OPINION AND COMMENTARY - TOO MUCH INTELLIGENCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91-00561R000100030163-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 163
• Publication Date: February 3, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST ^ T --_.
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09 :CIA-RDP
A-~lICL~ ~pP.~.~FiED
ON PI:GE ~
OPINION
By William V. Sennedy
President Reagan and his national secu-
rity adviser. William P. Clark. have thrown
themselves a boomerang in their attempts to
oontrnl news "leaks" and the flow of govera-
mentinformation generally,
There have been a series of well-publicized
fiascoes, the most recent of them as attempt
to make the reporters who cover the Penta-
gon sign a secrecy pledge that would have
made them an extension of the military pro-
paganda apparatus. Earlier, the ~` fltt,,,a., Of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretaries of
the Army. Navy, and Air Force were humil-
iated by being subjected to a lie detector test
part of a search for supposed culprits who had
released what now turns out to be accurate
budgetary information.
Behind the smoke generated by those epi-
codes and others is a valid issue -the maa-
agemeat and protection of what are vaguely
referred to as "intelligence sources." In fact,-
almost all such "sources" are technical
means of collection lumped together in a cate-
gory called "special intelligence," or "SI."
Access to this body of information is by
grant of special "S1" clearances to people
who have been cleared for access to "Top Se-
cret." Because of the extra amount of investi-
gation involved, such SI clearances are very
expensive.
Congressional investigations in the 1970s
and more recent statements by Adm. Bobby
[aaiaa and other iatelkigeace "insiders" re-
veal amajor problem wlm special iatelli-
gence. Inshort. therc is too much of it.
TLe largest problem k with the "signal in-
telligeace" (also called "SI") produced by
the National Setaaity Agency which Admiral
[aman once beaded. This huge organisation
dicks out of the airwaves every day millions
~f telephone conversations. messages from
des. and a mass of rnutiae commercial
raf5c. Much of this daily "take" is distrib-
rted under elaborate and eaormousiy expea-
dve security precautions to the mousands of
teople throughout the government who hold
~n SI clearance.
THE CHRISTIkIJ SCIENCE h,~~NIT~R
3 February 1983
~~ c~oc~M
Ef~TARY
Too much int '
el I ~gence
Spedal rooms are necessary for storage of seem to feel will be earth-shaking news. At
SI materials. These must be guarded 24 hours pq.ppp to (40,000 Per year. they are eatpeasive
a day and "swept" periodically. and expeo- ,
sively. to protect against electronic "bugs " The inevitable product of this steady ex-
If was this extreme concern with SI security paaskon of often useless material and of no-
that produced what were, is effect, two sepa- oess to it is a growing carer. It was
rate commands aboard the USS Pueblo when possible for years at the US Army War Col-
it was captured by the North Koreans is isis8. lege, for instance. to gain access to SI
That, fn turn, led to failure to destroy much simply by taking an SI badge from
that might have beds kept out of enemy ,jackets students left haagkng in the post gym-
s. nasium during their noontime workout.
Because NSA does very lfttle analysis of I . >t Mr. Clark were ?truly concerned about
what it passes on
th
t
k
f
ifti
,
e
as
O
s
ng thrnu~
this huge mass of material is left to the
recipients.
Now me from of the matter is that most of
what the people wlm SI clearance lmaw is
gained from the apm press and radio and
television broadcasts. For one thing. most of
what comes in from NSA k outdated by the
time tt gets mrnug6 the bureaucratic mill, ir-
relevant to begin with, or so turgidly written
and poorly printed that it is almost impossible
to read. But the SI clearance - wim its tell-
tale specially colored badge -has become
such a status symbol throughout the govera-
meat that unless you hold the badge and are
sees to be nanmagiag thratgh the SI "black
books," you are just not wim it is the eyes of
your awn colleagues and espedalty is the
eyes of rival agencks.
Since most of the people who hold SI clear
lace are in high military and civilian grades.
we are talking about a daily wastage of mil-
lions of dollars.
Generals and such are relieved of plowing
through the "black booms" by the employ.
meat of "black book officers" who sift
through the daily files Bad whisper whatever
nuggets are gleaned into the chief s ear. Since
that doesn't keep the black book officers fully
employed. they toad to tramp uP and down
staff corridors lootdag for "cleared" people to
prntecttng valid secrets and saving money at
the came time, be would concern himself less
with the press and mare with this docr+easiag .
problem of SI abuse and mismanagement.
So while Mr. Claris and his boss are bark-
ing and growling around the front door of the
White 13ouse. the great swamp of expensive
and largely useless information grows apace.
suffocating in ,the process valid security
concerns.
William V. Kennedy. s military four`
nalist, is eoauttror of "T?x Intelligence
R'ar. ? to be pubtsshed la me apr3ag. He
line served as as intelligence o~ScYr in
the Strategic Afr CommBad and as a far
Wty member at the 1TS ~ war
Coilege,~
whom they can impart what they always
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/09 :CIA-RDP91-005618000100030163-8