m 
A  suggestion  about  the 
information  ecn&M*'^ 
FHE  EXPLOITATION  OF  FOREIGN  OPEN  SOURCES 
•  :■{:•  g«  for  Release 
3  i  OCT  1388 
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oma ad Bim Open Sources } | / f 132
Op*n  Sources 
CIA's  Foreign  Broadcast  information  Service  (FBIS)  has  the  key 
role  in  monitoring  foreign  broadcasts  and,  since  1  May  1057,  has 
had  responsibility  for  press  monitoring  an  J  translation  coordination, 
previously  functions  of  the  Foreign  Documents  Division  of  the 
Office  of  Central  Reference.  In  these  programs,  FBIS  des.gnates  priority 
topics  in  accordance  with  requirements  by  various  ClA  components 
and  from  o.*her  intelligence  services. 
The  extensive  radio  broadcast  mcaitoring  program  results  in  the 
unclassified  FBIS  Daily  Report  series  of  separate  reports  (i<sued  five 
times  weekly)  for  the  Soviet  Union,  Eastern  Europe,  Communist 
China,  Asia  and  the  Pacific,  the  Middle  East  and  Africa,  and  Latin 
America  and  Western  Europe.  The  contents  include  a  vr.riety  of  fully 
translated  texts  in  English,  excerpts,  summaries,  gad  abstracts,  mainly 
from  radio  broadcasts  and  press  agency  transmissions.  Thet  reports 
aJert  the  intelligence  community  to  important  developments  and 
statements  by  foreign  officials  and  other  key  personalities. 
The  FBIS  press  monitoring  and  translation  program  issues  nearly 
80  periodicals  and  occasional  publications  for  the  use  of  intelligence 
and  other  governmental  analysts.  Most  of  the  serial  publications  axe 
unclassified  and  available  to  the  pubh'c.  There  are  five  concerned 
with  Communist  China,  and  with  other  Asian  and  Pacific  nations,  also 
five.  No  less  than  38  deal  with  the  USSR,  and  23  with  Eastern  Europe. 
Four  are  concerned  with  Latin  America  or  Western  Europe,  and 
three  with  the  .Middle  L*o'  and  Africa.  These  publications  are  tailored 
to  meet  various  intelligence  needs,  .md  embrace  political,  economic, 
sociological,  military  and  scientific  categories  of  information. 
Most  of  the  FBIS  translations  and  unclassified  serial  publications 
arc  actually  poduced  by  the  Joint  Publications  Research  Service 
(JPRS),  an  organization  established  in  19>7  under  Department  of 
Commerce  cover.  Inte!"gencc  and  other  go  emment  analysts  can 
order  translations  of  documents,  articles,  or  boo);  as  '■eu.uired.  JPRS 
unclassified  publications,  including  translations,  a*  listed  and  made 
available  to  the  general  public  through  US  Government  Research 
and  Development^Reports,  a  journal  published  twice  monthly  by  the 
Clearinghouse  for  Federal  Scientific  and  Technical  Information  of 
the  Department  of  Com  ,>ercc.  As  a  part  of  its  coordination  function, 
and  to  prevent  duplication  of  translation,  FBIS  maintains  and  pub- 
lishes monthly   the   Consolidated   Translation  Survey    (Official   Use 
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Open   Source* 
Only),  listing  the  completed  translations  and  those  in  progress  of 
more  th.\n  100  participating  organisations.  In  196S  the  index  listed 
more  than  400,000  translations. 
In  addition  to  the  linguistic  resources  of  JPRS.  FBIS  maintains  a 
staff  of  intelligence  .officers  with  highly  developed  Linguistic  abilities 
and  area  knowledge,  end  foreign  field  bureaus  with  indigenous  press 
monitors  working  in   17  languages. 
