Enclosure
Washington, November 5, 1947.
Letter From the Acting Secretary of State’s Special
Assistant for Research and Intelligence (Armstrong) to Director of Central
Intelligence Hillenkoetter
Dear Admiral
Hillenkoetter: Under date of October 31, 1947
the Department of State notified the Joint Chiefs of Staff by
memorandum2 of the withdrawal of its
representation on the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) and the Joint Intelligence Staff
(JIS), at the same time offering to
maintain such liaison and coordinating activities as may be necessary
until other channels are established (copy of memorandum enclosed).
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The Department indicated to
the Joint Chiefs of Staff that it believes the proper channel for joint
action in intelligence matters between itself and the Joint Chiefs is
through the Director of Central Intelligence and the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Department therefore requests the
Director of Central Intelligence and the CIA to establish liaison and
coordinating relations with the JIC and
JIS as soon as feasible to the end
that no gap shall exist between the Department and the intelligence
organization of the Joint Chiefs.
In considering the character and scope of the liaison and coordinating
activities to be established, the following matters, among others, are
of immediate concern: (a) policy with respect to the distribution of
JIC and JIS papers to the CIA and, in turn, to the Department; (b)
the forwarding of and responding to requests for intelligence
contributions between the JIC and the
JIS on the one hand, and the
Department on the other, and (c) procedures whereby concurrence of the
Department is obtained in respect to estimates or papers based in whole
or in part upon contributions by the Department, or which are recognized
to involve important conclusions in its fields of primary interest and,
reciprocally, that concurrences may be obtained by the Department on
intelligence matters within the cognizance of the Joint Chiefs.
A number of possible methods for handling the liaison and coordinating
activities described above will undoubtedly suggest themselves to you.
The following alternative procedures, however, are proposed for your consideration:
- (1)
- Joint action on intelligence matters might be accomplished in
the IAC assisted by a sub-staff
appointed by the IAC
representatives, the service members of which correspond to the
JIS, as was suggested in the
JIC 364 series of
papers.
- (2)
- Joint action might be accomplished by enlarging the assignment
of the present departmental representatives to ORE (i.e., Mr. M. B.
Booth for the Department of State, Colonel
R. F. Ennis for the Department of the
Army, etc.), so that these officers represent their departments
with CIA for the purpose of dealing with problems requiring
joint action and the obtaining of concurrences, rather than, as
at present, being limited to such activities in respect to
ORE papers only.
- (3)
- The proposed “Standing Committee” of the IAC could be designated as the
agency to assist the IAC in
processing all problems involving joint action.
Of the above alternatives, it seems to us that the third offers the more
direct and satisfactory solution to the problem, although it might
require redefinition of the functions and responsibilities of the
proposed “Standing Committee.” It is suggested, however, that the
foregoing proposals, together with any others which may seem desirable
to you, be placed
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before
ICAPS in order that an acceptable
solution may be presented to the JIC and
the IAC as soon as possible.
Sincerely yours,
