REMARKS AT ARMED FORCES COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION BY GEORGE BUSH, DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP91-00901R000100040016-8
Release Decision: 
RIFPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
10
Document Creation Date: 
December 19, 2016
Document Release Date: 
August 10, 2001
Sequence Number: 
16
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
June 9, 1976
Content Type: 
SPEECH
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PDF icon CIA-RDP91-00901R000100040016-8.pdf321.06 KB
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Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R0001wb4O016-8 REMARKS AT L !j- ARMED FORCES COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION BY L / GEORGE BUSH DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE 1 9 JUNE 1976 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: IT IS A PLEASURE FOR ME TO BE HERE WITH YOU THIS EVENING. I WANT TO TALK VIITH YOU ABOUT THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY AND THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY AND TO SHARE WITH YOU MY PERCEPTIONS AND SOME OF MY EXPERIENCES SINCE I BECAME DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE. I MUST CONFESS THAT WHEN I WAS OFF IN CHINA, THE WHOLE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY AND THE WELTER OF CHARGES AND ALLEGATIONS ABOUT IT SEEMED VERY REMOTE AND UNREAL TO ME. MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD AND READ SO MUCH CONFLICTING INFORMATION ABOUT INTELLIGENCE THAT YOU MUST WONDER JUST WHAT IT ALL MEANS. LET ME SAY FIRST OFF, THAT I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST ASSETS WE HAVE IN DEFENDING AMERICA'S SECURITY. THE COMMUNITY ITSELF IS DIVERSE, AND ITS RANGE OF TALENTS AND CAPABILITIES IS ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE. Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 MANY OF YOU THINK OF INTELLIGENCE AND PERHAPS THINK ONLY OF THE CIA AND JAMES BOND SPY ADVENTURES. WELL, THAT IS A TINY PART OF OUR BUSINESS. MOST OF THE AGENCY'S WORK IS THE FAR LESS EXCITING, BUT EQUALLY IMPORTANT, TASK OF GATHERING INFORMATION, SIFTING FACTS, AND ATTEMPTING TO DEVELOP AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF EVENTS AND TRENDS ABROAD. OTHERS OF YOU MAY THINK OF INTELLIGENCE ONLY IN CONNECTION WITH THE EXCESSES OF THE PAST. INDEED, THERE WERE SOME MISTAKES AND SOME BAD JUDGMENTS, BUT THERE WERE ALSO A LOT OF CHARGES MADE THAT WEREN'T TRUE. THE MISTAKES WERE ROOTED OUT AND STOPPED BY THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY ITSELF WELL BEFORE THEY WERE PUBLICLY REVEALED. AND I'CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WE ARE TAKING EVERY POSSIBLE PRECAUTION TO ENSURE THAT SUCH ABUSES NEVER OCCUR AGAIN. I SAID THAT THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY IS TRULY A NATIONAL ASSET. LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF ITS ACTIVITIES THAT MAY BE OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO THIS GROUP--TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION. Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 THE MAIN MISSION OF FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE IS TO PRODUCE QUALITY INTELLIGENCE FOR THE USE OF OUR POLICY-MAKERS SO THAT THEY CAN DETERMINE POLICIES WITH THE BEST POSSIBLE INFORMATION AND JUDGMENT WE CAN GIVE THEM. (I SHOULD ADD WE ARE NOT IN THE POLICY BUSINESS.) OBVIOUSLY, PRODUCING QUALITY INTELLIGENCE DEPENDS UPON COLLECTING QUALITY INTELLIGENCE TO SUPPORT AND FEED THE ANALYTICAL PROCESS. OVER THE PAST TEN TO FIFTEEN YEARS, THE COLLECTION OF THIS KIND OF INFORMATION HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED. HUMAN