interests were represented
would be too large and unwieldy to work effectively.
c. Consideration that existing USIB mechanisms can be
made to work effectively to accomplish the desired purposes,
under new and positive direction from USIB.
18. On the basis of the foregoing considerations, the Special
Committee concludes that responsibility for the formulation of the
PNIOs, in accordance with the revised concept stated above (paras.
11-12), should continue to be assigned to the Board of National
Estimates in coordination with USIB representatives and in consulta-
tion with the appropriate USIB committees. There will remain,
however, a need to provide for more systematic implementation of
the PNIOs as finally adopted by USIB.
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19? The development of essential elements of information and
related collection requirements, including determination of the
relative priority of such requirements., is in the first instance
the responsibility of the research offices of the Departmental
agencies (INR, DIA) and CIA (D:D/Z). Certain USIB committees.,
however, are charged with responsibility for community-wide
coordination in this respect. The Charters of GMA.IC, JAEIC, and
SIC contain explicit provisions on this point -- see DCID 3/3,
para. 4b; DCID 3/4, para. 4b; DCID 3/5, para. 4b. The Charter
of the EIC contains provisions which can be interpreted to the
same effect -- see DCID 3/1, para. 3.,
20. Certain other USIB committees (CCMOR, OPC, SIGm) are
charged with responsibilities in relation to the implementation
of the PNIOs, insofar as particular systems of collection are
concerned -- see DCID 2/7, para. 2; DCID 5/5, para. 2; DCID 6/1,
para. 3c. The over-all view required for the efficient utilization
of all collection resources on critical (i.e., priority) problems
is provided for in the Charter of the CCPC -- see DCID 2/2, para. 1.
Recommendations
21. The Special Committee recommends that the United States
Intelligence Board:
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a. Note the foregoing study of the subject.
b. Adopt Appendix A as DCID 1/3 (Revised June 1963).
c. Adopt Appendix B as an initial Supplement to the
June 1983 revision of DCID 1/3.
d. Assign to the Board of National Estimates, in
coordination with USIB representatives, continuing responsibility
for submitting to USIB an annual revision of DCID 1/3 and a quarterly
supplement similar to the initial one proposed.
S. Request the USIB committees concerned (EIC, GMAIC,
JAEIC, SIC, CCMCR, IPCt SIGINT) to report to the Executive
Secretary of USIB the procedures adopted and actions taken or planned
to discharge their responsibilities with respect to the implementa-
tion of DCID 1/3 pursuant to their respective Charters.
f. Direct the Critical Collection Problems Committee
(CCPC) to take cognizance of the collection actions taken or planned
in implementation of DCID 1/3, in accordance with the terms of its
Charter (DCID 2/2,.para. 1), and to submit its recommendations to
USIB as occasion may require.
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