# Foreign And Military Intelligence Book I FINAL REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE TO STFDY GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS WITH RESPECT TO INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES UNITED STATES SENATE TOGETHER WITH ADDITIONAL, SUPPLEMENTAL, AND SEPARATE VIEWS APRIL 26 (legislative day, APRIL 14),1976 U.S. GoVERNMENT PIUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1976 Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $5.35 tions in DIA. There has been a similar potential pract on the coordmatmg r?le o~ the DCI. Given that the overwhelmmg volume of total U.S. mtellIgence collection and production occurs within DOD, th~ .Deputy Secret~ry could become, in effect, a second DCI: The defimt~~n of the r~latIOn between these two officials will be the smgle mO!lt crI~lCal factor m toplevel organization for management of natIonal mtellIgence. 4-. Requirement8 for Oongre88ional Oversight. . If Congress- attempts to exe!cise mo~ comprehe.nsI.ve and detailed oversight of intelligence agenCIes, the bIggest Issue I!l lIkely to be what information the exec-ntive branch should make av~tllable. On defense intelligence there is likely to be less ofa problem If Congress conce~ trates on issues of intelligence process rather than substance. Ther~ IS, of course, a limit as to how far it is possible to eyaluate the former ~Ith out considering the latter. Therefore, norms wIl! have. to be. estabhsh~d about what kinds of material (for exalXlple1 fimsh~d mtell~g;ence) WIll be subject to scrutiny by Q0I?-gress on.a routme baSIS. PrOVIsIon should also be made to keep basIC mformatIroblem. of "unattrl~ut wble" records of controversial deCISIOns turnmg up m the files, I.e., unsigned directives or cables which cannot clearly be traced to an authoritative source). . . If independent ongoing , DUrIng Ius confir!nation hearings as Director of Central Intelligence' James Schlesmger, former Secretary of Defense and past head ~f tl~e OMB, told Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr., in regard to the publIcatIon ~n down inside of a larger figure and it doesn't really pop out In a bIg way. And It can be explained away." (John Clarke testimony, 2/5/76, p. 47.) 41 See e.g. p. 376 . more or less in the public domain anyhow without public confirmation. without official confirmation." 48 ' Mr. Schlesinger described for the Select Committee the impact of publishing the total national intelligence budget: I am not so concerned about that from the security aspect as some people are. I'm not sure I recommend it, but I'm not so concerned about it from the security aspect. It could do some good in that there are some inflated notions around about how much the United States Government is actually spending on intelligence, and if you had an official statement, I think that would put the total amount of expenditures in better context for the public.4sa 13. The Effect on National Seowity of Disclosure of the Total Appropriated to or Expended by Each National Intelligence Agency Publication of the total of the CIA's budget or of the other agencies' budgets has also been opposed. In a Freedom of Information Act suit, DCI Colby argued against publication of the Agency's budget total, as follows: Publication of eieher the CIA budget or the expenditures made by CIA for any given year would show the amounts planned to be expended or in fact expended for objects of a confidential, extraordinary or emergency nature. This information would be of considerable value to a potentially hostile foreign government. For example, if the total expenditures made by the Agency for any particular year were publicized, these disclosures, when taken with other information publicly available ... would enable such governments to refine their estimates of the activities oia major component of the United States intelligence community, including specifically the personnel strength, technological capabilities, clandestine operational activities, and the extent of the United States Government intelligence analysis and dissemination machinery .... The subsequent pUblicrution of simiLar daita for 'Other fiscal years . . . would enable a potentially hostile power to refine its estimat.es of