SOURCES--SPIES, IF YOU WILL--REMAIN IMPORTANT--AND IN MANY CASES ESSENTIAL, BUT THEY ARE INCREASINGLY HARD TO COME BY. WE HAD TO FIND NEW WAYS TO COLLECT INFORMATION TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR INCREASINGLY TECHNICAL PROBLEMS. IN RESPONSE TO THESE NEEDS, AN ACTIVITY KNOWN AS TECHNICAL COLLECTION HAS EVOLVED. THIS HAS PERHAPS HAD ITS GREATEST IMPACT ON OUR ABILITY TO SOLVE KEY MILITARY INTELLIGENCE PROBLEMS -- SUCH AS Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 DETERMINING THE CHARACTERISTICS AND DEPLOYMENT OF WEAPON SYSTEMS... SYSTEMS THAT ARE THEMSELVES BASED ON ADVANCING AND SOPHISTICATED TECHNOLOGY. A MOST DRAMATIC EXAMPLE OF A SYSTEM TO EMERGE FROM HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY 1'0 THE ENDS OF INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION, WAS THE U-2 PROGRAM IN THE MID AND LATE 5Os THE U-.2 WAS A UNIQUE AIRCRAFT IN TERMS OF ITS PERFORMANCE, THE CAMERA SYSTEMS IT CARRIED, AND THE SUPERB I rORMATION IT COLLECTED. FOR MANY REASONS, THE U-2 IS NO LONGER A USEFUL INTELLIGENCE COLLECTOR. BUT AS THE U-2 B?GAN!TO .."LOSE ITS EFFECTIVENESS, OTHER SYSTEMS CAME ALONG TO FILL THE GAP. THE NEW SYSTEMS HAVE DRAMATICALLY EXPANDED THE CAPABILITIES AND APPLICATIONS OF TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION. TODAY, TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION SYSTEMS REPRESENT A LARGE PORTION OF THE TOTAL NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE RESOURCES. ANOTHER PART OF THIS NATIONAL ASSET IS ITS WEALTH OF HIGHLY EDUCATED AND GIFTED ANALYSTS. COLLECTING QUALITY INFORMATION IS Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 NOT THE END OF THE INTELLIGENCE PROCESS. THERE IS A GREAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE. IF I MAY CITE AN EXAMPLE THAT MANY OF YOU IN THIS ROOM UNDERSTAND ALL. TOO WELL.. .PEARL HARBOR. IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THE UNITED STATES HAD WHAT COULD BE CALLED DEPARTMENTAL INTELLIGENCE. IN OTHER WORDS, EACH DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY HAD BITS AND PIECES OF INFORMATION THAT THEY CAREFULLY CONTROLLED. IN TODAY'S TERMINOLOGY, NO ONE WAS "GETTING IT TOGETHER." ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT MIGHT HAVE LED AN ANAYLST- TO CONCLUDE THAT THE JAPANESE INTENDED TO ATTACK PEARL HARBOR WAS AVAILABLE IN WASHINGTON. BUT IT WAS NOT IN ONE PLACE FOR AN ANALYST TO STUDY: IT WAS SCATTERED ALL OVER TOWN...AND THEREFORE IT WAS USELESS. THAT WAS INFORMATION -~ NOT INTELLIGENCE. TODAY, AS DCI, I HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR GETTING IT ALL TOGETHER. IT'S WORKING. INTELLIGENCE IS THE RESULT OF PATIENT, PAINSTAKING WORK BY ANALYSTS THROUGHOUT THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. LET ME GIVE YOU Approved For Release 2006/10/17. CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 A STATISTIC THAT I THINK AMPLY DEMONSTRATES THE KIND OF TRAINING AND BACKGROUND OUR PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES HAVE: BETWEEN 1971 AND 1975, 51 PERCENT OF ENTERING CIA PROFESSIONALS HAD BACHELOR'S DEGREES, 34 PERCENT HELD MASTER'S, AND ALMOST 10 PERCENT HAD PhD's.... THESE GIFTED PROFESSIONALS HAVE ACHIEVED SUCCESS AFTER SUCCESS: AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE SPOTTED THE SOVIET NUCLEAR ? MISSILES BEING DELIVERED TO CUBA IN 1962 AND SUPPORTED THE PRESIDENT AS HE WORKED THROUGH 13 NIGHTMARISH DAYS TO FORCE THEIR REMOVAL; AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE GAVE SEVEN YEARS WARNING OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOSCOW ANTI-BALLASTIC MISSILE SYSTEM; -- AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE