LETTER TO HONORABLE MAURICE STANS FROM ALLEN W. DULLES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R000800020037-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 14, 2003
• Sequence Number: 37
• Content Type: LETTER

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Honorable Maurice Stan
Director, Bureau oF5uet
Washington P5, D. C.
Dear Awry,
On file OMB release
instructions apply.
1 4.:
baye read with intarest the trip report by representatives
of your staff Which you sent to me with your letter of Septenber
9, 19,9 and I en attaChieg ooneants en eertain conelusions set
forth in the revert.
With regard to the feasibility mentioned in your letter or
merging %die Free Merope and Indio Liberty ffteilitiws, I might
eny that, as You undoUbtedIr hear, I have recently reviewed in
considerable detail the activities of both thee, fueilities with
senior officials of other interested governmental Departments,
primarily the Department of State an& USIA. !hese discussions
have tended to weirs the advisability of keeping eeish of the
mile* as separate entities reeponsive to distinct end, differing
policy dictates. &waver, I Obeli be glad to discuse this matter
further, if you vligh, during the course of our 1961_ budost
lecuasions.
Similarly, I Iota& prefer to comment at thet tine on
CO/Iciest= Wtery of the trip revert which raises a Question
With respect to the value of
STAT
Rya vill recall that the same point we included in W. hisey'l
letter to me of AugMet R7, 1959, la that letter, Mr. Miley
suggested the possibility of a further discussion during the
1961 budget Preearitation and I agreed vith hie suggestion in
mY reply of 10 Septa-Ober 1959.
Allen
Arector
Attachment:
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Signature Recommended:
STAT
concur:
STATDep Y
DDT/PG
Rewritten.
27/29 October 1959
Distribution:
Orig. & 1 - Addressee
- DC1 V-
1 - DDCI
2 - DD/P
1 - DD/S
2 - DDP/PG
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Conclusion 2:
The planning end programming cycle within CIA is so lengthy and com
plea that it tends on the one hand to delay the timely initiation of hard-hitting
projects and on the other to inhibit the modification or cancellation of
mar-
ginal projects.
Disc
1. Our planning system was revised earlier this year to more appro-
priately tailor our procedures to our current requirements. Deane of the
features noted in the trip report have been modified. A senior planning officer,
whose duty it is to review Clandestine Services activities as a whole *gains
over-aU foreign policy objectives, has recently been appointed to the trnmedl-
ate of the Deputy Director (Plans). The Prelitahsary Estimates, formerly
prepared 18 months ahead of the action year, are no longer required. Opera-
tional Programs, required 4 months ahead from each component, are being
designed to reflect planned operations and activitiesa for the component as a
whole in terms of selected categories of action within the limits of IfliCID 5 and
NSC 5412/2. Presentation of the Operational Programs in this memner, rather
than by project, aids in evaluating the component's planned activity against
policy objectives and insures a proper balance of available resources within a
given aria. Annual Field Directives to station chiefs have been sharpened to
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reflect priority objectives which are more clearly In support of U.3. foreign
policy and to assign tasks which are within the station's current capability.
2. Headquarters procedures for processing field proposals have been
recently developed to a higher degree of efficiency, and experience shows
that normally these proposals are handled in a short span of time. New ac-
tivttIs suggested by the field are subject to delay in immediate processing
only if there are questions of unresolved policy, priority of operational effort,
or budget limitations. In an effort to act more expeditiously on headquarters
and field proposals in response to changes in foreign political and economic
Mations, increased authority to approve new and amended activities has
been delegated to chiefs of operating divisions. Further delegation of author-
ity in and to chiefs of station is under consideration.
3. Each field station chief has funds allocated for "development and
target of opportunity" activities. These funds are specifically provided to
give him de for prompt action to meet conditions not covered by approved
activities. The obligation to forecast contingencies and, therefore, the prob-
able funds required during the action year for developmental activities,, rests
squarely on the chief of station. There Is no limitation on the use of devel-
opmental funds, except that proposals Involving continuing activity "normally
will be submitted as projects within a six-month period from the date of the
first disbursement or expenditure of funds. "
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4. Emergency situations requiring exp4mdittrres beyond availableundo
and authority for existing activity can be met promptly through channels other
than those established for formal submission of proposed expansion of exist-
ing activity and of proposed new activity. Field requests, setting forth the
conditions, action proposals, and estimated costs, are submitted directly to
the DWI) when the demand is urgent and immediate operational action essential.