trends in the United States Government intelligence efforts. He continued: The business of intelligence is to a large extent a painstaking collection of data and the formation of conclusions utilizing a multitude of bits and pieces of information. The revelation of one such piece, which might not appear to be of significance to anyone not familiar with the process of intelligence analy- ndR to be "blam('d for one t.hing or another," and "if you had an openly publish('d figure . . . there would be pressure within the Congress at budget mark-up time to take a 15 percent or 20 percent whack at it just for good measure and ... there is no way of having a public debate about the merits of intelligence." *lrI.* at 51-52. Mr. Schlesinger's argument implies that Congress as a whole should not be given information because it should not be allowed to exercise its control over the purse. sis (and which, therefore, might not arguably be said to be damaging to the national security) would, when combined with other similar data, make available ... information of great use and which would result in significant damage to the national security of the United States. He provided the following example of the impact on the nation's security of publication of the CIA's budget: If it were learned that CIA expenditures have increased significantly in anyone given year, but that there has beep. no increase in Agency personnel ( apparent from traffic, cars in the parking lots, etc.) it would be possible to make some reasonable estimates and conclusions to the effect that, for example, CIA had developed a costly intelligence collection system which is technological rather than manpower intensive; and that such system is operational. Knowledge readily availa;bleat the time about reconnaissance aircraft photography, and other technology, can result in a more accurate analysis ,about a new collection system which would enable a potentially hostile power to take steps to counter its effectiveness . . . the development of the U-2 aircraft as an effective collection device wou1d not have been possible if the CIA budget had been a matter of public knowledge. Our budget u:creased significantl:y during the development phase of that alrcraft. Thrut fact, If publIc, would have aJttractedattention .... If itihad 'been supplemented by knowledge (Iavailable perhaps from technical magazines, industry rumor, or advanced espionage techniques) that funds were being committed to a major aircraft manuacturer and to a manufacturer of sophisticated mapping cameras, the correct conclusion would have been simple to draw. The U.S. manufacturers in question ... would have become high priority intemgence ;targets .... And I'm sure that ,the Soviets would have taken steps earlier to ,acquire a capability to destroy very -highaltitude aircraft. They did indeed take these steps, with eventual success, but only sometime after the 'aircraft 'began operating over their territory-that is, once they had knowledge of a U.S. intelligence project.49 A close examination of Mr. Colby's statement raises a number of questions as to the effecJt of publication of the CIA's aggregate budget. Although Mr. Colby notes that the CIA's total budget figure would allow governments to "refine their estimates of the activities of a major component of the Un~ted States intelligence community," he provides no evidence of *h010* the publication of this one figure would increase the other government's knowledge of, for example, the clan- Action No. 75-0676, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Pp. 3-5. Other knowledgeable figures have reached different conclusions about the effect. of publishing the CIA's budget. For example, Elliot Richardson, pre!'ently Secretary of (1ommerce and formerly Secr('tary of Defense, hqs stated that publication of the amount of the CIA's expenditures would not be damaging to the national security. destine DperatiDnal activities *'Of* the CIA.50 There wDuld, *'Of* CDUrse~ be SDme "refinement" if it were knuwn that the CIA's budget was $X milliDns rather than $X + 1 milliDns. Such refinement goes 'On at all times, but the questiDn is whether such a gain by hostile powers is sufficient to justify 'Overriding the cDnstitutiQnal reQui~ement