SG1I
MEMO FOR:
FROM:
SUBJECT
:
References
:
ExDir /Comptroller
Director ORD
Recent Interactions with NRC re Star Gate Review:
Proposed Date
for Final Conclusions
Dear
1.
During ORD's recent meeting with National Research
Council
(NRC)
management,
we were informed that on
16 May its
governing board will
formally consider the Agency's request
to conduct an unclassified retrospective review of
the Star
Gate program.
While we believe that approval
is
likely,
it
is not automatic;
The NRC historically does not typically
engage
in studies
for intelligence community,
nor
is
the NRC
is being tasked directly by Congress
in this instance which
would be more compelling.
However,
it
is clear that the NRC
is both interested and highly capable of performing the Star
Gate review directed to CIA in the recent CDA
.
Furthermore,
because of the controversial nature of this
study,
and in
accordance with the NRC's careful and conservative procedures
for review and publication,
the likely date of final
publication of
its conclusions would be between February and
May of
1996. While the NRC provides progress reports,
it does
not release interim reports relating
to
the study's probable
conclusions
.
.
ORD continues
to believe that among the existing
bodies
of technical reviewers,
only the NRC,
the working arm
of
the National Academy of Sciences,
has
the current
expertise and objectivity to provide
a persuasive review of
investigations relating
to paranormal phenomena.
More
importantly,
it
is one of
the few technical organizations
having sufficient standing within Congress
to impact the
ultimate sponsorship of
the Star Gate program,
which appears
at
this point
to be primarily Congressional.
We cannot
accomplish the restructuring of
the Star Gate program in a
logical
or productive way without completing the NRC review.
3.
D/ORD originally clarified the need for a Blue Ribbon
Panel of Star Gate prior to program in his memo
to the ExDir
of
[
.
.
.
]
CIA submitted a
formal response
the CDA which was
hand delivered to Congress
24 March.
This response contained
a Terms
of Reference
for ORD's management of
the Star Gate
program transfer specifying our choice of
the NRC
to conduct
the Blue Ribbon Panel review.
D/ORD subsequently met with
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Mr.
Dick D'Amato
(SAC)
regarding the Terms
of Reference and
discussed the NRC
' s basic approach.
it was stated at
that
meeting that the NRC would not conclude its review by
1 July,
but
that CIA itself would provide some type of interim
progress report regarding the program evaluation.
It was
clear that D'Amato did not want
to delay the program
transfer,
however,
he approved of the NRC approach.
4.
Star Gate has had several incarnations
in various
government agencies.
Congress has proposed relocating and
restructuring Star Gate three times
in the last
five years.
Without a persuasive technical review,
ORD can only speculate
as
to what
the appropriate management strategy should be
for
the program.
Therefore,
we wish
to inform you that we will
proceed in engaging the NRC despite
the fact
it may take
nearly one year
for them to publish their
final conclusions.
We
strongly believe that
the value of having the NRC perform
the twenty-year retrospective review outweighs
the
inconvenience of not restructuring
the program until
these
results are available.
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