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ade _" Approved For Release 2003/04/25 : CIA-RDP80R01731R000400070011-3 Plan No. & establishing the United States Information Agency, the President directed a letter on June 1, 1953 to the Heads of All Executive Departments. This letter contained the following language: "The over-all foreign affairs reorganization which I desire to achieve is designed to emphasize the primary position of the Secretary of State within the executive branch in matters of foreign policy. 1 persenaily wish to emphasise that I shall regard the Secretary of State as the Cabinet officer respon- sible for advising and assisting me in the formulation and con- trol of foreign policy. will be my practice to empley the . Secretary of State as my channel of authority within the executive branch on foreign policy. Other officials of the ezecetive branch will work with and through the Secretary of State on matters of foreign policy. ” It is true that NSC 5412/2 was approved at a date later than the 1953 letter and the presumption may be made that the drafters of NSC 5412/2 took into consideration the position of the President expressed in the letter of the previous year. It is also pertinent that the reorganization plans and directives of 1953 concern overt foreign operations and only NSC 5412/2 deals specifically with covert foreign operations. The conclusion seems inescapable that NSC 5412/2 is meant to be taken literally i.e. that the responsibility for the regulation of covert operations rests with the Director of Central Intelligence. It is hia conduct of agency operations and his maintenance of Maison with the Secretary and Department of State that ensures the compatibility of Covert operations with foreign policy. That this arrangement has worked satisfactorily in actual practice is an indication that the present assign- 4 Approved For Release 2903/04/25, CIA-RDP80R01731R000400070011-3