RESPONSE TO UN ASSOCIATION STUDY CALLING FOR INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT IN NATURAL DISASTERS

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CIA-RDP80M00165A002400080002-9
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RIPPUB
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K
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15
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December 15, 2016
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February 26, 2004
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2
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Publication Date: 
August 31, 1977
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MEMO
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Approved For ReleaseE '604/(9/11*W- ~RBM00165A00240 Date: 31 August 1977 SUBJECT: Response to UN Association Study Calling for Intelligence Support in Natural Disasters REMARKS: A response to a study calling for intel support in natural disasters is offered for your signature At the same time, you are asked to endorse DDI's making a study of how we can respond and reporting back to you with recommendations. Also attached (At TAB 3) is a corollary memo from NPIC's John Hicks stimulated by the same report in which he proposes U. S. initiative in helping the UN establish an air reconnaissance capability. He suggests you raise the topic with State. You may wish to do this in a talk with Vance, or to send or durnish him a memo on this topic. The Hicks proposal could be cranked into DDI's study and be included as an alternative in this report to you. It is recommended that you sign the letter to Ratner; authorize the DDI study, and ask them to include Hicks' proposal as an alternative with pros and cons. Approved For Release 2004/03/15: CIA-RDP80M00165AO0240 TO t'n NAME AND ADDRESS DQCT DATE 4'i m- AINITIALLS a q~IG 197 3 ' 4 DC I q SEP 197 srru 6 ACTION DIRECT REPLY PREPARE REPLY APPROVAL DISPATCH RECOMMENDATION COMMENT FILE RETURN CONCURRENCE INFORMATION SIGNATURE Reconnaissance Survey Capability to Paul Wash's -endorsed memorandum on Intelligence-support to. Natural Disaster Relief since Hick's memo adds more information to the recommendation outlined -in--pars 4 of Walsh's memo to yau_==LL the Director Central lntellivence A, enc Appro ed For Release 2004103/1 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO024 003O'U2-r Mr. Robert M. Ratner United Nations Association of the United States of America 300 East 42nd Street New York, New York 10017 X 77 .%4a 1 September 1977 Dear Mr. Ratner: Thank you for calling my attention to the report of your Policy Studies Panel on International Disaster Relief. It is compelling in its humanitarian objectives and explicit in its recommendations. I have several comments with respect to those recommendations in the report which call for increased application of technology, particularly information derived from reconnaissance systems, to natural disaster research. The U-2 photographs and photo inter- pretation assistance provided by the-US Government to Guatemala after the earthquake of early 1976 (and cited in your report) are good examples of what can be done in support of disaster analysis with advanced techniques originally developed for intelligence purposes. This type of cooperative effort will be continued in future crises whenever it appears to be feasible. The CIA in recent years has devoted an increased analytical effort to anticipation and assessment of natural hazards and disasters. Some of the Agency's longer-term work on climatic change and on its possible effects has already been well- publicized. Research on the more immediate problems, when it is based.on highly-classified sources, will in most instances continue to be accessible only to appropriately cleared individuals, as you mention in your report. Rest assured that I will make every effort to see that any research of this type -- classified or unclassified -- gets into the hands of the appropriate US officials on a timely basis. yiy q~ XEC!'';~' .+ c-,1S4!