tha~ the American peQple be told hDW their funds are spent. Havmg an offiCIally acknDwledged budget tQtal does nut signal tD a hostile PQwer manpuwer levels in the Clandestine Service, let alQne the number *'Of* deep CDver agents. Having an 'Officially acknowledged aggregate figure does not reveal the CQst 'Of a reconnaissance vehicle, let alQne its technical capability. . Mr. CDlby has maintained that 'One-time publicatiDn 'Of the total amQunt budgeted for the CIA would set a precedent and that infDnnutiQn revealed thrDugh successive publicatiDn WQuld prDvide hostile pDwers with insights intQ United States intelligence activities. Of particular importance is Mr. Colby's. claim that successive disclosures 'Of .the CIA's aggregate budget WQuld eliminate the effectiveness *'Of* ma;or technicrt.l cQllection systems like the U-2. A change in the CIA's tQtal budget frDm 'One year to the next may be due tQ a number 'Of faotors: inflatiDn, cutbacks in -activities, 'a major reorganizlatiQn, or long term gains in efficiency, fQr example. Assuming that an increase in the CIA's budget alerted hoStile PQwers to some change in the Agency's activities, it would nQt in itself reveal what the new aotivity was-a new CQvert aetion proiect, mQre materi,al procurement, 'Or an increase in analytical capwbility through mechanizatiQn. For Mr. CQlby's argument tQ be valid nQt 'Only must the hostile power be able 'accuraJbe.ly tQ determine what the ,activity is--fDr instance, a new reconnaissance system-bnt that power WQuld have tD gain, cQvertly, an enQrmQUS amount 'Of tightly guarded inrormation, sw:~h as the techno- IQgical capabilities 'Of the vehicle and the surveillance systems which it cDntained.51 It WQuld seem that a hostile PQwer able to gain that informatiQn wouJd be ruble tQ discover t,he total 'Of the CIA's budget, a much mQre widely knQwn figure. The possibility that a hostile power mav pieree all the barriers designed to limit disseminatiQn 'Of clQsely held infDrmatiQn cannQt be used tQ ;ustify denying the American peQple infQrmatiDn which the CDnstitutiDn guarantees them, and which is widely published, and which must be assumed tQ be within the grasp 'Of hostile PQwers. It is far frQm clear, mDreQVer. that the develQpment and intrDductiQn *'Of* a majQr new system will be annQunced by a change in the Agency's total budget. The CIA budget may be large enQugh not tQ change substantially when a new system CQmes 'On line. A preliminary analysis *'Of* past CIA budgets has indicated that majQr new activities have nDt always resulted in "bumps" and that SDme "bumps" in the budget still are nDt 50 Mr. Colby's statement ignores the fact that figures for the CIA budget are already widely publicized. although not officiallY confirmed. In this regard. it is interesting to note that the Central Intelligence Agency withdrew its objection to the far more detailed budget diselosure in The OIA and the Oult of IntelUgenoe by Victor Marchetti and John D. Marks. ~r:r~~iie~ti~~~~~.52 Because *'Of* the impDrtance 'Of expensive techth" . b - ms, hDwever, the Select CQmmittee believes that e CQnSpICUDUS ump" argument deserves fulle st d b th f ~::{!g::: ~h~~gigrtt~es,~ Pfirticulfarly in.light .of t.h~ re~ufts If t.h~ p~;bli~ by the Committee. ga e gure 'Or natIOnal IntellIgence recQmmended Finally .. the. claims abDut damage tD the national securit resultin frDm pubhcatlOn of the ao-gregate figure for each . t lr y g must be viewed in the light *'Of* far mDre detailed ~~de c~~~:~i~ge~c~ ~Dsure *'Of* the budgets Q.f 'Other a.gencies vital tD the natiDnal sec~~it~ fo nQ~mQus amounts *'Of* InfOrmatIOn have been prDvided tQ the publlc' At~ri~taE~~r~DC~!~i:i~~ 'Of t~d pelPartmenft *'Of* Defense an~ th~ and d db' e ISC Qsure '0 funds apprDprIated t' jxpen e 1 these agencies did not and dDes not reveal vltal na ab:t ~hcrets. s SenatQr Symingt?n noted, "There's nDthing secret G-5A " But '''k costl *iIf* a f~chlear aIrcraft carrier 'Or the CDSt of the th' nDwe geD e CDSt does not eaual knQwledO"e *'Of* hQW edf} W~~fDhs 'Operate Dr how .they ~Quld be utilized." Similariy,knDwl- 1ge } ~ 'Overall ~Qst *'Of* IntellIgence does nDt in any way entail the rfune eats.e '0 InlfDrmatlOn ~bout how the variDus -intelligence groups c lOn, 'Or p an tQ functIOn." 