AR 10-15 CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM (FORMERLY AR 10-14)

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06460605
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: April 24, 2019
• Case Number: F-2015-00457
• Publication Date: September 24, 2012

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(U) Disseminating or sharing any part of this document outside CIA must comply with AR 10-16.
AR 10-15 (U) CIA HOSTS ICAL REVIEW PROGRAM Formerly
AR 70-14)
�CIO - AGENCY REGULATION SER ES 10(N FOR KIATION MANAGEMENT) PUB LASH ED ON 24 SEPTEMBER 2012
Regulation Sum
rY
Ingested from Regulations.cia on 10 May 2013
(U) Policy
REVISION SUMMARY: 24 September 2012
(U/AfEter) This regulation supersedes AR 70-14, dated 29 November
2004.
(Ullafrfre) This regulatory revision provides current policy on the CIA
Historical Review Program. This revision reflects the Corporate Governance
Board's decision in December 2006, providing certain authorities to the
Director/Information Management Services. This revision reflects the
Agency's current organizational structure. AR 70-14 is also revised to update
reference to the new Executive Order 13526, dated 29 December 2009.
Due to extensive revision of this regulation, boldfaced text has not been used
to indicate revisions.
(U//A4+)(5) This regulation was revised by the Office of the Chief Information
Officer/Information Management Services (CIO/IMS), (secure). (b)(3)
14. CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM
SYNOPSIS. This regulation prescribes the responsibilities,
guidelines, and procedures for the declassification review and
the release of permanent Agency records under the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA or Agency) Historical Review
Program (the Program).
a. AUTHORITIES. The Program is established in accordance with:
(1) Executive Order 13526, which prescribes a uniform system for
classifying, declassifying, and safeguarding national security
information.
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(2) Section 6 of the CIA Act of 1949, as amended, 50 U.S.C. 9 403g,
which exempts the Agency from the provisions of any law requiring the
publication or disclosure of the organization, functions, names, official
titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed and gives the
Director, Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) responsibility to protect
CIA sources and methods from unauthorized disclosure.
(3) The CIA Information Act of 1984, 50 U.S.C. 9 431 et seq., which
exempts certain designated operational files from the search and
review provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
(4) Sections 402 and 403 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of
1956, as amended, 22 U.S.C. 9 4352 and 9 4353, which requires the
Agency to provide to Department of State historians compiling the
Foreign Relations of the United States documentary series, full and
complete access to Agency records pertinent to U.S. Government
foreign policy decisions and actions, and also requires the Agency to
review for declassification any records selected for inclusion in that
series.
b. GENERAL
(1) The purpose of the Agency's Program is to make significant historical
information available to the public without damage to the national
security interests of the United States. Accordingly, in accordance with
the process below, the Program will identify appropriate topics and
documents for review. The goals of this Agency Program are to:
(a) Provide an accurate, objective understanding of the information and
intelligence that has helped shape the foundation of major policy
decisions.
(b) Uphold Agency leadership commitments to openness.
(c) Improve access to lessons learned, presenting historical material to
emphasize the scope and context of past actions.
(d) Improve current decision-making and analysis by facilitating
reflection on the impacts and effects arising from past decisions in
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unclassified and broadly available publications.
(e) Provide the American public with valuable insight into the workings of
their Government.
(2) The following records will be subject to historical declassification
review:
(a) All records subject to systematic declassification review under
Section 3/- of Executive Order 13526 with the exception of certain
files designated as operational files by the D/CIA under
the provisions of the CIA Information Act of 1984. This covers
permanent records more than 25 years old exempted from
automatic declassification review under the file series exemption.
The file series exemption identifies information which falls within a
category exempted from automatic declassification.
(b) Other records of particular historical interest, including documents
that the Department of State selects for inclusion in its Foreign
Relations of the United States (FRUS) documentary series, records
non-designated or de-designated from the operational files
exemption, other topics identified by the D/CIA for declassification
review, or topics identified through the Program's annual planning
process.
(c) All issues of Studies in Intelligence.
(3) Reaffirming the principle that the U.S. Government's records should be
available to the public, the Program will declassify and release to the
public historical records consistent with:
(a) The responsibilities of the D/CIA under the Central Intelligence
Agency Act of 1949, as amended, to protect intelligence sources
and methods and organizational and personnel information.
(b) The requirements of Executive Order 13526, and successor orders
to protect national security information.
(c) The provisions of law that govern the public disclosure of
information.
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(4) With the concurrence of the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), the Agency will transfer records which have
been declassified and approved for release under the Program (except
for documents released for publication in the Department of State's
Foreign Relations of the United States series) to NARA for public use.
c. RESPONSIBILITIES
(b)(
3)
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( )( )
d. CRITERIA FOR REVIEW PRIORITY
(1) (U//Wakfie) The Historical Collections Division, with the assistance of
the CIA History Staff, and relevant information management technical
officers, will use archival listings that describe the Agency's permanent
records as well as on-site research at the Agency Archives and
Records Center to identify and locate specific groups of records of
historical significance for review under the Program.
(2) The Historical Collections Division will determine the order in which
records are reviewed, using as primary criteria their historical value,
the Historical Review Panel recommendations, public interest in the
subject matter, and the potential yield of documents that can be
released. The Program will give special attention to records originated
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by the D/CIA or his principal subordinates and other senior Agency
officials, finished intelligence, and disseminated intelligence reports.
