News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: Smith on Document Declassification

Date: July 31, 1999

Smith on Declassification

Subj: Transmittal Cover Note to Sen. Smith Point Paper
Date: 7/30/1999 7:56:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Dino Carluccio (Dino_Carluccio@smith.senate.gov)
To: Bob Necci (AIIPOWMIAI@aol.com)

The point paper background recently circulated was previously prepared for Senators and Senate staff on the amendments by Sen. Bob Smith (I-NH) on POW/MIA intelligence information, both of which were successfully adopted by the full Senate last week. The goals with respect to these two amendments were very simple and straightforward --

(1) to enhance Congressional oversight on classified POW/MIA intelligence reports (including follow-up done on these reports, and the reasons for their continued classification); and

(2) to allow the American people access to information in two 1998 Vietnam POW/MIA intelligence assessments (which does not need to be kept classified) which sheds light on USG pow/mia intelligence analysis and the extent of Hanoi's cooperation, or lack thereof, on Vietnam-era POW/MIA accounting, including with respect to the two so-called "Russian 1205/735" documents.

I hope this is helpful background info for those who have long shared our concerns on these matters.

POINT PAPER

SMITH (I-NH) AMENDMENT ON DECLASSIFICATION OF 1998
VIETNAM POW/MIA NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE
AND A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THAT ESTIMATE

Pursuant to an agreement reached between Senate Majority Leader Lott and National Security Advisor Berger during the April 1997 Senate floor confirmation of the first postwar US Ambassador to Vietnam, the US Intelligence Community produced a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) in April 1998 examining Hanoi's cooperation on Vietnam War POW/MIA issues, to include their cooperation with respect to two Russian wartime intelligence documents discovered in Soviet-era archives in 1993 that alleged North Vietnam held more US POWs than those repatriated in 1973. The terms of reference for the NIE were coordinated following bipartisan consultations with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

In August 1998, the Director of Central Intelligence declassified the key judgments of the NIE comprising 2 1/2 pages, in response to requests from Senator Cleland, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (POW/Missing Personnel) Robert Jones, and the National Commander of The American Legion, Anthony Jordan. The remaining 40+ pages were not declassified.

In November 1998, Senator Bob Smith, who serves as the US Chairman of the Vietnam War Working Group of the US-Russia Joint Commission on POWs and MIAs, produced a classified 200+ page Critical Assessment of the NIE referenced above. By letter dated November 25, 1998, Senator Smith made a written request to Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet "that both my assessment and the remaining portions of the NIE be processed for declassification immediately." To date, the DCI has not responded to this request.

On March 18, 1999, SSCI Chairman Shelby and Vice-Chairman Kerrey jointly requested the Inspectors General of the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense to "examine the April NIE and address the charges levied in A Critical Assessment, insofar as they suggest a premeditated effort to discredit relevant information, inadequate analysis, or possible politicization." The IG investigation is currently ongoing.

The Smith Amendment requires the Director of Central Intelligence to declassify the remaining text of the referenced National Intelligence Estimate, as well as the Smith Critical Assessment, except for any text in either item which would "reveal intelligence sources or methods; or disclose by name the identity of a living foreign individual who has cooperated with United States efforts to account for missing personnel from the Vietnam era."

Both the NIE (SSCI Control # 98-4027) and the Smith Critical Assessment (SSCI Control # 98-1954) are available for perusal by Members and appropriately cleared staff at SSCI (4-1700) or the Office of Senate Security (4-5632). Point of contact for Sen. Smith is Dino Carluccio at 4-2841.

POINT PAPER

SMITH (I-NH) AMENDMENT REQUIRING THE US INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TO
SUBMIT TO CONGRESS A LISTING OF CLASSIFIED INTELLIGENCE REPORTS ON
THE SUBJECT OF UNACCOUNTED FOR AMERICAN POWS AND MIAS

On July 2, 1992, the Senate, by an unanimous roll call vote, passed S. Res. 324 expressing the "sense of the Senate that the President of the United States expeditiously issue an Executive order requiring all executive branch departments and agencies to declassify and publicly release without compromising United States national security all documents, files, and other materials pertaining to POWs and MIAs." On July 22, 1992, in response to S. Res. 324, then-President Bush issued Executive Order 12812 which was limited to disclosure of Vietnam War POW/MIA records, but not Korean War or Cold War records on missing personnel. (Note: over 8,100 US personnel remain unaccounted for from the Korean War, and over 130 personnel remain unaccounted for from Cold War incidents, many of which involved losses near or over the territory of the former Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China.)

