COMMENTS ON GRAHAM ALLISON'S MEMORANDUM TO DCI ON GUIDELINES FOR CIA FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81M00980R000600330010-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 16, 2004
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: May 30, 1978
• Content Type: MF

1A L
Approved For Release 20P1t2/U2"IA-RDP81 M009
OLC 78-1979/1
30 May 1978
25X1 MEMORANDUM FOR:
25X1 FROM
Acting Legislative Counsel
Assistant Legislative Counsel
oQOPY
E E ? K
Comments on Graham Allison's
Memorandum to the DCI on Guidelines
for CIA Foreign Intelligence Activities
25X1 1.0 I have reviewed the 15 page memorandum that
Mr. Allison wrote for the DCI. In all candor, the memorandum
is repetitive and self-contradictory; it fails to leave the reader
anyplace. Mr. Allison's own words all but preclude further
commentary on his "guidelines" paper; to wit: "CIA already
has a system of guidelines which is as thoughtful and effective
a system of guidelines as there is for any major agency in
Washington...." (See the middle paragraph of Page 8 of the
attached memorandum.) Basically, all that Mr. Allison is
suggesting is that the guidelines that already exist be broken
into legislation, executive order and internal regulations.
However, he fails to say which should be which.
25X1 2. [:11 take strong exception to several of Mr. Allison's
perceptions. He discusses the principle of a code of ethics and
talks in terms of "lawful intelligence. " Later in the same
memorandum he points out that the actions surrounding the
business of foreign intelligence are axiomatically illegal. He
also talks about encouraging internal pride and at the same time
seems to presume that CIA officers need to be told what is "right"
from what is "wrong "(both legally and ethically). Admittedly, in
today's world, perceptions of right and wrong may change over time.
But I submit that carving rightness and wrongness into legislation,
executive order and/or regulation (with or without the enablements
for exception that Mr. Allison suggests) is not necessary or useful.
In the DDO every employee already has to sign an "official conduct"
form which spells out what he can and cannot do ethically. The
ethical point that Mr. Allison altogether misses is that there should
be an absolute and relentless demand for excruciating truthfulness
both in intelligence reporting and in operational reporting. If that
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Approved For Release 2004/12/02 : CIA-RDP81 M00980R000600330010-9