54 ## E. The Argument That Publicatiqn *'Of* Any Infdrmatidn Will Inevitably Result In Demands Fdr Further Infdrmatidn - lis~i:e 'Opponents *'Of* budget discl.osure., while admitting that pube g agg~egat~llfigures fDr the IntellIgence community Dr intelli ftc~~i~~g;rCIeSh fi nQt h~r~ na~iQnal security, have argued that pub: d t il A nl!C gures WIll mevItably lead tQ demands fDr ever mDre g:n~e; s IrectDr Colby tolc1 the HDUse Select CDmmittee 'On Intellie aI.s prQ ably wDuld grDW. What dDes it include 2 What d ryeDver b , 'Once the budget total is revealed, the demand fDr ~Des It e~clude ~ Why did it gQ up ~ Why did 't d . 2 I It wDrth It? HQW dQes it wQrk? . I gQ 'Own. s 52 One series of activities which did b' Agency's activities in Laos, which we~:u:I~:rlYu~P III ~e CIA's budge! was the U.S. but were kept secret from the Am' nlown 0 powers hostile to the 53 If encan peop e for many y a new systems would be revealed by "b .". e rs. tion other than denying all information on 3~s III td~e CIA's budget a solupeople might be found J . expen ItlIres to the American figure could be based ~n :~~~l S~~l\~~:~';en~a~ s~fge~t:1 that the published dollars which could be spent. while obli' y e rather than on the the years, actual outlays "tend to gatlOns may fluctuate dramatically over (S~hJeSinger, *2/2176,* p. 55.) _ move smoothly over a period of years." 117 Congo Rec., p. S42925 remarks of S S . gett o~ the House Armed Se~vices Committ:~' nJ:U:~~' ~s Congressman Leg- CommIttee Report of about 4000 t . e ave a book here, the they talk about the money for th~~~ ~ ~h~ D~p~rtment of Defense in whieh works? The answer is: no. - - II ye 0 we know how the SAM-D "We have the details of the money for Th'l d .. we know what the money is actually used f ?a~ an , and It IS spelled out. But do "We can go through the FBI b or . O. The answer is: no." (Cong. Rae udi{i37~o~ \hat dtelll0lIs what they are doing? Leggett.) ." al y e., /1/75, remarks of Rep. There would be revelations ... which would gradually reduce the unknown to a smaller and smaller part of the total, permitting foreign intelligence services tc? concentrate their efforts in the areas where we would least hke to attract . their attention. . . We-and I specifically mean in this instance both Intelhgence professionals and Members of Congress-would h~ve an acute problem when the matter of our budget arose In the floor of the House or Senate. Those who knew the facts would have two unpleasant choi?es--to remain.silent in the face of all questions and allegatIOns, however maccurate, or to attempt to keep the debate on accurate grOlmds by at least hinting at the full story. . Mv concern that one revelation will lead to another IS based on more than a "feeling." The atomic weapons bu~get was considered very sensitive, and the Manhattan. ProJect was concealed completely during World War.II. WIth the est~b lishment of the AEC however, the deciSIOn was made to Include in the 194'7 budget a one-line.item for the weapons account. That limitation was short-hved. By 19'74, a 15-page breakout and discussion of the Atomic Weapons Program was being published. Were the intelligence budget ~o uIl:dergo a similar experience, major aspects of our mtelhgence strategy, capabilities and successes would be revealed.55 . p. ~!~ator McClellan described the consequences of publishing the total budget for national intelligence. "That is when you intend to put the camel's nose under the tent. That is the beginning. That is the wedge. You say you do not want to know all the details and how the money is spent. But, if you get the overall figures of one billion dollars or half-a-billion dollars or five billion, or w.hatever, then how are you going to know, how can you evaluate, how can you Judge or. n:ake .an intelligl'nt judgment on whether that is too much or too little, .whether It IS bemg expended wisely or unwisely, except when you can get the detaIls? . . "How? You cannot know. And, if you receive these figures and If you end thIS ignorance as to the total amount, next you will want to end the. i~orance as to the different agenCies and how it is spent, an~ t~rough whom It IS spent. Next will want to end the ignorance of what It IS spent for. Nex~ you want to end the ignorance of how that intelligence is procurpd. There IS no end to it." (Cong Rec. S9609, daily ed., 6/4/74, remarks of Sen. McClellan:) . During the same debate Senator Humphrey noted that 'Yhlle .he d~d not oppose tbe purpose of the disclosure of the total budget for natl?nal mteillgence, "the problem is it is sort of like loose string or a ball of twme, so. to speak, that starts to unravel." *(ld.