NATIONAL  SECURITY  COUNCIL   INTELLIGENCE 
DIRECTIVE  NO.  21 
COORDINATION  OF  OVERT  COLLECTION  ACTIVITIES 
(Effective  IT  February  1972) 
To  promote  sound  and  efficient  utilization  of  the  several  departmental  and 
agency  collecting  and  reporting  facilities  in  the  interests  of  national  security. 
and  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  Section  102  of  the  National  Security  Act  of 
1947  as  amended,  die  National  Security  Council  hereby  authorizes  and  directs  that 
the  following  overall  policies  and  objectives  shall  apply  to  die  interdepartmental 
coordination  of  overt  foreign  intelligence  collection  activities  (such  as  open 
broadcast  monitoring  and  document  collection)  not  covered  by  odier  Na- 
tional Security  Council  Intelligence  Directives,  such  as  National  Security  Council 
Intelligence  Directives  4,  5  and  6. 
1.  The  Director  of  Central  Intelligence  shall  ensure  that  planning  for  the 
utilization  of  the  collecting  and  reporting  capabilities  for  intelligence  purposes 
of  each  of  die  several  departments  and  agencies  avoids  undesirable  duplication 
and  uncoordinated  overlap  and  provides  adequate  coverage  for  national  security 
purposes. 
2.  The  Department  of  State  shall  have  primary  responsibility  for,  and  shall 
perform  as  a  service  of  common  concern,  the  collection  abroad,  i.e.,  outside 
the  United  States  and  its  possessions,  Gf^  political,  sociological,  economic,  scien- 
tific and  .technical  information. 
3.  The  Department  of  Defense  shall  have  primary  responsibility  for,  and  shall 
perform  as  a  service  of  common  concern,  the  collection  of  military*  intelligence 
information.  Because  of  the  importance  of  scientific  and  technical  intelligence  to 
the  Department  of  Defense  and  the  military  services,  this  collection  responsibility 
shall  include  scientific  and  technical,  as  well  as  economic  information  directly 
pertinent  to  Department  of  Defense  missions. 
4.  The  Central  Intelligence  Agency  may  collect  intelligence  information  abroad 
in  support  of  assigned  functions  cr  as  a  by-prcduct  of  the  assigned  functions, 
provided  diat  this  collection  involves  no  undesirable  duplication  of  any  of  the 
specific  assignments  in  paragraphs  2  or  3  above,  and  provided  that  any  such 
overt  collection  is  coordinated  with  the  Department  of  State  or  with  the  Senior 
U.S.  Representative. 
5.  The  senior  U.S.  representative  in  each  nation  or  foreign  jurisdiction  where 
the  United  States  maintains  official  representation  shall  coordinate  in  his  area 
the  collection  i-ctivitics  not  covered  by  other  National  Security  Council  Direc- 
tives. Full  utilization  shall  be  made  of  the  assigned  duties,  individual  initiative, 
or  favorable  contacts  of  departmental  and  agency  representatives. 
-    *-•-. i  tc  i 
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r  j..',  IV-viice  infnuuatien  collected  abioad  ia  accordance  with  the  tcmib  of 
th;%  Dative  ky  nil>"  aScnc>'  ia  l';-  field  shall,  wherever  possible,  be  truns- 
ri;j-i-J  u::::;c-dulcly  to  the  field  representatives  of  the  agency  primarily  responsible 
f;,r  e.:i:yiii'4  unt  the  foreign  collection  activity  as  delineated  in  paragraphs  2,  3 
..*  /  -Sove  who  shall  then  be  responsible  for  its  onward  trar^inission,  provided 
tli.it  i.he  original  collector  shall  not  be  enjoined  from  transmitting  die  information 
t0  !=:>  own  headquarter;. 
7.  *i  he  Central  Intelligence  Agency,  as  a  service  of  common  concern,  shall  be 
fi-sp:i:i-iMi*  for  the  selective  exploitation  witiiia  d;e  Uiuzed  States  of  nongovern- 
mental organizations  and  individuals  as  sources  cf  foreign  intelligence  informa- 
tion.  in  accordance  with  policies,  procedures  and  practices  established  as  provided 
in  XSC1D  N'o.  1  by  the  Director  cf  Central  Intelligence. 
* 
S.  The  Central  Intelligence  Agency  shall  conduct,  as  a  service  of  common 
"concern,  monitoring  of  foreign  radio  and  television  propaganda  and  press  broad- 
casts required  for  the  collection  of  intelligence  information  to  meet  the  needs 
of  all  departments  and  agencies  in  connection  with  the  national  security  and 
shall  disseminate  such  intelligence  information  to  the  several  departments  and 
agencics'that  have  an  appropriate  interest  therein. 
9.  The  Central  Intelligence  Agency  shall  conduct  the  exploitation  of  foreign 
language  publications  for  intelligence  purposes,  as  appropriate,  as  a  service 
of  common  concern.  The  Director  of  Central  Intelligence  shall  coordinate  this 
activity  with  similar  activities  maintained  by  the  departments  and  agencies  to 
satisfy  their  own  requirements. 
10.  Departments  and  agencies  carrying  out  the  collection  activities  mentioned 
above  shnll  recognize,  in  establishing  collection  programs,  the  needs  of  the  other 
departments  and  agencies.