~Y RtE L. ti Mb V:a h Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO02400080002-9 Approved_ For Release 200'4103J(5 : CIA-RDP8 Central Intelligence Agency 1 September 1977 Mr. Robert M. Ratner United Nations Association of the United States of America .300 East 42nd Street New York, New York 10017 Dear Mr. Ratner: Thank you for calling my attention to the report of your Policy Studies Panel on International Disaster Relief. It is compelling in its humanitarian objectives and explicit in its recommendations. I have several comments with respect to those recommendations in the report which call for increased application of technology, particularly information derived from reconnaissance systems, to natural disaster research. The U-2 photographs and photo inter- pretation assistance provided by the-US Government to Guatemala after the earthquake of early 1976 (and cited in your report) are good-examples of what can be done in support of disaster analysis with advanced techniques originally developed for intelligence purposes. This type of .cooperative effort will be continued in future crises whenever it appears to be feasible. The CIA in recent years has devoted an increased analytical effort to anticipation and assessment of natural hazards and disasters. Some of the Agency's longer-term work on climatic change and on its possible effects has already been well- publicized. Research on the more immediate problems, when it is based on highly-classified sources, will in most instances continue to be accessible only to appropriately cleared individuals, as you mention in your report. Rest assured that I will make every effort to see that any research of this type -- classified or unclassified -- gets into the hands of the appropriate US officials on a timely basis. g p 16 riigW $~^7 is 0.lSS i ~573am. i ` Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO02400080002-9 Approved For `ease 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80MO016?02400080002-9 Again, I thank you for your report, and will give thoughtful consideration to those segments dealing with more intensive use of the military and intelligence technology to support commitments of the US Government in response to natural disasters. Yours sincerel STANSFIELD &NER Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO02400080002-9 L..t 1 77 77717 Approved ForlffiIease 20047646 -RDP80M001W00240008000 - 2, pair, 1977 MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence FROM . Paul V. Walsh Acting Deputy Director for Intelligence SUBJECT .. I ntel1 i gence? 'Support--to -N'atura'l,- Di saster~: Rel i of 1. Actions Requested: a. That-.,you- .approve and?-;s i gn- the proposed i etter-to Mr: ? Robert t Ratner, ' Acting Presi dent; -Uni ted. Nations Association of the United States of--America, which is appended as:-Attaaehment 1. b. That you--approve-the recommendation- irr-paragraph 4 be l ow-. 2. Background: You recently. received a letter=and a:.report onrn International Disaster..Relief -from Mr.--Ratner (both letter and report are appended-as.Att&Ghme 2). Mr. Ratner requested your comments on the report and there are several-. -itemss--in.it-;which warrant your attention-.-- a. The principal one- is a recommendation '(on page-,69 of. the- report),.?thatnthe?miIitary?and security, -organizations i n-.,countri`es ='whic-h--have. advanced surveillance and -- communi-cation-s=--systems:. examine- the means by which the information developed by these systems ,--.relevant?to disaster preparedness;--disaster- early warning, and di sas_ter. damage .asses.smen.t:., mi ght. be made. avai.l.abl e to.. the.. stri-cken< countri es.? or- to` 'the ' UN so. than appro priate,-action could be---expedited. The Panel suggested that this sharing of information could be accomplished by giving US Ambassadors access to relevant classified information, or by passing declassified information and products from classified systems to the UN or to the disaster-stricken countries. Comment:- CIA -and ? NPIC al ready? have a- substantial capability to monitor and evaluate naturaldisas.te.r...... situations'. Much of this has been done within the framework of intelligence needs -- e.g., assessing damage and political/economic implications of the Chinese earthquake -- rather than from the standpoint - 25 Approved For Release 2004/03A,$- -C'IA~R P8 M00165A002400080002-9 i Approved For lease 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M0016002400080002-9 of support to relief efforts. An exception was the NPIC/AID operation (cited but not identified as NPIC in the attached report of the UN Association of the US) supplying high-resolution U-2 photography and an experienced photo interpreter to Guatemala within days of the February 1976 earthquake. Ar~wi~PI6 uni t~i s? already tasked wi th? exploitation .,of ..i mager..y. materials ? for'~qu i` ck?