(UNTITLED)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81S00991R000100090001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 12, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Content Type: REQ

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DEPARTMENT OF - STATE
Division of Biographic Information
Hi for
Organized biographic intelligence is a relative newcomer in the
general field of government in the United States. Though many for-
eign countries have long possessed highly developed and specialized
biographic organizations it was not until after World War II that an
organized biographic program, to replace previous uncoordinated and
haphazard methods, was conceived and established within the United
States intelligence community.
Because of the lack of adequate personality information to meet
the needs of the government during the war, several agencies (Office
of Strategic Services Zds 7; Office of War Information ow; Military
Intelligence Division ZmIpy, war Department; Office of Naval Intelli-
gence Z&17, Navy Department; and State) developed their own biogra-
,phic programs, most of which were conceived in haste and were highly
'duplicative. Many of these programs were discontinued at the war's
end as their parent agencies were abolished and, in 1946, the estab-
lishment of the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), predecessor organi-
zation of CIA, led to examination and finally to definition of the bio-
graphic collecting and reporting responsibilities of the Intelligence
Advisory Committee (IAC) agencies. There have been certain revisions
to the original definition, the most significant concerning scientific
personalities, responsibility for which was vested in CIA under the
terms of NSCII) #8 (1948). This is the only NSCII) which specifically
delegates authority in the biographic field to any one agency but by
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implication NSCID's #2 and #3 vest biographic. responsibility in the
various agencies of the IAC according to their areas of dominant in-
terest, as follows:.
Political, sociological, cultural State
Military Army
Naval Navy
Air Air Force
Scientific (NSCID #8) CIA
Economic All devartments
according to need
The Mission of the Division of Bio ra hic fo=tion B
Bl's mission Is to meet the known and anticipated needs of the
Department, the Foreign Service, and the Central Intelligence Agency
with respect to biographic information and intelligence concerning
foreign nationals of present or potential significance In political,
economic,-sociological and cultural fields.
The fulfillment of Its mission Involves two basic functions. BI
must first, create, by a continuous urocese of procurement and or-
ganization, a central collection of the most complete Information
possible on all foreigners of current or uotental significance In the
fields of.volitics, culture, and sociology, and to the extent of T.
nartmental needs, on such versons in economic fields, and second, pro-
duce and disseminate biographic intelligence as may be required bys
a) the Department of State and the Foreign Service
b) Central Intelligence Agency
c) other agencies of the U.S. Government
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In order to carry out both functions, BI's collection of In.
formation must be world wide In geographic scope and must include all
information of every kind and character on persons of current or
potential significance in the fields of endeavor which fall within
BI!s responsibilities as described above.
While the performance of HI's collection and filing function is
important and significant, the use of the collection as a basis of
intelligence production makes the -process far more than a routine
library operation. This in itself brings into play the various
.stages of research. The entire collection and filing program must
also be directed toward the intelligence objectives of BI; the se-
leption of material, its organization and its filing must be per-
formed by nersonnel fully trained to produce and disseminate blo-
grpnhic Intelligence.
Accomplishment of the Mise on
As stated at the outset BI has two functions to perform in
carrying out its mission. These two, the collection and filing
function and the production function, are closely interrelatedt
and their successful implementation requires that they be performed
by the same staff. As a result the Division is organized on the
basis of eight regional Branches with each Branch responsible for
several different countries. The files are organized by country and
are controlled alnhabetically by name and by pertinent subject break-
downs. Thus, for example, within the Western Europe Branch of BI
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lies responsibility for France, Snain, Portugal, Benelux Countries,
and their colonies, with five professionals and two clerks.charged
with all aspects of biographic activity pertaining to these areas.
Tp analyzing the factors which comprise BI's two functions and their
relationship, BI has found it easy to marshall arguments in favor of
giving primary attention to the collection and filing function and
relegating the production function to a secondary position in the
Division' s' plans.
While production is clearly dependent upon a collection of in-
formation, there exists. no ready-made library of information to
serve a biographic intelligence agency. Published collections of
biographies are useful, but they quickly become out-of-date, and
they contain only public information. 'Hence a continuous, exten-
sive and intensive collection program is a prerequisite of bio-
graphic intelligence, and must take precedence over the production
function. The collection function involves the location of sources,
collection of sources and of information, selection of information
to be filed, processing and filing of selected information, and
serving as a reference library of biographic information. In this
connection the Division Is constantly implementing 'its Foreign Ser-
vice Biographic Program, the basic regulations for which are out-
lined in the Forei n Service Manual, Volume IV, Chapter 500. Under
the terms-of these regulations each Foreign Service post is charged
with responsibility for establishing biographic files and for ac-
tively engaging in the biographic reporting program. To stimulate
the efforts of the Foreign Service along these lines, a senior
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member of the staff of BI (when funds permit) makes periodic trine
t9 missions requiring guidance and in addition all staff members are
encouraged to communicate, by means of official instruction or by
ir}formal correspondence, with the missions in their areas of re-
stQnsibility. Further, systematic procedures have been developed for
briefing outgoing Foreign Service Officers on the biographic needs of
the Department, and the. intelligence community as a whole, and for de-
briefing officers when they return from their foreign assignments.
