CONVERSATION WITH SECRETARY OF TREASURY BLUMENTHAL 15 APRIL 1977

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M00165A002100010015-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 5, 2004
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: April 16, 1977
• Content Type: MFR

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16 APR 1977
NIEPIORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: Conversation with Secretary of Treasury Blumenthal
15 April 1977
1. The Secretary suggested that we get some kind of a group
together to look at where the overall economic research and
analysis assets of the country should be applied. He has a par-
ticular interest in insuring that we are looking to the long term
and not just the pressing needs of today and tomorrow. I agreed
on this and offered to sponsor a luncheon with the principal
people from State, Treasury and CIA to discuss this.
2. Secretary Blumenthal wondered if he knew all of the
capabilities that intelligence offered to him and what he should
be asking for. He was only aware of the intelligence that he was
receiving, not what he might be receiving.
a. We simply have to work up a presentation
on what intelligence can do for our various consumers,
especially the Cabinet officers.
b. I suggested to the Secretary that he and his
Under Secretary develop a list of the ten things they
would like most to know more about and that we might
be able to provide them, and that this would be a
basis for discussion.
3. The Secretary described to me why he had cut the Office
of National Security staff from 25 to something quite a bit
smaller. They used to handle the classified material; he's now
doing that in a central secretariat. They used to do a number
of other things that he has moved elsewhere. I asked him about
the daily support he was getting; he showed me a series of spot
intelligence materials from INR, another one from Treasury, and
another one from where he didn't know, none of which I recognized
or coincided with the material we have been providing on this
particular day. I suggested to him that he look at the NID and
told him of the format revisions. He said he had discarded it
after a couple of days of perusal in the early part of his tenure.
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I encouraged him to relook at that and he said that he would.
Based on his evaluation, we ought to decide whether to abandon
the NID, reformat it, or whatever.
4. Secretary Blumenthal has a number of major overseas
conferences he's going to in the near future., I told him we
would see what support we could provide him. He's particularly
interested in more than the standard biographies on the people
he is going to meet with. He'd like to know what their present
situation is in the power structure in their countries, whether
they have any particular problems, rivals, etc., as well as
information on the issues that may be raised by the various
participants in these conferences. The conferences are:
NT'AL
F
CON
a. A meeting of the "five Finance Ministers"
something that goes on regularly but very secretively.
b. The seven nation summit to which the President
is going.
c. The OECD ministers' meeting in June.
d. The Inter-American Defense Board/Inter-
American Development Bank meeting in San Salvador.
e. Bilateral meeting with Japan.
5. Secretary Blumenthal asked whether we had some special
briefings planned in preparation for the seven nation summit.
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