217. Memorandum From Tom Latimer of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1

SUBJECT

  • Intelligence Publications and Their Distribution
[Page 468]

Central Intelligence Agency

I. Regular Publications

a.

The President’s Daily Brief (PDB)—Published six mornings a week by the Office of Current Intelligence (OCI)—contains short items of current interest plus occasional longer, more interpretive annexes. It is produced solely by CIA and is not coordinated outside that agency.

Distribution: The President, The Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, Adm. Moorer, Under Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Mr. Kissinger and the White House Situation Room.

b.

The Central Intelligence Bulletin (CIB)—Published by OCI six mornings a week in three versions—a Black book containing all source material for the top levels of government, a Red book containing SIGINT but not other sensitive material or satellite photography for all levels of government and a White book containing only Secret level material which is for analysts primarily. Items in the Black and Red books are coordinated with State and Defense Departments unless specifically noted otherwise.

Distribution: The Black book gets high level dissemination, i.e. Cabinet and Assistant Secretary level. The Red and White books are widely distributed throughout the government.

c.

Developments in Indochina—Published by OCI six afternoons a week, contains articles on developments in North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It is designed to give the reader a comprehensive picture of the latest developments in that region. Items are coordinated within CIA but not with other agencies or departments.

Distribution: White House, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and Assistant Secretary level plus ad hoc group members.

d.

Weekly Review (also published in a non-SIGINT version)—Published every Friday by OCI, it is designed for those government officials who do not read the CIB every day but who need a weekly summary of major developments throughout the world. It also provides the analysts a vehicle in which to put individual developments into a larger framework. Items are not coordinated outside CIA.

Distribution: Widely disseminated at all cleared levels of the government.

e.

The Current State of Sino-Soviet Relations—A bi-weekly report produced at the request of Mr. Kissinger—it is written by the Office of Strategic Research and coordinated within CIA but not outside that agency.

Distribution: Closely held—copies to Mr. Kissinger, Secretary and Under Secretary of State, Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, ISA, INR and Marshall Green.

f.

Weekly Vietnam Indicators—A selected list of important statistics related to the war, plus short items of interest on the war. It is produced for the President by the Director’s Special Assistant for Vietnamese Affairs, Mr. George Carver. It is not coordinated throughout CIA and not coordinated at all outside CIA.

Distribution: The White House only.

g.

The South Laos Interdiction Report—Published weekly, it focuses specifically on efforts by guerrilla teams to interdict North Vietnam’s logistics and manpower flow through South Laos. It is produced by the DDP.

Distribution: WSAG only.

h.

Laos Situation Report—A daily report produced by the DDP, it describes military operations in Laos with particular focus on government operations against the Communists.

Distribution: The Laos ad hoc working group of the NSC.

i.

President’s Quarterly Report—Produced by OSR, it wraps up all pertinent information on Soviet military posture.

Distribution: Closely held—copies to the President, Vice President, Cabinet level and Assistant Secretary level on “need-to-know” basis.

j.

The Economic Situation in South Vietnam (Monthly)—An analytic report covering economic trends in South Vietnam, originally requested by State.

Distribution: Mr. Kissinger, PFIAB, the Vice President, NSC Staff, State, AID, USIA, DOD, NSA, AEC, FBI, Treasury, OMB and the Department of Agriculture.

k.

Shipping to North Vietnam (Monthly)—A report of all foreign shipping to North Vietnam.

Distribution: NSC Staff, State, AID, USIA, DOD, NSA, Maritime Administration, Treasury, the Governors [Governments?] of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

l.

Shipping to Cambodia (Semi-annual)

Distribution: NSC Staff, State, Defense, NSA.

m.

Shipping to Cuba (Annual)

Distribution: NSC Staff, DOD, US Coast Guard, NSA.

II. Ad Hoc Publications

a.

Intelligence Memoranda—Produced by the components of the Directorate of Intelligence (DD/I). Some are self-initiated within the DDI, [Page 470] others are requested from other government departments. All are coordinated within CIA but not outside the agency, unless the requestor so specifics.

