Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950–1955, The Intelligence Community, 1950–1955

158. Memorandum From President Eisenhower to the Executive Secretary of the National Security Council (Lay)¹

Denver, September 2, 1953.

I have signed today Executive Order 10483² establishing the Operations Coordinating Board and abolishing the Psychological Strategy Board.

Supplementary to that Executive Order, I hereby direct that the necessary classified actions be taken to accomplish the following:

Additional Functions of the Operations Coordinating Board

The following are assigned as additional functions of the Operations Coordinating Board:

a. The functions of the Psychological Strategy Board assigned in paragraphs 2 and 3 of NSC 10/5³ approved October 23, 1951, insofar as those functions relate to major programs.

b. The policy coordinating functions provided for in paragraph 3d(1) of NSC 10/2⁴ approved June 18, 1948, under such procedures as the Board shall determine in order to insure the proper degree of security.

c. The functions of the Psychological Operations Coordinating Committee established pursuant to NSC 59/1⁵ approved March 9, 1950, as modified by the President’s directive of April 4, 1951⁶ directing the establishment of the Psychological Strategy Board.

Coastal Raiding and Maritime Interdiction Operations (China)

a. Responsibility for the support of, and training for, the above operations shall be transferred from the Central Intelligence Agency to the Department of Defense at such time or times as appropriate arrangements may be made and approved by the OCB.

b. Those clandestine operations presently conducted by CIA in conjunction with such operations shall remain the responsibility of the Director of Central Intelligence, or be discontinued as appropriate.

c. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall determine, on the basis of the plans and recommendations of the agencies concerned, how much of the personnel, property, record, and unexpended balances of appropriations and other funds available, or to be made available in connection with these operations, shall be transferred to the Department of Defense.

Other

a. The President’s directive of April 4, 1951, directing the establishment of the Psychological Strategy Board, is rescinded.

b. The Consultants Group established pursuant to NSC 10/2, approved June 18, 1948, is to be abolished.

c. The Psychological Operations Coordinating Committee referred to above is to be abolished.

d. The Operations Coordinating Board shall not perform any of the functions assigned in the NSC 17 series⁷ to the Interdepartmental Committee for Internal Security and to the Interdepartmental Intelligence Conference.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

⁸

1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, S/S–NSC Files: Lot 62 D 430, Establishing Executive Order. Top Secret; Special Security; Eyes Only. By memorandum of September 3, Lay transmitted the memorandum to the Under Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Director of the Foreign Operations Administration, Director of Central Intelligence, and to C.D. Jackson, Special Assistant to the President, for appropriate implementation. (Ibid., OCG Files: Lot 62 D 430, Establishing Executive Order)
2. Document 157.
3. Document 90.
4. See Foreign Relations, 1945–1950, Emergence of the Intelligence Establishment, Document 292.
5. Document 2.
6. See Document 60.
7. The NSC 17 series of 1948–1949 dealt with internal security. No reports in this series are printed. Documentation is in the National Archives, RG 59, S/P–NSC Files: Lot 63 D 351, NSC 17, Box 49.
8. Printed from a copy that indicates Eisenhower signed the original.