. With regard to modification and cancellation of marginal activities,
there is nothing within the planning and programming cycle which prohibits a
chief of station from recommending such action at any time he deems neces-
sary. Under these circumstances, and with headquarters concurrence, the
only delays in effecting a modification or termination are those occasioned by
the necessity for secure and effective action.
6. We feel that the planning and programming system as revised earlier
this year is no longer lengthy and complex, and does not unduly inhibit the
field from adjusting its activities., in consonance with need, to rapidly chang-
ing foreign political and economic condition*.
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Co 3:
C/A station chiefs lack the discretionary authority and fl.ztblUty needed
to keep PP operations closely attuned to the constantly changing international
and national situations.
Disc
1. The conclusion that CIA station chiefs lack the discretionary author-
ity and flexibility to keep operations closely attuned to the constantly changing
international and national situations is based on the assumption that all chiefs
of station have acquired by now a high degree of experience and maturity. It
Is obvious that certain experienced chiefs of station with adequate supporting
elements can be granted greater discretionary authority, and studies are
being ade at this time with the objective of delegating greater authority to
them. There are, however, other considerations that bear directly on the
question.
2. It ie often true thatinformed overseas staffs will have a more tnt!-
mate of local operating conditions than headquarters personnel. On
the other hand, it is not possible for field personnel to be as knowledgeable as
those in headquarters on matters of policy, planning, research, etc. This
condition is magnified in most of the critical underdeveloped areas where our
stations are small and the workload heavy. Personnel, caught in the urgency
of serving day-to-day requirements, do not find time for careful assessment
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rational approaches or for objectively reassessing
existing rations.
3. Without BMW monitoring from headquarters, field operations tend
to be ltvr4ted by the restricted view of the station itself. The broader,
world-wide view of headquarters enables it to place all activities in better
perspective. Aa indication of this is the fact that the great majority of
marginal operations that have been terminated were ended at headquarters
insistence.
4. The proposal to allow chiefs of station to transfer funds from one
activity to another on their own initiative with appropriate limitations cer-
tainly
has merit. As a matter of fact, in the studies mentioned above which
are being made in anticipation of delegating greater authority to station
chiefs one principal consideration is the possibility of controlling funds at
the station level.
2
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Conclusion 4:
Project reporting requirements within CIA are excessively burden-
some and result in a huge flow of paper which, in fact, may actually reduce
effectiveness.
CO
ents on Conclusion 2 with respect to the planning and
progrartng procedure reflect our vigorous efforts to reduce paper work
required of the operating divisions and, in turn, their reporting requirements
on the field. The annual project renewals, prepared for the most pert in
headquarters, now serve as the primary reference to project progress.
These renewals, together with the Annual Assessment of Progress Report
on the Station Field Directive in which the chief of station suggests awstlffica-
tions in the scope, emphasis, and direction of operations, now provtlie all
that is necessary for staff review of progress.
2. With the exception of a very few basic reports of the nature de-
scribed above, chiefS of station, with their greater familiarity of operational
developments, should be and in fact are allowed greater flexibility by estab-
lishing their own frequency in operational reporting, rather than for head-
quarters to lay down universal reporting requirements equally binding on all
stations regardless of their capacity to provide them.
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EXECUTIVE FICE OF THE PREEMENT
Sti?MAU OP' 114E BUDGET
WASHMITON U D. a.
Dear Ham Duna*:
STAT
7)15-iS 5-1'- 31 1( 3
SEP 9 019
I have just finished reading a trip report recently
completed by my staff and am passing it along for your perusal
and possible use. The reports which concentrates on your cold
vex activities, was most interesting to me, as I am sure it
will be to you.
The report alludes to several areas vhich could have
considerable budget impaCt in the future. In additions I would
like to raise the question of the feasibility of merging Radio
Free Europe and Radio Liberty facilities. I hope you will give
this ideas as veil as those mentioned in the body of the report,
your personal attention as we approach the time for a settlement
of your Agency's 1961 budget levels.
