Dear Bronson:

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00506R000100010041-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 12, 2000
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: April 17, 1972
• Content Type: LETTER

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20506
SECRET
DCI/IC-~7~ -b 303
April 17, 1972
*NSC Declassification/Release Instructions on File*
Mr. Bronson Tweedy
Office of the Director
Central Intelligence
Washington, D. C. 20505
The terms of reference you circulated at the last meeting cover
most aspects of the NSCIC Working Group very well. Certainly they
describe the current operation of the Working Group. However, I have
a few problems to raise.
First I have one small change to suggest on page 3, item c (2).
I would make it read as follows: "Evaluating the response and quality
of intelligence products. "
The major problem i:hat occurred to me as I read the terms of
reference is the following. The NSCIC is primarily a consumer com-
mittee that is to provide guidance to the intelligence community regard-
ing consumer needs and to provide for the review and evaluation of
intelligence products. On the other hand the current Working Group
membership is at least one-half made up of producers, five to five,
excluding you as Chairman. The terms of reference indicate that
the decisions are to be made by consensus. Given the membership
balance of the Working Group and consensus decision making pro-
cedures may not the Working Group have some problems in assisting
the NSCIC in carrying out its assigned tasks?
I do not know the answer to this question and I might like to
discuss it with you. Having started as we have, it is certain to be
awkward at this point to make major changes in the membership of
the Group. 'Certainly it is of value to have the production people
there to discuss problems as they arise. But consensus decision making
is an elusive process and it is difficult to assess the impact on decisions
of the current balance in the Working Group membership. Should there
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be a clear cut difference of opinion, principally along a split of con-
sumers as contrasted with producers on some issues, it would raise
awkward problems. I feel, however, that things have worked
reasonably well so far. In any case, something worth thinking about
is the matter of the most appropriate decision process for the Working
Group.
At lunch the other day I mentioned to you the general feeling
I have that we still do not have a handle on the problem of assisting
the NSCIC to provide guidance as to the needs of the top level policy
makers. I am less concerned than you about the problem of the
distortion of top level policy makers' judgments in the process of
having him provide guidance. I do not believe that one has to force
them to provide guidance, but rather we have to find ways to make it
easier for them to respond. For example, Bill Hyland suggested a few
days ago it might be good if major collectors or program managers
formulated their needs for guidance and had the top level people respond.
When faced with a more concrete formulation of what is needed, they
might provide the really necessary guidance. They may be more able
to respond to well formulated specific issues than they are to produce
de novo comprehensive guidance for the intelligence community. In
any case, I am not certain that we have exhausted, or even tried many
devices, to make it easy for the top level people to give their judgments
on the relative importance of policy issues and intelligence needs.
Earlier I raised the possible value to the NSCIC principals of
a descriptive study of the current working of the requirements process
and other influences upon the allocation of collection resources. What
guidance is now available to the community? What perceptions do they
now have of the needs of top level decision makers? With a more
specific picture before them of the current working of the community,
they might better see how they can help to supply the most needed
guidance.
Sincerely,
A. W. MARSHALL
Director, Net Assessment
Group
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