Title: Report of the (Murphy) Commission—Foreign Policy
Author: United States Commission on the Organization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy
United States Commission on the Organization of the Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy (1975). Report of the Commission. Washington , DC: U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
LCCN: 75602320
Subjects
- Diplomatic and consular service, American.
- United States–Foreign relations administration.
- United States–Foreign relations–1945-1989.
Notes
- The Murphy Commission
Date Updated: March 23, 2016
This is a review by the Defense Intelligence School.[1]
The Murphy Commission (named for its chairman, Ambassador Robert D. Murphy) submitted its final report to President Ford and both Houses of the Congress on 27 June 1975, almost three years after the original act which commissioned it. The study looks at the entirety of foreign policy, including the national role of intelligence. Chapter 7, titled “The Organization of Intelligence,’’ describes the community that existed in 1975, before Executive Order 11905 of February 1976 was issued. Fourteen specific changes in intelligence were recommended. Some of the changes have since been adopted, Some have been overtaken by events, and some have been ignored. Several volumes of appendices to the Report contain articles prepared by scholars and experts from various fields. Appendix U, in Volume 7, includes the seven articles of value to the intelligence professional.
Reviewed by Paul W. Blackstock and Frank L. Schaf[2]
This publication presents the findings and recommendations of a joint congressional and presidential study commission established by Public Law 92-353 for the purpose of providing a more effective system for the formulation and implementation of the nation’s foreign policy. The commission, known also as the Murphy Commission, after its chairman Ambassador Robert Murphy, spent two years in research and analysis; intelligence played an important part in the work. A special panel of investigators developed research papers on intelligence. Their findings are summarized in chapter 7 of the report. Detailed organization charts of the national intelligence community structure and the National Security Council intelligence structure are a valuable and authoritative addition. Research papers of scholars and expert practitioners developed during the course of the work are set forth in seven volumes of appendixes. Appendix U of volume 7 contains eight intelligence papers. Senator Mike Mansfield, member of the commission, records his differences with portions of the report. Pages 2328-33 of the report contain his comments. He starts off—“With regret I must record my differences with some segments of the report. . . . “
[1] Defense Intelligence School (1981). Bibliography of Intelligence Literature: A Critical And Annotated Bibliography of Open-Source Literature (7th ed, rev.). Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence School, p. 64
[2] Blackstock, Paul W. (1978) and Frank L. Schaf, Jr. Intelligence, Espionage, Counterespionage, And Covert Operations: A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit: Gale Research Co., pp. 31-32