Ms has proved to be a most lucrative source of information.
Nonetheless, and regardless of the importance of the collection
function, the fact cannot be escaped that by virtue of the responsi-
bilities with which it is charged BI is an intelligence unit and a
program of complete emphasis on the'collection function to the virtual
exclusion of the dissemination activity falls far short of an intelli-
ggnce program:in the full-sense of the words
Since one of BI's two basic functions is that of producing and
disseminating biographic intelligence, it cannot fulfill its mission
without a comprehensive production program. It is not wholesome for
an-intelligence division to become an informational Tead Sea into
which only a meager ,trickle of intelligence flows. Much of the
elaborate and costly mechanism which collects biographic information
from all corners of the world and organizes It into useful form in
Bi will be Wasted if a nrograYn is not developed to disseminate the
resulting Intelligence to officials who can use it.
The Division's two functions, then must each be accorded its
proper emphasis if a balance is to be maintained between them. To
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insure.that such a balance is maintained the Division Office of BI,
through constant surveillance of branch operations, keeps rigid con-
trol of collection efforts, processing activities, backlog accumu-
lation, requests received and answered, and production.
,The BI Product
BIQs Production function is 'reparation and dissemination of
analytical, evaluative, and interpretive biographic intelligence re-
ports and studies. The Product takes various forms,
Biographic Reports BR's (detailed biographic reports usually
prepared on own initiative concerning an individual or group of in-
dividuals who are of general interest to officials of the IAC agen-
cies because of. their connection with a significant national or in-
ternational development).
Biographic Briefs BB 's (brief biographic sketches -- usually
not exceeding one page -- prepared at own initiative to meet a cur-
rent intelligence need within the IAC concerning a significant
national or international development).
Biographic' Directories - DD _L (biographic directories of foreign
~1-s9 tl 1 ~
government and party organizations, of primary use at the working
level)o
Devartmental Instructions (instructions to a mission or group
of missions concerning a person or persons whose activities are of
Interest to the mission or missions addressed).
Informal biographic re orts (biographic reports prepared in
answer to specific requests but not deemed of sufficient general
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interest to warrant wide distribution).
Conference reports (a serifs of biographic reports on delegates
to international conferences).
NIS ? Key Personalities (detailed biographies of the leadership
of a given country In all fields of endeavor -. combined effort of
the three military services, CIA, and State with BI having responsi.-
bility for substantive review of all contributions).
HIS -Sections-5 9 (detailed biographies of the political,
economic, sociological and cultural leaders of a given country).
Informal memoranda ('biographic notes of interest to a specific
requestor).
The Usefulness of the BI Product
As-has been indicated above, BR's and BA's are usually self-
initiated and are of such character as to be of general use to the
research divisions; the regional bureaus; the Staecial Assistant.,
Intelligence; certain overseas missions; the Central Intelligence
Agency and its Director; and the. Department of Defense and Its com-
ponents, The BR's and BB's are found useful by the persons and or-
ganizations to whom they are distributed in that they provide back-
ground information permitting an assessment of the strengths, capa-
bilities, and weaknesses of the individuals connected with a national
or International development, thereby shedding light on what that
development may mean in terms of U.S. position and policy.
Biographic Directories are much in demand by the various in-
telligence research officers throughout the intelligence community
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who are concedrneoc Rvu IR ise study /in/%en tQh1 o aP pa~gq~JPPOPa&R$P9001 ey
are also considered a valuable tool by the mission of the country
being treated. For examnle, BI was requested by Embassy, Moscow to
compile a Directory of the Soviet Government and the CPSU (including
the 16 Republics) orior to the meeting of the 20th Congress of the
CPSU on February ,14, 1956. BI complied and thus enabled Embassy,
Moscow, to report immediately to Washington all changes in organi-
zational membership which occurred while the Congress was in session.
This rapid reporting on the part of the Embassy in turn enabled the
Intelligence area of the Department and the Central Intelligence
Agency to more rapidly assess what was taking place in Moscow than
had been'possible during the course of any previous Congress.
The Departmental Instruction is. the medium most commonly used
for informing a mission of the backgroufld, character, characteristics,
strengths and weaknesses of a new or recent appointment to the dine-
lomatic or consular corps in the country in question. Foreign Ser-.
vice officers find such information extremely helpful in dealing with
their counterparts.
The same is true of the Conference reports and other reports
nrexared for the `White House, the Vice President, the Secretary, the
Under Secretary, and the heads and deputy heads of other government
agencies who often have occasion to travel to foreign countries and
who always call on BI to prepare reports on the persons with whom
they are likely to deal during the course of their travels.
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25X1 ^
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CIA requests represent almost
50 percent of BI's request workload which is compensated for by an
annual subsidization under terms of an agreement between the agency
and the Department dated November 5, 1952.
