January6
MEMORANDUM
President
Bush y^
for Presidential Directive to the
new Director-CIA
Since our laitave had many intelligence briefingsave read the various reform proposals that have bean submitted to you, along with some that weren't submitted.
1 have not felt free to attend official coordinating meetings, not wanting to put any pressure on Bill Colby who has been extraordinarily thoughtful to me. o want, however, to give you some of my personal views, before any final decisions are madeecisions that clearly affect the conduct of my new job.
I have prepared twelve recommendations that you might want to includeletter of instruction" to the new Director of Intelligence. These recommendations do not require legislation. The list is not intended to be all-inclusive.
I have gone over these with Mike Duval and have talked to Bill Colby on many of them. ave not shown this to Jack Marsh who is out of town today, but be has encouraged me to send my views directly to you.
A personalm told that the Senate is going to act on my nomination soon after it comes back. Barbaralan to go to the Bahamas for one week commencing January 7th. Before that andill be in my EOB office.ope youillhance to visit in person before any final decisions are made. Hopefully, this could be done immediately upon my confirmation.
approved for release date:
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:
hope whatever La done will not be too defensive. view the general theme should be:
Intelligence is vital to our country. We are making proposals to strengthen it and improve it. The President will see that abuses are eliminated and he will guarantee that we will maintain and strengthen our vital foreigncapability.
think you should move immediately to takethat do not require legislation. This can best bea letter to the new Director along the lines of yourto Bill Colby. It can be done at the same time aslegislative changes, but in any event it shouldake office.
specific twelve points follow.
The DCI will have access to all intelligence information. None shall be withheld from him, and when he asks for any information from any department it will be granted to him* The Director will take the appropriate steps to guarantee that information provided him ia kept, secret.
Comment:
ThU instruction is essentialuarantee that no Department withholds vital information from the Director, ecognize the sensitivity of high level policy discussions with foreign leaders, for example, but unless the Dirsctor has access to all intelligence tho estimates presented to the President are not as good as they might be* Procedures can be initiated to guard against leaks; but, in the final analysis,m to do this jobust have your confidence and that confidence must be expressed through instructions to all concerned to make available to me any informationequest, eel the same way about so called "serieshich are indeed intelligence. ecognize that some information is so sensitiveill have to hold it In my own personal office, but the principle must be established that the Director has access to all information.
The Director will have direct access to the President. The President instructs the Director to give him objective and independent intelligence without regard to any foreign policy considerations. The President expects the Director to work closely with, but the President wants it understood that the Director will have direct access to the President when ho feels such access is necessary.
Comment:
thU"tated publicly will
make my job much easier in the Intelligence Community and
Z n,e mi andthe information
being too filtered when it reaches tte President.elieve
our agreement on regularly-scheduled meetings should be made
Point 3.
The Director will be given Cabinet rank, but he will not attend Cabinet meetings unless they relate to foreign affairs.
Comment:
Cabinet rank bestowed by the President will demonstrate the importance the President feels about intelligence;hould not attend Cabinet meetings unless the agenda Is foreign affairs. You would get enormous political flakid. The Cabinet rank, however, would help in dealing with the Deputy Secretaries and the Secretaries at State and Defense particularly. It is more form than substance but Colby made the original recommendationupport it.
The President reiterates his support for the Director as his top intelligence officer and instructs him to meet from time to time with the Secretaries of State and Defense as well as the head of the NSC in order to insure the President of maximum cooperation between the producers and the users of intelligence.
Comment:
Maximum cooperation between the Secretaries of State and
Defense with the DCI is essential to an efficient intelligence system.
The President plans to appoint an additional Deputy for CIA. He instructs the Director to have one Deputy concern himself with managing the agency under the direction of the Director. The other Deputy would concern himself primarily withof the Intelligence Community for the Director.
