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  4. Document 145

145. Minutes of the Third Meeting of the National Intelligence Authority0

Washington, April 2, 1946, 11 a.m.

PARTICIPANTS

  • Members Present
  • Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, in the Chair
  • Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson
  • Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal
  • Also Present
  • Mr. Howard C. Petersen, Assistant Secretary of War
  • Mr. H. Freeman Matthews, Department of State
  • Mr. Edward Hidalgo, Navy Department
[Page 338]

1. Progress Report by Director of Central Intelligence

At Secretary Byrnes’ request, Admiral Souers gave a brief report on the progress of organization of the Central Intelligence Group, and noted some of the more important projects now in progress. He invited attention to the fact that the most urgent problem concerning the disposition of the Strategic Services Unit was covered by the paper1 for consideration at this meeting. Admiral Souers also explained that further details concerning current projects were available in the weekly Status Report which was distributed to the Authority.2

2. Policy on Liquidation of the Strategic Services Unit (N.I.A. 3)

Secretary Patterson suggested the following amendments:

a.
The addition of a new paragraph to the proposed N.I.A. Directive (page 4) as follows:

“5. The War Department shall retain the right to determine what portion of War Department funds, personnel and facilities can be made available to SSU by the War Department.”

b.
Insert the words “within your capabilities” in the second line of the third paragraph following the word “service”, and in the sixth line of the third paragraph following the word “available.”

The National Intelligence Authority:

Approved N.I.A. 3 subject to the above amendments (Enclosure A thereto subsequently circulated as N.I.A. Directive No. 4).3

  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 218, Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Leahy Papers, No. 132. Confidential. The meeting was held at the Department of State. This was an instance in which the meetings of the National Intelligence Authority and the Committee of Three overlapped. A record of the NIA portion of the meeting also exists in the Committee of Three minutes. (Ibid., RG 107, Records of the Office of the Secretary of War, Secretary of War Patterson’s Subject File, RPP Committee of Three, Safe File No. 1) A note on the source text indicates Admiral Leahy “subsequently approved the action taken at the meeting.”↩
  2. See the source note, Document 106.↩
  3. Not printed.↩
  4. Document 106.↩