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

425. National Security Council Intelligence Directive No. 2⁰

Washington, January 13, 1948.

COORDINATION OF COLLECTION ACTIVITIES ABROAD

The following over-all policies and objectives are established by the National Security Council for the interdepartmental coordination of foreign intelligence collection activities, so that measures may be taken promptly to effect sound and efficient utilization of the various departmental collecting and reporting facilities abroad:

1. There shall be an allocation within certain broad categories of agency responsibility for collection abroad, as follows:

Political		Department of State
Cultural		Department of State
Sociological		Department of State
Military		Department of the Army
Naval		Department of the Navy
Air		Department of the Air Force
Economic	}	Each agency in accordance with its respective needs
Scientific
Technological

2. All available intelligence information, no matter by whom collected, shall, wherever possible, be transmitted immediately to the field representative of the agency most concerned. However, the collector may also send copies to or otherwise inform his own agency.

3. The senior US representative in each foreign area where the United States maintains a foreign post shall, within the spirit of the principles enunciated herein, be responsible for the coordination of all normal collection activities in his area.

4. The collecting and reporting facilities of each of the agencies shall be utilized so as to avoid unproductive duplication and uncoordinated overlap and to insure within budgetary limitations that full flow of intelligence information which is the major need of all departments and agencies for the accomplishment of their respective missions.

5. Full utilization shall be made of the individual initiative and favorable contacts of agency representatives.

6. No interpretation of these established over-all policies and objectives shall negate the basic principle that all departmental representatives abroad are individually responsible for the collection and for the appropriate transmission to their departments of all intelligence information pertinent to their departmental missions.

7. There shall be free and unrestricted interdepartmental exchange of intelligence information to meet the recognized secondary needs of each department and agency for intelligence usually obtained or prepared by other departments or agencies.

0. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Records of the Executive Secretariat, NSC Files: Lot 66 D 148, Dulles–Jackson–Correa Report, Annex 8. Confidential.