Comment:
Thisecommendation of the Rockefeller Commission that has wide spread support in the Community and on the {fill. m told it can be initiated without Hill action but legislation wiU be required eventually because of the "advise and consent" provision. The concept makes sound management sense to me.
the president instructs the director to renew his efforts in the resource field for the entire community. the president will look to the director for maximum effort to eliminate waste and unnecessary duplication regarding resources of both money and manpower. the department of defense is instructed to provide the director with maximum cooperation in this regard
comment:
various proposals have been presented to you for strengthening the director's role in resource control. ave avoided here the many specific recommendations on reorganization affecting control of resources. m convinced that the director needs more than this supportive language if he is going to reallyonstructive influence in controlling resources. language such as thisill help, however. it is my intention, of course, to be in close touch with jim lynn on resource control after confirmation.
The Director will not have as priority the tactical intelligence field. Tactical intelligence has been and should continue to be the priority concern of defense intelligence. The Director shall be alert to eliminate wasteful duplication in the entire Intelligence Community, however.
Tactical intelligence really belong* to the military. By down playing the DCI's role in tactical intelligence you helpong standing Irritant between DOD and CIA. The Director can keep his eye on the "big picture" but language such as suggested inill be well received by Defense yet needn't result In escalated overall intelligence costs. It simply gives the Director guidance on priorities.
The Director should give immediate attention to housing his Intelligence Community Staffocation separate from CIA Headquarters at Langley.
Comment:
This move* will be well received by non-CIA elements in the Intelligence Community, many of whom over the years have questioned the Director's objectivity. ThereIA buildingtreet that could probably be used. This move has Bill Colby's support. Mike Duvalave discussed locating the Director and some of bis Community Staff (when the DCI is not in his Langley office) in the EOB. ppose this, feeling that you will be accused of making the Intelligence Community political or getting it too close to "policy. " My own political past argues for location other than in EOB.
There have been suggestions that in order to increase the Director's appearance of objectivity, the DCI should have no operational control over CIA. trongly oppose thesetrongly oppose removing the Director from his Langley office and separating him from his only power basethe CIA itself. o support having the Community Staffeparate location from the CIA itsolf.
Comment:
The Director ie instructed to give maximum attention to cooperating with Congress. Where there undoubtedly will be some matters of difference between the Executive and the Legislative Branches and the Director is expected to follow Presidential directives to the letter when disputes arise, the Director is instructed to work closely with the appropriate authorities in Congress on matters relating to national intelligence.
Some language is necessary to reaseure Congress. If such language is omitted, that in my view would make the news.
the director is instructed tohorough review of all cia instructions that have been issued over the years regarding guidelines for proper conduct of intelligence matters. he should take any additional reform steps that he deems necessary. many reforms have already been implemented by director colby, but the president wants direct assurance from the new director that he has done everything in his power to guard against the abuses that have damaged the intelligence community.
comment:
on't want to see your letter or your non-legislative instructions dwell on sins of the past you would be attacked unless some "correction of abuse" language is involved. this paragraph should not be read as an appeal for no executive order restricting intelligence community activities. indeed from youran see the essentiality of some type executive order. o feel that many of the necessary corrective steps at cia have already been taken*
The Director working closely with the NSC, is instructed to take the initiative in finding more satisfactory "cover" arrangements for CIA personnel operating abroad. Appropriate departments of government are instructed to give fullto the Director.
Comment;
I put this in here because of the recent Welch killingthere is an increasing problem in providingfor CIA agents abroad.
Welch's death makes this inclu&TontimeTyr
[CI
Covert Action. The President instructs the Director that no covert action be initiated without signed formal approval of theommittee and direct Presidential instruction.
Comment:
I include this paragraph on covert simply because it is on the minds of so many people. ave proposed nothing new here eiteration of the status quo. My own gut instinct is to minimize our use of covert action, saving it for clearly Important operations. If youentence on this would be well received by the critics. This approach is far better than requesting legislation which would lock you and future Presidentsrocess which might in the future prove inadequate.
Original document.
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: