Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945–1950, Emergence of the Intelligence Establishment

337. Memorandum From Director of Central Intelligence Hillenkoetter to the Intelligence Advisory Committee⁰

Washington, January 27, 1948.

SUBJECT

• Interdepartmental Intelligence Production Program

1. The program for the production of intelligence contained in National Security Council Intelligence Directive 3 can be considered as no more than a statement of overall policies and objectives for the Central Intelligence Agency and the several intelligence agencies of the National Security Council departments. It defines the several types of intelligence and indicates which departments have dominant interest in certain fields of intelligence. It leaves the highly important scientific, technological and economic fields of intelligence unallocated except as to the individual needs of each department. The paper does not, nor was it intended to, provide a definite intelligence production schedule. However, such a schedule is highly desirable and procedures should be perfect now to insure that all fields are properly and adequately covered and that each department receives the material outside its field of dominant interest, which it requires for intelligence purposes.

2. It is the opinion of the Director of Central Intelligence that a prompt and positive approach must be made to a solution of this problem and that he must advise and make recommendations in this field to the National Security Council in fulfillment of his statutory duty as set forth in Section 102(d) of the National Security Act of 1947.

3. It is proposed that the Central Intelligence Agency prepare an interagency intelligence production program, that the preparation be carried out in close cooperation with the intelligence agencies represented on the National Security Council, that it be submitted to the Intelligence Advisory Committee for concurrence or comment prior to issuance for implementation.

4. As a first step in the development of this plan, the Director of Central Intelligence requests that each department intelligence chief submit a comprehensive and detailed statement of the intelligence production program of his department, clearly defining (a) the intelligence requirements of his department; (b) the internal production schedule of his agency to meet these requirements; (c) the existing interagency agreements to augment (1) the internal production with external material and (2) the external requirements with internal production; and (d) the requirements not adequately or satisfactorily met by (b) and (c).

5. The Central Intelligence Agency will attempt to correlate these departmental programs and prepare an integrated plan, with full regard to the existing basic intelligence program, for study, comment and possible revision by the Standing Committee of the Intelligence Advisory Committee for subsequent presentation to the Intelligence Advisory Committee.

6. With a view toward eliminating undesirable duplication of effort in the production of intelligence, particularly in regard to publications, consideration is being given to the proposal previously made by the JIC that the Central Intelligence Agency assume the functions of the Publication Review Subcommittee.

7. It is requested that each recipient of this memorandum inform the Director of Central Intelligence promptly as to the date by which he will be able to comply with 4 above.

R. H. Hillenkoetter ¹

Rear Admiral, USN

0. Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–54. Confidential. Sent to the Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Research and Intelligence; the Director of Intelligence, Army General Staff; the Chief of Naval Intelligence; the Director of Air Force Intelligence; and for information to the Director of Security and Intelligence, Atomic Energy Commission, and the Deputy Director, Joint Intelligence Group, Joint Staff.
1. Printed from a copy that indicates Hillenkoetter signed the original.