LETTER TO DAVID DURENBERGER FROM WILLIAM J. CASEY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 47
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 29, 2009
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: May 29, 1985
• Content Type: LETTER

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Central lnt IIWce Agncy j f. d `E1rY
The Honorable David Durenberger
Chairman
Select Committee on Intelligence
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
I take pleasure in submitting, as requested in Section 3 of the CIA
Information Act, a report on the feasibility of conducting systematic review
for declassification and release of Central Intelligence Agency information
of historical value.
This kind of review is indeed feasible, and to carry it out we have
established the new Historical Review Program that our report describes.
Under this program we have begun the process of declassifying historically
significant CIA records for transfer to the National Archives.
This report has been prepared in consultation with those officials and
historians specified by the CIA Information Act; their findings are appended
to mine. The involvement of these scholars has been extraordinarily helpful,
and we have incorporated all of their recommendations into our Historical
Review Program.
I especially endorse our consultants' recommendation that we reassemble
them, or a comparable panel in two or three years, to assess the program's
progress and to make such further recommendations as are necessary. This
program has my strong support and we are determined to make it succeed.
As the CIA Information Act directs, I am also sending my report and this
letter to the Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and
the Chairmen of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the
Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives.
Sincerely,
7s7 Vidfir ih q: cmp
Director of Central Intelligence
AMPI if
)MSc2LI~--1S1
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6 -,rya Registry
The Honorable Jack Brooks
Chairman
Committee on Government Operations
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
asa ys- is
I take pleasure in submitting, as requested in Section 3 of the CIA
Information Act, a report on the feasibility of conducting systematic review
for declassification and release of Central Intelligence Agency information
of historical value.
This kind of review is indeed feasible, and to carry it out we have
established the new Historical Review Program that our report describes.
Under this program we have begun the process of declassifying historically
significant CIA records for transfer to the National Archives.
This report has been prepared in consultation with those officials and
historians specified by the CIA Information Act; their findings are appended
to mine. The involvement of these scholars has been extraordinarily helpful,
and we have incorporated all of their recommendations into our Historical
Review Program.
I especially endorse our consultants' recommendation that we reassemble
them, or a comparable panel in two or three years, to assess the program's
progress and to make such further recommendations as are necessary. This
program has my strong support and we are determined to make it succeed.
As the CIA Information Act directs, I am also sending my report and this
letter to the Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of
the House of Representatives, and to the Chairmen of the Committee on the
Judiciary and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
`7S7 W~/t ?1?tt1 J. (nr.?y
William J. Casey
Director of Central Intelligence
 The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton
Chairman
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Wsa ys- 96-
I take pleasure in submitting, as requested in Section 3 of the CIA
Information Act, a report on the feasibility of conducting systematic review
for declassification and release of Central Intelligence Agency information
of historical value.
This kind of review is indeed feasible, and to carry it out we have
established the new Historical Review Program that our report describes.
Under this program we have begun the process of declassifying historically
significant CIA records for transfer to the National Archives.
This report has been prepared in consultation with those officials and
historians specified by the CIA Information Act; their findings are appended
to mine. The involvement of these scholars has been extraordinarily helpful,
and we have incorporated all of their recommendations into our Historical
Review Program.
I especially endorse our consultants' recommendation that we reassemble
them, or a comparable panel in two or three years, to assess the program's
progress and to make such further recommendations as are necessary. This
program has my strong support and we are determined to make it succeed.
As the CIA Information Act directs, I am also sending my report and this
letter to the Chairman of the Committee on Government Operations of the House
of Representatives, and to the Chairmen of the Committee on the Judiciary and
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
7/s7 WWWr7'*r a J. c7
William J. Casey
Director of Central Intelligence
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Central Intelligence Agency
FDA A S7-q
The Honorable Strom Thurmond
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
I take pleasure in submitting, as requested in Section 3 of the CIA
Information Act, a report on the feasibility of conducting systematic review
for declassification and release of Central Intelligence Agency information
of historical value.
This kind of review is indeed feasible, and to carry it out we have
established the new Historical Review Program that our report describes.
Under this program we have begun the process of declassifying historically
significant CIA records for transfer to the National Archives.
This report has been prepared in consultation with those officials and
historians specified by the CIA Information Act; their findings are appended
to mine. The involvement of these scholars has been extraordinarily helpful,
and we have incorporated all of their recommendations into our Historical
Review Program.
I especially endorse our consultants' recommendation that we reassemble
them, or a comparable panel in two or three years, to assess the program's
progress and to make such further recommendations as are necessary. This
program has my strong support and we are determined to make it succeed.
As the CIA Information Act directs, I am also sending my report and this
letter to the Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate,
and to the Chairmen of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the
Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives.
7s7 William I Casey
William J. Casey
Director of Central Intelligence
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Central Intelligence Agency
FDA A S7-q
The Honorable Strom Thurmond
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
I take pleasure in submitting, as requested in Section 3 of the CIA
Information Act, a report on the feasibility of conducting systematic review
for declassification and release of Central Intelligence Agency information
of historical value.
This kind of review is indeed feasible, and to carry it out we have
established the new Historical Review Program that our report describes.
Under this program we have begun the process of declassifying historically
significant CIA records for transfer to the National Archives.
This report has been prepared in consultation with those officials and
historians specified by the CIA Information Act; their findings are appended
to mine. The involvement of these scholars has been extraordinarily helpful,
and we have incorporated all of their recommendations into our Historical
Review Program.
I especially endorse our consultants' recommendation that we reassemble
them, or a comparable panel in two or three years, to assess the program's
progress and to make such further recommendations as are necessary. This
program has my strong support and we are determined to make it succeed.
As the CIA Information Act directs, I am also sending my report and this
letter to the Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate,
and to the Chairmen of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the
Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives.
7s7 William I Casey
William J. Casey
Director of Central Intelligence
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1 - C/IMS/DDO w/o Rpt atts
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Report of the Director of Central Intelligence
to the Committees of Congress
on the
Historical Review Program
On 15 October 1984 President Reagan signed into law the Central
Intelligence Agency Information Act (Appendix A), which authorizes the
Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to exempt certain files from search
under the Freedom of Information Act. Section 3(a) of this Act also states
that
The Director of Central Intelligence, in consultation with the
Archivist of the United States, the Librarian of Congress, and
appropriate representatives of the historical discipline selected by the
Archivist, shall prepare and submit by June 1, 1985, a report on the
feasibility of conducting systematic review for declassification and
release of Central Intelligence Agency information of historical value.
