PROPOSAL FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGY BOARD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01731R003400010040-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 8, 2005
• Sequence Number: 40
• Publication Date: February 24, 1951
• Content Type: MEMO

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STANDARD FORM o.64
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25602
Office Memorandum ? UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PILAFS DATE: 24 February 191
FROM : Assistant Director for Research and Reports
SUBJECT: Proposal for Psychological Strategy Board
REFERENCE : Draft Presidential Directive, dated February 19, 1951
1. O/RR's principal concern with any proposed organiza-
tion to coordinate psychological warfare relates to the impact
of such proposals on the allocation of responsibility for
psychological warfare intelligence. The problem of intelli-
gence support for psychological warfare operations is not
mentioned in the draft proposal. Should any question arise
as to whether some mention of intelligence support should be
made in the directive, it is the view of this office that it
would be undesirable for the directive to deal with this
problem. O/RR, O/PC, D/IC, and the appropriate offices in the
IAC agencies have been informally working out arrangements
for the allocation of intelligence responsibility in the
psychological w arf are field. These arrangements appear to be
satisfactory at the moment, but all parties regard them as
tentative, and we feel that it would be unwise to freeze any
detailed allocation in a directive at this time.
2. I would personally add a comment on the proposal at
the bottom of page 2 of the draft that the chairman of the
Board assemble a staff of individuals detailed on his request
from the participating departments and agencies. Our experience
has not been very satisfactory with staff' detailed from other
agencies to work with us. Especially in times of crisis like
these when all agencies feel a lack of enough competent people,
the natural Lrtpulse is to assign to this sort of staff those
people who are not urgently needed in the current operations of
the agency. If this Psychological Strategy Board is to be
effective it must have a staff of the very highest competence.
I would suppose it would be more likely that such a staff
would be assembled if the chairman of the Board were liven
authority to hire his assistants directly rather than by assign-
ment.
NSC review(s) completed.
25X1
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To% Secretary of State
Secretary of Defense
Director of Central Intelligence
It is my desire, and I hereby direct, that there be developed and
implemented, within the framework of approved national policies, a
vigorous and imaginative psychological warfare effort.
There is established under the National Security Council a
Psychological Strategy Board responsible, within the purposes and terms
of this directive, at the national level for the formulation of over-all
and strategic psychological warfare objectives, policies, and programs,
and for the coordination and evaluation of the various components of
the national psychological warfare effort, including authority to
issue policy guidance to all departments and agencies of the Government
executing portions of the psychological warfare effort. For the pur-
poses of this directive, psychological warfare shall not include overt
types of economic warfare.
The Secretary of State shall continue to be responsible for the
coordination of the operational planning and execution of national overt
psychological warfare activities and for insuring that such activities
are consistent with U. S. foreign policy.
The Secretary of State is directed to examine into the organization
established under NSC 59/1 and is authorized to effect such readjust-
ments in that organization as he deems necessary to accomplish the
purposes of this directive.
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The Board shall be composed of:
a. a full-time chairman, designated by me.
b. the Under Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of
Defense, and the Director of Central Intelligence, or,
in their absence, their appropriate designees;
c. an appropriate representative of the head of each such
other department or agency of the Government as may
from time to time be determined by the Board.
A representative of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall sit with the
Board as its principal military adviser to ensure that the programs
formulated by the Board are consistent with and complementary to
approved plans for military operations.
The Chairman will give leadership to and organize the business of
the Board. He will take the intiative in bringing matters before it,
in expediting the reaching of decisions, in promulgating its guidance
and in ascertaining the manner in which agreed upon objectives, policies,
and programs are being carried out. In the event of an inability of
the Board expeditiously to come to a decision on a matter before it
as a result of a substantial divergency of views, the Chairman, prior
to any report to the National Security Council, shall consult with
the heads of the departments and agencies concerned in an effort to
resolve the issue.
The Chairman of the Board, subject to the direction of the National
Security Council, may organize and direct a staff of individuals,
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including part-time experts, detailed, on his request, from the
participating departments and agencies. Such personnel when assigned
to duties under the terms of this directive shall be under the control
of the Chairman, subject only to necessary personnel procedures within
each department and agency. Insofar as practicable, staff work for the
Board shall be provided within the agencies concerned or on an ad hoc
task force basis.
The participating departments and agencies shall afford to such
staff as the Chairman specifically designates, full access to whatever
information they may require to carry out their assigned duties.
The Central Intelligence Agency shall provide such funds, space
and other administrative services necessary for the pay and support of
this staff as the National Security Council may direct.
The Chairman will report periodically to the National Security
Council on the Board's activities and on its evaluation of the national
psychological warfare effort, including implementation of approved
objectives, policies, and programs by the departments and agencies
concerned.
The heads of the departments and agencies concerned shall examine
into the present arrangements within their departments and agencies for
the conduct, direction and coordination of psychological warfare with
a view toward readjusting or strengthening them if necessary to carry
out the purposes of this directive.
This directive does not authorize the Board to perform any
psychological warfare operations.
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