The Central Intelligence Agency: Security under Scrutiny (Understanding Our Government)

396 Pages·2005·16.1 MB·English

by  Richard Immerman

The Central
Intelligence Agency
Recent Titles in
Understanding Our Government
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Robert W. Collin
THE CENTRAL
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
tiQti
Security under Scrutiny
Edited by Athan Theoharis with Richard Immerman,
Loch Johnson, Kathryn Olmsted, and John Prados
Understanding Our Government
Greenwood Press
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in'Publication Data
The Central Intelligence Agency : security under scrutiny / edited by Athan
Theoharis with Richard Immerman... [et al.].
p. cm. — (Understanding our government, ISSN 1556-8512)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-313-33282-7 (alk. paper)
1. United States. Central Intelligence Agency. I. Theoharis, Athan G.
II. Immerman, Richard. III. Series.
JK468.I6C465 2006
327.1273—dc22 2005020914
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2006 by Athan Theoharis, Richard Immerman, Loch Johnson,
Kathryn Olmsted, and John Prados
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2005020914
ISBN: 0-313-33282-7
ISSN: 1556-8512
First published in 2006
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Series Foreword IX
Acronyms xi
Introduction xvii
Athan Theoharis
1 • A Brief History of the CIA 1
Richard Immerman
U.S. Intelligence from the Revolution through World War II 2
The Dissolution of OSS and the Origins of the CIA 3
The Creation of the CIA 9
The Early Years of the CIA, 1947-1949 11
The Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949
and Reorganizing the CIA 14
The Origins of CIA Covert Operations 15
The Directorship of Walter Bedell Smith 18
The Directorship of Allen Dulles 22
CIA Covert Operations during the 1950s 25
The Origins of CIA Technical Intelligence—the U-2
and CORONA 28
The Bay of Pigs Invasion 34
The Directorship of John McCone and the Cuban Missile Crisis 37
The CIA and the Vietnam Crisis 40
The Nixon Presidency and the CIA 46
Watergate and the Church and Pike Committee Investigations 49
The Post>1975 Debate over the CIA 52
The Iranian Hostage Crisis 54
v
* Contents
President Reagan "Unleashes" the CIA 57
The Iran-Contra Affair 59
The End of the Cold War and the Collapse of Communism 61
Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans—and the CIA's Post-Cold
War Role 63
A New Threat—Islamic Terrorism 67
The September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attack 70
The Second Iraq War 71
Reorganizing the Intelligence Community 79
2. The Liaison Arrangements of the Central Intelligence Agency 85
Loch Johnson
The Organizational Framework of American Intelligence 85
The National Security Council 86
The Director of National Intelligence 86
Accountability 88
The Organization of the Central Intelligence Agency 89
Cultures in Conflict 90
The Directorate of Intelligence (DI) 90
The Directorate of Operations (DO) 90
The Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T) 91
The Difficulties of Managing the CIA 92
CIA Liaison within the Executive Branch 93
The White House 93
The Policy Departments and Agencies 94
The Intelligence Community 95
Dikes to Contain Centrifugal Forces 96
Gorillas in the Stovepipes 97
Liaison Challenges within the Executive Branch 98
Value Added 98
The Importance of Marketing 99
Rapport, Yes—Politicization, No 101
CIA Liaison with the Legislative Branch 102
A Failure to Communicate 103
The Key to Successful Legislative Liaison: Executive
Branch Cooperation 105
The Barrier of Excessive Secrecy 106
Member Motivation 107
Reporting Requirements 108
Co-optation 109
CIA Liaison with Foreign Intelligence Services 110
The Raison d'Etre for Intelligence Cooperation 110
The Scope of Foreign Intelligence Liaison 111
Counterintelligence Liaison 113
vi
Contents *
Covert Action Liaison 113
The Risks of Foreign Liaison 114
Liaison with International Organizations 116
3 • A World of Secrets: Intelligence and Counterintelligence 121
John Prados
Early Cold War 123
Intelligence Comes of Age 127
Technological Spying: The U-2 and Other
Interception Projects 127
The Cuban Missile Crisis 130
The CORONA Project and Communications Interception 131
The Polyakov Defection and HUMINT 131