* at S9606, remarks of Sen. Humphrey.) Dunng a more recent House debate on the publication of the CIA's budget, Congref'sman !Otlllg described such publicrttion as "the first baby step." (Cong. Rec. H9376, dallyed., 10/1/75, remarks of Rep. Young.) As James Schlesinger told the Splect Committee, "But onpof the problems here is the camel's nose under the ed~e of the tent, and I think that th~t is the fundamental problem in the area. There are very few people who ca~ a~tlculately argue tbat the publication of those figures in and of themgelves, If It stopp.ed there would be harmful. The argument is that then the pressure would buIld up t~ do somethhi.g else, that once you have publish~d for example the .. , budget. that the pressures would build up to reveal tbe kmds of systems tIl.at are bemg bought for tbat money, and it is regarded as the first steD down a slIDperY slope for those who worry' about those kinds of things." (Schlesinger, 2/2/76, p.53.) Ther~ are several problems with this argument. While there obviously WIll be pressure, the problem as Mr. Helms agreed "is not insuperable." 56 For many years Congress has refused to reveal the figures tor t~e national i~telligence budget and the aggregate budgets of the Intelhgence. agenCIes. It seems ~likely that given this past history, Congre~ WIll suddenly reverse Itself and fail to protect information ~hose dIsclosure w~uld harm the national security. Much more likely IS. that Congress WIll, as Senator Church proposed, "establish very stringe~t rules when it came to handling the money figures." 57 More Importantly, as Congressman Koch noted: The real fear on bOth sides of the aisle that some have expressed is.' '~Gee, if we do that, that is the first step." Maybe It IS, but, whatever the second step is, it is what this House wants it to be, and if this House decides that this is the last step, so be it. If the House decides that it wants to have more information it will have to have a vote on it. What is wrong with that? That is what is called the democratic system. We are sent here to be part of that system. 58 . It is i~structiv~ to note in this context the amount of budgetary InfOrmatIOn prOVIded on the Atomic Energy Commission. That information has constantly ~ncreas~d: Y~t each step of the way, Congress has had the opportumty to lImIt dIsclosure and chose not to. This experience confirms congressional control over the process. More importantly the national security was not harmed by disclosure of a substantial amount of budgetary information about an -agency and a weapons program crucial to the defense of the United States. Finally, the argument is without limits. It could be used to justify mu?h great~r secrecy. It could be used to justify the withholding of allmformatlOn on the Defense Department because information which the Congress wis~es ~ protect .would _~ threatened by pressures caused by the pubhcatIOn of any rnformatIon on that Department. ## F. The Argument That The United States Should Not Publish Information Of Its I:R.""Telligence Budget Since No Other Govern- Ment In The World Does . I~ has. also been argued that the United States should not publish Its rntellIgence budget when no other government in the world does. 59 Yet as Congressman Moss noted: I point out to those Members who do not know the difference between this country and others, and the fact that we 'become un.ique in disclosing this that, thank God, we do become umque. We have grO!W1l great and maintained our strength as an open society and we should continue to be an open society to the maximum consistent with our true security requirements. I t the Russians 0'1' the Chinese , I dO' *nDt* w;~~.: ~~~~~: !. the operatiDn Qf t~e variQus Dr even Qur rr.l ts under their QffiCIal secrets agencies Df theIr gye~en to realize the strength that we acts and ather 'areas. wan us d f ad electorate.so gain rDman alert electorate an m Qrm ## G. Summary And Cdnclusidn - . tl vern the Central Intelli- The budget procedures Whld: presen e~!