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present time CLA does disseminate intelligence within the U.S. nar- cotics control community as it becomes available. This intelligence has led to a number of arrests and seizures of heroin, both in the United States and abroad.
In the past year there have been several public allegations to the effect that the Central Intelligence Agency has been involved, directly or indirectly, in narcoties traffic in Southeast Asia. During the course of its investigations the Staff Survey Team investigated these charges carefully, both in Southeast Asia and in Washington. The Staff Sür- rey Teain found no evidence to support these allegations.
There are other intelligence analysis groups working on the prob- lein. There is a Strategic Intelligence Office (SIO) in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Customs has an Intelligence Divi- sion with a group that confines its activities to narcoties intelligence and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) in the Depart- ment of State occasionally produces studies on international narcotics. In July 1972 another intelligence group was created in the Justice Department-the Office of National Narcoties Intelligence (ONNI).
OFFICE OF NATIONAL NARCOTICS INTELLIGENCE
On July 27, 1972, the President directed the Attorney General to establish an "Office of National Narcotics Intelligence" (ONNI). The office is headed by a Director who is responsible to the Attorney General.
In the Excentive Order creating ONNI, the President directed that the Director:
(1) Be responsible for the development and maintenance of a Na- tional Narcoties Intelligence System;
(2) Bo authorized to provide narcoties intelligence to any Federal, State, or local official with a legitimate official need to have access to such intelligence;
(3) Cooperate with the Director of the Oilice of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement in order to assist kim in insuring that all steps permitted by law are being taken by Federal, State, and local governments, and to the extent feasible, by private persons and organizations, to prevent drug abuse in the United States.
To carry out these in-tructions, the President further directed that each department and agency of the Federal Government assist the Director of ONNI in the performance of “functions assigned to him” and authorized the Director to utilize the services of any Federal and State agency as "available and appropriate.”
The reasons most often cited for the establishment of the Office of National Narcotics Intelligence is that there was no central repository where the information being collected was collated and analyzed. As a result, much valuable information which would have been useful to the Cabinet Committee and to domestic law enforcement agencies was not available.
Another important reason is that due to the dual international- dome-tie relationship of the anti-narcotics effort, it was neees- sary to place the responsibility for coordinating intelligence activities in a department which had jurisdiction to operate in the United States. The CIA is precluded by law from perforining such a function and
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the Department of State has neither the authority nor the resources
to manage such activities,
The Department of Justice, on the other hand, has law enforcement jurisdiction in the United States. Moreover, through its membership on the Cabinet Committee it is able to function as the bridge between the overseas and the domestic aspects of the overall United States effort to suppress illicit traffic in narcotics.
In order for an intelligence analysis group to be effective, it must have a constant flow of information from the field; it must have qualified analysts; it must have a data storage capability; it must have an awareness of the requirements of its customers; and it must have a responsive communications network in order to receive and dispatel information rapidly.
Why, then, was it necessary to establish an Office of National Narcotics Intelligence in the Department of Justice separate and dis- tinet from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs which has an Office of Strategic Intelligence (OST) ? OSI is operational-it has experienced analysts; it has à communications capability; it has a lim- ited data storage capability which can be expanded. BXDD agents are and have been operating in foreign countries and they have developed working relationships with State and local law enforcement agencies, ONNI, on the other hand, must develop assets which BXDD already possesses. This will require more time than has been anticipated. For despite the fact that ONNI was established on July 27, 1972. it is not yet operational. Originally it was thought that ONNI would be func- tioning by the beginning of October. This estinate, whieht was revised to mid-November, has now been changed to “around Christmas”. There are a number of reasons for this.
First, ONNI did not have any frnds entil the Congress appropriated $2.1 million for the Ollice in October 1972. Second, the Dirvetor, who was appointed in July, was assigned two small rooms in the Depart- ment of Justice awwex and, as of November 16, 1972, still did not have space sufficient in which to establish a working office.
Third, the precise role that ONNI is expected to play in the over- all U.S. effort to control drug abuse has not been articulated and there is confusion within the narcoties suppression community as to what the relationship between ONNI on the one hand and BNDD, Cus- toms, State, and CIA on the other, will be.
It was the opinion of many narcotics officials that before ONNI can perform a useful function in the overall narcotics suppression ef- fort, its precise role and position must be more clearly defined. What- ever that role, it will be some time before ONNI develops the capa- bility to produce and disseminate meaningful and useful intelligence
on narcotics.
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CABINET COMMITTEE
As an organization, the Cabinet Committee has not been particu- larly active. There has been one formal meeting since it was estab- lished on September 7, 1971, and the Working Group which is the operating arm of the Conumittee, has met only three times. Asked why the Cabinet Committee, and especially the Working Group met so infrequently, several senior officials responded that because the mem-
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