CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGEWCT. C.
Offico of the Director
FOR THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY,
. NATIONAL SECURUT COUNCIL
SUBJECT: Fifth Report to the President by the President's Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities, dated Regarding "National Intelligence Priorities")
subject recemendation reads as follows:
"It is recomaendedealistic appraisal of our priority national intelligence objectives beon an urgent basis; and that the Intelligence Community's emphasis on collection objectives beto Insure that primary emphasis and support are given by the entire Community to the fulfillment of our most critical national intelligence collection programs, as distinguished from fulfillment ofintelligence requirements of lesser importance to the national security."
text preceding this recommendation indicatesBoard of Consultants was particularly concerned with oursuccess, to date, in discovering the operationaldeployment of Soviet ballistic missile units, and thatattributes this lack of success to two factors:
a. endency on the part of certain elements of the Community to place undue emphasis on fulfilling departmental rather than national Intelligencend
b. "the approach presently taken to the matter of establishing and implementing the most meaningful national intelligence priorities."
3. All members of the Intelligence Community are deeply concerned regarding our inability, to date, to Identify and describe Soviet operational ballistic missile units. No member of the Intelligencewould subordinate the solution of this urgent problem to the pursuitarochial Interest. Insofar as the Priority National Intelligence Objectives are concerned, this subject hasatter of First Priority since the present PNIO series was instituted in
APPROVED FOR REI2ASF.6
Our partial lack of success, to date, Is attributable, not to want of priority in the direction of our effort, but to the inherent difficulties of tbe problem and to the fact that, due to too risks involved, we have been permitted to use only sparingly tbe nost promising (certainly tbe aogt of fee tiro) source of bard intelligence on this subject. An Intensive research and analysis effort has been undertaken in order to define the limits of the coverage required for this purpose and so to enhance the chancer ofreakthrough by this aeans. We remain hopeful of achieving this at the earliest date which the nature of tbe problem and of tho resources at ourwill allow. Some progress has boon made since tho date of tbe Board's report. Wo shall exert every effort to improve this situation.
U. The latest revision of tbe Priority National Intelligence Objectives was adopted as recently aa It is subject to continuing review.
PTHOs prepared pursuant totatement of
tbe no at critical substantive problems currently confronting theCommunity, for tbe guidance of intelligence research as veil as of intelligence collection. These however are of necessity in rather general terms and nnst be developed by moro specific collection guides. The derivation of specific collection requirements from those stated objectives requires analysis by research personnel to determine the elements of infomotion essentialolution of the problen, the elements already available or readily accessible through research, the additional Information obtainable through routine collection, and tbo additional information of scch Importance as toriority collection effort, after such priority collection requirements have been conveyed to collection agencies, thero still remain administrative determinations to be made regarding tbe suitabilityiven means of collection to the task and the proper allocation of limited resources.
The proper allocation of collection resources to particular tasksontinuing problem requiring constant review, adjustment, and forward planning. For special reasons, this is especially true of the intelligence collection resources represented by the National Security Agency. tudy of the proper allocation of 1BA resources in relation to the many requirements levied upon them is now in progress.
On the understanding outlined above as regards the continuing review of our National Intelligence Priorities, the particular action being taken as regards priorities for SSA and finally the urgent and coordinated action being taken as regards possible Soviet missile bases as describedecommend that tbe President defer action on theurther report on this subject which we will make to your Board of Consultants at its next meeting.
SIGNED
ALLEN W. DULLES Director
Original document.
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