MINUTES OF MEETING HELD IN DIRECTORS CONFERENCE ROOM, ADMINISTRATION BUILDING CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, ON 15 JANUARY 1954

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91T01172R000400150009-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 25, 2000
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: January 15, 1954
• Content Type: MIN

Approved For Release cOO1IO3IO7CA lATLQ1172R 0400150009-4
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15 January 1954
AD HOC IAC COMMITTEE (WATCH)
Minutes of Meeting Held in Director's
Conference Room, Administration Building
Central Intelligence Agency, on 15 January 1954
'Mr. Huntington D. Sheldon
Presiding
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr. William C. Trueheart, Office of the Special Assistant,
Intelligence, Department of State
Brigadier General John M. Willems, Deputy AC of S. G-2,
Department of the Army
Captain D. T. Eller (USN), Assistant Head, Intelligence
Branch, ONI, Department of the Navy
Brigadier General Millard Lewis, Deputy Director Intelli-
gence, Headquarters USAF, United States Air Force
Dr. Charles H. Reichardt, Intelligence Division, Atomic
Energy Commission
Rear Admiral E. T. Layton, Joint Intelligence Group, The
Joint Staff
Mr. Meffert W. Kuhrtz, Special Agent, Liaison Section.,
Federal Bureau of Investigation
ALSO PRESENT
Col. George R. Hundt, United States Air Force
=Col. Howard D. Kenzie, United States Air Force
Document No. - ----_
No Change In Class. -----
^ Declassified -
Class. Changed to: TS S C
Next Review Date: _1.9i .9_-----
Auth.: HR 70-3
Date: -2-6,60-1-7-9---- By: J9 J6_O
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The CHAIRMAN asked for comments on the minutes of the ninth meeting as
distributed.
DR. REICHARDT referred to his remarks on page 5 regarding Paragraph c,
and said that although he had proposed that it become the first paragraph,
attribution should be to General Lewis for the method of accomplishing this.
The CHAIRMAN, on receiving no further comments, stated that the minutes
stood approved as distributed and amended.
The SECRETARY circulated copies of the G-2 proposal for an added para-
graph to the list of duties to be considered by the Ad Hoc Committee. This
proposal stated:
"arrange through the IAC for complete exploitation of every
domestic and foreign source of indications intelligence."
GENERAL WILLEMS said that in proposing the addition of this paragraph,
he was attempting to provide the means through which all possible sources
could contribute to the watch function, as had been discussed at the ninth
meeting.
GENERAL LEWIS said that "through the IAC' might be misunderstood, and
recommended that the sentence be exp anded to include the individual members.
The CHAIRMAN suggested the addition of "or any member thereof".
MR. TRUEHEART questioned the need for the word "complete", and proposed
that it be dropped.
The CHAIRMAN determined that the foregoing changes represented the wishes
of the Committee, and stated that the paragraph as amended reads;
"arrange through the IAC or any member thereof for exploitation
of every domestic and foreign source of indications intelligence."
MR. TRUEHEART questioned whether the paragraph represented a duty of the
Working Group or a duty of the Watch Committee itself. He proposed that the
Ad Hoc Committee continue its review of the list of duties with the intention
of going back later and indicating which ones were properly the responsibility
of the Watch Committee and which of the Working Group.
ADMIRAL LAYTON suggested that when that time comes, an introductory
paragraph would be required, saying, in effect, that the Working Group will
perform the following duties. He said that he visualized the Working Group
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as receiving directions from the Watch Committee which, in turn, has broad
responsibilities as received from the IAC.
GENERAL WILLEMS asked if the Chairman was considered to be a member of
the Working Group or a member of the Watch Committee.
The CHAIRMAN stated that, in his opinion, the Chairman headed up the Watch
Committee and was supported on a fulitime basis by the Working Group with the
senior member thereof reporting to the Watch Committee Chairman.
GENERAL WILLEMS pointed out that the Chairman of the Watch Committee is
primarily responsible for the entire watch effort, and that he should be able
to accomplish certain of his responsibilities through the head of the Working
Group. However, he thought that the greatest effectiveness would be through
the Watch Committee itself. Therefore, he said, it is impossible to divorce
the Working Group from the responsibility of the Watch Committee$ and the
former must share in the responsibility and functioning of the Watch Committee
itself. He said that as present Chairman of the Watch Committee, he felt
that he was a part of the present Secretariat.
The CHAIRMAN said that his concept was that the individual agencies
would nominate representatives to the Watch Committee, the Chairman of which
would work closely with the individual members. There is also to be a full-
time staff, the Working Group, directly responsible to the'W atch Committee
and, in particular, to its Chairman. In that sense, he said, the Watch Com-
mittee Chairman directs the operations of the Indications Center and its
Working Group. He determined that this was the concept of the majority of
the members of the Ad Hoc Committee.
GENERAL LEWIS offered that the Watch Committee might be thought of as a
board of directors with the Working Group as the staff that does the detailed
work. Thus, the Chairman of the Watch Committee would be the chairman of the
board.
