Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945–1950, Emergence of the Intelligence Establishment

230. Memorandum From the Secretary of the Army (Royall) to the Executive Secretary of the National Security Council (Souers)⁰

Washington, November 26, 1947.

SUBJECT

• Appointment of an Intelligence Advisory Committee

1. Reference is made to your memorandum, same subject, dated 10 October 1947.¹

2. While I agree that it is desirable to create a committee to succeed the Intelligence Advisory Board, it does not appear to me that such is accomplished by the Intelligence Advisory Committee which the Director of Central Intelligence proposes to appoint under section 303 (a) of Public Law 253.

3. The Intelligence Advisory Board was responsible to the National Intelligence Authority. The Director of Central Intelligence was required (paragraph 3, N.I.A. Directive No. 1) to refer all recommendations to the Board prior to his submission of them to the Authority. The Board therefore performed two very important functions: (1) it furnished advice to the Director of Central Intelligence and (2) it insured the full interdepartmental coordination of all matters before they were submitted to the National Intelligence Authority.

4. I therefore recommend that the Director of Central Intelligence draft a charter which will provide for a committee as successor to the Intelligence Advisory Board which will perform for the National Security Council those functions which the Intelligence Advisory Board performed for the National Intelligence Authority.

Kenneth C. Royall

0. Source: Truman Library, Papers of Harry S. Truman, Records of the National Security Council. Confidential. Sent through the Secretary of Defense. Attached to the source text is a November 28 note on the stationery of the Office of the Secretary of Defense addressed to Souers from John H. Ohly, indicating that Forrestal had not seen Royall’s memorandum but that a copy was being held for him.
1. Document 226.