ROLE OF THE SENIOR REVIEW PANEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP98S00099R000400750021-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: March 3, 1980
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/12/03: CIA-RDP98S00099R000400750021-1
3 March 1980
Memorandum for DD/NFA
Subject: Role of the Senior Review Panel
1. You requested the Panel to consider its future
role and to provide you with ideas relating thereto. We
present here as subjects for discussion some thoughts which
are responsive to your expressed wish to have the Panel
provide increased support to the Community responsibilities
of the DD/NFA and the DCI and which reflect the changes in
procedures proposed by C/NIC. Not being immersed in the
current intelligence process, the Panel is in a position to
stand back and devote thorough attention to particular
problems.
2. The Panel's proposed activities fall into two
broad categories:
a. Helping to assure that the Community's
analytical and substantive product achieves and
maintains the highest possible quality and
timeliness.
b. Helping to assure that Community
analytical and production resources are being
utilized most efficiently and effectively.
3. To carry out the functions under 2a, the Panel
proposes to:
a. Provide an off-line review of major
products at appropriate stages during their
preparation.
b. Carry out special post-mortems of finished
intelligence as requested by the DCI or DD/NFA or as
deemed necessary by the Panel.
ALL PORTIONS ARE b hrJ:,i(vt CL BY SIGNERS
CLASSIFIED CONFIDENTIAL
O D2CL9REVW ON 3 March 198b
DERIVED FROM
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Subject: Role of the Senior Review Panel
c. Participate in substantive planning of
interagency production, and advise on research
needs concerning particular estimative issues.
d. Review past estimates on particular
subjects to establish analytical performance
over time on the issue and determine if there are
lessons to be learned applicable to the current
milieu.
e. Review the structure and format of
interagency products.
f. Identify collection and communication
problems that bear on specific product quality.
g. Review and advise on the coordination
process and problems.
4. To carry out the functions under 2b, the Panel
suggests that it:
a. Review Community finished and planned
production to identify gaps and overlaps.
b. Review the distribution and use of
production resources, check the status of basic
intelligence coverage in relation to available
resources, and assure that there is a rational
understanding of production responsibilities.
Current resource shortages and potential long-
range intelligence shortfalls would also be
identified.
5. In addition to the above activities, the Panel
offers to take on whatever tasks the DCI may wish to assign
to it, either as a corporate entity or as individuals. The
Panel has, in fact, given some thought to advising on the
management of Community resources that are in the DCI's
realm of responsibilities and for which there seems to be
2
CONFIDENTIAL
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Subject: Role of the Senior Review Panel
only uncertain staffing at the present time. These thoughts
have arisen in part from the Panel's study of the Community's
performance on the Soviet Brigade in Cuba and have greatly
benefited from Admiral Robertson's analysis. (see attached)
a. The Panel could, from time to time,
undertake other comprehensive post-mortems on
particular performances of the entire Community
in terms of collection and analysis, and present
appropriate recommendations.
b. More generally, the Panel could examine,
periodically or when needed, the allocation of
collection and analytical personnel to agreed
intelligence tasks in order to ascertain whether or
not the allocations are reasonably balanced and
adequate. It could furthermore look for current
resource allocations that risk falling short of
intelligence needs over the longer run. And it
might study ways in which management responsibilities
for these problems could be fashioned.
c. Finally, the Panel could determine if basic
intelligence needs and data base maintenance for
particular subjects and areas are getting adequate
attention in terms of both near term and long term
priorities.
6. The Panel is prepared to discuss this with you at
your earliest convenience.
William Leonhart
N
Bruce Palmer, Jr.
Attachment:
As stated
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Memo for SRP
Subs: Role of the Senior Review Panel, comments on GF.N PAL1TR's craft
1. From my somewhat outsider viewpoint, I am in general agreement with the
proposals in the draft, but offer the following thour:hts:
- There are certain staff and line management functions that need to
be performed on behalf of the DCI, by someone. Even should he choose to use
the D/DDI/NFA as an executive agent for these functions, that individual will
then need to delegate the functions, which can be grouped as follows (almost
paralleling the listing of possible functions in Gen P's draft):
--The preparation of NIE's, SNIE"s, IIMs, other significant community papers
--The subsequent critical review of extant juci;,i:ments within these
papers (not to interfere with the productic,r. and disserni.nation process)
--The coordination of community analytic su,,lpou?t to the DCI during
crisis management periods
--The coordination of community production r~ -pc n: ibilities and
cooperative production planning
--The oversight cf community analytic resource allocation, on a not-
to-interfere with agency managmcnt basis
--The analytic review of community collection requirements, and, in
coordination with the NITO's, the review of the adc?uacy of collection
assets tasked to meet these requirements
--Direct, highest-level analytic support to the DCI on an ad hoc basis
--The execution of top-level Devil's Advocacy role
--The conduct of post mortems cutting across :agency or discipline boundaries
--The survey of the health of basic intelligence data bases
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- At the present time, all of these responsibilities devolve, in one way
or the other, upon the NIO organization. Even thcc best of the NW's, if staff
were doubled or.tripled, would have to discard ht;lf of these responsibilities
to concentrate on major issues and produ!ts facia,, ni-n or c da\ to d--ti ta:,is.
hopefully including some clarification ?:,f th, : r ?,.ith_?, t,i: iu.: Ili'!( ir.:e
communit}. As a start, and in ccnjur, , ten
and definition of the role of the Senior Revicv P:inci, one sh0?..1c: cuasider
dividing the list of responsibilities noted above in some manner as follows,
with the essential concept being the evolution of those functions which most
resemble line management functions to the NIO arena, and those functions which
mcst reserbdte staff functions to the (expanded) Senior Review Panel:
NIO/NIC SRP
Prepare NIE et el Periodic challenge to extant NIE
judgements
Coord crisis management
support OvcrMec houlth of ;ntellignece
data bases, resource allocaticns
Coord production responsibility,
cooperative production planning Top-2c?vel Devil's ad.,d-cac}'
Review important areas of co'lectit?i.
requirements, intt,rf;:c?e with NJTO~?
Direct support to D? I , 1ju
Y1,ile holding the 1>rc : er:t mi::;:L r ;hi'. ~....y...~.......nertrr- tit ,;_ i>:, t t h i
ru~?ard I yet believe these functions listed (,r? tlh4- I' ',ht ab rvr u'i:l ?.xcesc' : ,~
scope of the SRP, and a new q)proach to SRP member.! 11' reeds to be pursued. ltie
functions proposed are such that they can be managed on parttime basis, and should
require a wide diversity of expertise, scattered over time. I would therefore
suggest the tapping of the best of the retired world - from the entire intelligence
community and from those (e.g., ex Ambassadors) who have been closely related to
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the potential issues. A funding concept should be approved which acknowledges
that 3-4 such incividuals may, at any given time, augment the SRP; for continuity
they should be contracted for recurring service in a particular area of expertise,
and be well aware of a continuing, albeit non-full time, responsibility. My
personal opinion is that there is a wealth of such talent interested in such
assignment, provided they clearly understand roles and missions.
- It would be helpful if some realistic Sep,ration of the SUP (within: this
concept) from NFAC could be arranged, either physi