ACTIVITIES OF SENIOR REVIEW PANEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP98S00099R000400630002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 28, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: February 25, 1981
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/28: CIA-RDP98500099R000400630002-5
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25 February 1981
MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. John Bross
SUBJECT: Activities of Senior Review Panel
1. As you recently requested, the Panel has extracted
from its files some examples of its substantive comments
with respect to on-going intelligence assessments and
efforts within NFAC and the Intelligence Community. These
break out into three general categories: (1) comments on
interagency papers during their preparation; (2) appraisals
of past streams of intelligence reporting; and (3) suggested
intelligence coverage.
2. Comments on interagency papers. Since its
establishment in November 1978, the Panel has submitted 224
memoranda commenting on about 100 NIEs, SNIEs and IIMs in
different stages of preparation, beginning with a concept
paper; about two-thirds of these assessments concerned an
individual country while the others were of a regional or
topical nature. Attached examples are drawn primarily from
nonmilitary papers and concern:
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SUBJECT: Activities of Senior Review Panel
3. Appraisals of past streams of intelligence
reporting. These are informal appraisals in contrast to a
formal post-mortem as was conducted by the Panel with
respect to the Soviet Brigade in Cuba. An attached example
concerns:
Tab 0--Reporting on Nicaragua with Annex bringing
out wider implications (Jun 1979)
4. Suggested intelligence coverage. Attached
examples concern:
Tab P--Forces and trends in Central America and the
Caribbean (May-Jul 1979)
Q--Soviet options in Afghanistan (Jul 1979)
R--Soviet Military Capabilities in Situations less
than general war (Jan 1980)
S--Soviet military policies and forces in the
1980s (Aug 1979)
5. The Panel has not maintained a scorecard of the
extent to which its comments and suggestions have been
reflected in the published Estimates and Interagency
Memoranda. We know that some have had little or no visible
impact, and we have often reverted to the lines of earlier
comments. A few of the Panel's comments have had a sub-
stantial impact, and there has been a variety of inbetween
gradations. We are establishing procedures to compile an
SRP audit trail for each major nnner
Attachments:
As stated
CC: DD/NFA
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/28: CIA-RDP98500099R000400630002-5