The Act directs the DCI to submit this report to the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Government Operations of the
House of Representatives, and the Select Committee on Intelligence and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
In response to this requirement, on 18-19 March 1985 the DCI and members
of his staff met at CIA Headquarters with the Archivist of the United States,
Dr. Robert M. Warner, the Assistant Librarian for Research Services, Dr. John
C. Broderick, representing the the Librarian of Congress, and the following
three historians selected by the Archivist:
Dr. John Lewis Gaddis, Distinguished Professor of History, Ohio
University
Dr. Richard W. Leopold, William Smith Mason Professor of American
History Emeritus, Northwestern University
Dr. Gaddis Smith, Larned Professor of History, Yale University
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Dr. Frank G. Burke, Acting Assistant Archivist for the National Archives,
and Mr. Edwin A. Thompson, Director, Records Declassification Division,
accompanied the- Archivist on Monday, 18 March, and Mr. Thompson represented
the Archivist at the meetings on Tuesday, 19 March. The Historian of the
Department of State, Dr. William Z. Slany, and his Deputy, Dr. Neal H.
Petersen, also attended Monday when the question of intelligence documents
and The Foreign Relations of the United States series was taken up.
The consultants met with the Director of Central Intelligence, Mr.
William J. Casey, at lunch on Monday, 18 March 1985. Representing the DCI in
the two days' discussions were Director of Information
Services, Dr. J. Kenneth McDonald, Chief Historian, and other officials
responsible for CIA's new Historical Review Program.
The discussions focused on the Historical Review Program, which responds
to the concerns reflected in Section 3 (a) of the CIA Information Act, as
explained in the 1 May 1984 Report of the House Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence:
Section 3 is intended to require the Director of Central
Intelligence to study the feasibility of a declassification program which
would supplement the voluntary declassification review program agreed to
in an exchange of letters of October 3 and 4, 1983, between Director of
Central Intelligence William J. Casey and Senator Dave Durenberger.
Those letters refer to "selective" review of materials that the CIA
believes "would be of greatest historical interest and most likely to
result in declassification of useful information." The type of
systematic review Section 3 requires the Director to consider would take
into account similar criteria, but would envisage a greater volume of
declassification.
The Committee expects the Director's report to explore the full
range of ideas which can contribute to the objective of making available
CIA information of historical value on the diplomatic, military and
intelligence activities of the United States without risking damage to
the security or foreign policy of the Nation. The Committee considers
the Foreign Relations of the United States series published by the
Department of State to be an excellent example of a project which
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contributes to this objective. Because of the especially sensitive
nature of the work of the CIA, this type of large-scale chronological
disclosure of CIA inforvnation of historical value may not be possible.
However, the Committee expects the report of the Director of Central
Intelligence to explore this possibility on some appropriate scale, along
with exploring other ideas which can contribute to the objective set
forth above.
In the two days' meetings CIA officers briefed the consultants on plans
and procedures adopted for implementing the Historical Review Program. In
executive session at the end of these discussions the consultants agreed on
their recommendations. On 10 April 1985 the Archivist, Dr. Warner, submitted
"A Report to the Director of Central Intelligence by Consultants on the
Historical Review Program." The present report to Congress takes full
account of the consultants' report and explains how the Historical Review
Program has incorporated their recommendations. (Appendix B contains the
consultants' report, whose attachments include the meetings' full agenda and
biographical summaries of the consultants.)
Casey-Durenberger Agreement
Before describing CIA's Historical Review Program, however, we should
give a brief account of the 3-4 October 1983 exchange of letters between Mr.
Casey and Senator David Durenberger, which forms the foundation for this new
program. (Appendix C has copies of these letters.)
In his 3 October 1983 letter to Mr. Casey, Senator Durenberger observed
that their work on the prospective CIA Information Act had highlighted the
need to make more declassified materials available to historians. In light
of their common concern for history and historians, Senator Durenberger urged
Mr. Casey to establish procedures for reviewing and declassifying some of the
material in files not covered by the bill's exemptions. Senator Durenberger
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added that although a declassification review program would be a burden for
the CIA, "it would be a manageable burden and one well worth assuming."
Moreover, he offered to lead the effort to provide budget support for
positions to be devoted to this enterprise. Establishing such a
declassification review program, he concluded, "would demonstrate your
commitment to openness in the things that matter, while continuing to
safeguard that which must remain secret."
Affirming Senator Durenberger's views on the need for an accurate
historical record, Mr. Casey's reply declared,
If Congress is willing to provide the resources, I am prepared to
institute a new program of selective declassification review of those
materials that we believe would be of greatest historical interest and
most likely to result in declassification of useful information.
The agreement in this exchange of letters thus envisioned a CIA historical
review program organized after passage of the CIA Information Act, using
additional resources Congress would then provide for this purpose.
Transfer of OSS Records
In his letter to Senator Durenberger, however, Mr. Casey explained that
on his own initiative he had already asked his Chief Historian to explore a
program that would release "usable historical materials from the World War II
period." As a result of this initiative CIA took steps to transfer to the
National Archives and Records Service (NARS--since 1 April 1985, National
Archives and Records Administration, NARA) its entire holdings of
declassified World War II Office of Strategic Services (OSS) permanent
records, a large collection of major historical importance. In June 1984,
after concluding a Memorandum of Understanding with NARS concerning
procedures and responsibilities (Appendix D), CIA began its transfer to NARS
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of some 2500 cubic feet of declassified OSS operational records in CIA's
custody. On 11 June 1984 the National Archives opened for research the first
194 cubic foot Increment of these newly declassified OSS records. The
opening of this collection for the first time permits thoroughly documented
studies of the role of American intelligence in World War II. As Mr. Casey
wrote to Senator Durenberger in June 1984, this transfer constitutes "an
important first step in implementing the selective declassification program I
promised to Initiate last October."
By May 1985 the National Archives and Records Administration had
accessioned approximately 800 cubic feet of OSS records. The transfer of a
collection of this size is a large undertaking for both CIA and NARA, and the
two agencies are cooperating closely to maintain the transfer pace. The
pressure has probably been heavier on NARA, since a CIA team of 13 had
already spent almost four years reviewing these records for declassification
before this transfer began. It may be late 1986 before all of these OSS
records are open to researchers. In the meantime, while continuing the
transfer of OSS records, the Agency is moving systematically to establish its
new Historical Review Program on a permanent footing.
Aims
CIA recognizes that it is accountable not only to Congress but also to
the American public. Congress, historians, the media and the general public
clearly expect us (after proper review) to release documents of historical
significance that no longer require protection in the interest of national
security. The Freedom of Information Act already makes this clear, and our
exemption from searching certain designated operational records under the new
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CIA Information Act increases the pressure to declassify other records. Our
consultants rightly point out that "in a society as open as that of the
United States, excessive secrecy erodes Government credibility and encourages
distortions of the historical record." Moreover, as Senator Durenberger
observed in his 3 October 1983 letter to Mr. Casey, "The important thing is
to make the declassification of historical information a cooperative
endeavor, rather than a test of wills fought out in FOIA requests and
courtrooms." Needing the confidence of the American public to do our work,
we hope to strengthen that confidence by undertaking this program to review
CIA records of historical value for declassification and transfer to the
National Archives.