=response yreadout.. of obvious damage,from-.natu.ral- hazards . such as-, earth- quakes..ar:floods. The Office of Geographic and Cartographic Research in the DDI has also done some work of this type exploiting, photography and other sources and has initiated contacts with AID to explore their needs for natural-disaster intelligence. OER has evaluated the economic impact of natural disasters. b. Another item,-.in-the-report'"is;the 'suggestion (page 8) that."Certain of:.the.operators in these-military and.. ..securi.ty:.organizations could. receive further- tra,inin.g. --in di sasterr..-ppreparedness , early warni ng and damage assessment." Comment: We are already-giving some-attention to devea opmen-t= of-sk?i.l l s. along,.these: l i nes -through on-the-job effort, and plan to have a few of our people attend special workshops on natural disasters at the University of Colorado. c. The -report--a}so--recommends-- (page- 66). that, the. US, Government, in. particular-SID--'"cons der'" he--provision. of high-altitude r.econnai-ssance~planes-and?.thL-=facilities for- processing-the film used: b, .-such planes, as. -part`of an expanded program of assistance. -.to- national and./or regional disaster preparedness-." Comment: .-l-f_-AID-. should,respond to- this recommendation, policy-on- the--?extent of-technical transfer would no doubt need to be;-,weighed, bye CORIREX. and.:the appropriate Doa.- reconrrai ssance--,orga.ni zati ons _. . 3. Scale of the Agency's Effort: There are two types of disasters which the UN Association's report addresses: "slow developing" disasters (e.g., famines) and sudden disasters (e.g., earthquakes or typhoons). a. With respect to slow developing disasters, the report in several places calls for greater efforts to be made to provide early warning of such disasters. As you are aware, the Agency has in recent years refined methods of crop forecasting, conducted research in long-term Approved For Release 2004/03/15 1 1Ai P_80M00165A002400080002-9 Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO02400080002-9 climatological trends, and is researching means of anticipating food/population crises. Much of this basic research will not be based on highly-classified sources, and probably will be releasable to the public. In general, we believe that the Agency's efforts in these areas are about at the proper level. b. On sudden disasters, the intelligence problem is less one of predicting than of responding after the fact -- i.e., assessing the damage after a natural disaster has occurred. The--Agency- i nn-thee-past ,has- responded, .to--such disasters!4on= an-adhoc basis, and the scale of the response has depended on the importance of the country suffering the disaster as an intelligence target. In the case of last year's earthquake in China, for example, the effort made by the Agency to assess the damage and its economic and political impact was substantial. Considerably smaller efforts have been devoted to assessing damage caused by earthquakes, floods, typhoons or volcanoes in other areas of the world in recent years. The security problem of deciding what types of information can and should--be released to a country suffering a natural disaster poses problems that in the past also have been dealt with on an ad hoc basis. Both with respect to the scale of the Agency's response, and the kinds of information that should be declassified, we believe it would be useful to establish contingency guidelines and procedures that would better focus the Agency's response to unexpected natural disasters in the future. 4. Recommenda-tion:. That-you?instruct. the DDI to review-the state of.intelligence,:research on natural disasters, the adequacy of present inteiligen.ce..support _to:.US disaster relief -efforts, and'.the-problems'of, releasing classified-?