(ORDO NEWS) — Among the 17 intelligence agencies of the United States of America, the CIA stands apart. The NSA, FBI or DIA also solve complex and global problems, but it is the Central Intelligence Agency that is the most famous and odious special agency.
CIA
Now more about this special service. The CIA is a US federal agency that collects and analyzes any information about the activities of foreign states, their citizens and organizations. This body is considered the main one in the intelligence system of the United States.
What is the CIA doing?
CIA stands for Central Intelligence Agency. This structure is an agency that was created by the US federal authorities. Foreign intelligence is considered the key function of this service. The CIA collects and analyzes information about citizens of other states. It also collects information about the official structures of other states. The headquarters of this special service is located in the state of Virginia – in the city of Langley.
The organization was founded in 1947. Before its appearance, there was the Office of Strategic Services. It functioned during the Second World War. The key activities of this organization include the following:
- collection of information through agents;
- evaluation of the information received and their comparison with current tasks;
- interaction with other American services on various issues.
It should be borne in mind that the CIA is considered not a military, but a civilian organization. Agents of this service conduct tactical training for missions. This is done by qualified military personnel who represent the best special units of the American army.
The director of the organization is appointed by the President of the United States. In this case, the approval of the Senate is considered a prerequisite. The head of the CIA reports to the head of state. Also in the CIA there are positions of deputy director and assistants for various issues.
History of the CIA. Abbreviation decoding
After the defeat of Germany, the United States needed to create a powerful intelligence system, since the USSR was considered a potential enemy. And he had to fight. The Cold War began almost immediately, during this period this organization was formed. The CIA came into being in 1947 after the National Security Act was passed. It was signed by the then President of the United States, Harry Truman. The law came into force on October 18, 1947.
What is the CIA and how was it formed? It was created on the basis of the strategic service department that already existed at that time, which was active during the Second World War. The new body took over all its functions, and in 1949 a personal law creating the CIA was signed. The abbreviation is given below. Fun fact: some people think CIA stands for Central Homicide Investigation. That’s not right, that’s right – the Central Intelligence Agency.
Organization leadership
Until 2005, it was headed by the director of the Intelligence Directorate. This position was approved in 1946. Beginning in 1947, all the functions of the leadership of the CIA were added to it, and the director received the status of adviser to the President of the United States on security and intelligence issues. Already in 1981, he completely controlled absolutely all foreign and domestic intelligence activities of the United States.
Start
So, 1947, the Second World War has already died down, the winners and the vanquished are licking their wounds. In addition to the United States, these “comrades” were able to become a global creditor, and they had not so many losses in manpower and equipment. The morale of the nation is on the rise, the industry, reoriented during the war years, easily adapted to peaceful needs, there is work, and most importantly, there is a new external enemy – the USSR. A good start for imperial manners, isn’t it? That’s right, that’s why the leaders of the country perfectly understood that the situation needed to be developed and strengthened.
Therefore, in 1947, President Truman issues the National Security Act, in which the key role is played by the restructuring of foreign intelligence to meet the new needs of the United States, as well as the formation of the Department of Defense, the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. The latter was based on the Office of Strategic Services, which was in charge of US foreign intelligence during World War II. So the CIA adopted all its methods and manner of operation from the OSS. And in order to better understand the scheme of action of modern American agents, you need to know how their ideological predecessors acted in wartime. After all, for a scout there is no concept of “peace” – there is a “temporary break in hostilities that does not cancel the ability to conduct certain business.”
Structure
In total, 8 departments were formed as part of the OSS:
- Analysis and research – processing the information received and developing further plans. Including the cryptographic department.
- Scientific research and development – the creation of new weapons and equipment that fit both the needs of specific operations and for all combat units.
- X-2 – counterintelligence
- Naval department – delivery of agents by sea, landing and drawing up plans for the area on which one would have to act
- The moral of the operation is propaganda (this is where the OSS succeeded, but more on that later)
- Secret Intelligence Department – recruiting agents from the local population and collecting information
- Special Operations Division – conducting sabotage and training local guerrillas
- Operational groups – specifically conducting operations
Actually, almost the entire possible spectrum of work was covered. Something turned out better, something worse. Everything is like people. But with something, but with propaganda, the OSS never had any problems.
