CLASSIFIED PAPERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP77-00389R000100070041-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 3, 2002
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: December 15, 1972
• Content Type: SPEECH

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Information and Records Administrators Conference
December 15, 1972
Thank you, Marvin Kincaid, very much for your kind
introduction.
Ambassador. Eisenhower has asked me to express on his
behalf his regrets for not being able to appear in person and his
warm thanks for the work you have already done and which he knows
you will continue to do in helping to deal with the problem of classified
documents.
I recently stumbled across a humorous quip from Paul Louis
Courier reflecting upon "printed matter. " It seemed pertinent to
the feeling of many with regard to the volume of classified paper
generated by the Government. Let me read it to you:
"All printed matter contains poison, more
or less diluted according to the size of the
work, more or less harmful, more or less
deadly . . . . One grain in a vat has no
effect at all, in a teacup it causes vomiting,
in a spoonful it kills - and there you have the
pamphlet. "
Well, if this is the effect of one pamphlet you can imagine the
consequences of 30 million classified documents which are produced
every year by this Government. Mr. Courier would probably call it
a nuclear holocaust.
I can't agree with Mr. Courier's judgment on the consequences
of printed matter, but there were unquestionably serious deficiencies
in our handling of classified documents which led President Nixon to
sign Executive Order 11652 in March of this year. As you all. know, the
Order has two primary objectives: (1) To reduce the amount of material
being classified and safeguard it better; and (2) To declassify material
earlier and on the basis of automatic schedules.
Delivering a talk so close to the Christmas holidays, I couldn't
resist the urge to try and draw a parallel between this talk and Dickens'
Christmas Carol. Accordingly, I would like to talk to you today about
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Classification Past, Classification Present and Classification Future.
Turning first to Classification Past, let me review the progress which
has been achieved since the Executive Order became effective in
June.
First, the Interagency Classification Review Committee has
become active in pursuing the objectives of the Executive Order.
Ambassador John Eisenhower was named by the President as
Chairman. Ambassador Eisenhower has wide experience in
military and diplomatic fields and an additional perspective which he
obtained when his father served as President of the United States
for two terms. The Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and
the Central Intelligence Agency each have senior representatives
serving on the Committee who attend the regular monthly meetings to
reflect the views of their departments and the development of an
overall Government policy. In addition the Archivist of the United
States has been asked to serve as a member of the Committee and
has been attending our regular meetings. Second, there have been
specific achievements which are worthy of note:
1. There has been a 60% reduction in all authorized
classifiers.
2. There has been a 63% reduction in authorized Top
Secret classifiers who are also the only individuals
authorized to exempt from the automatic declassification
schedules.
3. Current lists of authorized classifiers by name and
position are maintained by all the departments and
submitted to the Interagency Committee on a quarterly
basis.
4. Most documents now reflect the required marking
requirements.
5. Of 34 departments affected by the Order, the Interagency
Committee has reviewed and approved the implementing
regulations of 31.
6. All but three of the departments whose regulations have
been approved have published appropriate portions in the
Federal Register.
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7. A series of five Quarterly Reports with forms and
instructions have been prepared to assist the Interagency
Committee in monitoring the classification program.
8. Detailed instructions have been developed to guide the
departments on implementing the data index requirements
of the NSC Directive.
9. 177 declassification requests were received from June 1 to
October 1. 83 were granted in full; 4 in part. 52 were denied
in full and 38 were pending at the time of the report.
Let me turn .now to Classification Present. In doing so I would
like to focus upon the responsibility of the individual Departments
and upon the specific role of records managers in the classification area.
Let me begin with several very general observations.
First it is my impression that there has been an unfortunate
tendency to separate records management problems from security
classification problems. I should just like to see if this observation
is borne out by asking you to show by raising your hands how many
of you have Top Secret clearances. It appears from the show of hands
that it is only about 50%. Clearly unless you have access to the
documents you cannot control them.
This segregation of functions between records managers and
security officers has in my view been an unhealthy one. Classified
documents are nothing more than Government papers which require
complicated special handling. Of course, there are many other
examples of Government documents not classified which also require
forms of special handling.