Honorable Al/en Dulles
Diraator of Central
Intelligence
Washington 25, D. Co
Sincerely yours,
t;;r
SECRET NI4
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S Lb In I
9 European Field Trii 9tucly of CIA
vitieg and:1qt /fSIA-1)rograms
Introduction
This report is the result of a field trip made by staff members
e Bureau of the Budget to USIA and CIA instal_ations in
In a 1 cases
VGA were fully cooperative in extending assistance and support to
the Bureau of the Budget survey.
The primary purpose of the trip was to gain a detailed knowledge
of political and psychological programs conducted I), the two agencies
in their foreign operational environment. Of particular concern to
the Bureau were the method and extent to which the overt information
Inc pou.leical. action programs or CIA, moreover, were studied on a
project..byeproject basis, and considerable attention was devotel to
management relationships between field and headquarters within the
Agency. Because of the limited time available, no effort was made
to review the conventional intelligence coI1ection activities of CIA.
Roughly of CIA's dollar resources are expended directly
for cold war ctivities. As will become evident, the term is
extremely broad in its application and permits a g'tat diversity of
covert UL St governmental activity throuokout the le)rd. These activi-
ties are normally planned and conducted on an annual project Lasis,
subject to periodic renewal after appropriate foreign oolicy coordination
with the Department of State, This phase of Agency effort has 1,ecome
increasingly significant in recent years. Because ;he Agency budget
document contains very little substantive information on PP programs,
the only practical way of comprehending them and rel.ating them to
other U. S. Government programs is through a project-by-project review.
Such was the procedure followed in conducting this study.
Conclusions
Fe
( 2. The planning and programming cycle within CIA is so lengthy
and complex that it tends an the one hand to delay the timely initiation
of hardehitting projects And on the other to inhibit the modification
Or cancellation of marginal projects.
MET
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t
/ 3; CIA station chiefs 16ck the discretionary authority and
flexibility needed to keep PP operations closely attuned to the
constantly changing international and national situations.
t 4. Project reporting requirements within CIA are excessively
(bnrdensome and result in a huge flow of paper which) in fact, may
attually reduce effectiveness.
5. Over the vers CIA has developed a vast network ofl
I
(
I many
of *Anse activities appear to be of marginal value to U. S. foreign
polic interests.
Discussion
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PIALPrPar4MminA procedure
Under existing arrangements CIA field stations are required
to *Ubmit plans for PP adtivities as much as 18 months in advance of their
inception. These plans are then transmitted to appropriate geographic
division headquarters in Washington where they are refined and transmitted
to a senior staff group for further review aad refinement and finally to
the top-level Project Review Committee of CIA. The last body approves the
projects annually at a specific dollar level. Besides all these internal
clearances, CIA also is required to get the approval of the designated
office in the Department of State for each project.
This type of long-range programming, with senior officials
involving themselves in Operational details of individual projects,
is obviously cumbersome and not geared to react quickly to current
political and economic conditions. In one instance we were told of
a project which after six months, still had not received Washington
approval or disapproval and which meanwhile had lost much of its
timeliness. To a large extent PP activities are conducted through
assets of long-tine duration. As a consequence field estimates often
are nothing but requests for the continuation of existing operating
levels) without particular regard for operational conditions which may prevail
a year and a half hence. To a degree the budget cycle itself requires
this type of programming; however the procedure becomes objectionable
when the dollar levels at Which projects are approved are adhered to with
considerable rigidity* Because of the difficulty in obtaining headquarters
approval to changes in project levels, field estimates tend to be inflated;
further, the long lead time discourages the hard-headed evaluation which
might lead to a more timely cancellation of marginal projects.
Despite the existence of an elaborate system of project reviews
both at initiation and at renewal time$ it is not clear that total
programs (as distinct from individual projects) are evaluated as a
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ropc-f_
Whole againet overall foreign policy objectives. This, in our
opinion, Should be the concern of top level policy people in
CIA and State) while problems of project initiation and execution
ghoul& be treated at lover levels. At present evaluation
responeibility is too fragmented to be maximally effective and maw
often lack objectivity at some levels because of a personal interest
of the evaluator in the project. To put it in summary, today's PP
prograna give an impression of collections of projects, rarely
looked at as a whole and encased in a procedural straitjacket
which is too confining to permit ready adaptability to rapidly
Changing conditions.