In establishing the Historical Review Program, we have not attempted to
distinguish between the voluntary program to which Mr. Casey committed CIA in
his 4 October 1983 letter to Senator Durenberger, and the systematic program
that Section 3 of the CIA Information Act proposes. As the House Report
notes, both take into account similar criteria. After exploring a full range
of options and ideas, CIA has decided to organize a maximum effort from the
outset, to declassify and transfer to the National Archives the greatest
feasible volume of historically significant records. Our consultants have
examined and evaluated this proposed program, we have incorporated their
recommendations into it, and we fully endorse their view that the program's
must be release of inactive records, appraised as permanently valuable,
to the public via the National Archives, as the most effective means of
serving the public interest and especially that of historical research.
Organization
Principal responsibility for this program has been assigned to the
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Director of the Office of Information Services (OIS), in the Directorate of
Administration, with advice; and support from the History Staff in the Office
of the DCI. As'Senator Durenberger promised, Congress provided CIA with C
additional positions to support this program. F
Both organizations have
moved to fill these positions.
The role of the History Staff is to consult with outside historians, to
help the Office of Information Services and the Agency's components select
historically important records, and to provide insight and judgments on
historical value throughout the review process. The consultants' report, in
commending the significant role assigned to an enlarged History Staff in the
program, noted that this staff is "best qualified to render judgment on the
potential historical value of certain files and records."
The History Staff was reestablished in its present form in 1980, and the
Chief Historian recruited from outside CIA in 1981. In addition to its chief
and his deputy, the History Staff has staff historians,
being added specifically for the Historical Review Program.
STAT
STAT
STAT
All have served on college
or university history faculties, and they continue to be active in the
profession--in scholarly meetings and publications--outside of their CIA
work. The History Staff is committed to the success of the Historical Review
Program, and its members are unusually well-qualified by training and
experience to carry out the duties required of them.
The Office of Information Services has assigned responsibility for the
STAT
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Historical Review Program to its Classification Review Division. This
Division has formed a new Historical Review Branch dedicated to this program,
whose full-time'staff will be supplemented as needed by qualified contract
help. This Branch has taken the lead in finding ways to identify and locate
records whose historical interest and declassification potential make them
promising candidates for review. The Classification Review Division will
coordinate with Agency components the actual review of records once
selected. Using its extensive experience as coordinator for CIA's 1977-82
systematic review program, this Division is developing review guidelines and
procedures in accordance with relevant CIA and other federal directives.
Although commenting favorably on the Agency staff committed to the
Historical Review Program, the consultants concluded that they could not
readily judge whether the resources assigned to the program, including an
augmented History Staff, are sufficient to make acceptable progress. We
therefore endorse their recommendation that
The Director of Central Intelligence reassemble these consultants or a
comparable group in two or three years to assess progress and to make
further recommendations, as seem necessary.
Selection
As Senator Durenberger suggests in his 3 October 1983 letter to the DCI,
we shall use the same criterion to select material for review that the CIA
Information Act sets forth for file designation review, that is, "the
historical value or other public interest in the subject matter". Since
documents of historical value--practically speaking--are those that
historians value, CIA's Chief Historian will take into account the
recommendations of a wide range of historians--e.g. the historians of the
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Departments of State and Defense, the Archivist of the U.S., as well as
academic and private historians--in determining what records meet this
criterion. Our objective is to evaluate material in light of the
contribution its declassification can make to an understanding of
intelligence, foreign policy and international developments.
In selecting records, as Mr. Casey noted in his 4 October 1983 reply to
Senator Durenberger, we expect to concentrate our efforts on files that are
of the greatest historical interest, and are most likely to result in the
declassification of useful information. As a general rule this latter
consideration--the potential "yield" of declassified documents--will mean
focusing first on the Agency's earliest records, as opposed to more recent
material. We have begun with our oldest records not only because we expect
them to produce the most releasable material, but also because we plan to
conform to the regular procedures followed throughout the U.S. government for
transferring permanent records to the National Archives, which normally
accessions only records 20 years old or older. Moreover, we do not propose
to pick out individual documents on particular topics from various files, but
rather to adopt National Archives and Records Administrations standards in
selecting significant classes of records for review. Following our
consultants' recommendation, we have therefore established procedures to
examine all permanently valuable records chronologically, beginning with the
earliest, including "designated files" in conjunction with the periodic
review required by Section 702 of the CIA Information Act.
In deciding which groups of records to review, the program will also
follow the two principles that our consultants commend to us as "Finished
 First" and "Top Down." As they note, these principles mean that "finished
intelligence considered by high-ranking officials should have first priority
in review." Finished intelligence deserves priority for two reasons. First,
the final version of an intelligence report or estimate is ordinarily what
policy-makers see and act on. Secondly, it is less likely than raw data to
reveal intelligence sources and methods that must continue to be protected.
"Top Down" means that we shall give priority to reviewing the records of the
Director of Central Intelligence and his principal subordinates, when--as the
consultants note--the potential yield of declassifiable files makes this
approach feasible.
Review
Beginning with our post-World War II records, we propose to move
systematically to review coherent groups of documents that the National
Archives has scheduled as permanent records, and from which we expect to be
able to declassify a substantial percentage of records. In this process we
shall work closely with the National Archives, using the valuable experience
and working relationships we have gained over the years, and most recently in
the review and transfer of our OSS operational records. At our March
meetings National Archives representatives assured us that, barring
unforeseen loss of staff resources, their staff is equal to the task of
keeping pace with the Historical Review Program's processing and preparation
of records for National Archives' accession.
Our consultants noted that delays in declassification review are often
caused by the need to coordinate many documents with other government
departments and agencies having equities in them. As they suggest, the DCI,
 as head of the Intelligence Community, will seek cooperation from all the
relevant agencies in expediting their review of documents submitted to them
by the Historical Review Program.
Although we shall declassify and transfer whole documents whenever
possible, we agree with our consultants that the transfer of a minimally
"sanitized" document (that is, with some excisions) is preferable to
withholding it altogether. We shall therefore when necessary sanitize a
document for transfer in unclassified form, using the following guidelines
from our consultants:
a.
the "sanitizing" may be accomplished with little additional staff
effort and minimal impact on the Review program;
b.
the essential significance of the record is retained;
and
c.
there is no distortion of bibliographical identity, including
authorship and recipient, and use made of the record, even if
details of internal dissemination are excised.
As the program moves forward the History Staff will consult with the
Classification Review Division and the components controlling records with
respect to the consultants' recommendation that those involved in the
Historical Review Program "take full account of the extent to which
information about CIA activities is already available other than through
release of CIA files."
With the transfer of our declassified OSS documents, our oldest records
are those of CIA's postwar predecessor organizations, the Strategic Services
Unit and the Central Intelligence Group, which cover the period 1 October
1945 to 18 September 1947. CIA has already taken steps to review the
Strategic Services Unit records, so that in due course we can transfer those
that are declassified to the National Archives. After reviewing the Central
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Intelligence Group records we shall move to select records from the files of
CIA proper, beginning in 19?7. We hope to declassify historically
significant documents that will make CIA material available--as the State and
Defense Departments' material is generally available--up to the 1960s.