-i-nfo-rmati on ono na-tural disasters in-other countries. Further, that you instruct the DDI to report back to you recommending guidelines and procedures::that might be established to strengthen-the Agency's . aai l-ity -to- respond to forei gn._ natural di saster. s . APPROVED Director of C'ertr l Intelligence Director of Central Inte--ligence (Jv 25 As stated above Paul a s r-T Approved For Release 2004/0: Q DP80M00165AO02400080002-9 Approved Folease 2004/033Ca tRDP80M001 002400080002-9 SUBJECT: Intelligence Support to Natural Disaster Relief Originator: OGCR 119Aug77) Distribution: (a copies with attachments) Original - Director 1 - ADDCI --I- - ER 1 - Ch/Ops Center 1 - COMIREX 1 - D/NPIC 1 - DDI 1 - DDI Chrono 1 - D/OER 1 - D/OSR 1 - D/OIA 1 - D/OGCR 1 - Ch/GD/OGCR Approved For Release 2004IO$Iftp k IA- RDP80M00165AO02400080002-9 Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : C('A-RDP80M00165A002400080002-9 Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO02400080002-9 Approved Release 2004/03/15: CIA-RDP80M Cn.iinrl.i ?T o! ill:' Associ tti,n Williaro W. Scranton Cbairm?, S.)JrJ p! G^?:.~;;, r5 Robert S. Bcnjarnin Chuirma i. An. Comm.. Unittid Artists Corp. C^'7 rrri I-: James S. McDonnell Chairnr,-1, MMcLionne!l DouglaSCorp. Viii ..,i:r r.ra Patricia K. Di Giorgio Son Francisco Chap!ar, UNA John E. Leslie Chairman, Bache Halsey Stuart Inc. Leo Nevas Partner-fleva5, Nevas & Rubin Jean Picker interchange Foundation Robert V. Roosa Partner-Brow.o Brothers Harriman & Co S-ecre:ary Ra:n J. Hinerfeld tst L.? .-Leay,:e of :"omen Voters 'ai:urar Harry VI. Knight Chairman, Hillsboro Associates, inc. C! ain ^., UNA Special Funding Program Robert F. Wright Partner-Arthur Andersen & Co. Governors Martha M. Aasen Chairman. Conference of UN Representatives Morris B. Abram Partner-Paul, Weiss, Ritkind, Y/hartoo & Garrison Andrew F. Brimmer President, Brimmer & Co., inc. R. Manning Brown, Jr. Chairman, II. Y. Life Insurance Co. Kenneth R. Burrough3 President. Texas Division, UNA Jacob Clayman Secretary-Treasurer Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO William T. Coleman, Jr. Partner-O'Melveny & Myers Gaylord Freeman Hon. Chrm., First National Bank of Chicago Arnold Goodman Chairman. Council of Chapter and Division Presidents, UNA Dr. Armand Hammer Chairman, Occidental Petroleum Corp. Vlal:er E. Hanson Senior Partner Peat. Marwick, Mitchell & Co. Attorney-V. P., Pacific Chapter, UNA Philip Klutznick Klutznick Investments Edward Lamb. President, Lamb Enterprises, Inc. Estelle Linzer V. P., Southern N.Y. State Div., UNA L. F. McCollum Chairman, Mercantile Texas Corp. Porter McKeever Associate, John O. Rockefeller. 3rd Carmel Carrington Mart Commissioner, fl. Y. State Public Service Commission William S. Penchard Chairman. Erec. Comm., Chemical Bank William Ruder President, Ruder & Finn, Inc. Richard J.?Schmeelk General Partner, Salomon Brothers Joseph M. Segel Chairman, Presidential Airways Joe Byrns Sills C! Pia ert!, C/-- 9r, Division Peggy Sanford Carlin Vice Presiden', Program P!annirrg and National 0;.7anizations Louis J. PrOvenzale ASS!start T c.n 'rrer and Contro!ter Richard B. Winner Director. F ngn^ial Development anti A.7mrni S.'.?7nOn Acting President Robert Ni. Ratner UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATIOI\ of the UNITED STATES of AMERICP 300 EAST 42nd STREET, NEW YORK, N .Y. 1001 Cable Address UNASAMER (212) 697-323_2 Honorary Co-Chairmen 11a.'i0n2f Chairt?.ra. UPt C-./ 197? Arthur J. Goldberg (S a^po'r.-m rt o' Henry Cabot Lcdge T,` a President of the U.S.A.) Anna Lord Strauss Charles W. Yost Henry Ford ti Chair, n, Ford Motor Compa y .Admiral Stansfield Turner Director Central Intelligence Agency Washington, D.C. Enclosed is a copy of the final report issued by UNA's Policy Panel on International Disaster Relief, as well as a copy of the press release on the Report. The Panel was chaired by Orville L. Freeman, President of Business International and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Other Panel members included George Ball, former Under-Secretary of State; Lester Brown, author of "By Bread Alone;" Senator Hubert Humphrey; David Morse, former head of ILO; Glenn Watts, President of the Communications Workers of America and George Woods, former President of the World Bank. On Page 4 of the Report is a summary of the major recom- mendations the Panel directs to various agencies of the UN and the US Government, and to organizations involved in_inter national disaster relief. I think you will find that these recommendations are, in the main, practical and useful. I would appreciate any comments you might have. RMR:mef Enclosure IJ1 Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165A002400080002-9, Robert M. Ratner Acting President 2) OX 