The Directorate of Science and Technology 132
Vietnam 134
Retrenchment and Reagan 138
The Team B Exercise 138
The People's Republic of China 139
Soviet Defense Capabilities 141
Central America, the Nicaraguan Contras,
and Afghanistan 144
1985—"The Year of the Spy" 145
Brave New World 146
The New World of Snakes 148
The Counterterrorist Center 148
The Clinton Presidency and the New Terrorist Threat 149
The September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attack, the Iraq War, and
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act 152
4 • A New Agency: The Origins and Expansion of CIA
Covert Operations 155
Athan Theoharis
Origins of CIA Covert Operations: NSC 4A, NSC 10/2 156
Office of Policy Coordination and the Central Intelligence
Agency Act of 1949 158
Iranian and Guatemalan Coups 159
NSC 5412 162
South Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia 164
Bay of Pigs and Operation MONGOOSE 167
Assassination Planning: Congo, Dominican Republic,
South Vietnam, Chile 169
Congress for Cultural Freedom, National Student Association,
Operation CHAOS 172
Hughes-Ryan, Angola, Intelligence Oversight Act 176
vii
* Contents
Iran-Contra 179
Terrorism, al Qaeda, the Kean Commission 185
5 • Lapdog or Rogue Elephant? CIA Controversies
from 1947 to 2004 189
Kathryn Olmsted
The Creation of the Agency and the "Internal Security" Ban 190
The 1950s: Unquestioned Support 192
The 1960s: A New Era of Scrutiny 193
Operation CHAOS 195
The Kennedy Assassination and CIA Conspiracy Theories 196
The CIA and Watergate 198
The Post-Watergate Investigations and the
"Year of Intelligence" 202
Frank Church and the "Rogue Elephant" 203
Otis Pike and the Imperial Presidency 206
Watchdogs and Whistle-Blowers 208
Internal Conflicts: Team B, the Helms Perjury Case,
and the Nosenko Affair 211
The "Year of the Spy" 213
The CIA and Iran-Contra 215
Dark Alliance: The CIA and Drugs 221
The Failure of Intelligence before 9/11 222
The "Sixteen Words" and Intelligence Manipulation 225
Conclusion 229
6 • Biographies of Important CIA Administrators 231
Richard Immerman with Kathryn Olmsted,
John Prados, and Athan Theoharis
7 • Chronology of Key Events 307
Athan Theoharis
Annotated Bibliography 337
Athan Theoharis
Index 357
About the Editor and Contributors 373
viii
Series Foreword
Since the founding of our country in 1776, the U.S. government has trans
formed significantly. Changing societies and events, both domestic and in
ternational, have greatly affected the actions and development of our country.
The Industrial Revolution, World War II, the civil rights movement, and the
more recent "war on terrorism" are just a few of the events that have changed
our government and its functions. Depending on the needs of our country at
any given time, agencies are developed or terminated, their size and/or budget
increased or decreased, or even transferred to another department within the
government, in order to meet policy makers' objectives. Whether an inde
pendent agency or part of the fifteen executive branch departments overseen
by the president and the cabinet, each is given specific responsibilities and all
are formed to fulfill an important role for the country and its people.
The Understanding Our Government series was developed to offer an in-
depth view of the most powerful, controversial, and misunderstood agencies
of the U.S. government and how they have changed American society and, in
some cases, the world. Well-known agencies frequently in the media spotlight,
such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, are included, as well as lesser-known, but important,
agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Forest Service. Written
by experts on the particular agencies, including former employees or advisory
committee members, each volume provides a historical overview of an agency
and includes narrative chapters describing such aspects as organization, pro
grams, significant events, controversies, key people, and influence on society,
as well as additional topics tailored to the particular agency. Subjects vary
greatly among the different titles. Depending on readers' interests or needs,
some will be able to find information including the Central Intelligence
Agency's role in the Cuban missile crisis, as well as its history of covert
ix