U.S. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE REQUIREMENTS CATEGORIES AND PRIORITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84M00395R000600170064-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 25, 2007
• Sequence Number: 64
• Publication Date: October 1, 1982
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved
U. S. Foreign Intelligence
Requirements Categories and
Priorities DCID I/2,
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Secret
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DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
U.S. Foreign Intelligence
Requirements Categories
and Priorities
Prepared for the Director
of Central Intelligence
by the
Intelligence Community Staff
Secret
copy N2 _ :.489
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U.S. Foreign Intelligence
Requirements Categories
and Priorities
1 October 1982
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FOREWORD
This statement of U.S. Foreign Intelligence Requirements Categories and
Priorities, a fundamental component of the Intelligence Community Planning
System, sets forth a priorities classification system. It is issued in fulfillment of the
DCI's responsibility to develop objectives and guidance for the Community consistent
with the requirements and priorities established by the NSC Senior Interagency
Group-Intelligence and is reviewed quarterly by that body. The priorities indicated
are intended to provide basic guidance to all intelligence activities, including those
concerned with collection, analysis, and production.
The priorities are assigned with reference to requirements categories under
which activities within the Community can group requirements according to their
needs. It is incumbent upon all such activities to structure their specialized
requirements in accordance with the basic pattern of requirements categories
depicted in this document
The requirements categories and their associated priorities are under continuing
review. They can and will be revised upon approval by the DDCI of a change
nomination from any member of the Intelligence Community. Apart from those
unique requirements developed in times of increased tension or crisis, all specific
substantive national intelligence requirements lend themselves to prioritization
according to the classification system contained in this document.
The fact that this document impacts on all activities within the Intelligence
Community engaged in collection, analysis, and production requires that it be given
the widest dissemination
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Page
Index of Illustrations ............................................................................................ vii
1.
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................
1
Authority and Purpose ..........................................................................
1
Background ............................................................................................
1
Concept of Use ......................................................................................
1
Guidance for Production Planning and Scheduling ............................
2
Prioritizing Collection Requirements (COMIREX, SIGINT
Committee, HUMINT Tasking Office) ............................................
2
Guidance for Collection Management ..................................................
4
II.
PROCEDURES ........................................................................................
5
How to Change Priorities ......................................................................
5
Dissemination of Priority Changes ......................................................
5
Annual Review of U.S. Foreign Intelligence Requirements
Categories and Priorities ..................................................................
5
Quarterly Review by the SIG-I ............................................................
5
III.
EXPLANATION OF THE MATRIX ..................................................
9
General ..................................................................................................
9
Definitions of Priorities ........................................................................
9
Countries and Regional Groupings ......................................................
10
Organization of Requirements Categories ............................................
10
Requirements Categories, Subcategories, Topics ................................
11
IV.
PRIORITIES TABLES ............................................................................
25
By Region
East Europe ............................................................................................
25
West Europe ..........................................................................................
25
East Africa ............................................................................................
31
West Africa ............................................................................................
31
South & Central Africa ........................................................................
37
South America ......................................................................................
43
Central America ....................................................................................
49
Near East & South Asia ......................................................................
55
Arab States ............................................................................................
55
East & Southeast Asia ..........................................................................
61
Pacific ....................................................................................................
61
By Category
Political ..................................................................................................
67
Economic ................................................................................................
75
Military ..................................................................................................
83
Special Subjects ....................................................................................
97
ANNEX
A. Regional Groupings ..................................................................................
105
B. Alphabetical List of Countries and Regional Assignments ......................
109
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INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure Page
Number Number
1. CHANGES IN THE SHAPE OF THE PRIORITIES MATRIX .......... 2
2. CHANGES IN THE NUMBER AND SHARE OF TOTAL
PRIORITIES AT EACH PRIORITY LEVEL ...................................... 2
3. PRIORITY CHANGE REQUEST FORM .............................................. 6
4. NOTICE OF PRIORITY CHANGE FORM ............................................ 6
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U.S. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE REQUIRE-
MENTS CATEGORIES AND PRIORITIES
(AS OF 1 OCTOBER 1982)
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1. INTRODUCTION
Authority and Purpose
This document sets forth comprehensive requirements categories and priorities
to serve as basic substantive guidance for the operation, planning, and programming
of the overall US foreign intelligence effort. It is issued pursuant to the DCI's
responsibilities, as set forth in Section 1.5 of Executive Order 12333, to translate
national foreign intelligence objectives and priorities approved by the NSC into
specific guidance for the Intelligence Community and to develop such objectives and
guidance for the Community as will enhance capabilities for respondin to expected
future needs for national foreign intelligence.
revision of the priority list
Background
This statement of U.S. Foreign Intelligence Requirements Categories and
Priorities is formally revised and reissued annually following a review by the
Intelligence Community that is coordinated by the Intelligence Community Staff.
The priorities are under continual review, however, and can be revised at any time.
Explicit procedures for revision and dissemination of priority changes have been
designed for use by all elements of the Intelligence Community and consumers of
intelligence product. At a SIG-I meeting on 31 August 1982, it was decided that the
National Intelligence Topics of Continuing Interest-which have provided the
underlying guidance framework for the priorities in this document-would be
eliminated and that the SIG-I would review the priorities directly on a quarterly
basis. This decision institutes a procedure for frequent policy-agency review and
request from the Data Systems Group, IC Staff
The priorities data base is automated. Machine printouts of all or selected
portions of the matrix data for the current or preceding year are available upon
Concept of Use
The requirements categories and priorities set forth in this document reflect
solely the relative importance of topical information on foreign countries to the policy
formulation, planning, and operations of the National Security Council, its members,
and other Federal organizations. They are intended to provide a framework for
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current operational requirements of the collection, production, and support functions,
as well as for projecting mid- and longer-range requirements and priorities.
