"NET ASSESSMENTS" AMENDMENT ADDED TO SSCI VERSION OF THE FY 1988 INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION BILL BY THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89T01032R000100080025-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 24, 2012
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: July 22, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

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TRANSMITTAL SLIP
TO: NIO/GPF
DATE
22 July 87
Larry --
More "grist for the mill" -- near term
-- paper for OJCS long term -- you
are our NIC action officer to respond
to this and other Net Assessment
requirements. We need to begin to talk
about what the 1 March reply might say
-- after you've had a chance to talk
it up w/appropriate players (e.g.,
NIO/SP, CIA/SOYA, DIA, OJCS/J-8,
Marshall's office, etc.).
FROM: C/NIC
ROOM NO. BUILDING
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22 July 1987
MEMORANDUM FQR: Director of Central Intelligence
SUBJECT: "Net Assessments" Amendment Added to SSCI Version of
the FY 1988 Intelligence Authorization Bill by the
Senate Armed Services Committee
1. Attajhed is the subject report, which has not yet been printed In its
official fore but was given to us by Senator Warner's Legislative Assistant on
the Committef. We were told the amendment was offered by Senator Nunn.
2. We received draft language on this proposal earlier this month. We
have highlighted those sections of the report that are different from what we
received in draft -- the differences are all langauge that has been added to
the original draft; no other language has been changed or deleted.
3. The report calls for a SECDEF-DCI "plan" to provide greater
Intelligence Community participation in the conduct of net assessments; that
plan is due no later than March 1, 1988. The reference on page 3 to the
1986 DoD Reorganization Act reflects DIA's comments/objections to the draft
report language; Dave Gries orally provided the CIA's comments on the draft
bill to the Committee.
4. On mother subject, please note that the SASC has included the
language we favor on "unallocatted reductions" in this report (see page 5).
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REPORT OF THE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE ON THE INTELLIGENCE
AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1988 AND 1989
The Committee on Armed Services, having considered on
sequential referral from the Select Committee on Intelligence the
bill (S. 1243) authorizing appropriations for Fiscal Years 1988
and 1989 for intelligence activities of the U.S. Government, the
Intelligence Community staff, the Central Intelligence Agency
Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes, reports
favorably thereon with one amendment and recommends that the bill
do pass.
S. 1243 would authorize appropriations and other matters for
Fiscal Year 1988 and 1989 for intelligence activities of the
United, States Government, including certain Department of Defense
intelligence related activities within the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Armed Services.
The Select Committee on Intelligence reported out the bill on',
May 2Q, 1987 and it was referred to this Committee under the
provision of Section 3(b) of Senate Resolution 400, 94th Congress
for a period of 30 days.
SCOPE OF COMMITTEE REVIEW
The Committee conducted a detailed review of the intelligence
community budget request for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989. This was,
the first year that the Administration and the Congress considered'
budget for the Department of Defense and the intelligence
community is a two-year budget. The purpose of the two-year
authorization is to permit longer range planning within the
Executive Branch, reduce turmoil caused by the annual budget
process, and permit both the Congress and the Executive Branch to
concentrate on issues of oversight and management and reduce the
amount of time spent in the annual budget process.
The Committee has carefully reviewed the report of the Select
Committee on Intelligence and has incorporated the relevant
budgetary decisions of that Committee in the Defense Authorization]
Act for Fiscal Year 1988 and 1989 reported by this Committee on
May 5,
AMENDMENTS AND OTHER MEASURES
The committee has considered and adopted one amendment and
two a*3ditionel measures.
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Communication; Security
T, a Committee supports the recommendation contained in the
classi!ied annex prepared by the SSCI that funds should be added
to continue to improve communications security for certain
domestic communications.
Net Assessments by the Intelligence Community
Net assessments provide a valuable source of information on
the potential effectiveness of U.S. forces and weapons systems in
hypothetical engagements with adversaries. In order to conduct
such assessments, one requires detailed and accurate information
on both foreign and U.S. weapons systems and tactics,
small office exists in the Department of Defense to conduct]
and cup rdinate net assessments. This office, separate from the
intelligence community
relies on d
t
f
h
,
a
a
rom t
e intelligence
commucity relative to foreign weapons systems, as well as data
from the military services and other DoD organizations on friendly
forced. However, the results of these net assessments have been
restrjcted primarily to the Secretary of Defense.
~jp until 1981, there was some debate as to the extent to
which the intelligence community should conduct or become involved
in net, assessments. Some have argued that while the intelligence
community hag expertise in foreign weapons systems and tactics, itl
lacks the requisite expertise and often the access to necessary
data elativc to U.S. forces. Further, it was argued that such
analy es require a commitment of resources beyond what the
commw ity can afford without interfering with the overriding
mission of foreign assessments. Proponents of intelligence
community involvement have pointed out that the expertise and
elaborate tools used by the intelligence community to evaluate and
assess effectiveness of foreign weapons systems are equally
applicable to U.S. weapons evaluations. Further, the involvement
of th,p Intelligence Community would lend greater credibility to
the results of net assessments. For example, in the acquisition
of we#pon systems, the service proponent of a particular weapon
has to primary if not sole responsibility in assessing how well
that freapon will perform against opposing threats.
In 1981, the Director of Central Intelligence and the
secretary of Defense agreed that they would jointly conduct net
assessments in selected areas, and that DoD would provide the
intelligence community with data on U.S. forces for use in these
analyses. The most notable activity undertaken pursuant to this
agreepent to date, has been a joint net assessment of U.S. and
Soviet strategic forces completed in 1983, and updated in 2985.
