MEMORANDUM. SUBJECT: DECLASSIFICATION AND COOPERATION IN RESPONSE TO CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED STAR GATE PROGRAM REVIEW

CIA-STARGATE

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The document is a memorandum discussing the transfer of the STAR GATE program from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The transfer was directed by Congress and included a twenty-year retrospective review of program activities. The CIA has collected its own files and acquired relevant DIA files through cooperative meetings. The CIA has also contacted the National Research Council to assemble a Blue Ribbon Panel to conduct the review. The panel will review unclassified material and provide recommendations. The CIA plans to declassify parts of the program immediately, including past program activities and technical results. Following this, a classification review committee will review all program documents archived during the transfer, including targets and operations, and declassify them as appropriate. The document emphasizes the controversial nature of the STAR GATE program and the need for a comprehensive understanding of its technical nature and utility to create a future management strategy. It requests the cooperation of the DIA in obtaining relevant files and information.

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Body:  Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030007-7
 Draf t
 21 Feb 1995
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 Memorandum.For:
 From:
 Subject:
 ie     -ice tor Ground Forces
 Defense Intelligence Agency
 Director of Research and Development
 Central Intelligence Agency
 Declassification and Cooperation in
 Response to Congressionally Directed
 STAR GATE Program Review
 1. Recent Congressional language directed that the STAR
 GATE program be transferred from DIA to CIA by July 1,?..1995.
 In that language, Congress..-directed a twenty-year
 retrospective review of STAR GATE program activities.  This
 review requires an inventory and analysis of the relevant
 files at both DIA and.CIA..  CIA has collected its own files
 and held cooperative meetings with DIA STAR GATE personnel to
 acquire relevant DIA files.. CIA also has contacted the
 National Research Council in order to assemble a Blue Ribbon
 Panel to actually conduct.the review.  Panel members will
 review all unclassified material and its recommendations will
 likewise be unclassified.  During the coming months, CIA will
 continue to seek DIA's cooperation in obtaining relevant
 files and information to support this review.
 2. Congress also stated that "the time has come for a
 re-evaluation of the classification of the existence of this
 effort as well as the results."  In response to this request,
 CIA plans to declassify parts of its program immediately.
 Sponsorship of past CIA program activities and the technical
 results of those activities will be declassified.  Following
 these immediate actions, CIA will convene a Congressionally
 mandated DCI classification review committee to conduct a
 detailed review of all CIA and DIA program documents archived
 during program transfer, including the actual targets and
 collection operations, and over the coming months, this
 committee will further declassify these documents where
 appropriate.
 3. STAR GATE has an extraordinary nature and history and
 it's existence within the intelligence community remains
 controversial.  CIA needs to develop a comprehensive
 understanding of the technical nature and utility of this
 program, in order to create a meaningful future management
 strategy as directed by Congress.  To get at this
 understanding, and to facilitate the open-forum review
 described above, we ask that DIA take the following actions:
 Approved For Release 2003/04/1 Orgft-RDP96-00791 R000200030007-7
 Approved For Release 2003/04/18 : CIA-RDP96-00791 R000200030007-7
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