Publication
The consultants and CIA representatives discussed the suggestion of the
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (quoted on page 3 above)
that CIA explore the possibility of publishing declassified documents in a
series similar to the Department of State's Foreign Relations of the United
States. State's Historian's Office has in fact considered compiling
supplements to earlier Foreign Relations volumes of the 1940s and 1950s, to
publish important documents (such as CIA reports and estimates and National
Security Council papers) that have been declassified since the publication of
the original volumes. This seems the most promising and useful way to
publish the most significant declassified CIA documents. In discussions with
the consultants at the 18 March meeting, however, the Historian of the
Department of State, Dr. William Slany, explained that his office's present
commitments and limited resources make it highly unlikely that they can
undertake any such supplementary volumes in the foreseeable future.
The consultants nevertheless concluded that the Foreign Relations
volumes, whose successive prefaces properly declare them to be "the official
record of the foreign policy of the United States," are the appropriate and
preferred vehicles for publishing finished intelligence and other documents
relating to intelligence activities abroad. "Indeed," the consultants'
report observes, "without the inclusion of such documents, either in basic or
supplementary volumes, the history of American foreign relations is
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impoverished and incomplete." The consultants therefore recommended that
the Director of Central, Intelligence authorize the publication of
selected declassified and releasable intelligence reports and other
intelligence related documents in regular or supplementary volumes in the
Foreign Relations series, rather than as separate publications by CIA.
Although State cannot now undertake supplementary volumes to incorporate
CIA material for the earlier postwar years, CIA will continue to make
documents available for publication in the regular volumes in the Foreign
Relations series, which have now reached the Vietnam War era. For a number
of years the Agency's History Staff has arranged for Department of State
historians to have access to classified CIA files (especially in the several
presidential libraries), and our Classification Review Division has reviewed
for declassification those CIA documents State's editors select for
publication in each Foreign Relations volume. We shall of course continue to
help make CIA records available for the forthcoming regular volumes of this
distinguished series. We hope, however, that in due course the Historian of
the Department of State will be given the resources he needs to publish
supplementary Foreign Relations volumes with important CIA and other records
that have been declassified since earlier volumes appeared.
Preservation
Noting that security classification requires CIA to retain custody of its
records longer than most government agencies, the consultants suggested that
special precautions may be necessary to guard against undue deterioration of
records. They therefore offered the cautionary recommendation, not based on
any observed shortcomings, that "the Director of Central Intelligence satisfy
himself that the preservation needs of CIA records are being met." The point
is well taken, and CIA is reviewing its ongoing records preservation program.
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Conclusions
We. cannot conclude withput expressing our gratitude to the five
distinguished consultants who met on 18-19 March 1985 with the CIA officers
responsible for this program. Their well-informed and eminently practical
counsel, both at the meetings and in their formal report, has been
extraordinarily helpful in our efforts.
We believe that, with our consultants' help, we have investigated
carefully the "full range of ideas" that the House Report urged us to
explore. Balancing our statutory duty to protect intelligence sources and
methods with legitimate public interest in CIA records, our program is
designed to make significant historical information available without risking
damage to our national security. Although we believe that the Historical
Review Program is established on a sound footing, some time will be needed to
find out how well our arrangements work in practice. We shall seek advice
and make adjustments as we proceed, but we agree that after a reasonable
period the program should have another thorough external review. As the
consultants recommend, the DCI will invite them or a comparable group in two
or three years to assess the program's progress, and to make such further
recommendations as are necessary.
Our consultants reported that they found a strong sense of institutional
and personal commitment to the Historical Review Program on the part of those
in charge of its implementation. CIA is grateful for their confidence, and
determined that this new program succeed in releasing intelligence documents
that will make possible a more accurate record and fuller understanding of
our nation's history since World War II.
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
Tl Q
Public Law 98-477
98th Congress
An Act
To upend the National Security Act of 1947 to regulate public disclosure of informs.
tion held by the Central Intelligence Agency, and for other purpaa.
Be it enacted the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may
be cited as the "Central Intelligence Agency Information Act' .
Sec. 2. (a) The National Security Act of 1947 is amended by adding
at the end thereof the following new title:
"TITLE VII-PROTECTION OF OPERATIONAL FILES OF THE
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
"EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN OPERATIONAL PILES FROM SEARCH, REVIEW,
PUBLICATION, OR DISCLOSURE
Oct. 15, 1984
(H.R. 51641
Central
Intelligence
Agency
Information Act.
50 USC 401 note.
"SEC. 701. (a) Operational files of the Central Intelligence Agency 50 Usc 431.
may be exempted by the Director of Central Intelligence from the
previsions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (Freedom of
Information Act), which require publication or disclosure, or search
or review in connection therewith.
"(b) For the purposes of this title the term 'operational riles'
means-
"(1) files of the Directorate of Operations which document the
conduct of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence operations
or intelligence or security liaison arrangements or information
exchanges with foreign governments or their intelligence or
security services;
"(2) files of the Directorate for Science and Technology which
document the means by which foreign intelligence or counterin-
telligence is collected through Scientific and technical systems;
"(3) files of the Office of Security which document investiga-
tions conducted to determine the suitability of potential foreign
intelligence or counterintelligence sources;
except that riles which are the sole repository of disseminated
intelligence are not operational riles.
"(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, exempted oper-
ational files shall continue to be subject to search and review for
information concerning-
"(1) United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for
permanent residence who have requested information on them-
selves pursuant to the provisions of section 552 of title 5, United
States Code (Freedom of Information Act), or section 552a of
title 5, United States Code (Privacy Act of 1974%
"(2) any special activity the existence of which is not exempt
from disclosure under the provisions of section 552 of title 5,
United States Code (Freedom of Information Act% or
"(3) the speck subject matter of an Investigation by the
intelligence committees of the Congress, the Intelligence Over-
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M0l152R000300320021-6
sight Board, the Department of Justice, the Office of General
Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of Inspec-
tor General of the Central Intelligence Agency, or the Office of
the Director of Central Intelligence for any impropriety, or
violation of law, Executive order, or Presidential directive, in
the conduct of an intelligence activity.
"(dXl) Files that are not exempted under subsection (a) of this
section which contain information derived or disseminated from
exempted operational files shall be subject to search and review.
"(2) The inclusion of information from exempted operational files
in files that are not exempted under subsection (a) of this section
shall not affect the exemption under subsection (a) of this section of
the originating operational files from search, review, publication, or
disclosure.
"(3) Records from exempted operational files which have been
disseminated to and referenced in files that are not exempted under
subsection (a) of this section and which have been returned to
exempted operational files for sole retention shall be subject to
search and review.
"(e) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not be
superseded except by a provision of law which is enacted after the
date of enactment of subsection (a), and which specifically cites and
repeals or modifies its provisions.