However, these joint efforts have been very limited is number and
scope. These efforts clearly could and should be expanded.
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l,pr examjle, it would be useful to have an independent net
assess,pent of such strategic systems as the U.S. air-breathing
systemp against the Soviet Air Defense systems. This is
particplarly important given the well-publicized problems with the:
8-1H and the substantial investment yet to come in air breathing
systems. Net assessments of key weapon systems will assist the
executive branch and the Congress in making budgetary and
programatic decisions. Currently, the absence of such assessmentsi
means that very important decisions are often made without a J'J
complete or independent assessment of how these systems would fare
in actpal combat.
Ip June 1986, the Packard Commission recommended that the
Departcnent of Defense and the Intelligence Community expand its
net assessment work. Specifically, the Packard Commission
recommended that:
"fit the direction of the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the assistance of the
other members of the JCS and the CINCs, and in consultation
with the Director of Central Intelligence, should also
prepare a military net assessment that would:
Provide comparisons of the capabilities and
effectiveness of U.S. military forces with those of
potential adversaries for the Chairman's recommended
national military strategy and other strategy options;
Reflect the military contributions of Allied Forces
where appropriate;
Evaluate the risks of the Chairman's recommended
national military strategy and any strategy options that
he develops for the Secretary of Defense and the
President; and
Cover the entire five-year planning period."
In the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986,
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was given a new responsibility to
perform net assessments to determine the capabilities of the
armed forces of the United States and its allies as compared with
those of their potential adversaries" (10 O.S.C. 153(a) (2) (C) , as
amended by section 201 of P.L. 99-443.) This responsibility was
added because the Congress believed that the Chairman should also
have din enhanced role in net assessments.
The Committee believes that more involvement in specific net
assessments by the Intelligence Community is a prerequisite for
meaningful participation in the overall assessment of the national
military strategy envisioned by the Packard Commission. The
Committee is mindful, however, of the potential impact such
involvement may have on resources and believes that intelligence
com_nucfity participation should be structured so as to provide an
Y
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alternative source of net assessment information for those
Department of Defense weapons systems or plans judged critical.
Accordingly, the Committee directs the Secretary of Defense
and the Director of Central Intelligence to develop a plan for the
conduct of net assessments which allow for independent u ments_
by the intelligence community. The Co"-jftee -Be eves at-the
following considerations should be taken into account in the
development of this plan:
-'i
eapon systems. The On should sp cific?I,.,
dentifv end Trinri~ise Li
Intelligence community net assessments tor
th4
De rtment of Defense should be restricted to those
areas judged critical to the overall effectiveness of
U.S. national security policy, strategy, tactics or
s ecif is w
intelliejudae~mmunity D.art'~~i. ci2a_C~ori and the re~.so.,~
they are "critical".
Given the resources associated with complex net
assessments, the conduct of joint net assessments by DoD
and the intelligence community are acceptable. The
should Hermit the intelligence community to have an
equal role In establishing be parameters of the
assessment and to a r r iv at independeat concl wU
based on the resul The process used in the
preparation of national intelligence estimates is a
useful model in this regard, including procedures for
reporting dissentin o anions.
The completion of net assessments should be timed so as
to provide maximum value in the decision making
process. The plan shQyld set forth a ti"1eta~~S3~
Initiation and_cpZ
identified fointelligence commun ty particirut p
Net assessments would be particularly valuable to senior
officials involved in national security policy outside
the Department of Defense in both the Executive Branch
and Congress- The plan should provide a m ch~ni f
information on the results of net
Aggessme- is to such officials. Fu they
senior officials s - aDpzanria a
houlsl be consulted in the selection
AL4_prioritjw7,4tion of areas to be the sub,j gf net
Furthermore, the Committee encourages the Intelligence
Community, and specifically the CIA, to improve its analysis of
how the Soviets view "the correlation of forces,' which is the
Soviet term analagous to net assessments.
The Committee requests that the plan be provided to the Armed
Services, Intelligence, and Appropriations Committees of the House
and Senate no later than March It 1988 with an implementation date
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as coop thereafter as practical but no later than October If
111988. The Committee will assess the plan as a basis foe any
furthe, action in this area deemed appropriate.
D I!rogrAo a R a ~2-ls_~~d _ xhe--N~ _QnnL-Eor~i9~_ lJit~4~ igeass
The Committee is concerned about the impact on the National
Foreigp Intelligence program of undistributed reductions in the
Depart~,ent of Defense Authorization which might be required as a
result of Congressional action. It is the int~nt...of rt.
:. that t,andistributed^~~reduet~' CZre: 9 and
liacal~ Y ar 1 89 -I~fD_~eRacal Year 1998 88 and
Department of Defense Authorization Act to
approiction, accounts of the Department of Defense shall not be
applip;to elements of the National Foreign Intelligence Program
conta4ied in those accounts.
COMMITTEE-ACT
O July , 1987 the Committee on Armed Services approved the
bill a,; amended and ordered it favorably reported.
EVALUATION OF-REGULATORY IMPACT
Ip accordance with paragraph 11(b) of Rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Committee, the Committee finds no regulatory
impact will be incurred in implementing the provisions of this
legisl,ation.
CRANGES IN EXIST 11M LAW
In the opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to dispense
with the requirements of Rule 12 of Rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules,
,of the 4enate in order to expedite the business of the
Senate.
wee, _ .. I
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