On November 9, 1993, then-Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey informed President Clinton that since the issuance of Executive Order 12812 in July 1992, the Central Intelligence Agency had declassified 1,766 POW/MIA documents, but had denied 574 documents. DCI Woolsey further indicated that "all denied material was withheld based on the need to protect sources and methods, ongoing clandestine operations, negotiations on foreign policy issues such as US normalization of relations with Vietnam, or privacy issues related to returnees and the families of POWs and MIAs." In the spring of 1998, SSCI staff were permitted to review summaries of some of these reports, and were informed that the actual number of denied reports as of 1993 totaled 770 documents. It is unclear how many additional documents related to POWs and MIAs have been withheld from declassification by the Central Intelligence Agency during the last six years, and it is also unclear how many other POW/MIA-related documents have been withheld from declassification by other elements of the US Intelligence Community.

The Smith Amendment requires the heads of the intelligence elements of the US Government whose funding is authorized in H.R. 1555 to provide to the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees of the House and Senate a listing of POW/MIA-related intelligence documents which have not been declassified. The listing is required to show the date each denied document was prepared, the date of the information contained in each document, and the specific subject matter of each denied document. The listing will enhance the ability of Congress to exercise effective oversight with respect to POW/MIA intelligence matters.

The Smith Amendment further provides that the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees shall, upon request and in accordance with regulations of the Committees on protection of classified information, make the above-referenced lists available to Members of Congress and appropriately cleared staff. A similar provision, authored by Sen. Smith in 1991, with respect to actual POW/MIA intelligence documents furnished to the House and Senate intelligence committees, is already contained in Public Law 102-88, Section 405 (b).

Point of contact for this amendment in Sen. Smith's office is Dino Carluccio at 4-2841.

H.R. 1555 (as passed by Senate) FY00 INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT

SEC. 309. DECLASSIFICATION OF INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE ON VIETNAM-ERA PRISONERS OF WAR AND MISSING IN ACTION PERSONNEL AND CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF ESTIMATE.

(a) DECLASSIFICATION.-Subject to subsection (b), the Director of Central Intelligence shall declassify the following:

(1) National Intelligence Estimate 98-03 dated April 1998 and entitled "Vietnamese Intentions,

Capabilities, and Performance Concerning the POW/MIA Issue". (2) The assessment dated November 1998 and entitled "A Critical Assessment of National Intelligence Estimate 98-03 prepared by the United States Chairman of the Vietnam War Working Group of the United States-Russia Joint Commission on POWs and MIAs." (b) LIMITATIONS.-The Director shall not declassify any text contained in the estimate or assessment referred to in subsection (a) which would-

(1) reveal intelligence sources and methods; or (2) disclose by name the identity of a living foreign individual who

has cooperated with United States efforts to account for missing personnel from the Vietnam era.

(c) DEADLINE.-The Director shall declassify the estimate and assessment referred to in subsection (a) not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 310. SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS OF LISTS ON CLASSIFIED INFORMATION REGARDING UNRECOVERED UNITED STATES PRISONERS OF WAR AND OTHER PERSONNEL.

(a) REQUIREMENT.-(1) The head of each element of the United States Government listed in section 101 shall submit to the designated congressional committees a list of all classified documents, files, and other materials under the control of such element that pertain to the subject of United States prisoners of war, missing in action personnel, or killed in action personnel whose remains have not been recovered and identified.

(2) Each list submitted under paragraph (1) shall-

(A) for each document, file, or other material contained in the list-

(i) specify the date of the preparation or dissemination of the document, file, or material;

(ii) specify the date or dates of any information contained in the document, file, or material; and

(iii) identify the subject matter of the document, file, or material; and

(B) be organized in chronological order according to the date of the preparation or dissemination of the documents, files, or materials concerned.

(b) DEADLINE.-The lists required by subsection (a) shall be submitted not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(c) ACCESS BY COMMITTEES AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.-A designated congressional committee shall, upon request and in accordance with regulations of the committee regarding protection of classified information, make available any list submitted to the committee under subsection (a) to any Member of Congress or committee of Congress, and to any staff member of a Member of Congress or committee of Congress who possesses a security clearance appropriate for access to the list.

(d) DESIGNATED CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE DEFINED.-In this section, the term "designated congressional committee" means the following:

(1) The Committee on Armed Services and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.

(2) The Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.