LETTER TO RONALD REAGAN FROM DAVE DURENBERGER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88G00186R000901190043-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2010
• Sequence Number: 43
• Publication Date: June 20, 1985
• Content Type: LETTER

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EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
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SELECT COMMITTEE ON ~NTEWGENCE
WA3NINGTON, OC 20010
8~ 3078
tf6rIMID I. WYMIO~ RAID O~CT011
6ttt 0. NlWfO[~ 1~IOR1- RAI- ORCTOII
The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
June 20, 1985
Earlier today, I was asked to lead the opposition
to a proposal by Senator Byrd and others to establish
a National Commission on Security and Espionage. Such
a Commission would have had four members appointed by
the Congress and four by the President. We who opposed
the proposal prevailed by a 50-48 margin.
I accepted the task of opposing the Byrd amendment
because of a strong belief that the proposal would delay
action on this immediate and serious problem for at
least 18 months and probably longer. We are all
committed to move as quickly as possible -- and that is
most appropriately done within the existing structure.
A crucial element in my conviction that we can make
the current system respond quickly was the informal
commitment that I had received from the Administration
to full and complete support for the Senate Intelligence
Committee's current study of the Soviet intelligence
threat and U.S. counterintelligence and security programs.
It will be helpful to the Committee to have your
personal commitment to Administration support of our
enterprise. at each stage: determining how best to
examine the problem; jointly developing recommendations;
and ensuring implementation of improvements. Such an
explicit commitment will not only facilitate the work
of the Committee, but also help us when the Byrd
proposal is raised again, which is quite likely.
You an d we share an historic opportunity -- both
to dramatically improve U.S. counterintelligence and
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The.~resident
June 20, 1985
Page Two
security and to demonstrate how Congress and the Executive
can work together to achieve progress in sensitive
intelligence areas. Witty~~r fiYm support, I am sure
we can accomplish much
cc: The Honorable George P. Shultz
The Honorable Caspar W. Weinberger
The Honorable Edwin Meese, III
The Honorable William Webster
The Honorable William J. Casey
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ORIMN NATCN UTAH TwOMAS F EAGIET GN YIS SOUM
FM.N[ YUN[Ow5R1 AUS[A ENNEST ~ ~Oli NGS, SOUTH CANOUNA EX?CUtIVe Registry
ARIEN S-fCTE[ [ENNSTLV.UIIA DA VIOL lOREN O[UMOYA ~nlte~ tates mate
CHIC NfCNT NEV -pA Slll SMOIE r. NEW .ERSET' `
YITCN McCONNfLL [ENTUC[T
SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE
AoeERT oo~. wrSAS. Ex ofaca WASHINGTON, oc 20610 3018 1
IN)~EIIT C. E1TIb. WEST VIIIGINII~ EX Ofi1Cq
July 12, 1985
Dear Colleague:
~00-~
We are all aware of recent compromises of U.S. security
through the activities of hostile intelligence services. These
events underline the seriousness of the espionage threat against
the United States.
In view of this threat, the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence can offer as a service to all Members of the Senate
and to other interested committees a program to improve security
procedures and practices among staff employees and in personal
offices. This letter outlines that security program.
The Intelligence Committee can provide:
? Procedures for your staff office to arrange for the
Capitol Police Special Investigations Branch to
conduct electronic sweeps of your personal offices.
The SSCI security staff is available to help with
the necessary arrangements at your convenience.
? Scheduling for briefings on the threat of hijacking
and the expectations, reactions and ability to cope
in a hostage situation.
? Scheduling for briefings on defensive security when
Members plan to travel. abroad. These briefings,
with modifications, can be extended to accompanying
family members and staff as well.
? Briefings prepared by the FBI and NSA, at the SSCI
request, designed to heighten security awareness and
increase sensitivity to hostile intelligence efforts
against employees of the Senate. SSCI security staff
will begin scheduling these presentations on a
regular basis and will issue notices well in advance
so that those on your staff whom you wish to attend
can make the necessary arrangements.
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? In conjunction with security awareness briefings
given to Senate employees, SSCI security staff have
arranged for FBI Headquarters to make available
similar briefings for Members' state office staffs.
Our security staff is ready to make the appropriate
arrangements for these briefings upon your request.
? The SSCI security staff is also available to review
security procedures and practices in Members' personal
offices. The same service is also available to any
Committee which deals with classified material.
? The SSCI security staff is available to render advice
and assistance on specific security questions which
may arise from time to time in your personal offices.
We encourage every Member of the Senate to take advantage
of these services. The security threat is real and we all must
do our part in defeating it. Requests for assistance or for
further information may be made to the Security Director of
the Select Committee on Intelligence, at extension 41700.
