FORCE PLANNING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP76B00734R000200240004-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 25, 2002
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: August 18, 1973
• Content Type: MF

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Approved For Release 2003/02/Va
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18
August 1973
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Science and Technology
Acting Deputy Director for Intelligence
Associate Deputy Director for Operations
Acting Director of National Estimates
Deputy to the DCI for the Intelligence Community
INFO : Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
SUBJECT : Force Planning
1. At the DPRC meeting yesterday on U. S. General Purpose
Forces Modernization, Dr. Kissinger expressed himself rather force-
fully that force planning should be in response to our view of what kinds
of contingencies we might face, with specific weapons systems planning
and development a technical matter to follow force planning. He thus
believes it important that we develop a set of general contingencies
which we might face in the mid- and late 1980's to help us do the force
planning which must be conducted in the next few years if we are to have
the adequate weapons, etc., development time. He called for a working
group to be assembled to produce in early September a set of the types
of situations we might face in the 1980's against which we could do such
force planning. The lead in such an exercise will be DOD and JCS, but
CIA should be represented. Action: DDI
2. Since some of the prognostications were rather gloomy as to
our ability to have an adequate defense establishment along the lines we
seem to prefer, i.e., involving ever greater technology and cost per
item, I suggested that it might be appropriate to do some consideration
of cheaper forms of conflict which would not require such expensive
force structures. These might include agreed arms limitation arrange-
ments, economic contests, and even subversive or covert action on a
sufficient scale to achieve our objectives. This suggestion went over
rather like a lead balloon, but I still believe it might be worth some
_ IMPoET CL BY
Approved For Release 2003/02/27 : CIA-RDP76B00734R000200240004-0
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conceptual work on our part, not necessarily incorporated into the exer-
cise discussed in paragraph 1 above. Perhaps DDO could take the lead
in doing some "R&D" thinking along these lines.
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Approved For Release 2003/02/27 : CIA-RDP76B00734R000200240004-0