418. Letter From Director of Central Intelligence Hillenkoetter to the Director of Air Force Intelligence (Cabell)0
Dear General Cabell: The receipt is acknowledged of your circular memorandum1 dated 27 February 1950 about changing U.S. policy regarding the treatment of foreign Military, Naval, and Air Attachés assigned to the U.S. by their governments.
I agree with you that this policy should be reviewed in the light of world conditions at present and that the U.S. might well establish strict reciprocity in granting privileges to foreign attachés whose governments so rigidly restrict the activities of our own attachés.
I should say, however, that this matter is of primary concern to the Departments of Defense and State, but this Agency, of course, has a vital interest in the collection capabilities of our attache organization. You will recall that I wrote the Secretary of Defense at the request of the Intelligence [Page 1075] Advisory Committee on 17 February 1950 to the effect that our Service Attachés are the backbone of our military intelligence collection effort. Foreign governments may well feel the same way about their own attachés. As I see it, however, the change you suggest in our diplomatic policy is not within the competence of this intelligence Agency or of the Intelligence Advisory Committee.
Since our Service Intelligence Officers, in charge of the foreign military, naval, and air attachés assigned here, presumably cannot give highly selective treatment to the various nationalities on duty here, they can make their recommendations for changes in policy to the Secretary of Defense who in turn can take up the diplomatic phases of this matter with the Secretary of State. They are the President’s Cabinet Officers chiefly concerned in this policy matter, whereas this Agency’s duties pertain to the coordination of national intelligence.
However, if it might be considered helpful, this Agency, although having only an indirect interest in the subject, is prepared to submit to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State a statement endorsing the imposing of restrictions on Soviet and satellite attachés, comparable to those placed on our own attachés abroad.
I am requesting my staff to discuss this matter further with your staff.
Sincerely,