Central Intelligence Agency

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Lore & Background

During World War II, U.S. intelligence and covert operations had been undertaken by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The office was abolished in 1945 by President Harry S. Truman, who created the Central Intelligence Group in 1946. Amid the intensifying Cold War, the National Security Act of 1947 established the CIA, headed by a director of central intelligence (DCI). The Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 exempted the agency from most Congressional oversight, and during the 1950s, it became a major instrument of U.S. foreign policy. The CIA employed psychological operations against communist regimes, and backed coups to advance American interests. Major CIA-backed operations include the 1953 coup in Iran, the 1954 coup in Guatemala, the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in 1961, and the 1973 coup in Chile. In 1975, the Church Committee of the U.S. Senate revealed illegal operations such as MKUltra and CHAOS. In the 1980s, the CIA supported the Afghan mujahideen through Pakistan's ISI, and the Nicaraguan Contras, and after the September 11 attacks in 2001, played a role in the Global War on Terrorism. The agency has been the subject of numerous controversies, including its use of political assassinations, torture, domestic wiretapping, propaganda, mind control techniques, and drug trafficking, among others.

In Their Own Story

The CIA is headed by a director and is divided into various directorates, including a Directorate of Analysis and Directorate of Operations. The Directorate of Analysis is tasked with helping "the President and other policymakers make informed decisions about our country's national security" by looking "at all the available information on an issue and organiz[ing] it for policymakers". The directorate has four regional analytic groups, six groups for transnational issues, and three that focus on policy, collection, and staff support. The Directorate of Operations is responsible for collecting foreign intelligence (mainly from clandestine HUMINT sources), and for covert action. The Directorate of Science & Technology was established to research, create, and manage technical collection disciplines and equipment, including the development of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft in cooperation with the United States Air Force. The Directorate of Digital Innovation (DDI) focuses on accelerating innovation across the Agency's mission activities, integrating digital and cybersecurity capabilities into espionage, counterintelligence, all-source analysis, open-source intelligence collection, and covert action operations. The directorate had been covertly operating since approximately March 2015 but formally began operations on October 1, 2015.

Reader's Guide

As of 2013, the CIA had five priorities: counterterrorism, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, indications and warnings for senior policymakers, counterintelligence, and cyber intelligence. The CIA is responsible for coordinating all human intelligence (HUMINT) activities in the IC. It has been instrumental in establishing intelligence services in many countries, and has provided support to many foreign organizations. The CIA exerts foreign political influence through its paramilitary operations units, including its Special Activities Center. It has also provided support to several foreign political groups and governments, including planning, coordinating, training and carrying out torture, and technical support. It has been involved in many regime changes and carrying out planned assassinations of foreign leaders and terrorist attacks against civilians. The agency has an executive office and five major directorates: the Directorate of Digital Innovation, the Directorate of Analysis, the Directorate of Operations, the Directorate of Support, and the Directorate of Science and Technology. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is appointed by the president with Senate confirmation and reports directly to the director of national intelligence (DNI).

Did You Know?

• The CIA is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia, and is sometimes metonymously called 'Langley'.
• The CIA has no law enforcement function and focuses on intelligence gathering overseas, with only limited domestic intelligence collection.
• Major CIA-backed operations include the 1953 coup in Iran, the 1954 coup in Guatemala, the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in 1961, and the 1973 coup in Chile.
• The Directorate of Digital Innovation formally began operations on October 1, 2015, after being covertly operating since approximately March 2015.
• The CIA has been involved in controversies including its use of political assassinations, torture, domestic wiretapping, propaganda, mind control techniques, and drug trafficking.