THE BASIS FOR A PERMANENT, UNITED STATES FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP09K00541R000700090018-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 29, 2011
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: October 10, 1944
• Content Type: MISC

Approved For Release 2011/10/11 : CIA-RDP09KO0541 R000700090018-9
10 October-1944
TEE B11>SIS FOR A FE.M1ANENT, UNITED
STATES FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
The formulation of national policy, both in its political
and military aspects, is influenced and determined by knowledge
of the aims, policies and activities of other nations.
All major powers have had, for a long time past, permanent,
world-wide secret intelligence services, reporting directly
to the highest echelons of their governments.
organization.
Prior to the present war, the United States pad no ade-
quate secret intelligence service and no over-all intelligence
The dangers of this situation have been generally recog-
nized and must be remedied. For the future, provision must be
made for an uninterrupted flow of intelligence, in peace as in
war, so that American policy may be based on foreign situations
and developments as seen and interpreted by Americans.
government.
serve objectively and impartially the needs of the diplo-
matic, military, economic and propaganda services of the -
intelligence pertinent-to the operations of the armed
services and certain other government agencies) could
1) That there should be a central over-all Foreign
Intelligence Service which (except for specialized
That is needed is an organization which will procure in-
telligence both by overt and covert methods and will at the
same time provide intelligence guidance, determine national
intelligence objectives and correlate the intelligence material
collected. by all government agencies.
Experience teaches that the establishment of such an
organization should be based on the following principles:
intelligence within the United States.
2) That such a Service should not operate clandestine
3) That it should have no police function and should
not be id.entitiea wltn any law-enforcing agency,
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That the operations of such a Service should be pri-
marily the collection, analysis and dissemination of in-
telligence on the policy or strategy level. .
5) That such a service should be under a highly quali-
fied Director, appointed by the President, and be ad-
ministered under Presidential direction.
6) That, subject to the approval of the President, the
policy of such a. Service should be determined by the
Director, with the advice and assistance of a board on
which the Department of State and the Armed Services
should be represented.
7) That such a Service, charged with collecting intelli-
gence affecting national interests and defense, should
have its own means of communication and should be respon-
sible for all secret activities, such as:
a) Secret intelligence
b) Counter-espionage
c) Crypto-analysis
d) Clandestine subversive operations
c) That such a Service be operated on both vouchered and
unvouchered funds.
9) That such a Service have a staff of specialists, ro-
fessionally trained in analysis of intelligence and'
possessing a high degree of linguistic, regional or CD,
functional competence, to evaluate incoming intelligence,
to make special reports, and to provide guidance for the
collecting branches of the agency.
10) It is not necessary to create a new agency. The nucleus
of such an organization already exists in the Office of
Strategic Services. It has the trained personnel, the
foreign contacts, the administrative organization and the
operating experience necessary to enable it to do this
job effectively and without loss of time in getting started.
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t POLICY MAKING
AGENCIES
SPECIFIED BY
To accompany memorandum
6 October 1944 "8o5is for a
Permanent Amerlcon~Cenlrol
Intelligence Service
Approved For Release 2011/10/11 CIA-RDP09K00541R000700090018-9 ;I!,~
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE
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