Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : - - - pp CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9 Draft Transfer of Star Gate Program from DIA to CIA Status and Terms of Reference I. Status of Program Transfer The Central Intelligence Agency officially has been tasked by Congress to transfer the Defense Intelligence Agency's Star Gate program to CIA by July 1, 1995. Congress also has directed a retrospective review of Star Gate program activities. CIA has taken a number of steps in accordance with this direction: * We have opened dialog with the appropriate point of contact at the National Research Council and exchanged draft tasking statements to set up a Blue Ribbon Panel, so that an unbiased, technical retrospective review can occur. « Cooperative meetings between DIA program personnel and CIA already have resulted in a data exchange for the purposes of conducting the review and transfer. Some officially declassified documents have been obtained from DIA. * Informal discussions with the CIA Center for Studies on Intelligence (CSI) regarding strategies for declassification have occurred and a memorandum is in preparation from CIA to DIA specifying the need for further declassification * Request has been made through the CIA Office of Military Affairs focal point channel to enlist the cooperation of the US Army Research Institute, which currently holds a study contract with the NRC for program review in the behavioral sciences. * CIA has contacted the appropriate individuals at the US Army Research Institute and a resource transfer to Army for the cost of managing and supporting the National Research anette Draft Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9
Approved For Release 2001/0 : - - - pp 4/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9 Draft Council in performance of the technical review is now in preparation. * CIA has scheduled a meeting with the former SAIC principal investigator for the research performed in the Star Gate program. * CTA has scheduled a review of the operations program at Ft. Meade. IL. Terms of Reference A. Objectives CIA will undertake these primary activities in response to Congressional direction: 1. Declassification We will define the issues associated with declassification of both the DIA's compartmented Star Gate program and the previous noncompartmented CIA program. Examine possible near-term actions, and establish or utilize existing DCI Committee to address broader declassification issues. 2. Blue Ribbon Panel Review CIA will establish an external, unbiased, "Blue Ribbon Panel" of world-class experts in parapsychological phenomena and the experimental design used to investigate such phenomena. These experts will perform the twenty-year retrospective technical analysis. 3. Management Strategy, Transfer to CIA After completion of initial Star Gate declassification and Blue Ribbon Panel review, CIA will heme) Draft Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9
Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9 Draft develop a comprehensive management strategy. This strategy will address the proper investment balance between operations, research, and foreign assessment. It will recommend the necessary resource levels as well as the mix of personnel skills required for execution of the program under the new strategy. B. Declassification In response to Congressional direction, CIA will declassify certain aspects of its program immediately. These aspects include CIA sponsorship of past program activities relating to investigation of paranormal phenomena for intelligence applications, and the technical results of these investigations. Following these actions, a Congressionally mandated DCI classification review committee will be convened. This committee will conduct a detailed review of all CIA and DIA program documents and information. These documents and information will include the actual targets against which operations were conducted, the nature of those collection operations, the customers for these operations, the resources allocated during the history of the program, and other aspects appropriate for review. The committee will consider these aspects and further declassify where appropriate. To facilitate declassification and the Blue Ribbon Panel review, CIA will ask DIA to take certain actions. CIA will request that DIA make unclassified DIA's sponsorship of Star Gate and that DIA continue to downgrade and declassify the technical reports associated with Star Gate. It will request that DIA decompartment and remove all other classified Star Gate documentation from "Limited Distribution" and consider this documentation for further declassification. CIA will request that all DIA documents associated with Star Gate be neha Draft Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9
Approved For Release 2001/04/02 rfl ARDP9I6-00791 R000100040014-9 Draft transferred after declassification consideration to CIA for archival purposes and further declassification review by the DCI declassification committee. Finally, CIA will ask that DIA program personnel assist CIA in executing the Blue Ribbon Panel Review (described below) by providing unclassified information relating to the program when requested by the panelists. C. Blue Ribbon Panel Congress also has directed a twenty-year retrospective review of this program including a technical analysis of all program results. The CIA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) believes that the National Research Council (NRC) is the single best organization to perform the mandated review. This is because of its Congressional charter to address questions of Congressional interest, and its ready access to a variety of world-class experts having expertise in the area in question. Therefore, CIA will ask the NRC to perform the following tasks: * Assemble an objective, unbiased, "Blue Ribbon Panel" of world-class experts in parapsychological phenomena or the experiments designed to investigate such phenomena * Review sponsor-selected contract research and development studies relating to the technical program in question (less than 50 journal-article length studies) for which unclassified reports are available (most are currently available) « Interview and interact with the past principal investigators to the extent possible in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the program's current approach including its successes and failures Draft Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9
Approved For Release 2001/04/02 JGIA-RDP96-00791 R000100040014-9 Draft * Interview past principal expert evaluators of the technical data to the extent possible since external evaluation has been utilized in the past to facilitate experimental design and validate results * Attend unclassified presentations in the Metro area by the existing government program manager and his staff pending the anticipated approval of these presentations * Perform technical evaluation of all data and information presented, including experimental designs, results obtained, proposed future research, etc. This evaluation should include recommendations about those technical areas for which fruitful research potential exists, identify areas not useful for further consideration, and should consider the overall utility of the technical program, i.e., whether it achieves its stated or intended purpose. ° Draft final report incorporating Blue Ribbon Panel findings, and participate as appropriate in briefing these findings to Congress The review and analysis of NRC's Blue Ribbon Panel will be unclassified, but will not be released until Congress and the sponsoring Agencies have been briefed on the results. During the review all work product shall be treated as "For Official Use Only" anticipating eventual release of all unclassified information reviewed or generated by this study. Since this study will be performed in response to Congressional direction, the anticipated period of performance of this study is schedule driven at three months. However, preliminary discussions with the NRC and the US Army ahaa Draft Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9
Approved For Release 2001/04/Q2 GJA-RDP96-00791 R000100040014-9 Draft Research Institute (the current manager of NRC's contract to consider similar issues) indicate that a minimum of six months are required to effectively complete this review. CIA will seek to extend the Congressional deadline consistent with what we believe is a strong Congressional interest ina credible, thorough review. CIA will provide the technical and administrative support necessary to carry out this review. D. Management Strategy, Transfer to CIA CIA will develop a comprehensive management strategy after program declassification and review. The Star Gate program currently has 10 DIA billets and $500K in resources allocated to it. Congressional language recommends an even balance in investment between operations, research, and foreign assessment. E. Schedule of Events * Communication of status of CIA program transfer activities to Congress (Mar 1, 1995) * Preliminary declassification actions by CIA, request to DIA for further action (Mar 95) ° Establish DCI declassification committee to review long- term issues (Apr 95) e Form Blue Ribbon Panel to conduct retrospective review and technical data analysis (Apr 95) * Conduct technical review, interview intelligence community users, Graft preliminary report and recommendations. [Mar-Jun 95] qu» Draft Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9
Approved For Release 2001/04/02 GIA-RDP96-00791 R000100040014-9 Draft * Develop CIA program management strategy which addresses proper scope, resources, and management. Brief Congress on Blue Ribbon Panel results and recommendations. Report program design and status to Congress, complete actual transfer (Jul 95). Draft Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP96-00791R000100040014-9