'(f) Whenever any person who has requested agency records
under section 552 oftitle 5, United States Code (Freedom of Infor-
mation Act), alleges that the Central Intelligence Agency has
improperly withheld records because of failure to comply with any
provision of this section, judicial review shall be available under the
terms set forth in section 552(aX4)(B) of title 5, United States Code,
except that-
"(1) in any case in which information specifically authorized
under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept
secret in the interest of national defense or foreign relations
which is filed with, or produced for, the court by the Central
Intelligence Agency, such information shall be examined ex
parts, in camera by the court;
"(2) the court shall, to the fullest extent practicable, deter-
mine issues of fact based on sworn written submissions of the
parties;
"(3) when a complaint alleges that requested records were
improperly withheld because of improper placement solely in
exempted operational files, the complainant shall support such
allegation with a sworn written submission, based upon per-
sonal knowledge or otherwise admissible evidence;
"(4XA) when a complainant alleges that requested records
were improperly withheld because of Improper exemption of
operational files, the Central Intelligence Agency shall meet its
burden under section 552(aX4XB) of title 5; United States Code,
by demonstrating to the court by sworn written submission that
exempted operational fries likely to contain responsive records
currently perform the functions set forth in subsection (b) of
this section; and
"(B) the court may not order the Central Intelligence Agency
to review the content of any exempted operational file or files in
order to make the demonstration required under subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph, unless the complainant disputes the
Central Intelligence Agency's showing with a sworn written
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
submission based on personal knowledge or otherwise admissi-
ble evidence;
"(5) in proceedings under paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsec-
tion, the parties shall not obtain discovery pursuant to rules 26
through 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, except that 28 uSC spp
requests for admission may be made pursuant to rules 26 and
36s'(6) if the court finds under this subsection that the Central
Intelligence Agency has improperly withheld requested records
because of failure to comply with any provision of this section,
the court shall order the Central Intelligence Agency to search
and review the appropriate exempted operational file or files for
the requested records and make such records, or portions
thereof, available in accordance with the provisions of section
552 of title 5, United States Code (Freedom of Information Act),
and such order shall be the exclusive remedy for failure to
comply with this section; and
"Cl) if at any time following the Cdinq of a complaint pursuant
to this subsection the Central Intelligence Agency agrees to
search the appropriate exempted operational file or files for the
requested records, the court shall dismiss the claim based upon
such complaint
"DECENNIAL REVIEW OF ElEMP En OPERATIONAL FILFa
"Sac. 702 (a) Not less than once every ten years, the Director of 50 USC 432.
Central Intelligence shall review the exemptions in force under
subsection (a) of section 701 of this Act to determine whether such Ante. p. 2209.
exemptions may be removed from any category of exempted files or
any rtion thereof.
"(b) The review required by subsection (a) of this section shall
include consideration of the historical value or other public interest
in the subject matter of the particular category of files or portions
thereof and the potential for decleesifying a significant part of the
information contained therein.
"(c) A complainant who alleges that the Central Intelligence Courts, U.S.
Agency has improperly withheld records because of failure to
comply with this section may seek judicial review in the district
court of the United States of the district in which any of the parties
reside, or in the District of Columbia. In such a proceeding, the
court's review shall be limited to determining (1) whether the
Central Intelligence Agency has conducted the review required by
subsection (a) of this section within ten years of enactment of this
title or within ten years after the last review, and (2) whether the
Central Intelligence Agency, in fact, considered the criteria set forth
in subsection (b) of this section in conducting the required review.".
(b) The table of contents at the beginning of such Act is amended
by adding at the end thereof the following:
"TITLE VD-PROTBCPION OF OPERATIONAL FILES OF THE CENTRAL
INrELIJOENCE AGENCY
"Sea 701. Eze opentiaul fits. from seueh, re~ie~, Wbiiation, or d6domm
'Bee. 70L Deoemial r.v'n of sampled operational film.".
(c) Subsection (q) of section 552a of title 5, United States Code, is
amended-
(1) by inserting "(1)" after'lq)' ; and
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
98 STAT. 2212 PUBLIC.LAW 98-477-OCT. 15, 1984
(2) by adding at the end thereof the following:
"(2) No agency shall rely on any exemption in this section to
withhold from an individual any record which is otherwise accessi.
ble to such individual under the provisions of section 552 of this
5 USC 552. title.".
Reports Svc. 3. (a) The Director of Central Intelltigence, in consultation
50 USC 432 mole, with the Archivist of the United States, the Librarian of Congress.
and appro priate representatives of the historical discipline selected
by the Archivist, shall prepare and submit by June 1, 1985, a re ppoort
on the feasibility of conducting systematic review for declassifica-
tion and release of Central Intelligence Agency information of
historical value.
(bXll-.The Director shall, once each six months. Prepare and
'tubmi(" unclassified report which includes-
(A) a description of the specific measures established by the
Director to improve the processing of requests under section 552
of title 5, United States Code;
(B) the current budgetary and personnel allocations for such
processing-,
(C) the number of such requests (i) received and processed
during the preceding six months, and (ii) pending at the time of
submission of such re port; and
(D) an estimate of the current average response time for
completing the processing of such requests.
(2) The first report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted
by a date which is six months after the date of enactment of this
Act. The requirements of such paragraph shall cease to apply after
the submission of the fourth such report.
(c) Each of the reports required by subsections (a) and (b) shall be
submitted to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and ns of sseentatives and the Seeecl t Committee ono Inte g e House the on the Judiciary of the Senate. llrgence and the Com-
ERective date. Svc. 4. The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) of section
50 USC 431 note. 2 shall be effective upon enactment of this Act and shall apply with
respect to any nests for records, whether or not such request was
made prior to suc enactment, and shall apply to all civil actions not
commenced prior to February 7, 1984.
Approved October 15, 1984.
LEGISI A 77VE HISTORY-H t 5164 (S. 1324)-
.
HOUSE REPOR7& No. 96-726, Pt. I (permanent select Committee on intelligence)
984,. rnment operations).
CONGRESSIONAL aREOORD, Vol l30 (1on Gove
Sept p17.19- considered apnadypeassed Howe.
WEEKLY OOMPII ATION OF PRE B "My.
Oct. 15, Presidential statement. ENTTAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 20, No. 42 (1984):
 APR 10 1985
Honorable William J. Casey
Director
Central Intelligent Agency
Washington, DC 20505
%ad
Ejaautive Flaglstry
Dear Mr. Casey:
I take great pleasure in sending you "A Report to the Director of Central
Intelligence by Consultants on the Historical Review Program." We hope
that the counsel provided will be helpful in the further development of an
effective program and result in making Central Intelligence Agency (and
predecessor organization) records available to researchers in the National
Archives just as soon as they no longer require national security protection.
Please accept too, our thanks to Dr. J. Kenneth McDonald and
and their staffs for the conference arrangements and for providing us with
essential information on CIA records, programs, review experience
and
,
proposals for conducting the historical review program. The well organized
briefings and the comments they contributed to our discussions were extremely
helpful.