Guidance for Production Planning and Scheduling
The geotopical requirements categories and priorities contained in this document
provide Community-coordinated guidance for the production of national intelligence
as well as for the production of all other intelligence of common concern.
All members of the Intelligence Community share a responsibility for keeping
the priorities reflected in this document current. Primary contributions within the
process are made by major producers and production coordinators as follows: Political
topics-the Department of State (INR); economic topics-Economic Intelligence
Committee; military topics-DIA; scientific and technical topics-Scientific and
Technical Intelligence Committee; geotopical subject areas individual NIOs.
These major producers and coordinators are involved in detailed production planning
and scheduling and are most likely to be aware of those factors which indicate when
changes in priorities are appropriate. Their judgments will weigh heavily in formu-
lating final recommendations to the DCI for making actual changes in priorities.
Prioritizing Collection Requirements
This statement of intelligence priorities also provides the basis for judging the
relative emphasis to be given by the major types of collection activities responding to
substantive intelligence requirements. Procedures have been designed by each of the
major collection disciplines to use the priorities reflected in this document in
determining the emphasis to be given substantive requirements for collection.
DCI Committee on Imagery Requirements and Exploitation (COMIREX)
COMIREX is charged to provide to the operators of imagery collection systems
coordinated guidance which reflects the full range of consumer needs. The geotopical
priorities in this document are used as basic guidance by COMIREX as specific
intelligence requirements are translated into imagery collection requirements.
Throughout the imagery collection response cycle, substantive intelligence
priorities, as expressed in this document, play an important role along with
operational factors in determining the attention given to each requirement and the
related collection results obtained.
The SIGINT Committee operates the National SIGINT Requirements System,
which embodies the process through which substantive intelligence requirements flow
from point of origin to their acceptance as approved SIGINT requirements, and
ultimately includes the evaluation of SIGINT products to determine the degree to
which requirements have been or are being satisfied from SIGINT sources. The
approval of requirements and the evaluation of results obtained are normally
accomplished by the SIGINT Requirements Validation and Evaluation Subcommit-
tee (SIRVES) of the SIGINT Committee. SIRVES acts as the mechanism for
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handling SIGINT requirements by maintaining a National SIGINT Requirements
List and a National SIGINT Requirements Data Base.
As a part of this mechanism, a specific rationale has been designed for using the
priorities in this document in assigning a SIGINT priority to substantive intelligence
requirements which are placed on the National SIGINT Requirements List.
The National HUMINT Tasking System (NHTS)
Under the NHTS, the Intelligence Community Staff issues country and subject-
oriented tasking plans, which reflect national priorities-both National Intelligence
Topics and U.S. Foreign Intelligence Priorities-and collection objectives, and
designate the specific intelligence and nonintelligence agencies responsible for
collection (including open-source) on each objective. HUMINT priorities are indicat-
ed for selected high-priority objectives where dependence on HUMINT, relative to
the technical disciplines, is great.
Guidance for Collection Management
In addition to their function in the various requirements management systems,
the priorities reflected in this document are used for resource and operations planning
by those Community organizations which develop, manage, and operate the major
collection systems. Each of the major collection system managers is faced with unique
operational considerations which strongly influence which substantive intelligence
requirements can be planned for and acted on. Collection planning and operations
react primarily, however, to the requirements and priorities mechanisms (e.g., DCI
collection committees) which take their cues from the NITs and the basic and
continuing guidance provided by the priorities in this document
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II. PROCEDURES
How to Change Priorities
Any consumer of intelligence product or member of the Intelligence Community
may request a priority change. A request to alter an existing priority will receive
prompt attention. Requests for changes should be forwarded to the Chairman, DCID
1/2 Committee, Intelligence Community Staff, Washington, D.C. 20505, using the
format and instructions shown in Figure 3. Every initiative for change should be
documented by the requestor. References to topics or nations should be explicit, using
the number and decimal identifier where applicable.
The Intelligence Community Staff will be responsible for coordinating change
requests with other concerned Community elements and for forwarding requests to
the DDCI for approval.
Dissemination of Priority Changes
The Intelligence Community Staff will notify holders of this document of any
priority changes. Such changes, when received, should be noted in the holder's copy
of the document pending issuance of a revised document following the formal review
each year. Changes will be announced by memorandum as shown in Figure
Annual Review of U.S. Foreign Intelligence Requirements Categories and Priorities
The Intelligence Community Staff will annually convene a group of Community
representatives to review this document and to forward recommended changes to the
DDCI. A special purpose of this review will be to identify priorities that should be
moved downward. Nomination of priorities for upward revision will not be done at
this time but can be done at any other time throughout the year using the established
procedures.
The annual review will include an examination of priority definitions for clarity
and current relevance. It will also include the structure of requirements categories as
presented in the matrix, to ensure that countries are listed accurately-showing
changes in names and political entities which may have taken place-and to ensure
that all topics accurately characterize current intelligence needs and concerns.
Quarterly Review by the SIG-I
A SIG-I committee meets quarterly to review current requirements, consider
changes in long-range priorities, and review the adequacy of intelligence support for
the policy process. The guidance provided by this committee alerts production
managers to substantive issues for which added or new emphasis is needed over the
longer term and identifies required changes in U.S. Foreign Intelligence Require-
ments Categories and Priorities.
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