It is the intention of the Interagency Committee to propose
procedures for dealing with classified documents which put records
managers back into the security business insofar as we are concerned
with the creation, disposition and public access to classified documents.
My second observation regarding records management and the
handling of classified documents is that many of the methods used are
extremely primitive. Records disposition and retention schedules have
not generally been applied to classified documents. Efficient review
and accountability procedures have not been established in many
Departments. Automated methods for retrieving, reproducing and
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accounting for classified documents have not been utilized where it
is appropriate. This is unfortunate and the Interagency Committee
would like to use its resources to encourage updating of such procedures.
I want to emphasize that the Interagency Committee is not
asking that the Departments call upon the expertise of records
managers and ignoring the necessity for having such advice itself.
In fact, Ambassador Eisenhower has requested the advisgry services
of the National Archives and Records Service in developing appropriate
management reporting systems, uniform standard and optional forms
and a handbook of procedures for records managers. The results of
some of this work will become evident shortly in the Quarterly Reports
which I previously mentioned which will be promulgated by the
Interagency Committee as well as the instructions on the data index
requirement.
Finally, let me turn to Classification Future. I would like to
describe for you some particular areas that the Interagency
Committee expects to focus on in the year ahead.
Our Committee cannot be expected to do the job of inspection
review on classification which is the responsibility of each Department.
We expect to ask and take the following steps to bring you the record
managers hack into the job of dealing with classified documents:
1. We shall ask all Departments to submit an annual
or semi-annual work plan whereby records managers
shall inspect and review classified documents to
determine instances of classification abuse, take
appropriate downgrading or declassification action, and
destroy classified records no longer required and having
no retention value. We anticipate that the work plan will
consist of specific steps for inspecting classified documents
originated by a Department. This may include a rotation
schedule for inspection of particular offices, an indication of
the number of individuals involved, and other matters which
would be pertinent.
2.. We shall ask the records managers to develop sound procedures
for facilitating automatic downgrading and declassification
of classified documents. One of the primary objectives of
Executive Order 11652 is to reduce Government costs associ-
ated with protection and review of classified records. It is
up to you as individuals to develop and recommend simple
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procedures for locating those documents which may be
automatically downgraded or declassified. We would
like to have any suggestions you have which would help
to achieve this goal. You are the experts in your Depart-
ments and for us and can provide tremendous assistance if you want
to focus on the problem. At one meeting, I suggested
using color-coated covers which would correspond with the
declassification year. This is a possible idea; I am
sure there are others and that you as the experts would
know them better than I.
3. One of the fundamental principles of Executive Order 11652
is its recognition that now approaches must be adopted
to ensure that documents previously withheld from the public are
organized, indexed and made physically available once there
is no longer any need for protection. Many of you may be
aware that the National Security Council Directive implementing
the President's new Executive Order requires that every
Department authorized to originate classified documents shall
establish a data i.ndex system. I earlier described to you
the work of our Committee in developing detailed instructions
for satisfying this requirement. The Interagency Committee
considers that this is one approach which furthers the
requirement of the Executive Order to increase public
access to classified documents. We are very much
satisfied with the progress which has been achieved in
implementing the data index system. But I am sure there
are other approaches. We are counting on you the records
managers to draw on your experience to suggest additional
alternatives which may improve on or otherwise increase
public access.
These are three specific areas the Interagency Committee will
focus on in the year ahead. I am sure there will be others because
we have an active, interested group working to see that the Executive
Order is a success.
I should like to make one concluding observation. There has
been significant progress since the Executive Order became effective
in June and the progress has been particularly noteworthy in a few
Departments. On the whole, however, I have been personally disap-
pointed by the lack of initiative and imagination in many Departments
in carrying out implementation of the letter and spirit of the Order.
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In some Departments there has been 'L;l' little follow-through to
ensure that the Order works. We would like to see this change in
the year ahead.
I believe the Executive Order establishes a sound framework
for dealing with the problem of documents which require protection
in the national security interest. I believe with your cooperation
it can and will work. If we are to avoid having classified- prihted
material become the poison that Mr. Courier suggests is true of
printed matter, we must work hard to see that the security
classification program is fully carried out.
Thank you very much.
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THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
January 3, 1973
Per your request.
%
Richard C. Tufaro
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