ROBERT M. WARNER
Archivist of the United States
Enclosure
National Archir es and Recordc Admi,,icrrnlin,p
Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
 A REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
BY CONSULTANTS ON THE HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM
Public Law 98-477, enacted October 15, 1984, requires that the
Director of Central intelligence consult with the Archivist of the United
States, the Librarian of Congress, and appropriate representatives of the
historical discipline selected by the Archivist in preparing "a report on the
feasibility of conducting systematic review for declassification and release
of Central Intelligence Agency information of historical value." The
Archivist designated the following historians to serve as consultants:
John Lewis Gaddis, Distinguished Professor of History, Ohio University;
Richard W. Leopold, William Smith Mason Professor of History, emeritus,
Northwestern University; and Gaddis Smith, Larned Professor of History, Yale
University. The Librarian of Congress was represented by the Assistant
Librarian for Research Services, John C. Broderick. The Archivist, Robert M.
Warner, was accompanied by two members of his staff: Frank G. Burke, Acting
Assistant Archivist for the National Archives, and Alan Thompson, Director of
the Records Declassification Division. On March 19, Mr. Thompson represented
the Archivist. (Biographical summaries about the consultants are attached to
this report.)
The Consultants met at CIA headquarters, Langley, Virginia, March
18-19, 1985, to discuss with the Director and members of his staff the
Historical Review Program established by the Agency to meet the requirements
of PL 98-477. The two-day program, arranged by CIA Chief Historian J. Kenneth
McDonald, provided the consultant group with an opportunity to acquaint itself
 with plans and procedures adopted by CIA and to discuss relevant issues with
the staff members responsible for implementing the Historical Review Program
in all its aspects. Following the briefings, the consultants met in
executive session to formulate their recommendations. (A full agenda of the
meeting is attached to this report.)
In the view of the consultants, PL 98-477 attempts to balance the
benefits of an informed public with the national security need for an
effective intelligence service. The Director of Central Intelligence has
accepted the validity of public and historical interest in CIA files,
consistent with the need to protect sources and foreign relations (Casey to
Durenberger, October 4, 1983). The consultants likewise recognize the need to
balance CIA's statutory obligation to protect intelligence sources and methods
with legitimate historical interest in CIA records. PL 98-477, the Agency's
Historical Review Program, and the work of the undersigned consultants seen to
be important steps toward achieving such a balance.
Nevertheless, the consultants urge recognition of the fact that, in
a society as open as that of the United States, excessive secrecy erodes
Government credibility and encourages distortions of the historical record.
The Department of State's decision in 1955 to release documentation on the
Yalta Conference, only ten years after the event, provides an excellent
example of how a policy of generous disclosure can promote more balanced
discussion of controversial events without in any way compromising the
interests of national security. We hope to see the CIA historical review
program produce comparable results. We wish also to stress that the
availability of full and reliable historical documentation is indispensable
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
for the education of students from whose ranks will cane future officers of
the Executive Branch, legislators, and teachers and commentators dealing with
issues of national security policy.
We commend the decision by the Director and the Agency to assign a
prominent role to the Historical office in providing insight and judgments on
historical value throughout the review process.
Aims and Methods. The aim of the Historical Review Program must
be release of inactive records, appraised as permanently valuable, to the
public via the National Archives, as the most effective means of serving the
public interest and especially that of historical research. To that end the
consultants recommend that (1) the Historical Review Program examine all
permanently valuable?records chronologically, beginning with the earliest,
including the so-called "desi nated files" (i.e., those identified in
PL 98-477, under Sec. 701 (b)). It is understood that the Agency is required
to make a decennial review of exempted operational files. (CIA staff indicate
that such a review will occur more often than every ten years.) Nevertheless,
because records affecting a single activity of historical importance may
appear in several files, including "designated files," it is hoped that the
review program will include the latter files, in the expectation that one or
more of the following actions may take place: dedesignation, declassification,
and release to the public through transfer to the National Archives.
Ideally, whole office file systems, whole file series, and whole
documents should be released as a result of the Historical Review Program.
However, the consultants recommend that, when necessary, (2) release of
sanitized documents is preferable to withholding of whole documents when the
following conditions are met: (a) the "sanitizing" may be accomplished with
 little additiogal staff effort and minimal impact on the Review program, (b)
the essential significance of the record is retained, and (c) there is no
distortion of bibliographical identity, including authorship and recipient,
and use made of the record, even if details of internal dissemination are
excised.
The consultants recommend that (3) those involved in the
Historical Review Program, both permanent staff and those employed ad hoc,
take full account of the extent to which information about CIA activities
is already available other than through release of CIA files. They suggest
close consultation with the Historical office to achieve this goal.
Criteria. The consultants recommend that (4) the Historical
Review program adopt National Archives and Records Administration standards in
selecting records for review (e.g., oldest records first, coherent groups,
etc.). Further, the historical value and potential "yield" should be
considered, keeping in mind the principle stated above, that the review
program should ultimately lead to release of inactive files through the
National Archives. Throughout, it should be remembered that "historical value
equals that which is of value to historians," primarily those records that
illuminate major national policies in the area of foreign affairs and national
security. Although the basic approach in the review program will be
determined by the nature of information in the files examined, we urge that both
chronological and topical approaches be adopted. Two other principles may be
expressed as follows: "finished first" and "top down." The final version of
an intelligence report will be of value to historians, even if the raw
material leading to the report remains classified and/or unreleased. It may
be that the final report is the only version which the policy-maker had
 available to him or her, in any case. The second principle applies to the
order of priority. In other words, the files of the agency heads and
principal subordinates are likely to be of greatest historical interest and
value. Insofar as possible, such files should be high on the list of priori-
ties for review, assuming that the "yield" in releasable files makes such an
approach feasible. Ultimately, all records should be reviewed. Although
finished intelligence considered by high ranking officials should
priority, definitive history must be based on access to a mass of
operational and administrative records. Furthermore, there is no
have first
"unfinished,"
generation to know with certainty what historians of subsequent generations
will consider most significant.
Organization and Procedures. The consultants were pleased to
find a strong sense of institutional and personal commitment to the Historical
Review program on the part of those in charge of its implementation. We
especially commend the decision of the agency to allot a full-time,
dedicated staff to the effort, supplemented by qualified contractual
assistance when warranted. As stated earlier, another plus in the plan is the
significant role assigned to the revitalized and enlarged Historical Office.
That staff is best qualified to render judgment on the potential historical
value of certain files and records. That judgment is only a part of the
entire review program, we acknowledge, but an essential ingredient
nevertheless.
The consultants concluded that the important question of allocation
of resources could not be readily addressed at this time. Whether the dedi-
cated staff assigned to the Historical Review program, including an augmented
Historical office staff, is sufficient to make acceptable progress, we cannot
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
6
say. For that reason, the consultants recamiend that (5) the Director of
Central Intelligence reassemble these consultants or a comparable group in two
to three years to assess progress and to make further recommendations, as seen
necessary.