~lli nee cDmmunity p'regence Agency and Dther agenCIes of t~l as the ~ublic from knD'Ylllg vent most Membe~s of Congress a~f ';;~~e a ncies or even hQW much hQW much m~)lley ~s spent by ant 1 In adltion mQst Members of is spent on mtelhgen~ as a ; 0. e. d ,about the ~pprQpriations and Congress and the pl1bhc 'are ecelve . hose bud t'I"OIl-Q are inflated d f -'-h gQvernment aO"P.]lCles w b V "': expen Itures 0 Ot,; er . . o~ mmunit The faIlure to proto conceal funds fQ!" the mtelhgen~ 00 th~ Congre6S prevents vide this illform~tlOn 'tdth.e PUb~I~ti~~ at;:d violates Article 1, Seceither from effectIvely or e;rmg pno t 9 Clause 7 which proVIdes that: . IOn , ' b t CQnse No MDney shall be. d~awn frDm thL;:~~~d~ r~~u~~r State~ quence Qf ApproprlatIQnS made .by d' E d;tures 'Of all ent and Account O'f the ReceIpts an. xpe~ 1 ~lblic MQney shall be published frQm tIme to' tIme. b!" t" Qf the aO"o'!'eo-ate figure fQr The CQmmittee finds that, p~ lCa I(n f the cQ:Stit:tiQnal requirenatiDnal intelligence would be~ to' :.a IS {securitv. While substantial ment .and WQul.d nDbt da~ge i t~ ~~l~i;~etween the cQnstitutiQnal requestIOns remam a Qut. ~ re a 10. the Committee recommends the quirement and the D!atlOnal secunty, fi The CDmmittee alsO' recannual publication Qf the aggreg3:~~eefs~~dy the effects of publis~ng Qmmends that ~ny succ~ssor cQmm h 'bI d ts of the intelligence agenCIes. more detailed mformatIOn Qn 't e 11 ge ## Xvii. Testing And Use Of Chemical And Biologi- Cal Agents By The Intelligence Community Under its mandate 1 the Select CQmmittee has studied the testing and use Qf chemical and biDIQgical agents by intelligence agencies. Detailed descriptiQns Qf the prQgrams cQnducted by intelligence agencies invO'lving chemical and biQlQgical agents will be included in a separately published appendix *to'* the .senate .select CQmmittee's repQrt. This sectiO'n *O'f* the repO'rt will discuss the ratiO'nale fQr the prO'grams, their mO'nitO'ring and cO'ntrQl, and what the CO'mmittee's investigatiQn has revealed abO'ut the relatiO'nships amO'ng the intelligence agencies and about their relations with other gO'vernment agencies and private institutions and individuals. 2 Fears that countries hostile *to'* the United States would use chemical and biological agents against Americans or America's allies led to the develDpment Df a defensive prDgram designed *to'* discDver techniques for American intelligence agencies *to'* detect 'and COlmteract chemical and biological agents. The defensive orientation soon became secondary as the possible use of these agents to obtain information from, or gain control over, enemy agents became apparent. Research and developnient programs to find materials which could be used to alter human behavior were initiated in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These experimental programs originally included testing O'f drugs involving witting human subjects, and culminated in tests using unwitting, nQnvolunteer human subjects. These tests were designed to determine the potential effects of chemical or biO'logical agen,ts when used O'perationally against individuals unaware that they had received a drug. The testing programs were considered highly sensitive by the intelligence agencies administering them. Few people, even within the agencies, knew of the programs and there is no evidence that either the executive branch 0'1' CQngress were ever informed of them. The highly compartmented nature of these programs may be explained in part by an O'bservatiQn made by the CIA InspectO'r General that, "the knQwledge that the Agency is engaging in unethical and illicit activiate (Section 2(4) and (8; "(c) The adequacy of executive branch and congressional oversight of intelligence activities (Section 2(7) and (11 ; "(d) The adequacy of existing laws to safeguard the rights of American citizens (Section 2(13) )." a The details of these programs may never 'be known. The programs were highly compartmented. Few records were kept. What little documentation existed for the CIA's principal program was destroyed early in 1973.