Central Intelligence Agency

After December 7, 1941, when Japanese warplanes struck the island of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in a surprise attack, the United States vowed to improve its intelligence (secret information about an enemy or potential enemy) capabilities. An investigation into the Pearl Harbor bombing revealed that intelligence about a possible attack had been known in the lower levels of U.S. bureaucracy but had never been shared with the White House or military.

All efforts were focused on fighting and winning World War II (1939–45), but once it was over, U.S. president Harry S. Truman (1884–1972; served 1945–53) proposed the creation of an agency that could provide the president and the administration with more accurate and better coordinated intelligence. The National Security Act of 1947 established the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to be led by a director.

The CIA would gather, evaluate, and share intelligence within the federal government. Its operators would report to the president of the United States via the newly created National Security Council (NSC). The CIA would also perform other functions and duties beyond those related to information collection and analysis. Almost immediately, one of those duties involved the fight against global communism . Communism is a political system in which the government controls all resources and means of producing wealth. By eliminating private property, this system is designed to create an equal society with no social classes. However, communist governments in practice often limit personal freedom and individual rights.

The Truman Doctrine

In 1947, President Truman outlined what became known as the Truman Doctrine , a plan that would guide American diplomacy for the next four decades. Truman explained that the United States had a responsibility to protect free people from being controlled by outside pressures. The CIA became a key factor in Truman's efforts to fight the spread of communism as it conducted covert (secret) operations.

Although never spelled out in detail in the National Security Act, the CIA's anticommunism mission quickly took on a life of its own. As the Cold War (1945–91; a war not of physical fighting, but of increased tension and competition) between the United States and the Soviet Union progressed, funding for the CIA's activities shifted from collection and analysis to covert operations. Its activities ranged from spying to outright violence, including secret wars fought against communists in places like Iran, Cuba, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The CIA also attempted to assassinate procommunist leaders in the developing world, among them, Fidel Castro (1926–) of Cuba. Assassination plots on the part of the CIA were wholly approved of until President Gerald R. Ford (1913–2006; served 1974–77) prohibited them by executive order in 1976.

Tarnished reputation

Although the CIA has proven to be a valuable tool for presidents both in time of war and peace, it has been harshly criticized for its activities. In 1973, CIA director James Schlesinger (1929–) commissioned reports on the illegal activities of the organization. The results of the reports, known as the “Family Jewels,” were published on the front page of the New York Times in 1974. According to the “Family Jewels,” the CIA had murdered numerous foreign leaders and had more than seven thousand American citizens under surveillance for their antiwar activities.

The CIA was involved in the biggest scandal of President Ronald Reagan 's (1911–2004; served 1981–89) time in office. In late 1986, it was discovered that the president's administration had made secret arrangements to provide funds to Nicaraguan contra (counterrevolutionary) rebels fighting the Sandinista (a political party that espoused beliefs similar to those of communism) government in Nicaragua. The funding came from the sale of weapons to Iran, a country that had captured American hostages and held them for more than a year. (See Iran Hostage Crisis .) Congress had outlawed the activity, but Reagan's administration ignored the law and proceeded with the secret operation.

When it was discovered that the CIA played a key role in the Iran-Contra Affair , Congress passed the Intelligence Authorization Act in 1991, which required an authorizing chain of command rather than giving all the power to the director. The act also redefined “covert operations” as secret missions in areas where the United States is neither openly nor apparently engaged.

The CIA has been at the center of numerous other controversies since its establishment in 1947.