DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON AQUATONE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00514R000200020016-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 1, 2002
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: March 11, 1958
• Content Type: MF

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ISI?IFC4492B 7
Copy 9' of 10
NRO REVIEW COMPLETED
25X1
.1...6.41t
Dissemination o
061
Or:
AQUATONE
anderetand you had planned to have * ireetingwith certain
ASCIN.I. on 19 February which was later postponed until
advised that out of a pardat list of six individuals who
ad the meeting only two were AQUA TONE cleared. I am
the discoesion woad have covered such matters as the
the 134 aircraft, history of recent operations, and the
en misinformed about meeting or, as
is been some misunderstanding between us
'nation on AQUATOiE. In order to remove
like to explain that the rule binding on all
Project is that knowledge of operational
nly to persons with an AQUATONJE clearance
a TALENT clearance) and that AQUATONit clear -
d to additional individuals only after coordination with
kTONE ity Officer.
dent that U there is any miswideratandtng, it has
a between AQUATONE and TALENT clearances.
y persons in addition to yourself have been
don. The basic distinction is between AQUAT ONE
iligence collection project, on the one baud, and,
ligence of various types which is produced by
AQUAT other similar collection activities). The
original intent was that an AQUATONE clearauce would be issued to indivi-
duate having a need to know about the collection project *ad a TALENT
clearance to individuals requiring access to the raw intelligence produced
by AQUATOta but not having a need to know &bout collection techniques or
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operations.
although they would
TALENT system had
only the most limited
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SAPC449Zil
net holding oitty a. TALENT
that photography
ugh illegal over
nonsensitive knowledge of AQUATONE.e technical
capability and would not have to tare any knowledge of organization, loca-
tions of bases. specific operations carried out (inctudbig mission tracks),
cover, or future plans for this cepilectioa project.
4. Through no fault of those adw4idatoriztg the TALENT and
AQUATONE systems, 1 feel that we have fallen into a.vra.L erroneous
practices sad that the above distinction Itas become +seriously bturred.
ipeaking with the advantage of hindsight, one miatake that t believe we have
made has been to grant only TALENT elearences te a number of analysts,
includiug photo interpreters, who could
not perform their functions without having or acquiring a knowiedge
AOUATONE capabilitiee, mission tracks, Millai012 dates. and ether oper
tional. information. Thus at a very *sixty stage it came to appear that the
TALENT clearance covered ituch information, at least for some individuals.
Inevitably this blurred the distinction between the two classances. A second
mistake, as it now seems to vie, was our failure to sterilise AQUATONE-
produced intelligence sulticiently to deny operational inforication to the user
thereof, for instance, photography is indexed by mission mulebeas and
mission plots and made araiiabie (I understand) to the users of TALENT
photography. Automatically, than, every TALENT-cleared analyst knows
almost everything there is to know about the history of AC/I/ATONE opera-
tion'.. Partly, I believe, as a result of these circumstances, it is I am
convinced a fact that the AQUATONEFTALENT distinction has been obscure
or nonexistent in the minds of many TALENT.-cleared persons. We have
alas, reports from several places in the intelligence community to the
effect that TALENT briefings regularly include a description of the collection
activity.
5. I mention these circw stonces so you should reaUss that I
am aware of what has happened. Nevertheless, I cannot agree that even at
its date our effort to satebUsla and give real meaning to the distinction
TALENT and AQUATONE can be abandoned. Even though this
tar hors. may already have escaped from the stable, we may desire
op other animals there in the future. We are therefore, endeavoring
to close the door. More specifically. I have asked Mr. James Reber and
other* to try to make the AQUATONE/TALENT dietiection clear con-
ceptually and then to achieve administratively a change in the character
of,Likria
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of the TALENT briefing. Concurrently with this
individuals who now hold only TALLNT clear ce will be
AQUATONE clearance and made aware a their possession of
going beyond the TALENT system.
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SA PC .2.49Z S
6. The above recital will perhaps explain my request in paragraph
Z above that information en AQUA TONE eapabiiities and operations be
limited to individuais with AQUA TONE clearances approved by the AQUA -
TONE; Security Officer. Despite the grossly excessive spread of koowtedge
about this Project that has already occurred, I would Like to have your
help in preventing any further degradation of our security.
RI d M be111 Jr,
RICHARD M. ILL JL
Director
5 Mar
itten:RMI1
oistribution:
Copies 14E2051
-
3-Dep Proj Dix
4-1 Control Offr
5-Proj Sec oar
6-T Security Offr
7-A dada/ Ops iiviati on trac ts
8-yroj Dir Subj (FU)
Dir Chrono
IO.Project RI Chrono
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