REPORT OF FAR EAST TRIP 27 NOVEMBER -15 DECEMBER 1967

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00704A000100190003-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2006
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: December 30, 1967
• Content Type: MEMO

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g,?tive R
30 December 1967
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Intelligence
SUBJECT : Report of Far East Trip
27 November-15 December 1967
1. The primary purpose of my trip was to participate in
th
e Far East Station Chiefs' Meeting in
purposes were to obtain some familiarity with the Far P,a--+ (rr,tr
The secondary
first trip there),
Far East Station Chiefs' Meetin
2. Participation in the Station Chiefs' Meeting gave me
an opportunity to become better acquainted with the general
objectives, operational problems, and accomplishments of each
of the stations in the Far East. I was particularly impressed
with the wide variety of circumstances within which the various
stations operate, ranging from the overt military Vietnam and the
to the quiet
More important, however, the meeting provided me with my
first real exposure to Clandestine Services people "at work and
play". What before the meeting was little more than a list of
names with biographic information attached became a group of
highly dedicated, competent, and intelligent individuals who were
critically evaluating what they were doing. I was much impressed.
3. My role in these meetings was rather limited. Early
in the meeting I was given the opportunity to speak. I reviewed
the way the Agency's finished intelligence product is requested
and received by McNamara, Nitze, Rostow, Rusk, and the President,
and the praise we have been receiving. We were being tasked not
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only for political and economic appreciations, as would be
expected, but also for military assessments because of our
knowledgeability, objectivity, and ability to present our findings
in an understandable and concise fashion.
4. The direct contacts with these policy makers, I said,
gave us a comprehensive understanding of the priorities which
should be assigned various intelligence problems. I outlined
the more important priorities as follows:
a. By all odds Southeast Asia, particularly North
Vietnam, was the major preoccupation of these
policy makers and thus should be our highest
priority intelligence problem.
b. After this, there was a wide gap into which
enters various crises as they develop. As
examples I gave the Arab/Israeli problem,
Cyprus, and Greece. I outlined the task force
arrangements we usually instituted, and described
c. Then came the more long-term problems of the
Soviet military posture and developments in
Communist China. With respect to the latter,
I noted that most of the consumers were numbed
by discussions of personalities and what really
was needed was hard information on the effects
of the cultural revolution on the political, military,
and economic posture and intentions of the country.
5. There were discussions of some of these points during
the meetings and at informal conversations with individual station
chiefs. I also outlined the kinds of information we were getting
from various photographic and other technical collection systems.
My objectives were to discourage the collection of such information
by the station chiefs and to encourage them to focus their assets on
important questions whose answers can only be acquired from human
sources. My only other participation was to raise questions about
the usefulness and effectiveness of some of the operations that were
being carried out or planned.
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6. Throughout the discussions Bill Colby emphasized
the need for collection against the more difficult targets of
North Vietnam, China, and the USSR; it was clear that all in
attendance got the message. Although the meetings were long,
I must say Bill did an outstanding job of informing, motivating,
and generally refurbishing the station chiefs. Near the end of
the session, Colby passed the baton of Chief/FE too At
this point I noted, on behalf of the Directorate of Intelligence,
that we found FE to be by far the most cooperative Division in
the Clandestine Services and that we hoped the close relations
fostered by Bill Colby would continue in the future.
DDI Activities
7. I acquired an excellent appreciation of what each of
our posts* did and how well it was being done. At every stop
I was fully briefed on the local situation and all possible efforts
were made to give me a feel for the country.
8. Of all of the "posts I visited, seemed to have
the greatest need to hear "what's going on in Headquarters. "
(I will check this out with This, my first visit
Miscellaneous
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9. While in I visited State's
Unit to learn about its experience
overseas. Its history of operation clearly shows
0
10. invited me to address his weekly staff
meeting. The subs ance of my presentation was much the same
as my remarks at the Field Chiefs' Meeting.
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