Eberstadt Report - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Eberstadt Report, officially known as the Task Force Report on National Security Organization, was a study conducted by the United States government which evaluated the structure and operations of the United States Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

and United States Intelligence Community

United States Intelligence Community

The United States Intelligence Community is a cooperative federation of 16 separate United States government agencies that work separately and together to conduct intelligence activities considered necessary for the conduct of foreign relations and the protection of the national security of the...

. The report was created by the Task Force on National Security Organization, chaired by Ferdinand Eberstadt

Ferdinand Eberstadt

Ferdinand A. Eberstadt was an American lawyer, investment banker, and an important policy advisor to the United States government who was instrumental in the creation of the National Security Council.-Biography:...

, from 1948-1949 under the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, also known as the First Hoover Commission

Hoover Commission

The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the Federal Government of the United States...

. The most important findings of the report include recommendations for better cooperation within the US Intelligence Community, improvement in the internal structure and operations of the Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

(CIA), and the growing need for the development of scientific intelligence in the background of the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. Despite its submission to US Congress, the report was not widely read due to being overshadowed by the Intelligence Survey Group and its report, the Dulles Report.

The National Security Act of 1947

As the U.S. emerged from World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

as a global power, it decided it needed a more permanent intelligence community. In 1945, both President Harry Truman and the Joint Chief of Staff believed the national defense and intelligence capabilities of the U.S. needed to be reorganized quickly. What resulted was the National Security Act of 1947

National Security Act of 1947

The National Security Act of 1947 was signed by United States President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1947, and realigned and reorganized the U.S. Armed Forces, foreign policy, and Intelligence Community apparatus in the aftermath of World War II...

, signed on July 26, 1947, which created the United States National Security Council

United States National Security Council

The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...

(NSC), CIA and Director of Central Intelligence

Director of Central Intelligence

The Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence was the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, the principal intelligence advisor to the President and the National Security Council, and the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various United...

(DCI), and unified the Armed Services under the Department of Defense.

First Hoover Commission

Prior to the passage of the National Security Act of 1947, Congress created a 12-member, bi-partisan commission, the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, chaired by former President Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...

. The Commission’s purpose was to examine the organization and operations of various arms of the executive branch of the US government and make appropriate recommendations for improvement through various task forces. On May 21, 1948, Herbert Hoover announced the creation of the Task Force on the National Security Organization, which would be chaired by Ferdinand Eberstadt and produce the Eberstadt Report. From June 1948 through January 1949, Eberstadt’s task force examined the workings of the country’s entire national security and intelligence system, including extensive research on the US Department of Defense. On January 13, 1949, the Hoover Commission submitted a 121-page document outlining criticisms and recommendations for the nation's national security and intelligence organizations. Within the first few pages the Eberstadt report states that “the National Security Organization, established by the National Security Act of 1947, is, on the whole, soundly constructed, but is not yet working well."

Task force members

Ferdinand Eberstadt - Chairman
Dr. Raymond B. Allen
Thomas Archer
Hanson W. Baldwin
Chester I. Barnard
Dr. Charles W. Cole
John Cowles
James Knowlson
John J. McCloy
John J. McCloy
John Jay McCloy was a lawyer and banker who served as Assistant Secretary of War during World War II, president of the World Bank and U.S. High Commissioner for Germany...
Dr. Fredrick A. Middlebush
Robert P. Patterson
Lewis L. Strauss
J. Carlton Ward, Jr.
Gen. Robert E. Wood
Robert E. Wood
Robert Elkington Wood was a U.S. Army Brigadier General and businessman best known for his leadership of Sears, Roebuck and Company.- Early life :...

Cooperation in the US Intelligence Community

The central concern of the task force was lack of cooperation within the US Intelligence Community. Specifically, it cited the poor relationship of the CIA to G-2 of the US Army, the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

(FBI), the Atomic Energy Commission

United States Atomic Energy Commission

The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...

, and the US State Department. According to the report, this poor relationship had caused an unsatisfactory number of “disparate intelligence estimates,” which “have often been subjective and biased.” Lastly, the report encouraged older entities in the US Intelligence Community to embrace the newly created CIA as a partner.

