INFORMATION REVIEW & RELEASE (IRR) NEWS FOR 8-12 DECEMBER 2003

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01247767
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: April 2, 2019
• Case Number: F-2010-01471
• Publication Date: December 12, 2003

Approved for Release: 2019/03/27 C01247767
Information Review & Release (IRR) News for 8-12 December 2003
Executive Summary
Future Planning Calendar
(U/h444343)- 8 January 2004: Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP): Next Liaisons'
meeting at Crystal City.
(U/tAtI10) 27 January 2004: Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP): Next Principals'
meeting at EEOB in Washington, DC.
(UPA u t.)) 31 December 2006: The Automatic Declassification Date per Executive Order 12958, as amended.
Overview of IRR Activities--Last Week
(b)(3)
(b)(5)
(b)(3)
(U//741440) Church/Rockefeller Reports on ARP Database
(UHAIU0) The Publications and Policy Review Division (PPRD) recently added complete copies of the Church
congressional reports and Rockefeller Commision report to the Agency Release Panel (ARP) database. The copies
are full text searchable, and can be viewed in their original format via links provided in the database. The 1970-era
reports offer comprehensive responses to allegations of wrong-doing within the CIA and other national intelligence
entities.
Approved for Release: 2019/03/27 C01247767
Approved for Release: 2019/03/27 C01247767
(U//A4I30) FOIA Requests
(UHATrO) DCIDs Shed Light on US Intelligence
(U//71110) Federation of American Scientists (FAS) Senior Research Analyst, Steven Aftergood, is requesting "a
copy of all unclassified Director of Central Intelligence Directives (DCIDs) that may have been issued or reissued
since the date of my last pending request for such Directives..." Mr. Aftergood adds: "DCIDs collectively govern
the activities and operations of the intelligence community. Insofar as these documents are unclassified and can be
disclosed without damage to national security, their disclosure would serve the public interest by shedding light on
U.S. intelligence."
(UHARII/rRecords on the Jamaican Founder of "Reggae"
(U11,414z40) A requester from Kentfield, California, seeks records on Bob Marley, the Jamaican founder of the
spiritual and musical movement known as Reggae. He also seeks records on the "Most Observed List for the island
of Jamaica."
�
The requester failed to adequately describe "Most Observed List for the island of Jamaica for purposes of a
reasonable search, and was so notified
(UHAILLQ) Author Requests COMIREX Records
(U/441+)10) Author and frequent requester, Jeffrey Richelson, seeks copies of four COMIREX (Committee on
Imagery Requirements and Exploitation) documents. He provided document numbers and titles (or partial titles) to
facilitate a FOIA search.
� The FOIA case manager referred the requester to the reorganized National Imagery and Mapping Agency
(NIMA) now known as the National Geospacial-Intelligence Agency for NGA's review and direct response.
The NGA is responsible for COMIREX records.
Editor: Mr. Richelson's books on imagery-intelligence include: America's Space Sentinels: DSP Satellites and
National Security (University Press of Kansas, 1999); and America's Secret Eyes in Space (Harper & Row,
1990).
(U/7 1771071n a 1965 memo to the DCI, then-DDI Ray Cline proposed the following concerning CIA's imagery
resources: "I think it is essential for the DCI and the Agency to maintain a substantial capability for 'detailed
studies' of imagery available at the national center (NPIC) to meet priority intelligence needs of primary
interest to CIA rather than to the Intelligence Community as a whole.... This would mean that, if the squeeze on
reference or research projects in the national center becomes too tight in view of the workload there, the DCI
would still have a capability for handling urgent projects without being subject to veto by other members of the
Intelligence Community." In the same memo, Cline named the new Committee on Imagery Requirements and
Exploitation (COMIREX) and proposed changing the National Photographic Interpretation Center's name to
the National Imagery Analysis Center.
(U//A4440.). CDC Declassification Center
(UHA11710). From The Archives:
(UHAIU0) Dien Bien Phu�"57 Days of Hell"
Approved for Release: 2019/03/27 C01247767
Approved for Release: 2019/03/27 C01247767
(UNA14449) The 18 March 1954 Current Intelligence Bulletin, titled "Viet Minh effectiveness at Dien Bien Phu
surprises French," reports that "a high French official in Saigon described the situation as 'very serious." French
commanding general Navarre's staff "is appalled by the enemy's swift successes in overrunning French strong points
manned by tested troops, and by the concentration and accuracy of Viet Minh artillery fire... .the first phase of the
attack had been 'very bad' for the French...and the eventual outcome of the battle would depend on French air
power, the ability of the French to lift sagging morale, and the extent the Viet Minh command is willing to take
murderous losses to crack battle troops." The French official believes the Viet Minh had decided to risk maximum
effort at Dien Bien Phu because they recognized the catastrophic effect of an insurgent victory. Such a victory
would "further damage French military morale, already lowered by talk of an imminent truce; seriously discredit the
strategy of General Navarre; and give the Viet Minh a tremendous boost in prestige perfectly timed with the Geneva
conference."
� The battle of Dien Bien Phu lasted from 13 March to 8 May -- "57 days of hell." France had been fighting the
Viet Minh since 1946 and by late 1953 both sides were preparing for peace talks in Geneva. The French chose
Dien Bien Phu, a stronghold at the bottom of a bowl-shaped river valley, as a site for a battle because of its
position as a hub of road connecting Laos, Thailand, Burma, and China and with the intent of interdicting the
enemy's rear. Several factors prevented French air power from playing the decisive role planned for it: I) the
distance from Hanoi to Dien Bien Phu, 2) monsoon rains, and 3) the strategic placement of Viet Minh artillery.
In a major logistical feat the Viet Minh had dragged scores of artillery pieces up steeply forested hillsides,
which the French had written off as impossible. Legend has it that in preparing for the battle, Ho Chi Minh,
surrounded by his staff took off his tropical helmet, turned it over and putting it in his fist said, "the French are
here." Then, slowly running his finger around the edge, he quietly said, and "we are here." When the Viet
Minh opened the battle with extremely heavy artillery fire, the French artillery commander, aware he had
vastly underestimated his adversary, committed suicide. After 57 bloody days, the Viet Minh overran the final
French positions at Dien Bien Phu. At the Geneva talks, the French sued for peace, and Vietnam was divided
into the North and South with elections to be held within two years.
(U//A-We) Relations With FBI
(MARJO) FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover passed a wide range of documents to various DCIs over the years for their
edification. One of the more unusual, provided in 1950 to General Bedell Smith, was a copy of Alfred S. Kinsey's
pioneering study, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. The book was forwarded by the FBI liaison officer to CIA
along with a review done by an Agent Suttler, who was then handling sex offender matters. Agent Suttler observed:
"Dr. Kinsey has contributed a study helpful to students of sociology, psychiatry, psychology and anthropology, but
its value is limited. His sincerity to do a scientifically important study is not questioned, but exceeds his ability to
accomplish the net result. It is conceivable that interested legislators might glean from the book valuable data in
forming more effective sex laws, but it is also conceivable that this book could do incalculable harm in the hands of
adolescents who read it as a justification for their own sexual habits." The FBI requested that the "book be returned
after it has served its purpose."
CC:
Approved for Release: 2019/03/27 C01247767