Some NIS Consideration stemming from recent BGN Name Policies

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-05597A000200050128-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 3, 1998
• Sequence Number: 128
• Publication Date: April 25, 1956
• Content Type: MFR

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Approved For Re ease 1999i~~'''"" - t. 597A0 00050128-9
25 April 193k
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: Some NIS Considerations stemming from recent
BGN Name Policies
1. Recent discussions by the Foreign Names Committee and Bti
regarding German names in the Polish area east of the Oder-Neisse Line
give weight to maintaining a more stable policy respecting foreign geo-
graphic names. The final action by the Foreign Names Committee which
leaves unresolved any change of policy is favorable to the MIS Gazetteer
program in this area. Eventually reconsideration of the present policy
will be in order either when NATO supports a Polish base for these names
under the Stanag paper or at such time as a revision of the NIS Gazetteer
on Poland is undertaken.
2. Another matter which has been under discussion is the Arabic
name base for the Middle Eastern countries. The military position,
particularly that of Army, is that a greater depth of geographic name 9*
research is necessary to satisfy the larger scale maps for these areas.,F-
That is a practical point of view and one which we should attempt to
harmonize with the NIS Gazetteer work by a) encouraging more rapid
development of Arabic base names, b) requiring a much greater depth
of name research for an area before revising an NIS Gazetteer. and
c) through more publicity with regard to published Gasetteers on those
areas in the form of making copies available to the right people in the
area concerned. Our best support in the long run will be the official
use by these governments of such name bases. I want to discuss with
13r. Burrill ways and means in which we can further these ends.
25X1A9a 3. Another related problem is areas where the NIS Gazetteer
program is diver eat from the BEN name policy philosophy. The assign-
m+ent as advisory CIA member on the board of the Board
on Geographic Names and the Foreign Names Committee of BON should
greatly improve this situation. It is my intention to impress the other
members on these committees with a need of maintaining a relatively
stable situation in the broad name policy field in order not to invalidate
major developments of geographic names undertaken within the NIS Program.
25X1A9a
Distribution:
i - SON file
- Gazetteer file
Approved For Release 1999/09/20: CIA- P78-05597A000200050128-9