PINPOINTED EIGHT NEW SOVIET INTER- CONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILES AND EVALUATED THE DEVELOPMENT OF EACH THREE OR MORE YEARS BEFORE IT BECAME OPERATIONAL; TWO MAJOR NEW SOVIET SUBMARINE PROGRAMS WERE ANTICIPATED WELL BEFORE THE FIRST BOATS SLID DOWN THE WAYS; Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 -- AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE HAS CREATED A COLLECTION AND ANALYTICAL CAPABILITY SUFFICIENT TO REDUCE THE NEED FOR ON-SITE VERIFICATION FOR SOME KINDS OF STRATEGIC ARMS CONTROL AGREEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN CONCLUDED WITH THE USSR. THE ABM TREATY AND THE INTERIM AGREEMENT ON OFFENSIVE WEAPONS OF 1972 WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT THESE "NATIONAL TECHNICAL MEANS OF VERIFICATION" AND THE RELEVANT ANALYTICAL CAPABILITY. I AM PROUD OF THIS RECORD AND THE PEOPLE THAT COMPILED IT AND YOU SHOULD BE, TOO. THE DEDICATION OF THE PEOPLE IN THE CIA AND IN THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE IS REMARKABLE. AS YOU PROBABLY ALSO KNOW, SOME INDIVIDUALS BOTH HERE AND ABROAD HAVE RECKLESSLY PUBLISHED THE NAMES OF HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHOM THEY CLAIM ARE CIA EMPLOYEES. DESPITE THE THREATS, THE HAZARDS, AND THE DANGERS -- NOT ONE AGENCY EMPLOYEE HAS ASKED TO BE SENT HOME. THAT IS THE KIND OF DEDICATION I AM TALKING ABOUT. Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 LET ME CONCLUDE BY GIVING YOU A BRIEF LOOK AT WHERE THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY NOW STANDS. EIGHTEEN,MONTHS OF INVESTIGATIONS INTO INTELLIGENCE, BY BOTH THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND THE CONGRESS, HAVE COME TO AN END. THE PRESIDENT HAS ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER CLEARLY SETTING FORTH GUIDELINES SPECIFYING WHAT AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE CAN AND CANNOT DO. WE ARE FOLLOWING THOSE GUIDELINES TO THE LETTER. THE CONGRESS HAS ESTABLISHED A NEW OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE IN THE SENATE. SENATOR INOUYE`'IS CHAIRMAN AND SENATOR BAKER IS VICE-CHAIRMAN. WE INTEND TO COOPERATE FULLY WITH THAT COMMITTEE AND THE OTHER CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED TO OVERSEE THE INTELLIGENCE' COMMUNITY. IN TURN, I HAVE URGED EACH COMMITTEE TO SAFEGUARD THE SECRET INFORMATION THAT WE PRESENT. TO THEM. I BELIEVE THAT ONE OF MY PRINCIPAL TASKS AS DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE IS TO RESTORE THE FAITH OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN THEIR INTELLIGENCE SERVICE. THIS WE CAN DO BY OPERATING FULLY WITHIN THE Approved For Release 2006/10/17. CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8 GUIDELINES ESTABLISHED. WE MUST NOT AND WILL NOT/VIOLATE THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY. BUT WE CANNOT RUN AN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE IN A GLASS BOWL. .I AM CFA GED UNDER THE LAW WITH PROTECTING OUR SOURCES AND METHODS OF INTELLIGENCE. I WILL HONOR THAT CHARGE. I AM SICK AND TIRED OF LEAKS FROM WHATEVER SOURCE, AND I' WILL DO MY LEVEL BEST TO GUARD AGAINST THEM. WE MUST NOT HIDE $EHIND ACLOAK OF SECRECY. I AM TAKING STEPS TO END THE OVERCLASSIFICATOJ THAT HAS PLAGUED THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. I WANT THE AJ}ERICAN-,,PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT WHEN WE SAY SOMETHING IS SECRET, IT REALLY IS A, SECRET WORTHY OF PROTECTION. AMERICA'S INTELLIGENCE IS GOOD. . \ WE ARE WORKING HARD TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER...AND YOUR SUPPORT IS IMPOrTANT TO US. THANK YOU. Approved For Release 2006/10/17: CIA-RDP91-00901 R000100040016-8