LETTER TO ADMIRAL STANSFIELD TURNER FROM K. WAYNE SMITH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M01542R000700030013-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 28, 2005
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: November 14, 1977
• Content Type: LETTER

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November 14,, 1977
Admiral Stansfield Turner
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D. C.
Dear Stan:
When the Military Economic Advisory Panel met with
you in August, you asked that we look more closely at the
and advise you regarding its
appropriate place within the Intelligence Community and
on possible ways to increase the productivity of overt
collection in today's environment. The Panel's report
is attached. It is not a long report and contains, at
the outset, a summary of key points which I won't try to
summarize further in this transmittal letter.
The Panel meeting in mid-October was called largely
to permit the Panel to formulate its collective views on
issues. This followed the individual Panel mem-
bers' enquiries and discussions at Headquarters Building
We also took advantage of the meeting,
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? rAdmixal Sfansfield Turner
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however, to review progress on some of the broader research
management issues covered in our August Report to you. We
met with Bob Bowie, Sayre Stevens, and Dick Lehman to dis-
cuss various aspects of ruble-dollar measurements and
military-economic comparisons, and we had individual brief-
ings on research planning priorities within OSR, OER, and
ORPA. We will report more fully on these items in our
annual report following the next Panel meeting in April or
May of 1978. However, I do want to pass on to you a few
impressions that the Panel developed as a.result of these
meetings.
Overall, the Panel concluded this session with a gen-
erally positive feeling about the potential inherent in
the new organizational arrangements being built within the
NFAC. The Production Offices we heard from are pursuing
some extremely interesting and important topics on Soviet
resource uses for military and other purposes and on de-
cision processes and organizational arrangements within
which the USSR carries out its programs. Individually,
the Production Offices seem to be advancing into new ana-
lytical fields. The NIO system -- now more closely joined
to basic research within the NFAC -- can be an important
catalyst for improved inter-office collaboration on the
tougher methodological issues that cut across disciplinary
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:,-Admiral Stansf ield Turner
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lines and organizational boundaries built into the pre-
vious production office structure.
We were, with minor exceptions, generally encouraged
by the briefings we had on the research programs planned
for the coming year. In particular:
In OSR, some interesting projects are planned
to extend the usefulness of the military-
costing data in relation to Soviet decision
patterns and to projections of Soviet military
programs. Research for data base improvement
and for supplementary measures of Soviet mili-
tary outlays is also continuing, an effort
which we heartily applaud.
The economic modeling work being done within
the Development Analysis Center in OER was of
particular interest to the Panel. We see
progress being made and we urge that military-
economic data by sector of origin, derived
from OSR's SCAM model be developed for use
within the OER models.
The Director of ORPA briefed the Panel for the
first time, and we learned of research he has
underway on Soviet political processes as they
might affect economic and military develop-
ments. Because the Panel has some questions
about this work, we intend to ask for progress
ing, at which time we hope to have
present as well.
briefings on these analyses at our next meet-
We were also briefed on the increased manage-
ment support being given to the analysis of
Soviet science policy, resources, and R&D.
OSR and OER support for this effort is hearten-
ing, but the analytical inputs from the other
production offices -- particulary OSI and OWI
-- still seems marginal, given the high priority
this Panel places on the subject. The Panel has
not, however, been briefed on the internal re-
search being done within OWI and OSI on Soviet
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?Admiral Stansfield Turner
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science and technology which might spin off
materials of considerable value tol
We understand that OSI is planning to increase
the exploitation of open source literature on
S&T subjects, an effort of potential value in
evaluating US/Soviet competition in science.
(We must also note that does not
have on his team, at present, an analyst with
Russian language capability -- a revelation
which frankly we don't understand.) We hope
that discussions with the Directors of OWI and
OSI can be scheduled for our next Panel meet-
ing and that, if possible, the Chairman of the
DCI's S&T Advisory Panel might
In sum, the October Panel meeting, though short, was
most encouraging from a substantive point of view. We
look forward to hearing about the progress of the NFAC at
the next Panel meeting. And, we hope our comments in the
attached report on domestic collections will be of value
to you.
Warm regards,
Chairman
Military Economic Advisory Panel
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 STAT
STAT OSR/MEAC:
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Distribution:
Original - DCI
1_- D/NFAC
1 - D/DO
Letter to DCI from
Report to the DCI
I- DD/N FAC-
SAD-CI
D/OER
D/ORPA
D/OWI
D/OSI
D/OSR
NIO/E
MEAP
C/MEAC
DC/ME/COST
DC/ME/PROG
MEAC (letter only)
MEAP file
(17 Nov 1977)
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 Approved` For Release %200.6/0-1/17,:
CONFIDENTIAL SECRET
UNCLASSIFIED
EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT ,
Routing Slip
AD/DC I/I~
Remarks: DDO has formed a group to review and comment
to the DCI thru the ADDCI on the attached. Since
there are Community implications regarding the organ
zational options suggested, please-comment to the
DCI in coordination with the DDO. NFAC, DCI, and
DDCI have copies,
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D/23 November 1977
Dc, a
 EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT
Routing Slip
D/NFAC
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