MR. TRUEHEART agreed, and stressed that the board of directors should be
substantive and not limited to procedural duties alone.
ADMIRAL LAYTON proposed that the paragraph under discussion become a,
with all other paragraphs moving up one letter.
The CHAIRMAN determined that this was agreeable to the Committee, and
stated that the paragraph as amended was tentatively approved as the new a.
The CHAIRMAN asked for comments on Paragraph e, which read:
"maintain in readily usable form a complete and integrated file
of all available intelligence indications of Soviet-Communist
preparations for attack."
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He expressed the feeling that "Soviet-Communist preparations for attack"
was less tight than the phraseology approved by the Committee elsewhere
in the Draft Terms of Reference, and suggested that this be changed to
"pertaining to the Watch Committee mission.?
GENERAL WILLEMS proposed the transposition of the words "intelligence
indications" as he felt that "indications intelligence" was an understood
phrase.
MR. TRUEHEART asked if flexibility was being denied the Working Group
through the use of the words "complete" and "all", and wondered if this would
require quantity at the possible expense of quality.
GENERAL LEWIS pointed out that there are now certain super-sensitive
items which are not being sent to the Watch Committee, and said that he felt
it most important that such items not be withheld. He was aware that such
items could be given only on a strict need-to-know basis, and recognized that
the individuals responsible for the security of such items would be unwilling
to make them known to a large group. He said that possibly selected members
of the Watch Committee and the Working Group could be made aware of such
super-sensitive items.
The CHAIRMAN said that he considered the entire watch project as highly
sensitive, and feared the creation of a circle within a circle. He said
that as far as CIA is concerned, no person would be detailed to either the
Watch Committee or the Working Group to whom full CIA information could not
be given.
GENERAL LZoiIS pointed out that the size of the present Watch Committee
meetings precluded the submission of super-sensitive items from time to time,
and said that he favored the establishment of some procedure that would ensure
that the key members were made aware of items which, for security reasons,
could not be given to a large group. He pointed out that although the number
of such items would probably be very small, they still could be extremely
vital.
CAPTAIN ELLER said that the Navy feeling is that security is weakened
when a large number of people attend Watch Committee meetings. He felt sure
that there had been times when operational matters involving intelligence
had not been presented.
GENERAL WILLEMS pointed out that it had been helpful in the past to
have technical experts contribute to the Watch Committee deliberations, and
expressed the opinion that visitors from other elements of Intelligence were
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frequently able to contribute after they had actually observed the Watch
Committee method of operation through attendance at the meetings. He thought
it desirable that this be continued if properly controlled.
MR. TRUEHEART proposed that super-sensitive matters be presented to the
Watch Committee members alone in executive session.
DR. REICHARDT pointed out that a precedent exists for this in that the
IAC occasionally meets in executive session, such sessions being attended by
the senior IAC members plus .upport members from the agency submitting the
item. He suggested that the Watch Committee consider its conclusions at an
executive session at the end of each regular and special meeting. Then,
should there be super-sensitive items to be submitted, they could be brought
up at this session.
ADMIRAL LAYTON cited an historical example of the danger of withholding
certain information, and stressed that the Watch Committee members should be
of such stature that all pertinent information could be given to them.
The CHAIRMAN asked if it was the Committee's concept that the substantive
members of the Working Group be recipients of super-sensitive information.
GENERAL LEWIS thought that this would be desirable, provided the number
of recipients was strictly limited, probably not to exceed one for each agency.
The CHAIRMAN proposed that the words "complete" and "all" be retained in
the paragraph under discussion and that they be defined by the word "pertinent".
He determined that the paragraph was tentatively approved by the Committee.
It reads:
"maintain in readily usable form a complete and integrated
file of all pertinent available indications intelligence."
He asked for comments on Paragraph f, which reads
"maintain wall maps, charts, and other display material
which will most effectively illustrate and interpret
graphically the current situation and long-range trends
with respect to Soviet-Communist operations for offensive
action."
He proposed that the paragraph be changed to include the development
of graphics and mechanical aids and techniques to assist in the interpret-
ing process, and suggested that such techniques, now in embryonic form,
needed further study in the hope that they might be used effectively by the
Watch Committee.
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AMRAL LAYTON said that the Chairman's proposal should be a separate
paragraph which made clear that such development initially was to be on a
trial basis only. He recalled that General Samford and General Porter at
the IAC meeting of 6 October 1953 had urged that the concept of graphics
and mechanical aids be explored experimentally without interruption of cur-
rent operations.
The CHAIRMAN recalled that the JIG paper submitted to the Ad Hoc Com-
mittee at its first meeting on 30 October brought out the trial-basis sugges-
tion.
GENERAL LEWIS said that he thought such devices could be used as aids
but should never be considered substitutes for brains.
The CHAIRMAN offered to submit a suggested paragraph to the next Ad Hoc
Committee meeting.