We also urge the Director of Central intelligence to use his
authority as head of the intelligence Community to insure that all relevant
agencies of Government cooperate in the important undertaking?whic)i'his agency
has begun. The pace of the Historical Review program should not be delayed by
necessary actions of review by other agencies. During the two-day
deliberations, National Archives and Records Administration representatives
indicated that, barring unforeseen loss of staff resources, the NARA staff is
equal to the task of*keeping pace with the output of the Historical Review
Program in processing and making available releasable documents in the
National Archives.
Additional Considerations. The consultants discussed official
disclosure through publication as well as through release of retired files to
the National Archives. They also heard from representatives of the Department
of State Historical office concerning the publication series Foreign
Relations of the United States (see agenda). The Foreign Relations volumes
are "the official record of the foreign policy of the united States," as their
successive prefaces avow. The volumes are, therefore, the appropriate and
preferred vehicles for publishing "finished intelligence" (National
Intelligence Estimates and the like) and other documents relating to intel-
ligence activities abroad affecting foreign relations and national security.
Indeed, without the inclusion of such documents, either in basic or supple-
.mentary volumes, the history of American foreign relations is impoverished and
 incomplete. The consultants recommend, therefore, that (6) the Director of
Central Intelligence authorize the publication of selected declassified and
releasable intelligence reports and other intelligence related documents in
regular or supplementary volumes in the mREIQI RELATIONS series, rather than
as separate publications by CIA.
The consultants are also concerned about the possible physical
condition of CIA files, in an age when the preservation of"3eper documents is
recognized as a costly and inescapable responsibility of archives and
libraries. Because of the generally longer period of retention of records in
CIA custody than would be customary for less sensitive tnaterial elsewhere, it
may be necessary to take special precautions to guard against undue
deterioration of records. The consultants recommend, therefore, that (7) the
Director of Central Intelligence satisfy himself that preservation needs of CIA
records are being met, through proper environmental conditions for storage
of historically significant but deteriorating records, through conversion to
a secondary format (microfilm, microfiche, optical disk, etc.), or other
means, as appropriate. (This recommendation is a precaution, not a commentary
based upon any observed shortcoming in the Agency's preservation program.)
Summary of Recommendations:
1. an inclusive, systematic review program,
leading to regular retirement of records
to the National Archives.
2. release of minimally sanitized documents
in preference to withholding of whole documents.
 3. awareness in the review program of information
about CIA already publicly known.
4. adoption of archivally-tested selection
criteria for review program.
5. assessment of progress of review program
in 2-3 years by comparable or identical
group of consultants.
6. publication of appropriate declassified CIA
documents in Foreign Relations of the
United states.
7. an ongoing concern for preservation
considerations.
The consultants express their appreciation to William J. Casey,
Director of Central Intelligence, and his staff for the courtesies extended
during the two days of deliberations. Special thanks are due to Chief
Historian Kenneth McDonald and to Director of Information
Services, under whose responsibility the Historical Review program will
proceed. It was a productive two days of serious exchanges of information,
for which the consultants and the agencies and disciplines which they
represent are appreciative.
 pa_==__9fl y85
Robert M. Warner
Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
 HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM
Meetings 18-19 March 1985
10:30 a.m. Convene in Conference Room, 7D32 Headquarters
Welcome and Introductions
10:45 a.m. Origins & Overview of the Historical Review Program
CIA's Records System
11:45 a.m. Break for Lunch
12:00 noon Lunch
1:30 p.m. Reconvene in Conference Room 7D32
Comments on the Historical Review Program
The Classification Review Division: Role & Experience
2:15 p.m. Directorate of Operations A the Historical Review Program
2:45 p.m. Directorate of Intelligence & the Historical Review Program
3:15 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. The National Archives' Role in the Historical Review Program
4:00 p.m. Foreign Relations of the United States & the Historical Review
Program
4:30 p.m. Discussion and planning for Tuesday morning session
5:00 P.M. Adjourn
 9:30 a.m. Convene in Conference Room, 7D32
12:00 noon Lunch
1:30 p.m. Convene in Conference Room, 7D32 (Consultants only)
4:00 p.m. Full group reconvenes in Conference Room, 7D32
4:30 p.m. Adjourn
N.B. Sometime on Tuesday afternoon an Agency representative will deliver
honoraria checks and reimburse consultants' expenses.
 .anysao..1114 Mfl..OWflMM1
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The Honorable William J. Casey
Director of Central Intelligence
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
Last April, our Chairman, Barry Goldwater, introduced a
bill that would relieve the central Intelligence Agency from
the burden of searching some of its files in response to
Freedom of Information Act requests. .While several of us
had concerns regarding aspects of this bill, we all agreed
with you that it was foolish to require the CIA to search
its most sensitive files for documents that would almost
never-be declassified and released.
Five months of work are now nearing culmination in a bill
that we all will be able to support wholeheartedly. You and
we have crafted solutions to such difficult problems as the
nature of judicial review under this bill, the extent to
which the files on activities that have been the subject of
investigations will remain open to search and review under
FOIA, and how intelligence memoranda or policy memoranda
that are circulated outside of designated files but then
returned to those files for safekeeping will remain accessible
for FOIA search and review. We have also agreed that the CIA
will review its designations at least once every ten years to
see whether some files--or portions of files--should be
removed from designated status.
I think that now is an excellent time to make parallel
progress on an issue that our work on S.1324 has highlighted.
This is the need to make more declassified materials available
to historians. We both know how important history is. I am
an avid reader of history and you are a writer of it. We both
have been shaped in part by history that we have read over the
years. As historians write the definitive works on the post-
World War II era, it is terribly important that their studies
be based on as full a record as possible, consistent with the
need to protect our national security.
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
The Honorable William J. Casey
October 3, 1983
Page Two
You have recognized this in putting forth a bill that
leaves unchanged current FOIA access to intelligence memo-
randa, policy documents, and files on those covert action
operations the existence of which is no longer properly
classified. The importance of an accurate historical record
is also recognized in your criteria for removing files from
designation, which are to include "historical value or other
public interest in the subject matter" and "the potential for
declassifying a significant part of the information."
I urge you to take the next, vitally important step: to
establish procedures for reviewing and declassifying some of
the material in your non-designated or de-designated files.
Your declassification review program need not review the
mass of documents that are either of no interest to historians
or still too sensitive to be released. Rather, you could
reasonably base your selection of material for review on the
same criteria that you have set forth for the review of file
designations. The important thing is to make the declassifi-
cation of useful historical information a cooperative endeavor,
rather than a test of wills fought out in FOIA requests and
courtrooms.
A declassification review program would be a burden for
the CIA, but it would be a manageable burden and one well
worth assuming. The CIA would retain control over the size
of this effort, and you could avoid the sort of crises and
bottlenecks that bedevil areas like FOIA, in which the pace of
work may be dictated by the level of outside requests and the
vagaries of litigation. You already have a CIA Historian, so
it might be reasonable 'o give him a major role in declassifi-
cation review. I would be happy to lead the effort to provide
you budget support for a dozen positions, say, to be devoted to
this enterprise.