The Key Personalities volumes and Sections 59 of the Political
Chanters of NIS receive distribution at all levels within the in-
telligence community as well as to missions abroad, and on occasion,
they are distributed overseas to friendly foreign governments. As
they contain basic Intelligence, as opposed to current Intelligence,
their primary use is In providing the most comprehensive background
information possible on all aspects of a society for the use of
Foreign Service officers, the military, CIA, and other authorized
officials.
What is the 9uality of the Product
a. a s w..o
In any discussion of the quality of BI's product it should be
emphasized that it is only as good as the material available? and
the analyst's evaluation of that material, can make it. A deter-
mined effort is made to give guidance to the Foreign Service in
their biographic collection activities. Nonetheless, the Foreign
Service is in many cases handicapped by shortages of personnel and
further, it is a recognized fact that the biographic program of any
mission is a success or failure depending upon the enthusiasm for
the program (or lack thereof) on the part of the senior officer
charged with Its implementation, To illustrate, a survey was made
in 1952 to test the reception that the BI product was receiving in
the Department and the following statement was made analyzing the
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results of that survey: "BI products are widely used and praised at
All levels in the Regional Bureaus, Unfavorable comments received
from those areas where reporting is difficult." The same is true
today.
Formal intelligence sources (Foreign Service, CIA, military ser-
vices, etc.) are supviemented by arduous research and painstaking
analysis. But if gaps in information exist and the required in-
formation is nowhere available the quality of the end product cannot
but suffer as a result. Fortunately the product on the whole may be
said to be good.
What is the Cost of the Product?
Cost of processing and filing $ 185,497.95
Cost of collection
Cost of production
509590,35
101.180,, 7Q
337,269.00
Competence and Troin~ina
Area and language specialization have been found to be essential
qualifications for BI analysts. In its recruitment program, therefore,
the Division is on the alert to find personnel with college backgrounds
who have been trained'in political science or history and who have In-
timate knowledge of a foreign country and at least a working knowledge
of its language. Without such qualifications they are unable to pro-
perly exploit valuable sources of information (e.g., the native nress,
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periodicals, handbooks, etc.) which are published in the language of
the country under study, and they are unable to evaluate and inter-
pret biographic developments in the context of the structure of the
society of that country. Further BI analysts must have,facility in
written expression. The time factor is a vital one in BI's servic-
.ng operation and BI analysts must be able to rapidly, succinctly,
and precisely correlate the information available on any one person
gr group of persons and present it in report form. BI is fortunate
in having analysts on most of the more strategic areas of the world
who meet, these qualifications, but vacancies, aresent or potential,
are extremely difficult to fill. This is especially true of re-
cruiting for Far Eastern positions where the supply of qualified per-
sonnel is limited and the security clearance factor is a major one.
13X encourages its employees to take specialized training in political
science, research techniques, international communism, languages and
area study offered by the Foreign Service Institute and other academic
institutions which will improve their efficiency and effectiveness on
the job. In this connection the great majority of BI analysts have
taken specialized training courses during the past year. To date,
however, it cannot be said that such on-the-job training is a real
substitute for the person who has area and language background derived
from actual experience in the area or who has specialized in the area
during his academic years.
Matters to be Explored
1) The use of intelligence production in policy matters
2) The use of intelligence in operational matters
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3) The use of intelligence for background information
4) Overlapping and duplication In the collection, research,
and production of intelligence
5) Coordination of Intelligence collection, research, and
production activities
6) The amount of administrative support received from their
parent agencies by the intelligence organizations within
Departments other than CIA in comparison to the adminis-
trative support received by other functions,
7) The role of intelligence in psychological warfare
8) Training and career development
9) Overseas intelligence operations
12
10) External research activities of all intelligence components
11) Security
The Board's Approach to its Problems
The Executive Order 10656, which established the President's
Board of Consultants of Foreign Intelligence Activities, does not
specifically state that the Board shall have a staff, but, as it is
difficult to comprehend how such a Board could onerate effectively
without one, it is assumed for the purposes of this paver that a
staff will be annointeda
Under these circuristances it is suggested that the staff's first
efforts should be the establishment of close liaison with all intelli.
gence components of the Government, in addition to CIA and Including
the FBI; that liaison should be established with the Bureau of the
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Budget; that cor i,devIntiof. be given, in consultation with the White
House, to the e str .b11P,;hreft of liaison with the Armed Forces Com-
mittees of the S .gate and the House and with any Congressional Com-
mittee which is set
to exercise legislative surveillance over CIA;
that if such Ea C, i:onittee is set up the Board a ttemvnt to act as a
buTfer between i t and the intelligence community. Further, it is
sug a Sted that 'E, 4`t . ~xrd might >rofitably decide ups?n. a series of nro-
jests with which they i,lanned to concern themselves and then ask ap?
prooriste aganci a to submit detailed reports indicating their acti-
vities in con c !.o.r Ath each urojecto These rernorts vou]-d provide
background infox?.!ia.tlof to the Board on the basis of which priorities
could be set up for investigation in depth of various functions.
011.- BI
v arch 79 1956
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