Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States. It helps keep the country safe by collecting and studying information from around the world and doing secret missions. The CIA is based in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia, and it reports to the director of national intelligence. Its main job is to give important information to the president and the Cabinet, as well as to the United States Armed Forces and allies.

During World War II, the United States used a group called the Office of Strategic Services for gathering information and doing secret operations. After the war, President Harry S. Truman created the Central Intelligence Group in 1946, and then the National Security Act of 1947 officially established the CIA. Over the years, the CIA has helped shape U.S. foreign policy. It has supported friendly groups in other countries and worked to stop threats to the United States.

Purpose

The Central Intelligence Agency was created to gather and study information from other countries and to carry out secret missions.

By 2013, the CIA focused on five main areas: stopping attacks, preventing the spread of very dangerous weapons, giving important warnings to leaders, protecting against spies, and understanding cyber threats.

Organizational structure

Main article: Organizational structure of the Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has an executive office and five major parts:

• The Directorate of Digital Innovation
• The Directorate of Analysis
• The Directorate of Operations
• The Directorate of Support
• The Directorate of Science and Technology

Executive Office

Further information: Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency is chosen by the president and approved by the Senate. They report to the director of national intelligence. The deputy director (DD/CIA) helps manage the CIA's daily work. The Executive Office works with the U.S. military, sharing information and receiving updates from military intelligence.

Directorate of Analysis

The Directorate of Analysis helps leaders make important decisions about safety by looking at all available information. It has groups that focus on different regions like the Near East, South Asia, Russia, Europe, Asia–Pacific, Latin America, and Africa.

Office of Strategic Research

The Office of Strategic Research was created in 1967. It helped analyze threats and provided support for important studies.

Directorate of Operations

Main article: Directorate of Operations (CIA)

The Directorate of Operations collects information from other countries and plans special missions. It works with other U.S. intelligence groups to share information.

Directorate of Science & Technology

The Directorate of Science & Technology creates and manages new technologies for gathering information. It worked on projects like the U-2 aircraft, which flew high to take pictures of places like the Soviet Union.

Directorate of Support

Main article: Directorate of Support

The Directorate of Support handles important tasks like security, communications, and technology for the CIA.

Directorate of Digital Innovation

The Directorate of Digital Innovation focuses on using new digital tools to improve the CIA's work. It started in 2015 and helps the CIA use technology for its missions around the world.

Office of Congressional Affairs

Further information: CIA's relationship with the United States Congress

The Office of Congressional Affairs helps the CIA stay connected with the U.S. Congress. It makes sure Congress is informed about the CIA's activities and responds to questions from lawmakers.

Training

Further information: CIA University, National Intelligence University, and Warrenton Training Center

The CIA began its first training center, called the Office of Training and Education, in 1950. After the end of the Cold War, the training budget was cut, making it harder to keep staff.

To improve training, Director George Tenet started CIA University in 2002. Each year, CIA University offers many courses for new and experienced staff, including support workers. It works with the National Intelligence University and includes the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis.

For more advanced training, there is a secret training area at Camp Peary near Williamsburg, Virginia. Students are chosen and their progress is checked using old methods. Extra training for special missions happens at Harvey Point in North Carolina.

The main training place for communication workers is the Warrenton Training Center near Warrenton, Virginia. It was built in 1951 and has been used by the CIA since at least 1955.

Budget

Main article: United States intelligence budget

Details about the money the United States uses for its intelligence work are kept secret. The CIA is allowed to spend money without showing receipts, which is special for a government job.

In the past, some budget numbers accidentally became public. For example, in 1963, the CIA used around $550 million. These numbers give us a glimpse into how much money goes toward keeping the country safe.

Relationship with other intelligence agencies

Foreign intelligence services

The CIA has similar jobs to intelligence services in other countries, such as the Federal Intelligence Service in Germany, MI6 in the United Kingdom, and the Australian Secret Intelligence Service in Australia. The CIA helped start intelligence services in some U.S. ally countries.

The U.S. intelligence community works closely with agencies in countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. These countries can share special signals for intelligence messages. A label called USA/AUS/CAN/GBR/NZL Five Eyes shows that information can be shared with these nations.

The division named "Verbindungsstelle 61" of the German Bundesnachrichtendienst keeps contact with the CIA office in Wiesbaden.

History

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created on July 26, 1947, when President Truman signed the National Security Act into law. The main reason was because of growing tensions with the USSR after World War II.

Lawrence Houston, who worked with the CIA's early forms, helped write important laws that shaped the agency. In 1949, he helped create a law that let the CIA keep many details private.

At the start of the Korean War, the CIA had only a few thousand workers, and much of its information came from documents and reports. A new leader was brought in to improve things. The CIA had to balance different needs from the president, the military, and the State Department. Its main jobs were to gather secret information and support secret operations, especially focusing on the Soviet Union.

The CIA tried many operations during the Cold War, including influencing elections and supporting groups in different countries. It also faced challenges, like not predicting certain events. The agency had both successes and failures.

Open-source intelligence

Further information: Foreign Broadcast Information Service and Open Source Center

Before 2004, the CIA gathered information from public sources through a group called the Foreign Broadcast Information Service. After 2004, this work moved to a new place led by the Director of National Intelligence.

During the time when Ronald Reagan was president, someone named Michael Sekora worked with many intelligence groups, including the CIA, to create a system called Project Socrates. This system used public information to help with important projects.

Today, the CIA often looks at social media for information. In June 2014, the CIA started a Twitter account. They also created a special .onion website for people to share ideas anonymously.

Outsourcing and privatization

See also: Intelligence outsourcing

Many jobs in intelligence work are now done by private companies instead of government workers. This change was supposed to be studied and reported by Mike McConnell, the former Director of National Intelligence, but the report was kept secret.

Writer Tim Shorrock says that many top intelligence leaders leave their jobs to work for companies that do similar work, often for higher pay. This makes it hard to know who is really in charge of important intelligence work.

Congress wanted a report on this issue by March 30, 2008. Some problems come from political leaders who were not fully prepared for their jobs. Because of this, many workers at the CIA are actually private contractors.

Building equipment is also often done by private companies. For example, the National Reconnaissance Office worked with Boeing on a new satellite project called Future Imagery Architecture.

Sometimes, different parts of the intelligence community do not work together well, leading to extra costs and duplicated efforts.

Controversies

Main article: List of CIA controversies

See also: Human rights violations by the CIA, Allegations of CIA drug trafficking, CIA influence on public opinion, Project Mockingbird, Extraordinary rendition, Assassination of Orlando Letelier, Cubana de Aviación Flight 455, and Operation Condor

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has faced many debates about its actions. One well-known operation was called "CHAOS". It happened from 1967 to 1974. During this time, the CIA watched and collected information about Americans who were protesting the Vietnam War. This operation was approved by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Another secret program was MKUltra. It happened from the early 1950s to the 1970s. The CIA tested ways to control people’s minds, often without their knowledge. When this program became public, many people were upset.

The CIA was also involved in the Iran–Contra Affair. In this situation, weapons were sold to Iran. The money from selling these weapons was used to support a group in Nicaragua.

There have also been discussions about the CIA’s involvement in Operation Condor in South America. This operation included actions by governments to control leaders they did not agree with.

Finally, during the Bush Administration, there were claims that Iraq had "weapons of mass destruction" in 2002 and 2003. These claims were used as a reason for a military action in Iraq, even though it was later found that such weapons did not exist. The CIA supported these claims.