Establishment of a declassification review program would be
a fitting complement to the fine Intelligence Information Act
that I am sure we will pass. It would demonstrate your commit-
ment to openness in the things that matter, while continuing to
safeguard that which must remain secret. And it would make a
lasting contribution to public understanding of the role of
intelligence in a complex and divided world.
 Crnlnl Inirtli crkt.4ino
Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
4 OCT tgs3
Honorable Dave Durenberger
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Durenberger:
I received your letter yesterday with its kind words about
our efforts on the Intelligence Information Act. We have
worked diligently through the spring and summer to reach
agreement with you and your colleagues on this bill. We have
done this because we are convinced, as you are, that the bill
will relieve us of a needless burden without harming the
interests of the press, authors, or the public at large. I am
gratified to hear you say that as a result of our efforts you
will be able to support this bill. I certainly believe it
merits everyone's support.
Your views regarding the need for an accurate historical
record are ones that I share. If Congress is willing to
provide the resources, i am prepared to institute a new program
of selective declassification review of those materials that we
believe would be of greatest historical interest and most
likely to result in declassification of useful information.
The term "selective" is very important. There is no point
in reviewing files that we basically know will contain little
releasable information. And it makes no sense to review -- or
even to release -- material that has become releasable only
because it is trivial. Our professionals have a pretty good
sense of what is likely to prove releasable; and we would be
happy to work with our Historian, other agency historical
offices, the Archivist of the United States, and others to
determine what topics are of the greatest interest and
importance. Historians would have to trust us, however, to
make these professional judgments in good faith. A
declassification review program could function only if we
maintained control over the workload and concentrated our
limited resources on the areas where they would do the most
good.
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One certain consequence of this selectivity would be a
concentration of our efforts on the review of older, as opposed
to more recent, material. Such material which documents the.
early years of CIA could well result in the release of .
information that explains the role of intelligence in the
making of foreign policy. As a general rule, we are likely to
limit the declassification review program to files at least 20
or 30 years old. However, these older files would certainly
contain information which continues to be relevant to today's
world. I am hopeful that whatever material we can release,
consistent with the need to protect sources and foreign
relations, will make a major contribution to historical
research and interpretation.
At the moment, I do not know whether our small"' historical
staff would be in a position to manage a selective
declassification review program. But no matter where such a
program would be placed organizationally within the Agency,
I understand that what you are suggesting is a program provided
with adequate resources. Several weeks ago, on my own
initiative, I had requested the Historian of the CIA to explore
a program that would result in the release of usable historical
materials from the world war II period. I look forward to
working with additional resources having, as you suggest, the
mission of declassifying and releasing historical materials
that no longer require protection.
7../ urn" am J. Casey
William J. Casey
Director of Central Intelligence
- 2 -
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 MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
AND THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE
SUBJECT: Accessioning Records of CIA Predecessor Wartime Organizations into the
National Archives of the United States - Associated Responsibilities
and Precedures
1. In considering the transfer of Records of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Predecessor wartime organizations, primarily those of the Office of Strategic
Services (OSS), to the National Archives and Records Service (MARS) for accessioning
and release to the public, the CIA has expressed concerns that the records may
contain information that is inappropriate for immediate access. For purposes
of simplicity, these records will hereafter be referred to as the "OSS records."
MARS has provided assurances that its processing procedures will address and
resolve these concerns before access is provided. This Memorandum of Understanding
reflects mutual agreement that the CIA and MARS review procedures, outlined
below will serve to expedite the release of OSS records to the public while
providing appropriate safeguards against premature access.
2. The OSS records will be examined for declassification by the CIA. Documents
portions of
Agency) which e are the final declassification
to contain national jurisdiction
infor-
mation despite the passage of time will be withdrawn from the records and withheld
in the custody of the CIA. A withdrawal card bearing a unique number will be
substituted for the withdrawn material. Upon completion of the-CIA's examination,
the records appropriate for transfer as permanent records will be sent to MARS
for accessioning. The records will consist of declassified and unclassified
material, except as indicated below.
3. Classified material which the CIA has determined does not require continued
protection insofar as that agency's interests are concerned, but which may require
continued national security protection in the interest of some other U.S. agency
or of a foreign government will be transferred along with the declassified and
unclassified OSS records. Such classified material will be identified by the
C
to the IA examiners by placing a tab around the relevant material or by affixing a tag
individual items. will responsibility to review such identified y classifieda material for
possible declassification at appropriate intervals in accordance with applicable
Executive Orders and Information Security Oversight Office directives. The CIA's
Information and Privacy Coordinator will assist NARS officials responding to
access requests when the identification of the responsible U.S. agency is unclear
or when transmittal to the appropriate foreign government is required for
declassification determination.
4. MARS will screen and withhold from access and/or refrain from copying for
the public declassified or unclassified accessioned OSS records containing
information about a living individual which reveal details of a highly personal
nature that the individual could reasonably assert a claim to withhold from the
public to avoid a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy, including but'not
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 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6
limited to information about the physical or mental health or the medical or
psychiatric care or treatment of the individual, and that contain personal
information not known to have been previously made public, and relate to events
less than 75 years old (41 CFR 105.61.5302-4).
5. It is agreed that the OSS records still contain sensitive documents which
could cause adverse international repercussions. Therefore, as records are
transferred, MARS will conduct initial screening on a series or subseries basis.
When files or documents are requested, a re-screening will be performed on
potentially sensitive records before such items are furnished to researchers.
At such time, MARS reviewers will exercise discretion regarding the release of
records that might cause national or international repercussions. In case of
doubt, or where CIA has identified sensitive records, MRS will consult with
appropriate information specialists of the CIA concerning the propriety and/or
legal basis for continued denial or release.
6. The procedures set forth in this Memorandum of Understanding will become
effective upon execution of this Memorandum of Understanding by both MARS and
CIA.
~4A1/-*,
'p- /I-- Z'O'r-ce
. FI
TZY R
Date
D y Direc r r Administration
C ntral Intel aence Aaencv
 21-6
 Approved For Release 2009/09/29: CIA-RDP87M01152R000300320021-6 rn;.
41 I-qs- 17 6y
COMMENTS (Number emit comment to show from whom
to whom. Dow a line coon column otter each comment.)
Historical Review Program must
be submitted to four committees
of Congress. A letter of
transmittal to each committee
chairman is also attached.
The report and transmittal
letter were coordinated in
draft with the following:
D/OIS/DA
D/IMS/DO
D/OCR/DI
IRO/DI
RMO/DS&T
ExecSecy
D/PAO
D/OLL
Draft copies were also sent
or comment to the five
consultants, the Acting
Archivist of the United States
(who replaced Dr. Warner) and
the Historian, Department of
State.
13. D/0LL