COUNTERSUBVERSION - A CONTINUING CIA RESPONSIBILITY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M01048A001500030003-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 18, 2005
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: April 13, 1972
• Content Type: MF

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13 April 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Intelligence
Deputy Director for Plans
Deputy Director for Support
SUBJECT : Counter subversion - A Continuing CIA
Responsibility
1. May I express my appreciation for the excellent comments
received with respect to my draft on this subject. They are totally
convincing in their recommendation that no attempt be made to stir this
subject on the NSC level or to try to make it a high.-priority interagency
activity. Perhaps the best indication of their accuracy on this point is
the fact that only one mentioned NSDM 20 of 10 July 1969 on U. S. Foreign
Internal Defense Policy or the Foreign Internal Defense Policy of 23 May
1968, and that one only incidentally. These represented an update of the
1962 policy to which I referred in my draft. The almost total lack of men-
tion of these 1968 and 1969 directives at this time certainly suggests that
the NSC route is not the way to go to get real attention to this topic.
2. The topic in my view remains important, however, particularly
for CIA. Because of this I have redrafted the papers earlier circulated
into one calling for a special CIA effort in this field. This new paper in-
corporates, I hope, most of the points made in your comments and modi-
fies other respects as well. Its approach identifies a continuing CIA
responsibility and tries to define how we should be going about it. To the
extent that this may lead the rest of the community into appropriate steps,
it would merely be another of the situations in which CIA initiatives have
done just that. At the same time, I hope it reflects my thought that our
approach to this matter be sober and in proportion to the problem and our
ability to address it in the context of our other responsibilities, of which
I am well aware we have many.
3. Many activities of course are currently under way in this general
field. These include such excellent actions as DDI's recent memoranda on
the VCI and the Thai and Malayan insurgency situation, DDP's work with
a number of Special Branches and unilateral collection activities and the
contributions of the military, AID and USIA. to the general field. What is
inadequate in many countries, however, is the integration of these separate
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activities into one overall strategy to ensure that a fully effective pro-
gram is prosecuted rather than independent activities with gaps and lack
of coordination leading to a flawed result. I believe that CIA can play a
leading role in identifying the need for such a strategy and articulating
its specifics, so that responsibilities can plainly be assigned among all
agencies.
4. I would appreciate your reviewing this memorandum and pro-
viding comments on it. After coordination, I would propose to present
it to the Director for issuance as a guideline for CIA action against which
we could make program decisions and review progress periodically.
W. E. Colby
Executive Director-Cop6ptroller
1 - Counter subversion - A Continuing CIA Responsibility, 13 April 1972
2 - Foreign Police Forces - Opportunities in the 1970's, 13 April 1972
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