RECORDS, ARCHIVES AND HISTORY (ANNUAL CHRONICLES)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00764R000400030041-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 5, 2000
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: May 18, 1972
• Content Type: MF

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DDP 72-2228
18 May 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: Executive Director-Comptroller
SUBJECT: Records, Archives and History
(Annual Chronicles)
1, This memorandum is restricted to a ctiscuFsion cif the Annual
Reports requirement outlined in your 0 May 1972 memorandum. Other
features of that memorandum will be the subject of brief follow-up
comment later.
With the program inventory in hand, is there really a compelling
need for annual chronicles that will in large measure duplicate this
already,existing material ?
4. From the CS standpoint, duplication is only a part of the
problem. Experience in preparing historical papers in the past
and the shortage of manpower have led us to conclude that future
efforts will be attempted Qnly when writing talent is available. We
know such talent is not uniformly available in all CS components,
and that, if it is available, the demands of more urgent business
2. The proposed requirement for units and offices of the Agency
to prepare annual chronicles of their activities in the context of
archival and historical use continues to cause the CS serious concern.
Reservations stem, in part, from the unknown -- what units would be
required to compile chronicles, what degree of detail is contemplated,
what ultimate use is envisaped,. etc.
3. As noted in my memorandum of 25 April, the narrative
it c-laded .in the CS Program submission highlights operational thrusts,
pi ogress, problems, plans, operational activity, and collection
levels in sufficient detail to tell where we are, results to date, and
where we think activity will take us. In most cases, the data
included in the Operating Program does and will surface those
subjects which can be the theme of subsequent historical study.
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begins in October. Thus, I am glad to hear that you have tenta-
tively decided to conform the schedule of the annual chronicles,
if there are to be such, with that for the PFIAB Annual Report.
7. Finally, I would reiterate the necessity to work out direct
CS participation in formulating the program, distribution, use and
controls over annual chronicles, and procedures that would assure
has usually pre-empted these skills. The. several recant papers
that outline the CS history pro-rain have reco,;nnized these realities.
T}ius, the usefulness and primary purpose cif annual chronicles are
questioned, because we simply could not exploit them.;
5. An annual report based upon the calendar year has an easily
recoginizable neatness but it also has a built-in inflexibility. Seldom,
if ever, will a significant CS activity fall within a single year.
Indeed, one would be hard put to cite an exception. Thus, from the
Directorate's point of view, the maximum that can be expected is
a segmented account of events and effort as They carry over into
successive years. With the chronicle ciestined'to being aserial of
episodic chapters fashioned largely out of context and without
knowledge where the future might take an activity, it is difficult to
imagine the report serving more than as a "tickler" for writers of
history. I hope you will agree with me that an annual historical
report, particularly with these weaknesses, is not an appropriate
vehicle in which to record "conclusions and recommendations for
future action, " i. e. , it should not be an action paper.
6. If, in spite of the foregoing, the call for some sort of
annual report is eventually promulgated, I would urge you to forego
a January schedule. That timing would conflict with the latter stages
of the Directorate's annual Program review and the preparation of
the Operating Program, efforts that involve the components at all
levels. These activities are vital to an evaluation of what the CS
is about and to its search for resources. Any requirement that
competes with these. exercises would present a serious conflict
of interest and would surely impinge on the quality of all three.
If ai annual report is to serve any CS function, even marginally,
;it should precede the onset of the Program review cycle which
sng
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formal CS overview of all contributions of other Directorates
that include materials and references to CS data and activities.
Thomas H. Karamessines
Deputy Director for Plans
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