LETTER TO ALLEN W. DULLES, ESQUIRE FROM DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00269R000300010019-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 2, 2009
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: July 26, 1954
• Content Type: LETTER

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THE WHITE HOUSE
26 July 1954
Allen W. Dulles, . se; ire
Director of Central Intelligence
Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. Dulle a;
I am sending you herewith a copy of my letter of today's
date to Lt. Gen. James N. Doolittle, U$A `R , requesting him to
act as Chairman of a panel of consultants to review the covert
activities of the Central Intelligence Agency under the conditions
and for the purposes set forth in that letter. You will kindly
extend to General Doolittle the facilities necessary to enable
him and his associates to carry out this study including access
to any and all information relating to the covert activities of
CIA.
Sincerely,
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Incl.
NSC review completed.
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SHE WHITE HOUSE
'WASHING TON
26 July 1rx64
. James H. Doolittle, USAFE
gton, 1). G.
-Ree: ranel of Consultants on Covert Activities
,.sf the Central Intelligence Agency
I have requested you, and you have agreed, to act as
of a panel of consultants to conduct a study of the covert activities of
the Central Intelligence Agency. With your concurrence I have invited
ears. William B. Franke, Morris Hadley, and William Pawley to
act with you as members of the panel. Mr. S. Paul Johnston has kind-
ly agreed to serve as Executive Director of the panel.
It is my desire that the Panel of Consultants should undertake a
comprehensive study of the covert activities of the Central Intelligence
igeency, in particular those carried out under the terms of NSCIt) f-15
1 August 28, 1951, and NSC 5412 of March 15, 1954. You will consider
the personnel factors, the security, the adequacy, the efficacy and the
relative costs of these operations and, as far as possible, equate the
cost of the over-all efforts to the results achieved. You will make any
recommendations calculated to improve the conduct of these operations.
To the extent that agencies of the Government, other than the Central
Intelligence Agency, art engaged in covert operations which may
afeel, duplicate, or supplement the operations of CIA, you may
investigate such other operations conducted by any other department
agency of the Government in order to insure, insofar as practicable,
that the field of foreign clandestine operations is adequately covered
and that there is no unnecessary duplication of effort or expense.
In view of the particularly sensitive nature of these covert operations.
their relation to the conduct of our foreign policy, and the fact that these
sensitive operations are carried on pursuant to National Security Council
action approved by me, I desire that your report be made to me personally
and classified TOP SECRET. I will determine whether or not the report
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or any part thereof should have any further dissemination. I should
appreciate it if your report could be available to Me prior to October
.i E54.
An you know, the Commission on Organization of the .xecutive
Branch of the Government. generally known as the Hoover Commission,
is constituting a Task Force to study and make recommendations with
respect to the organization and methods of operations of the CIA. General
Mark W. Clark has been designated by Mr. Hoover to head this Task
Force which, I understand. will probably be organised and start its work
ime in September next. Under the law constituting the Hoover
Commission, the Task Force shall study and investigate the present
organization and methods of operation of the Agency to determine what
changes therein are necessary to accomplish the policy of Congress to
promote economy, efficiency, and improved service by:
a. recommending methods and procedures for reducing
expenditures to the lowest amount consistent with the efficient
performance of essential services, activities and fuanct
b. eliminating duplication and overlapping of services.
activities, and functions;
c. consolidating services. activities, and functions of a
similar mature;
d. abolishing services, activities, and functions not
necessary to the efficient conduct of Government;
e. eliminating nonessential services, functions. and
activities which are competitive with private enterprise;
defining responsibilities of officials; and
g. relocating agencies now responsible directly to
the z- resident in departments or other agencies..
As the work of the Hoover Task Force Will get under way shortly,
I suggest that you and General Clark confer in order to avoid any un-
necessary duplication of work as between you The distinction between
the work of your Study Group and of the Hoover Task Force is this:
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You will deal with the covert activities of the CIA
as indicated in paragraph (2) above, and your
report will be submitted to me. General Clark's
Task Force will deal largely with the organization
and methods of operation of the CIA and other
related agencies within the limits prescribed in
the law as outlined in paragraph (4) above, Reports
of the Hoover Commission are made to the Congress.
The purpose of these studies, both that of the Hoover Task Force
and that of your Group, is to insure that the United States Government
develops an appropriate mechanism for carrying out its over -all
intelligence responsibilities and the related covert operations. I
consider these operations are essential to our national. security in
these days when international Communism is aggressively pressing
its world-wide subversive program.
Sincerely,
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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