katt.qiitti1
In its early days, according to senior officials, CIA granted
%broad authority to overseas stations Which then lacked the ex-
perienced personnel to exercise it wisely. Unhappy with the results
the Agency reversed itself and now has concentrated virtually all
authority in headquarters. The upshot is that CIA station chief*
have remarkably little discretion and flexibility in directing the
use of funds as required by rapidly changing world political con-
ditions. It is true that each overseas station has a so-called
deVelopment of targets of opportunity fund which can be utilised
for purposes of exploiting an unanticipated situation, but insofar
GS we could learn the limits on the use of this money by a station
chief acting on his own authority are very narrow. What is more
,important, station chiefs are not permitted to transfer funds from
/one approved project to another without headquarters approval.
hinite the opposite situation prevails in USIA where the Public Affairs
Officer enjoy* broad authority in implementing USIA's programs.
It was our impression that CIA senior personnel overseas are
experienced, mature, and fully capable of exercising a considerable
degree of discretionary responsibility. It goes without saying)
moreover) that these seasoned people have a more intimate knowledge
of operating conditions than can possibly exist in Washington.
It VOuld seem highly desirable, therefore, that station chiefs be
given authorityto reprogram as needed and transfer funds between
projects. This would facilitate the phasing down or beefing up
of marginal or high-dividend projects, as operating conditions
dictate. As a practical measure it may be wise to limit the
transfer authority to 20-25 percent of the total dollar level
approved for each project. Without some such flexibility) we do
not believe that prograns will be dynamic and vigorously responsive
to the needs of changing times.
A0PoktInd requirements
In our opinion there is a great excess of reporting done by
CIA field stations to Washington headquarters. existing regulations
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require monthly reports on each PP prcjeet. In additLn there is
a continuing flow of informetion on these roecf's whenever any-
thing of significance arises re-_atiLg to them. clven the ion-.
term nature .aost of the ,r-1e2ts and the far'. that Washingt,n
headquarters is apprised whenever signiflcant r7eats occur, and
given the further fact, that in awe areas :4' the worn. Cu'.staffs
are inadequate because cf the lack cf suffiuieht rover t2ositions,
it appettrs Vilteful to require .versef_13 iersunnel to write monthld
summaries on events aid conditions which are &reek known
in headquarters. We liscussed this conciasi-n at all :points of
our visit and overseas persJnnel were fulLy in agreelent. It is
probable that quarter:y rekarts woeli be cntle satisfactcri
in the case of the iverwhelming majorft f the PP projects. If
this were done, a considerable amount of overseas staff time would
be available for more ,r)1Active efforts and at che same time there
may result some reductions in headTtarters whc low busz,,
themselves proeessing the hue flow of montLif re ort.
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App
01.
EN L ISHiteit 2OTh flOJQP..AND BOTTOM
UNOIggfiED CONFIDENIMI-"Bilgrada0aC
----, IP
CENTRAL WMUJ4ENCE AGENCY
OFFICIAL ROUTING SLIP
TO
NAME AND ADDRESS
INITIALS
DATE
1
Col. White - DD/S
ACTION
DIRECT REPLY
PREPARE REPLY
APPROVAL
DISPATCH
RECOMMENDATION
COMMENT
FILE
RETURN
CONCURRENCE
INFORMATION
SIGNATURE
Remarks:
/
Red:
As 1 mentioned to you yesterday,
Boss said he thought he ought to be getting
together for study various materials
with the budget. If you are preparing
budget notebook for him, I would suggest
that you might wish to include this material
since he has not yet had the opportunity
sitting down and studying it very thoroughly.
the
dealing
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of
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FOLD HERE TO RET6FrN TO SENDER
FROM: NAME, ADDRESS AND PHONE NO.
DATE
V d For Release ?, , :I.,..; zt to the DCI
11/23 59
I UNCLASSIFIED tr.-11"ViT016r6RonlikhfiX4n4
Foam NO 9 S7 Replaces Form 30-4
which may be used.
00200374
olos37-4
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1955-0-342531
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STAT
140044MMR FIEORtseM3492a2dRWRDP801301676R00
Attached is a pr2pose4 reply to Mr. Stanst
letter which transmitted a trip report entitled
prepared by representatives of his Staff.
The attached letter gives our comments on
certain conclusions set forth in this report.
L. K.
Deputy Director 5 NOV 195g
(Support) fl
( DATE)
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FORM NO.
1 AUG 54
10 REPLACES FORM 10- 101
WH ICH MAY BE USED.
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