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    "label": "Memorandum from Sidney Souers to the National Security Council",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Memorandum from Sidney Souers to the National Security Council",
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    "ocrText": "NLT (isFlase) 321\nESTABLISHMENT OF A SPECIAL SERVICES UNIT\nIN THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY\nFurther consideration of the problem of developing our activ-\nities in the field of covert political warfare leads to the following\npoints which, it is suggested, should serve as a basis for the further\nconsideration of this problem by the National Security Council.\nCIA provides the legal structure within which covert politi-\ncal activities can be conducted and it is already charged under NSC\n4-A with the conduct of covert psychological operations abroad. In\naddition, CIA is already charged by National Security Council Direct\nive No. 5 with conducting espionage and counter-espionage operations\nabroad, which operations are by their nature very closely related to\ncovert political activities as contemplated in NSC 10. It, therefore,\nseems desirable for legal, as well as operational reasons, not to cre-\nate a new agency for covert political activities, but to place the re-\nsponsibility for this work within the legal structure of the Central\nIntelligence Agency and closely relate it to secret intelligence.\nThe principal objection to this proposal arises out of doubt\nas to whether CIA is presently so constituted that it can effectively\nhandle this problem which is so different from CIA's primary task of\ncoordinating intelligence activities and correlating and evaluating\nintelligence relating to the national security. There is also fear\nlest covert operations develop in a manner inconsistent with our for-\neign and military policies.\nDECLASSIFIED\nTRUNAM\nE. Oe 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or\nis\nNSC 10.3.79\nARCHIVES\nPROJECT NLT77-15\nOSD letter. Anrif 12 1974\nBg MLT. He NARS Date 10.31.77"
}