7-3232 tW. YORK 10017 CI RDP 0T65A 02 0008 002-9 A 0NI0 pproved 1VRelease 20041103/15 : PRESS RELEASE CONTACT- HOLD FOR RELEASE ON t 4 d A h 1977 In New York: Stephen Green (212) 697-3232 , ay ugus urs T Ellie King (212) 697-3232 In Washington, D.C.: Roger Cochetti (202) 547-6645 CITIZENS' PANEL URGES LEGAL PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS OF NATURAL DISASTERS Also Proposes Creation of UN Disaster Early Warning Unit and Increased Disaster Preparedness Assistance A panel of distinguished citizens, including former senior UN and US officials, in a comprehensive review of the international disaster relief system, has-proposed a series of steps designed to overcome the political and administrative problems which frequently impede relief efforts. Among the proposals are the creation of a disaster early warning unit in the Office of the UN Secretary-General, provision of legal protection to victims of natural disasters by neutral international agencies, conclusion of international agreements specifying the obligations of governments to disaster victims and creation of a special UN fund, administered by the UN Development Program, for disaster preparedness programs in the developing countries. The panel's 90 page report, published by the United Nations Association, entitled. "Acts of Nature, Acts of Man: The Global Response to Natural Disasters," is the result of a year-long study which focused on four major aspects of disaster relief: international coordination, the application of modern technology, preparedness in developing countries and the "politics'fi of natural disasters. The panel was chaired by Orville L. Freeman, President of Business International and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture." Other panel members included George Ball, former Under-Secretary of State; Lester Brown, author of "By Bread Alone"; Senator Hubert Humphrey; David Morse, former head of ILO; Glen Watts, President of the Communi- cations Workers of America and George Woods, former President of the World Bank. The UNA report concludes that political considerations continue to impede many disaster relief operations, in spite of the fact that the UN and Red Cross have designated special units to coordinate and monitor the international movement of relief goods. Among the specific problems with which the report deals are the failure by governments and relief agencies to acknowledge the existence of adisaster, diversion of assistance to,groups relatively less needy and the stealing of relief goods and supplies. Such problems tend to emerge more often during slow-developing disasters, such as droughts and epidemics. Page. 1 Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO02400080002-9 Approved *Release 2004/03/15: CIA-RDP80M0I5A0024000 000d' Tocurb such occurances, the panel recommends 1) the creation of a disaster early warning unit in the Office of the UN Secretary-General, 2) the provision of international legal "protection" to disaster victims by agencies that now monitor conflicts and refugee movements, and ultimately, 3) the establishment of international agreements spelling out the obligations of governments to ensure relief in natural disasters. A second major conclusion of the panel is that national governments in many disaster-prone developing countries. are not prepared to handle the complex logistics and administrative tasks involved in a major natural disaster. Among the reasons for this, the panel maintains, is the lack of emphasis given to disaster preparedness in the programs of major international devebpment assistance agencies, particularly those of the UN. The panel recommends the creation of a special UN fund (administered by the UN Development Program) to handle earmarked funds for this purpose, and urges the US Government to "start the ball rolling" by making new monies available for this purpose. Other recommendations of the panel include proposals for strengthening the United Nations Disaster Relief Office (UNDRO) and for the increased use of earth- orbiting satellites for communications in disaster operations, and for early warning and damage assessment. The report also urges the establishment of a computerized global food tracking system that would locate and permit the rapid diversion of commercial shipments of grain, to disaster zones where food was critically needed. Throughout. its