THOUGHTS ON THE "O/NE-O/CI RELATIONSHIP."

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79R00971A000200020006-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 7, 2014
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: November 30, 1951
• Content Type: MEMO

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Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2014/03/07: CIA-RDP79R00971A000200020006-0
STANDARD FORM NO. 04
Office Memorandum ? UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO
FROM :
SUBJECT:
AD/NE
R. W. Komer
Thoughts on the "O/NE-C/CI Relationship."
DATE: 30 November 1951
1. As part of the forthcoming Annual CIA Report, 0/NE and 0/CI
are evidently supposed to get together to prepare a brief on the
"Problem of the 0/NE-0/CI Relationship". Mr. Hansen from the front
office has informed us that this is generally considered to be one
of the key problems confronting CIA.
2. I would like to suggest that the front office's evident
"concern" over this problem proceeds at least in part from a miscon-
ception of the role of 0/NE. As I understand it, 0/NE has operated
from the outset under the explicit injunction that the basis on which
NIE's were to be constructed was contributions from the IAC agencies.
Only where CIA performed services of common concern (i.e., 0/RR, 0/SI,
Indications) was 0/NE to rely primarily on other components of CIA.
In fact I believe it was largely State's concern over the way the old
ORE functioned as practically a self-contained estimating facility
which largely led to the abolition of ORE. Thus, if there is any
idea that 0/NE should rely directly on 0/CI for support in producing
national estimates, I suggest that this would not only duplicate the
work of the other agencies but largely violate the whole operational
concept of 0/NE. Various people in OIR at least already regard the
steady expansion of 0/CI as a violation of the agreements underlying
the reorganization last year.
3. This is not to suggest that we should not utilize 0/CI more
fully, but merely that if we go too far in that direction we will be
going back toward the concept of 0/RE. Moreover, underlying any
reluctance to rely too heavily on 0/CI is the feeling on the part of
many of us that 0/CI (except for the Indications staff) is a rather
weak reed. Another factor is that 0/CI's preoccupation with the
quantity production of its own pieces of paper, plus some perhaps
understandable jealousy of 0/NE's position, does not make for full
receptiveness to 0/NE requests. One has the uncomfortable feeling
that if we encouraged 0/CI to participate more fully in the estimates
process they night seek a more independent role than their capabil-
ities would allow. It seems at times that there are already too many
outside cooks stirring the NIE pot.
cc: Messrs. Kent
Bundy
R. W. KOMER
Declassified and Approved For Release @ 50-Yr 2014/03/07: CIA-RDP79R00971A000200020006-0