LETTER TOTHE HON. WILLIAM E. COLBY FROM GEORGE W. ANDERSON, JR.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP76B00734R000200050001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 16, 2009
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: September 25, 1973
• Content Type: LETTER

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WASHINGTON
DD/S&Tf3D~/-?3
2is
PRESIDENT'S FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ADVISORY BOARD
NSC & NSC/PFIAB Reviews
Completed.
744
September 25, 1973
The Board's Science Panel, chaired by Dr. William O. Baker,
reviewed the status of the Community On-Line Intelligence System
(COINS) during the morning of September 6, 1973. A copy of the
agenda and list of attendees are attached.
The Board's interest in COINS dates back to its recommendation to
President Johnson in 1965 for the development of a computerized,
communi.ty-wide system of exchanging intelligence data. Early in
his first Administration, President Nixon endorsed a sustained
effort to achieve such a system and directed the Board to stimulate
and monitor progress toward this end.
The Panel discussion reaffirmed that there has been commendable
progress on the technological side, but established no corresponding
development toward an agreed community concept to guide the tech-
nical capability. The result is that COINS has an ad hoc management
structure, insufficient program visibility and support, and reluctant
participation by some agencies whose self-defined needs are not met
by COINS in its present form. Some unanswered questions are:
-- Is there a need for a national intelligence data base which
~espons~e~~l~y for the maintenance of community
files and which declares information held by the several
intelligence agencies to be the shared property of all?
-- Is COINS to serve intelligence analysts exclusively (for
example, as a tool to manipulate raw data), or ought it
,also to include product consumers as participants?
-- Should there be a single intelligence data-handling system,
or are there legitimate requirements for a multiplicity of
inter-intelligence community systems?
PFIAB
~ .:.~' t .. . :.. ...... . i .. _.._-.:;:,: ":.i, O _ Undeter ns `d
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As a result of its examination, the Panel believes that the current
improvement trends should continue, but recommends that COINS be
given immediate high-level attention in order to:
-- delineate the specific objectives which a community system
should achieve, i. e. , a concept paper;
---- develop an agreed community plan to implement these objectives;
-- identify the management structure best suited to implement
the plan, and manage the program on behalf of the entire
Intelligence Community.
The formulation of an agreed community concept and an agreed plan
of implementation are acknowledged to involve complex problems,
notwithstanding the years of accumulated experience with COINS.
However, in the absence of their being definitively articulated and
accepted as authoritative doctrine, it is clear that COINS will not
achieve the status of a community-wide data- sharing system. At
best, it will remain but one of several independently pursued and very
costly information-handling retrieval systems. Most importantly,
the greater interest of intelligence consumers will not be served.
To accomplish the aforementioned recommendations will require both
the unqualified cooperation of the principals involved and sufficient
fiscal and personnel resources. Given the complexity and superim-
posing nature of the problem relative to the individual intelligence
agencies, assistance from outside the government may be desirable.
Without minimizing the crucial importance in this process of the
Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, it is axiomatic that these tasks be performed under the
direct guidance of the Director of Central Intelligence.
The Board would be pleased to nominate, for your consideration, in-
dividuals it believes qualified to spearhead the project definition phase,
and of course extends its offer to assist you further in every way.
Sincerely,
The Hon. William E. Colby
Director of Central Intelligence
Washington, D. C. 20505
cc: Dr. .Albert C. llall, ASD(1)
eorgeiT. Anderson, Jr.
Admiral, USN (Ret. )
Chairman
Mr. Bernard Briclge,.vater, Associate Director, 0MB
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Status Briefing
Sept. 6 ,
8:30 a. m. Executive Session
8:45 Introductory Remarks
8:50:
9:10
COINS Background and Status
Mr. Morton Goulder, Deputy Assista
Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) fo
Intelligence and Warning Systems (I&
Manager, NSA
9:20 COINS File Content and Product
Review
9:30 User Views
sultant, NSA
lyst
DIA analyst
10:00 Break
10:15 Executive Agent Role
10:20 Data Base Review
10:30 Summary of Ongoing Activities
-- retrieval languages
-- user support
-- network management
10:45 Restructuring of the COINS
Network ("COINS II"); relation-
ship to the Intelligence Data
Handling System (IDHS)
11:00 Computer Security
11:10 Management Summary
11:1h Discussion
I1:30 Executive Session
Mr. Goulder
Mr. Solat. 25X1
25X1
COINS Project
NSA Data Proses
support Group
'lt rr-~ r '~ R?j
Maj. Gen. Daniel O. Graham, USA,
DCI/Intelligence Community Staff
25X1
ASD(I) Review of COINS for the Mr. Norman Solat, COINS Project
Intelligence Resources Advisory Officer, ASD(I)
Committee (IRAC)
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Dr. William O. Baker, Chairman
Dr. Edwin H. Land
Dr. Edward Teller
Dr. John S. Foster, Jr.
PFIAB Staff
Mr. Wheaton B. Byers
Cdr. Lionel H. Olmer, USN
. Agenda Participants
DCI/Intelligence Community Staff
.Maj. Gen. Daniel O. Graham - DCI Intelligence Community Staff
DCI/Intelligence Community Staff
CIA
Mr. Charles Briggs, Deputy Director CIA for Plans, Programs & Budge
Defense -
Mr. Morton Goulder, Deputy Asst. Secy of Defense (Intelligence) for -
Intelligence and Warning Systems (I&WS)
. J
Mr. Norman Solat, COINS Project Officer, ASD(I)
Mr. Albert Albrecht, ASD(I) Staff
DIA analyst
- DIA analyst
Mr. Robert C. Selby, Civilian with AF INAR (Asst. Chief of Staff for
Intelligence, Air Force)
NSA
COINS Project i:'iana-ger, NSA
Data Processing Sup )ort Group, NSA
Consultant, NSA
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