(3) The Historical Collections Division, in consultation with the CIA History
Staff, will evaluate records in light of the contribution their
declassification and release can make to public understanding the
history of the Agency and its role in U.S. intelligence, foreign policy, and
international developments.
(4) To determine historical value, the Historical Collections Division and the
CIA History Staff will consider the recommendations of the D/CIA
Historical Review Panel and other groups of historians and academics
inside and outside of government.
(5) The Historical Collections Division will review Agency records selected
by the Department of State for declassification and inclusion in its
Foreign Relations of the United States series, in accordance with
sections 402 and 403 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of
1956, as amended, (as interpreted by the President's signing statement
of 28 October 1991) and in accordance with the Department of
State/CIA Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Foreign
Relations of the United States documentary series, dated May 10,
2002.
e. GUIDELINES FOR DECLASSIFICATION AND REVIEW FOR RELEASE
(1) Executive Order 13526 requires that information be classified only if its
disclosure reasonably could be expected to cause damage to the
national security, and that it shall be declassified or downgraded as
soon as national security considerations permit.
(2) There shall be a general presumption in favor of disclosure except as
provided in paragraph (4) below. Reviewers conducting declassification
review of information under the Program, who advocate the continued
classification of information, will bear the burden of identifying any
damage its disclosure reasonably could be expected to cause to the
national security. Information, including information classified solely on
the basis of the "mosaic" effect, may remain classified only if the
reviewer can identify and describe such damage and a clear
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connection between disclosure and the projected damage. To show
such damage with respect to information older than 25 years, a
reviewer must further articulate how the information meets the
standards of continued classification under section 3.3 of the Executive
Order 13526. Unless a showing of possible damage is made with
reasonable specificity, the information will be identified for
declassification.
(3) Factors to be considered in determining whether disclosure reasonably
could be expected to cause damage to the national security include the
effect of the passage of time on the sensitivity of the information, any
prior disclosures of the information, the link between disclosure and
possible harm, and past experience with respect to disclosures of
similar information.
(4) Decisions to acknowledge covert actions will be made on a case-by-
case basis and with the approval of the National Security Council or its
authorized representative. The Program's focus will be on those covert
actions selected by D/ClAs for declassification review and those covert
actions requested by the Department of State for inclusion in a specific
Foreign Relations of the United States volume. T h e Historical
Collections Division/Foreign Relations of the United States coordinator
will be the Agency focal point for coordinating declassification of covert
action information under the Program.
(5) The Historical Collections Division will coordinate its review decisions
with all other U.S. Government agencies that have equities in the
reviewed information before declassification or release action is taken
under the Program, or the transfer of records to NARA is arranged.
(6) A consideration in reviewing information for declassification and
damage to national security under the Program will be the extent to
which the information is already available to the public. Classified
information will not be declassified automatically as a result of any
unofficial or unauthorized disclosure of identical or similar information.
(7) OGC will provide the Historical Collection Division with guidance
concerning information that may require continued protection because
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of statutory or common law privilege (for example, based on the
Privacy Act, the CIA Act, Executive Privilege, Attorney-Client Privilege,
and so forth.).
(8) In no case will information be kept classified in order to conceal
violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error; to prevent
embarrassment to a U.S. person, organization, or agency; or to
prevent or delay the release of information that does not require
protection in the interest of national security.
f. PROCEDURES
(1) Individual documents will be released in full, withheld in full, or released
in part When a document cannot be released in full, an effort to redact
the document by deleting those portions that cannot be declassified, or
that cannot be made public for other lawful reasons, will be undertaken.
This procedure will be followed only when it will not slow the pace of the
review unduly, will not obscure the record's essential significance, and
will not distort the document's bibliographical identity, even if details of
internal dissemination are excised. Documents that cannot be redacted
according to these criteria will be withheld in full.
(2) The Historical Collection Division will provide all Program
declassification and release determinations to the Directorate and
D/CIA Area IROs whose components originated or have a substantial
interest in the records, to include OGC. The responsible IRO(s) and
OGC will have 30 working days from the date of receipt of such records
in which to appeal, or raise any claim of statutory or common law
privilege in writing to the Chief, Information Review and Release
Group/IMS (C/IRRG) regarding any decision to declassify and release
information, except that 30 day time limit may be extended when the
C/IR RG deems it appropriate.
(3) (U/L.41�61e) If any disagreements cannot be resolved (other than claims
made under Executive Privilege, Attorney-Client Privilege, Attorney
Work Product Privilege, or the Privacy Act, or claims relating to the
protection of Office of Inspector General or OGC information, which
may be addressed in other channels by D/IMS), the matter will be
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forwarded to the Agency Release Panel (ARP) per AR 70-1 (U)
Information Management Program, which will consider the claim and
vote whether to assert or not assert the claim. Any ARP member will
have 10 working days from the day after the vote to appeal the results
of the vote to the D/IMS for decision. In the event of a disagreement
with any declassification and release decision by D/IMS, Directorate or
Independent Office Heads may appeal to the Associate Deputy
Director of CIA (ADD/CIA) for resolution. The final Agency decision
shall reflect the vote of the ARP, unless changed by the D/IMS or the
ADD/CIA.
(4) The Historical Collections Division will maintain a complete record of all
relevant information about the Program reviews and final
determinations.
(5) This regulation is intended to provide direction and guidance for those
engaged in the review of records for declassification and release under
the Program. Nothing contained in the regulation or in any procedures
promulgated to implement this regulation is intended to confer, and does
not confer any substantive or procedural right or privilege on any
person or organization.
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