MR. TRUEHEART proposed that Paragraph f stop with the word "trends".
CAPTAIN ELLER referred to ""long-range ", and cautioned against the use of
any words that would suggest that the Watch Committee is in the estimating
business. He proposed the substitution of the word "cumulative".
The CHAIRMAN determined that the Committee desired the inclusion of the
concept that graphics materials should assist the indications process, and
said that Paragraph f was tentatively approved to read:
"maintain wall maps, charts, and other display material
which will most effectively assist in illustrating and
interpreting graphically the current and cumulative in-
dications."
He called for comments on Paragraph g, which read:
"coordinate with the individual members of the Watch
Committee the selection of indications for considera-
tion by the Committee at regular and special meetings."
He suggested that after the word "indications" there be added "and pre-
pare draft reports and conclusions."
He explained that this would not deny the Watch Committee the right to
redraft, re-edit, or eliminate any part of the draft report.
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GENERAL WILLEMS said that he held a different view as he was appre-
hensive that the watch effort would, in time, suffer through the loss o_"
active participation by the key Watch Committee members. He said that he
did not fear the initial period, but eventually Watch Committee meetings
might degenerate into a rubber-stamp operation or into a quibble over minu-
tiae in the paper that had been drafted and submitted by the Working Group.
He spoke favorably regarding the spontaneity that is now evident in Watch
Committee meetings, and pointed out that, at the present time, the Watch Com-
mittee members as a group consider each item with a minimum of preconceived
agency position.
MR. KUHRTZ cautioned against stating the duties in such a manner that
the submission of items to the Watch Committee would be delayed through the
need for preparing conclusions prior to the submission of each item.
GENERAL LEWIS said that he had in mind final conclusions of all material
considered at a meeting rather than conclusions on each submitted item.
The CHAIRMAN suggested that any misunderstanding regarding conclusions
might be overcome if the wording was "and prepare draft reports and recom-
mendations with respect to conclusions."
GENERAL WILLEMS said that the members of the present Watch Committee are
able to grasp the problems personally, and are, in his opinion, best qualified
to draw warranted conclusions. He said that he visualized the Working Group
as providing assistance to the Watch Committee, but not as the body that would
write up and propose wording prior to the Watch Committee meeting.
DR. REICHARDT asked if the Working Group should assist in the preparation
of draft reports and evaluations,
The CHAIRMAN answered that such wording, as well as the next paragraph
proposed by G-2, suggested that such drafting be done after the meeting, and
that this was contrary to his concept of the most effective way to do the job.
ADMIRAL LAYTON said that he favored having the Watch Committee do its on
drafting and drawing of conclusions, and thus avoid becoming a rubber-stamp
committee.
MR. TRUEHEART said that he agreed that the Watch Committee must always be
completely enmeshed in the substantive details of the watch process, but that
he had not yet formulated an opinion regarding the CIA proposal. He pointed
out the importance of having the Watch Committee's conclusions stated with
precision to ensure that they were conveyed accurately to the recipients.
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GENERAL LEWIS asked if the present military and civilian rank of the
Watch Committee members was high enough to ensure proper emphasis.
GENERAL VLLEMS replied that a.s Chairman of the present Watch Committee,
he was well satisfied with the level of ability represented there, and felt
that rank per se was not of primary importance. He offered that high ranking
officers usually have many other responsibilities, and that it might be diffi-
cult for them to devote the necessary time to the Watch Committee effort.
MR. TRUEHEART said that he felt an agency's top Russian expert, provided
he was concerned with day-to-day Russian affairs, should serve as the Watch
Committee member.
GENERAL LEWIS suggested that the Watch Committee member might hold a.
position somewhere between that of the top Russian expert and that of the
Director of Research for the agency being represented.
ADMIRAL LAYTON said that the primary importance of rank was that it en-
sured the individual's standing in his own organization.
GENERAL WILLEMS said that the Ad Hoc Committee had expressed its feelings
regarding the importance of the Watch Committee job when it tentatively ap-
proved the preamble to the Draft Terms of Reference.
DR. REICHARDT agreed that if individuals with very high rank are nominated
for the Watch Committee, they probably would not have time for constant atten-
tion to the substantive details. He suggested that the Ad Hoc Committee might
wish to consider recommending the establishment of a separate box on agencies'
organization charts.
GENERAL LEWIS thought that some compromise was indicated in the opposing
positions expressed at the neeting.
MR. TRUEHEART suggested that individual members of the Ad Hoc Committee
bring alternate paragraphs to the next meeting if they so wished.
The CHAIRMAN agreed that this would be desirable, and said that he
would have an alternate paragraph to propose. He said that he is definitely
opposed to any procedure that would permit the Watch Committee to develop
into a rubber-stamp operation, but that he felt that a solution could be
found by the Ad Hoc Committee to ensure the best method of operation.
There being no further business to come before the Committee, the meet-
ing adjourned at 12.30 p.m.
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