deliberations the panel has maintained close contact with the agencies to which its recommendations-are addressed,, and these organizations are expected to be receptive to most of the panel's recommendations. For example, a recent report of the Senate Foreign Relatiors Committee recommends US action on several of the proposed reforms, notably support for additional assistance to national disaster. preparedness programs in developing countries. UNDP is already considering ways in which UN disaster preparedness assistance can be accelerated.' Participation in the panel's deliberations by State Department officials has resulted in a-State Department action program, soon to be presented to OECD, which includes expanded assistance to national disaster preparedness efforts. The International Committee of the Red Cross is now formally considering the panel's recommendation that ICRC offer its protection services to certain victims of natural disasters. And finally, the ICRC and League of Red Cross Societies are _ointly preparing a feasibility study on a new international disaster relief convention, to be presented at the quadrennial International Conference of the Red Cross in Bucharest in October of this year. Pag_ 2 Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165A002400080002-9 Approved 'Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80MO45AO02400080002-9 The report is part of the Policy Studies Program of the United Nations Associa- tion. Robert V. Roosa, Partner, Brown Brothers Harriman and Co.,.is Chairman of UNA's Policy Studies Committee. The most recent report issued by the Association was "Con- the Conventional Arms Race" released in November 1976. UNA is an independent, non-partisan organization which seeks to create an informed and active public opinion. in support of constructive US policies in the UN and in other international bodies, and to develop new ideag on how to deal-with global problems. Governor William W. Scranton, former US Ambassador to the UN was recently elected Chairman of the Association. A complete list of panel members follows. UNA-USA POLICY STUDIES PANEL ON INTERNATIONAL DISASTER RELIEF CHAIRMAN: ORVILLE L. FREEMAN President, Business International Formerly, Secretary of Agriculture GEORGE W. BALL Senior Partner, Lehman Brothers Incorporated Formerly, Under-Secretary of State M. KATHLEEN BELL US Department of State, Retired CHRISTINE BESHAR Partner, Cravath, Swaine and Moore LESTER BROWN President, Worldwatch Institute HERSCHELLE S. CHALLENOR Staff Consultant.to Sub-Committee on International Resources, Food and Energy, US House of Representatives DAVID A. MORSE Partner, Surrey, Karasik, Morse and Seham Formerly, Director-General'of the International Labor Organization 'JEAN PICKER BERT COWLAN Vice Chairman, United Nations Association--_ Consultant, Institute of Public Administration . US Representative to the UN Commission- for Social Development TOM J. FARER Professor of Law, Rutgers University JOSEPH M. SEGEL Formerly, Assistant to the Assistant Secretary Chairman, Presidential Airways of State for Inter-American Affairs Board of Governors, UNA-USA C. CLYDE FERGUSON, JR. Visiting Professor of Law, Harvard Law School Formerly, US Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the UN DAVID P. FORSYTHE Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska GLEN E. WATTS President, Communications Workers of America GEORGE D. WOODS Director, First Boston, Inc.. Formerly, President, Chairman of the Board, International Bank for Recon- struction and Development * Mr. Greenfield served sith the panel and followed its work, but due to the policy of The New York Times, cannot and does not associate himself with the panel's recommendations. ** Mr. Maynes served as a member of the panel until his nomination by the President as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. He did not participate in the drafting of the final report. Page 3 *JAMES L. GREENFIELD Associate Managing Editor, New York Times Formerly, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs HUBERT H. HUMPHREY US Senator CHARLES W. MAYNES Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of International Organization Affairs Formerly, Secretary and Director, International Organization Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Approved For Release 2004/03/15 : CIA-RDP80M00165AO02400080002-9