Among  the  better  known  of  the  other  translation  and  open  source 
monitoring  services  and  products  available  to  intelligence  analysts 
are  those  of  the  State  Department  and  U.S.  Information  Service 
missions  throughout  the  world,  which  publish  summaries  or  digests 
relating  to  the  host  country.  The  Aerospace  Technology  Division 
(ATD)  of  the  Air  Force  Systems  Command,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Defense  Intelligence  Agency  (DIA),  scans  numerous  foreign 
scientific  and  technical  books  and  journals  as  they  are  received  in 
the  Library  of  CongTess  or  received  from  Air  Force  procurement 
officers.  ATD  disseminates  special  studies  and  English  abstracts  of 
foreign  books  and  articles,  the  latter  in  very  convenient  5x8  inch 
card  format  widely  used  by  scientific  intelligence  analysts. &  Cur 
rently  the  ATD  program  is  being  reorganized.  DIA  and  Army  translate 
several  Soviet  military  journals  cover- lo-cover  on  a  regular  basis 
The  Atomic  Energy  Commission  publishes  Xuclr.cr  Science  Abstracts. 
an  English  compilation  from  worldwide  publications  relating  to  nu- 
clear  enrrgy. 
The  non-intelligence  (non-USIB)  community  carries  on  a  large 
and  productive  effort  to  exploit  for  its  own  benefit  foreign  open 
sources  in  many  cultural  areas,  producing  usually  through  contract 
organizations  many  cover-to-cover  and  partial  translations  of  Soviet 
and  other  foreign  language  publications.  Some  of  the  more  notable 
and  extensive  of  these  efforts  are  those  by  various  professional  socie- 
ties and  such  government  agencies  as  the  National  Science  Founda- 
tion and  the  National  Aeronautics  and  Space  Agency.  The  non- 
intelligence  effort  is  of  considerable  value  to  intelligence  analysts. 
Problems  and  Needs 
The  history  of  US  exploitation  of  foreign  open  sources  by  both 
the   intelligence    and    non-intelligence   communities   shows    that    the 
•  Ceorge  A.  Pughc.  The  Dust  that  Iso't  There,"  Studies  II  2.  p.  58  B. 
13-<
Open  Sources 
programs  are  expanding  as  publications  have  increased  (one  might 
almost  say  th**  a  worldwide  "publications  expiation"  is  »n  progress). 
As  time  passes,  more  programs  are  initiated  and  new  subjects  added. 
The  need  for  1  centralized  agency  to  administer  the  growing  ex- 
ploitation of  all  foreign  open  sources  of  information  is  thus  already 
evident  to  rationalize  the  numerous  efforts,  all  with  similar  objectives, 
going  on  simultaneously  within  and  outside  of  the  intelligence  com- 
munity. 
Such  an  asency  could  operate  openly,  serving  the  nation  as  a  whole, 
including  the  intelligence  community.  Uncle  Sam  already  is  footing 
most  of  the  bill.  Such  an  agencv  could  be  operated  with  greater  net 
economv  and  ffnciein.^  than  llit  multifarious  undertakin,;*  of  flic 
present,  since  processing  methods  could  be  unified  and  a  single,  flexible 
automatic  data  processing  system  could  be  employed.  Such  an  agency 
could  still  take  advantage  of  the  use  of  foreign  and  domestic  6cld 
units  and  could  maintain  flexibility  and  comprehensive  coverage 
through  the  use  v.  contractors.  Many  linguist",  might  be  attracted  wno 
would  not  consider  working  for  an  intelligence  organization.  Mo-e 
promising  professional  careers  could  be  offered.  Arrangements  with 
foreign  governments  for  the  exchange  of  publications  could  be  ex- 
panded. NASA  already  has  such  arraiigemtncs  wiih  80  countries,  and 
the  AEC  also  has  an^exchange  program. 
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Open  Sources 
Another  potent  .  -      v^t  in  favor  of  a  national  ageocy  of  thr  type 
luggested  iz  lK-i 
!!ow 
efficient  di'potition  of  in'el; 
gcnce  talent  and  bu  ;gr'>  Functions  and  »elected  blocs  of  people 
could  be  transferred  fr:T>  CIA  and  other  intrili^rncr  organization* 
to  the  agency  which  vould  lie  funded  directly  by  Onprn.  Tire 
„■•  .  rnce  community  could  with  good  management  gain  more  and 
ifr\\.tx  open  information  from  foreign  source*  under  the  propovd  or- 
ganizaticn,  which  could  also  orcomc  a  useful  instrument  of  national 
policv  by  promotir^  foreign  cooperation  through  publ>cations  and 
other  information  exchanges. 
136