DCID NO. 1/3, 'PRIORITY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OBJECTIVES'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82R00129R000100060027-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 7, 2005
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: January 9, 1963
• Content Type: MF

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USIB-D-25, 1/5
9 January 1963
USIB -Approved
UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOAR D
MEMORANDUM FOR THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE BOARD
SUBJECT DCID No. 1/3, "Priority National Intelligence
Objectives"
REFERENCE USIB-M-251, 9 January 1963, item 4
1. The attached revision of DCID No. 1/3, "Priority National
Intelligence Objectives", was approved by USIB on 9 January 1963
and,accordingly, became effective on that date. It supersedes DCID
No. 1/3, revised 7 March 1962.
2. As indicated in the reference, copies of this revised Directive
will also be printed in the established DCID format for dissemination to
holders of the "Intelligence Directives Handbook" and for supplementary
issuance, as in the past, in a separate, bound edition.
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DCID No. 1/ 3
(New Series)
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTIVE NO. 1 / 31
(Revised 9 January 1963)
1. Pursuant to NSCID No. 1, paragraph 3, the following list
of Priority National Intelligence Objectives (PNIOs) is established
as a guide for the coordination of intelligence collection and production
in response to requirements relating to the formulation and execution
of national security policy. This list replaces that contained in
DCID No. 1/3, 7 March 1962, which is hereby rescinded.
2. In accordance with the criteria set forth in the Annex, all
items in this listing are deemed to be critical national intelligence
factors requiring priority attention and effort. Distinction is made,
however, between four levels of priority within the general priority
category. Order of listing within each of these four groups is a matter
of convenience in presentation and has no significance with respect to
the relative priority of specific items within the group.
3. Although a given subject may be listed as a matter of
priority, not every bit of information relating to it will be required
with equal urgency and some may be procurable by routine means.
It is therefore incumbent upon research personnel to exercise dis-
crimination in allocating analytical resources and in formulating
information requirements so as to accord priority only to those
aspects of the listed subject which actually require a priority
research or collection effort. Similarly, if specific collection and
analytic facilities are inadequate to satisfy all the requirements
levied upon them, a determination of priority in their use will have to
be made, under the general guidance of the PNIOs but in terms of
specific operational capabilities.
4. In order to afford a stable basis for intelligence planning,
this Directive is designed to remain valid over an extended period.
It will be reviewed annually or on the request of any member of the
United States Intelligence Board. It is recognized that urgent interim
requirements may arise requiring ad hoc treatment.
This Directive supersedes DCID No. 1/3 of 7 March 1962.
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DCID No. 1/ 3
(New Series)
CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING
PRIORITY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OBJECTIVES
1. Priority National Intelligence Objectives should be
directly related to the intelligence required in the formulation and
execution of national security policy. They should flow directly from
the intelligence mission as set forth by the NSC and are therefore
merely more detailed specifications of the intelligence required to
fulfill that mission. They should provide the basis for determining
appropriate research and collection requirements.
2. Most of the intelligence required in the formulation and
execution of national security policy will be the product of Normal
intelligence collection and research. Priority National Intelligence
Objectives should be limited to those critical factors which require
special attention and effort.
3. In order to afford a stable basis for intelligence planning,
a statement of Priority National Intelligence Objectives should be
designed to remain valid over an extended period. It should therefore
exclude topics of urgent, but transitory, interest, which will require
and receive ad hoc treatment in any case.
4. Broad generalities are of little practical use as priority
guidance to collection and research. Priority National Intelligence
Objectives should therefore be specific enough to provide guidance
for planning the allocation of collection and research resources, but
not so specific as to, constitute in themselves research and collection
requirements.
5. In determining Priority National Intelligence Objectives, due
consideration should be given to beneficial as well as harmful potentialities.
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6. All items in a statement of Priority National Intelligence
Objectives should be worthy of special attention and effort, but
obviously some will be of greater urgency or importance than others.
The present statement is divided into four broad categories of
priority distinguished, in the text, in terms of both their criticality
and the appropriate level of intelligence effort above that which is
normal for general coverage. The following criteria will serve as
guidance for determining the relative importance of Priority National
Intelligence Objectives:
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