Distribution: Determined by the classification, the requestor and by the content.

b.

Weekly Review Special Report—Articles initiated by DDI analysts, usually shorter in length and scope than Intelligence Memoranda—coordinated within CIA but not outside the agency.

Distribution: The same as for the regular Weekly Review.

c.

ONE Staff Memoranda—Issued through CIA but done by the staff of ONE. They are self initiated and are usually coordinated within CIA but not outside that agency.

Distribution: Determined case by case.

d.
The Directorate of Intelligence also produces a variety of other ad hoc and regular publications aimed primarily at other intelligence analysts in the government rather than for policy levels. These include the Office of Strategic Research Monthly which contains articles on military developments primarily in the Communist world; the Weekly Surveyor put out by the Directorate of Science and Technology. It contains brief items on scientific, medical, space and other technological developments in the world with primary emphasis on the USSR and Communist China; the daily Missile and Space Summary produced by the Foreign Missiles and Space Activities Center at CIA. It covers all space and missile activities throughout the world. All of these publications are disseminated widely at the analytical level in the government. The DDP also produces a variety of raw intelligence reports which are disseminated according to the “need-to-know” principle.

III. USIB Publications—In his role as Chairman of the United States Intelligence Board, the Director of Central Intelligence issues a number of regular and ad hoc reports. These are not CIA reports.

a.

National Intelligence Estimates—These are either initiated by the Office of National Estimates or by other government officials. They are fully coordinated, interagency estimates of specific problems. They are written by the staff of the Office of National Estimates and are issued after approval by USIB.

Distribution: Determined on a case by case basis.

b.
Special National Intelligence Estimates—The same as the above but with a much shorter deadline.
c.
The USIB also distributes a number of other reports from its many committees, such as the weekly Watch Report from the Watch Committee, defectors reports from the Interagency Defector Committee, [Page 471] ad hoc reports from the Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence Committee and the Committee on Imagery Requirements and Exploitation (COMIREX) and so on.

State Department, Bureau of Intelligence and Research

a. Intelligence Notes, Briefs and Research Studies—Published on an ad hoc basis, these are initiated by the analysts on subjects thought to be of interest. They are disseminated for the use of other analysts around the community. The major difference in the three types of reports is their length.

Defense Intelligence Agency

I. Regular Publications

a.

Daily Joint Staff Ops-Int Summary—A digest of selective operational and intelligence reports produced each day by the National Military Command Center of the JCS and by the Defense Intelligence Agency. Unlike CIA publications, this Defense Department daily provides information on both US and foreign government actions.

Distribution: The White House, Vice President, Secretary of State, Under Secretary of State, Admiral Anderson and upper levels of the Defense Department.

b.

Intelligence Summary—A publication produced six days a week primarily for the needs of the Department of Defense for appropriate current intelligence. The items are not coordinated outside the Defense Department.

Distribution: White House, State, DOD, SALT delegation, CIA, NASA, FBI, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps.

c.

Weekly Highlights—A summary of each week’s developments by foreign military services, excluding Southeast Asia which is covered in a separate publication.

Distribution: White House, State, DOD, CIA, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps.

d.

Southeast Asia Summary (Weekly and Monthly)—This report briefly summarizes and evaluates information on significant enemy activity influencing the war in Indochina.

Distribution: White House, State, DOD, CIA, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps.

e.

Daily Intensity Indicators of VC/NVA Activity—A series of charts covering vital aspects of the war.

Distribution: White House and DOD.

[Page 472]

National Security Agency

NSA publishes three regular reports containing intercepted messages. The three are broken down by area of the world. Thus, there is one on the [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] area; one on Southeast Asia and one, in the NSA SIGINT Summary, which briefly covers the most important events throughout the world. All three are widely distributed through the government to officials cleared for SIGINT material.

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Name Files, Box 822, Latimer, Tom. Secret. Sent for information.