1878 



should be a "strategic concept for foreign policy" and a "Global 

 Systems Critical List." The former should be a comprehensive state- 

 ment of U.S. diplomatic and economic purposes, their structure, and 

 the boundaries of U.S. responsibility in the world. It should be pre- 

 pared under leadership of the Secretary of State, drawing upon the 

 National Security Council, and on the expertise of the many depart- 

 ments involved. 



The "State of the World Report" was seen as a revival of a practice 

 initiated by President Nixon during his first term. However, the second 

 proposal, that of a "Global Systems Critical List," was something 

 of an innovation in the report as to both its content and proposed 

 implementation. This list would be an "authoritative inventory" of 

 "possible catastrophic effects and the major new^opportunities arising 

 out of the uses of the world's physical resources and environment, 

 and from new developments in science and technology." Preparation 

 of the list should be objective, expertly done, and politically insulated. 

 It should therefore be assigned by statute and Presidential directive 

 to a "prestigious and independent organization of scientists" such as 

 the National Academy of Sciences. The list should present problems 

 and o])portunities ranked in importance in relation to such specific 

 areas as oceans, atmospheric pollution, food, and the like. A role 

 was suggested for the Congress in exploring the further detailed 

 implications of items on the list. A role was also suggested for the 

 President's "principal science adviser" in preparing the list, in draft- 

 ing an "impact statement," and in following up on what the admin- 

 istration did about items listed. 



ORGANIZATION FOR PLANNING 



The Murphy Commission dealt briefly with delineation of the 

 organizational scheme necessary to implement its recommendations 

 for foreign policy planning. No reference was made to the legislative 

 branch in this discussion. In addition to the suggestion already cited 

 for assignment to the National Academy of Sciences of responsibility 

 for a Global Systems Critical List, the report proposed creation of a 

 new Council of International Planning (CIP), strengthening of the 

 Policy Planning Staff in the Department of State, and creation of 

 an Advisory Committee of outside experts to advise the Department. 



The CIP, patterned after the Council of Economic Advisers, would 

 serve the President directly and "in a manner of his choosing in the 

 planning for foreign poUcy." It would give special attention to the 

 Global Systems Critical List and call for research support from 

 Government agencies and the academic community. The Commission 

 again sought here to deal with the dilemma of operational versus 

 long-range planning: "We would hope that the- CIP would be close 

 enough to operations to give its work a necessary relevance, but 

 sufficiently detached to give it freedom to walk less traveled roads." 



The Policy Planning Staff, the Commission suggested, would ulti- 

 mately be what each Secretary of State made of it. "No planning 

 staff, however well organized and adroitly managed, will be effective 

 if the Secretary himself does not believe in the planning function." 

 With respect to the long-range versus operational planning dilemma 

 facing the Policy Planning Staff, the report again retreated: ". . . 

 Proposals to insulate planners from operations so that they do not 