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w1LUAM V. RDTN, JR., DELAWARE LLOYD SENTSEN, TEXAS
WILLLAM S. CONEN. MAINE SAM NUNN, GEORGIA EnBGU!IV@ Fe I
OMAN NATCN, UTAN TNOMAS f. EAGLFTON, MISSOUM ~ Stry
FRANK MURKOWSKI. ALASKA fRNEST F. NOLUNG S. SOUTH CAROLINA A y ~y
ARLEN S/ECTER. -ENNSVLVANIA DAVID L lOREN. OKLAHOMA t,S~ MS?AA ~?A?A/Y `Z M7A?A'
ROBERT DOLE KANSAS. Dt OFFICN) SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE
ROBERT c. erRO, wE.ST VIRGINUI EX OFFKIO WASHINGTON, DC 20610
BERNARD F. McMANON. STAFF aRECT011
ERK D. NEWSOM, MINORRr STAFF aRECT011
3078/3
~~85- .1{ti~
Augus t 2, 1985 C-OPy Y g _ `-~ 29
The Honorable Robert C. McFarlane
Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
The Chairman has asked me to let you know what the
Intelligence Committee is doing in its review of counter-
intelligence and security programs in order to help us
keep the Executive and Legislative branch efforts on
parallel tracks during the August recess.
At the Senatorial level, we have held closed hearings
on the Walker case and its impact, the situation regarding
the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and the nature of the hostile
intelligence service threat. Senator Durenberger, in
addition to writing the President, also sent a letter to
Senators Roth and Eagleton (with a copy to the Minority
Leader) showing how we are pursuing the Senate's interest in
these matters, which was so forcefully demonstrated in the
debate and vote on Senator Byrd's proposal of a National
Commission. A copy of those letters is enclosed for your
information.
The Committee and its staff have moved quickly and
carefully to improve our own security programs, so that
we and the Senate as a whole will also meet the security
challenge. We are establishing a focal point for security
clearance requests, regularizing our own compartinentation
of sensitive information, and developing the role of our
press officer to help each of our Members avoid unintentional
disclosures of classified information. The Committee
is also becoming an important provider and facilitator
of defensive briefings, office sweeps and security advice
for Members and staffers not on the Committee.
At the staff level, several of us have been getting
briefings from senior officials and experts on all the
CI and security programs and issues. Our intent has not
been to act like a National Commission that spends months
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The Honorable Robert C. McFarlane
August 2, 1985
Page Two
;~ '~~i Mi
re-inventing the wheel, but rather to pick the brains of
the many specialists who are working hard to improve the
system. We have found a wealth of already defined issues
and thoughtful proposals. We plan to examine them next
month to see which ones we might jointly want to push with
the Executive branch while the issues remain politically
salient. The Committee's understanding is that the Executive
branch would cast a similarly wide net in its own examination
of proposals, while also taking action to implement those
proposals on which there is already basic agreement.
At least a half dozen major studies seem worthy of
our joint, serious consideration. The 1982 CCIS study
for the DCI of Ca abilities A ainst the Hostile Intelli ence
Threat, 1983-19 remains a use ul starting point, even
though progress has been made in many of the areas covered
by the wide-ranging report. The most recent National
Assessment of Hostile Intelli ence Services T resat- and
U.S. Countermeasures inc u es an up-to- ate an cogent
fisting o pro lems in this field.
More focused and detailed studies that have proposals
to examine include the Inman panel's recommendations on
electronic and physical penetration of U.S. diplomatic
facilities; the DoD Industrial Security Review Committee
Report (the "Harper Panel" report); the Bross Commission
recommendations on CI training needs; the recommendations
of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations ("Nunn-
Roth") on information and personnel security; the recommenda-
tions on overclassification of the latest report of the
Infromation Security Oversight Office; and even the recommen-
dations of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
in its classified report on the FY 1986 Intelligence
Authorization Act.
We are also aware of other studies and sets of recommen-
dations that we have not yet seen in full text. These
include the SIG-I proposals; the NSDD-84 Personnel Security
Options and Recommendations forwarded by the Attorney
General; the IG-CM study of countermeasures macro resources;
Dr. Ruth Davis's study of computer security; and the Intelli-
gence Research and Development Council study of R&D to
Counter the Foreign Intelligence Threat. We hope to
be able to review these materials, with your assistance
if necessary.
trt~~~~~td ~
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.. ~ . ~~. ~~`~[ i~~v ~ arm.
The Honorable Robert C. McFarlane
August 2, 1985
Page Three
The Stilwell Commission, with which we are pleased
to have such good relations, will also have important
recommendations. And, undoubtedly, there will be other
self-generated issues on both sides in addition to those
highlighted by all these commissions and panels. Thus,
we have noted some quiet but serious calls for better
CI personnel and operations in both CIA and the FBI; more
NSA assistance to CI elements; legislation on physical
searches; and an overall policy structure that has some
focal point and locus of accountability to bring coherence
to the CI/CM field.
The Committee was very pleased to hear that the NSPG,
including the President himself, will address these issues
on August 7. The Chairman still feels strongly that a
high-level commitment to action and to close coordination
with the Committee would be most helpful in dissuading
Congress from taking actions that would be cathartic but
counterproductive. He also believes that o~u combined
efforts offer the best hope for both legislative progress
and the removal of bureaucratic roadblocks to needed improve-
ments in CI and security programs.
This effort, to tackle such important and sensitive
issues with the resources and wisdom of the Executive
branch in cooperation with those of an Intelligence Committee
and Senate that are clearly eager to be of help to the
Nation, is rare and exciting. If we can jointly succeed, we
may set a precedent for cooperative examination of a whole
host of future issues -- issues of the very sort that, in
the past, have so often led to squabbles, leaks, and stagnation.
The Committee recognizes the significance of this venture
and will work to make it one of which we can all be proud.
Sincerely,
~er~ra~~ F~
Staff Director
Enclosures
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