86. Memorandum of Meeting With President Eisenhower 1
Mr. Allen W. Dulles and General Goodpaster were present for Item 1.
1. I indicated to the President that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss precisely what he felt he required in the way of records with respect to 5412 actions taken during his Administration. Mr. Dulles then explained to the President the status of the records which has varied from time to time during the Administration. After some discussion, the President gave Mr. Dulles instructions which Mr. Dulles indicated were clear and with which he would comply.
Mr. Dulles reported to the President that Admiral Jerauld Wright had joined the CIA Board of Estimates. At this point Mr. Dulles and General Goodpaster withdrew.
2. I took up with the President three Hull Board Reports. The first was the Sixth Report to the President by the President’s Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities dated May 24, 19602 (Recommendation on “Status of CIA Station Chiefs in [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]”). I reported to the President that I had monitored negotiations between Dulles and Mr. Loy Henderson over a period of time on this subject. The President wondered why CIA people in the field wished to get more visibility through more status. I pointed out to the President that this recommendation involved station chiefs and that there were many human and personal relationships involved. I recommended to the President that on his behalf I would request the Department of State and the Director of CIA to continue their joint efforts in connection with the subject. He agreed. (A briefing note is attached.)3
3. Next was the Sixth Report to the President by the President’s Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities dated May 24, 1960 (Recommendation on “Organization and Management of CIA’s Clandestine Services”). I reminded the President that many times he had addressed himself to this general problem. He said that he had long since concurred in principle with the various recommendations of the Hull Board on this subject. However, as long as Mr. Dulles was the [Page 177] DCI he had to hold him responsible and would not order him to take organizational steps which the DCI resisted. The President approved my recommendation that the record show that the President noted the memorandum and requested that the DCI continue to review the action being taken with a view to meeting the objectives of the recommendations and as the basis for submission of a further progress report at an appropriate time (briefing note attached).4
4. Next was the Seventh Report to the President by the President’s Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities dated October 4, 1960 (Recommendation on “Duplication (Publications)”). I conveyed to the President the substance of the attached briefing note and recommended that the action show that he had noted the memorandum and requested that the DCI (a) continue to follow the progress made by the member agencies of the intelligence community in implementing the recommendation and (b) submit a report thereon as of June 1.5
5. I then took up with the President the Record of Actions of the NSC meeting of 12 January.6 As to paragraph 4 a (1) in the draft record it seemed necessary to add a new 4 a (2) on the basis of various comments from the agencies concerned. I pointed out to him that the AEC questioned whether any decision was made on Recommendation #30. Upon examining Recommendation #30 the President recalled that he had clearly decided that it should be approved inasmuch as it called for changes in the USIB in phase with reorganization actions taken in Defense. Next I pointed out that Defense and JCS wanted the record to show that implementation of Recommendations #1 and 2 should take place after study by the JCS and in a manner to be established by the Secretary of Defense. The President approved this qualification. I then pointed out to the President that the DCI wished to have the records show that the decision to implement Recommendations No. 1, 2, and 30 with respect to the organization and functions of the USIB should not be taken prior to the carrying out of the related internal adjustments within the Department of Defense. The President felt that he would not wish to delay decision on this matter and thought the record should show that these recommendations with respect to the organization and functions of the USIB should be taken in phase with the carrying out of the related internal adjustments.
With respect to paragraph 4 a (8) I indicated to the President that Defense and JCS would like to provide that the carrying out of Recommendation #29—that is to say, establishing a coordinating staff [Page 178] under the DCI-would only be on the basis of a six months’ trial after which the matter would be reconsidered. I reported to the President that the CIA objected on the ground that with this provision the staff would never have a chance to demonstrate its worth. The President agreed that approval of the recommendation should not be on a six months’ trial.
As to paragraph 5 b (2) of the draft record of actions, I pointed out to him that despite the confusing brackets, OCDM and HHFA were in agreement as to how the paragraph should be worded and he authorized me to record it in accordance with the agreement. I also pointed out to him that in paragraph 5 b (4), OCDM and Budget had reached agreement and I would make the record reflect that agreement.
As to paragraph 5 c, I pointed out that the BOB preferred language noting the President’s statement that the Congress should be asked to consider the desirability of requiring that all new housing construction include fall-out shelters. I said to the President that I had a question about the constitutionality of such legislation and recommended that he approve language which would note the President’s statement that legislation should be sought as appropriate to support the principle that all new housing include fall-out shelters. I pointed out that this would include State as well as federal legislation and could be applicable to public and also private housing. The President approved this language.
6. I then took up various NSC matters which had been dealt with by other members of the Council by vote slip in accordance with the attached briefing note. The President approved each of the 12 items, No. 11 being subject to the concurrence of the Secretary of State, which has not yet been obtained.
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Records of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, Memoranda of Meetings with the President, January 1961. Secret. Drafted by Gray on January 19.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Dated January 17; not attached. A copy is in the Eisenhower Library, White House Office Files, Project Clean Up, Meetings with the President.↩
- Document 85.↩
- The Seventh Report is not printed. Ash’s January 6 briefing paper on this recommendation is in the Eisenhower Library, Records of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs.↩
- See Document 84.↩
- Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