Leadership in the community

The report expected that the CIA would become the “central organization of the national intelligence system” through creating a community-wide intelligence review board and leading covert activities. It recommended the CIA create “within the agency at the top echelon an evaluation board or section composed of competent and experienced personnel who would have no administrative responsibilities and whose duties would be confined solely to intelligence evaluation.” Eberstadt's task force felt this was necessary because the highest administrators within the CIA had little time to evaluate intelligence. This evaluation board would answer directly to the Director of Central Intelligence but would only have advisory status. Believing responsibility for covert activities should fall under one entity, the Eberstadt Report stated the CIA, under supervision of the National Security Council, should lead such operations, unless in time of war. In time of war, the report recommended responsibility for covert activities should switch to the control of the Joint Chief of Staff.

Internal structure and personnel

According to the report, “the Central Intelligence Agency is sound in principle, but improvement is needed in practice.” The report identified problems with departmental responsibilities, specifically that of the Office of Collection and Dissemination. According to the report, such offices and departments should be evaluated and appropriate changes implemented to make those components of the CIA more effective. The report also noted the CIA suffered from high numbers of inadequately trained and inexperienced personnel caused by quick expansion after its creation. However, the report acknowledged that these were internal problems that could only be solved with time and training. In the debate over who should become the DCI, the report recommended a civilian hold the position in order to bring “a broader background and greater versatility and diplomatic experience than is usually found in service personnel.”

Budget process

The report also supported a Congressional bill that would have set into law the procedures that maintained the secrecy of the intelligence budget process, specifically that of the CIA. According to the report, this would allow “administrative flexibility and anonymity that are essential to satisfactory intelligence.”

Scientific intelligence

The report recognized that the nation's ability to collect and disseminate scientific intelligence was unsatisfactory. At the time of the task force’s activities, the responsibility for scientific intelligence was scattered throughout the community. Some in the intelligence community such as the State Department and Defense Department were known for their territorialism over the responsibility. Another common problem for the CIA and the rest of the community was finding quality scientists willing to forgo a higher salary and name recognition to serve the scientific needs of the intelligence community. Due to these problems, the report encouraged the Central Intelligence Agency and the Research and Development Board to assign a specific entity “to collect, collate, and evaluate scientific and medical intelligence, in order that our present glaring deficiencies in this field be promptly eliminated.” This central authority for collecting and disseminating scientific intelligence would have included developing fields such as biological and chemical weapons, electronics, aerodynamics, and missile technology. While medical intelligence

Medical intelligence

Medical Intelligence is defined by the Department of Defense as:That category of intelligence resulting from collection, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of foreign medical, bio-scientific, and environmental information that is of interest to strategic planning and to military medical...

was relatively underdeveloped and responsibility was shared among several agencies, cooperation in that area between agencies was expected to increase. These recommendations were deemed necessary due to bureaucratic restraints which prevented the Scientific Branch of the CIA from effectively executing its function.

Professionalism

The report also questioned the quality of military intelligence professionals. Specifically, the report criticized the “somewhat haphazard method employed by the services in the selection of officers for important intelligence posts.” The report pointed out that in recent years, several chiefs of Army intelligence lacked previous experience. The committee also suggested that the military services should establish intelligence careers as an option for serviceman.

Impact

An official CIA history suggests the recommendations and suggestions contained in the Eberstadt Report influenced very little in the national security structure or intelligence community. Although Congress authorized the First Hoover Commission and its national security task force, Congress did not initiate or enforce any of its recommendations. Also, at the same time Eberstadt’s task force was completing its research and report for Congress, the Intelligence Survey Group was conducting similar research and produced its own report, the Dulles Report, which was submitted to Congress January 1, 1949. The Dulles Report became better known and forced the Eberstadt Report to be almost completely overlooked. While the CIA suggests at least some of the Eberstadt Report’s ideas were used, it is unlikely the report was widely read or had any significant influence.