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MEMOBMIDUM FOR OOB 

Rl9forence: USClll lS/195 

AFSA•l4/bhd 

13 Zu17 1951 

1. In pneral, I eonsider tbat th1a 1e an excellent paper which 

will go tar toward improving the security situation. However. I m.UBt 

tab strong exception to the prov1a1oWJ of psngraph l'I (page 32). Ill 

panteular, sub-paragraph (b) places a wholly unrealistic and unworJa;.. 

8J:>Ja limitation on this utilization ot Category "A" aow:m. 'l'he value ~nd 1mportance ot COMINi derives largely tram. the taot that "substantially 

ideDtioal illf'omztion baeed on a genuiu lees senaitive source" ia rarel7 

111vailable. The e se18!J1Uent ot all m high and .medivm level s7stemis to · Category "A" in Enclosure o i8(lea considerably beyond the :r:u.lee laid 4om 

1n paragraph 4 (page 18)0 It iB to ba presam.ed that there might be 

considerable down-grading of IS)'Btana by mutual agreement between USC.IB 

and LSIB in the event ot war but category "A" might at1ll ccntain m.uclJ. 

of the moat vital intelligence. 

2o It might be useful to examine the application of the Pl'O:POsed 

rule to eome of the situations e::d.atine; in World War II. Undoubte4l.7 

aU Geman "Ett traffie would heft been olsased es Oatee.o%'J' "A"o To 

use this traffic in ASW, either USOIB and LSIB would have had to agree 

to a suspension of the rulea or the "extreme E11Wrgenoyft proviaion would 

have had to be invoked at the departmental level. .Either course of action 

110uld have required the making ct the exception on a blanket baaia, an.4 

would have oompletel7 vitiated the eftecti veness ot the :rule in other 

f1el4e as well. 

5. In the Pacific, I presume that JN 25 wOlll.d have been Category' 

"A", taking the decisian on such quastions as Oom1 sea, Midwa7 and 

Yomsm.oto out of the hands of Adm1ml Nimitz. The conduct of' our aubmariae 

warfare woul.d have required a blanket emeption covering ell pertinent 

COJvlINr or the effectiveneea of t.his vital act1vi·t;y would have suffered 

immeasurablyo 

4a In the light ot tho above, I 4o not eee h0l1 the utilization ot 

Category "A•1 intelligence can be eny more restrictive than is prescribed 

tor Oategory "B" o IJ.lhere is a real place 'for the d1tterent1ation 1li th 

regard to closer compartmentetion inside the egencies and more limited 

41ssminat1on outside 1 but utilization cannot be reduced to rigid :rnles. 

TOP SECRET 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 05-21-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 
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Memorandum for OOB (Cont im10d) 13 J"uly 1951 

5. You will no doubt recall that the origi•l dmtts in 1946 barred 

the use of high le"fel 00.fllIN.r tor the purpose ot gaining a "m.ommLtary 

adwntage". 'lhis ns changed to "minol" adwntage" ainoe hiatol'J' ehows 

that a mcmenter7 a dventage 1 a fnquentl7 all that is nquired to win the 

moat 1111portent battle. Sim11arlJ1 though pmtection ot source 1a ot 

great importance, 1 t 1e eeoondery to wimi11'18 the •:ro 2rotect1ng a 

OOMI:Nr source will do aa little good it we loseo 

6.. Spec1f'1callJ', D1J ob~eotiCllS can be met b7 the deletion of 

paragraph l'I {b) am obangiq 1'1 (o) to pleee the power of mak111g except1ou 

no higher then the level o~ a theatre eanmander. 

mos. R. DYER 

captain., USN 

Oh1ef, 'leohn1oa1 Division