Creation of the OSS
In the United States, intelligence has always been, as in any normal country. But, here’s the problem, the State Department had its own agents, databases and informants, the army had its own, the navy too. That is, there were a bunch of people who worked on the same topic, but independently of each other. And this means the interception of agents, the accidental elimination of foreign agents, misinformation and simply inefficient distribution of labor. Seriously, 3 separate cryptographic divisions that DID NOT EXCHANGE information with each other. And the first years of World War II clearly demonstrated the inefficiency of this system.
And someone William Stephenson, a staff member of British intelligence who openly collaborated with the Americans, conveyed to Theodore Roosevelt the idea that “It would not be bad to reorganize, unite and improve all this fucking.” And in 1942, a decree was issued according to which, on the basis of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the joint coordinating body for the US armed forces), the Office of Strategic Services (Signals Intelligence Service) was created. The structural plan and rough diagram of the operation and interaction of this new intelligence service was commissioned to draw up a lawyer from New York, William Donovan, who was familiar with military affairs firsthand, as he actively fought on the fields of the First World War.
The work was hard. The fact is that US intelligence did not have its own academies and training methods. They simply took distinguished and potentially useful soldiers, conducted basic briefing and assigned the task. And then – act as you want. Effective? No. So at Donovan’s request, Stephenson invites his colleagues from MI6 to take over the training of personnel. And British intelligence, as you know, is British intelligence. For many years they had to carry out sabotage and reconnaissance activities in their own former and existing colonies, fight the separatists and protect the interests of Britain in every possible way. Any way, damn it.
An indicative point is that the future OSS officers underwent the main combat training with William Farborn, who worked for the Shanghai police for a long time and knew the price of “dirty military equipment.” Hidden knives? Excellent. Crippling blows? Easily. The fastest way to disable the enemy? By all means. What did young fighters feel when they were taught not to fight and kill, but to maim? At first, disgust. But it quickly passed when the realization came that if they stand on ceremony with the enemy, then the enemy on their territory will definitely not stand on ceremony with them. In fact, this doctrine lives and flourishes to this day.
Further history
In 1945 the OSS was disbanded. Some of the people in 1946 moved to the newly created Central Intelligence Group (the immediate predecessor of the CIA), some resigned and formed the “Veterans of Strategic Services” society, and almost all analysts went to work in the War Department. As you can see, the backbone of the organization survived and became the basis for the formation of a special service, the glory and shame of which still periodically rumble around the world.
And despite the fact that times have changed, the methods of CIA agents have changed little. Large-scale propaganda, skillfully combining the truth, half-truths and outright lies, the use of local radical forces for their own purposes (both noble and not), waging the battle “as dirty / effective as possible.” Due to all this, the CIA was, is and will be an extremely serious adversary that cannot be underestimated.
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Operations to influence American society
- Former CIA Chief Charged with Complicity in JFK Assassination
CIA Takes Control of American Culture
According to declassified documents and testimonies, the CIA used for propaganda purposes not only foreign (including Soviet), but also its “native” cultural and art figures. Here is what American journalist Adam Kirsch writes about this:
This is why the CIA became one of the biggest sponsors of American culture in the 1950s and 1960s. This fact angered many when this circumstance came out, but it has a certain basic meaning. If American culture is a product of the American way of life, then displaying the products of that culture becomes indirect advertising and propaganda for democracy. That’s why the CIA and the State Department sent artist Jackson Pollock and jazzman Louis Armstrong on world tours; that’s why they invested in magazines like Encounter…
Operation Northwoods
In 1962, the US Department of Defense, in conjunction with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presented a document detailing covert operations by the CIA and other government intelligence agencies to commit acts of terrorism against innocent American civilians. The document was signed by senior US military officials at the time, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lyman Lemnitzer and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara[17].
CIA Guide to Civil Sabotage
CIA Manual of Civilian Sabotage. The CIA’s own document entitled “The Field Manual of Sabotage” has been declassified. A document dating back to the 40s, when the CIA itself was called differently (Office of Strategic Services), but the methods of “working” with target countries have only improved since then. The document deals with such a non-idle issue as the organization of sabotage by citizens of other countries, and it notes that “it is much easier to undermine productivity and order than it seems.” Particular attention (a separate chapter) is devoted to the training of saboteurs who are strongly recommended to:
- when setting priorities, always put the highest priority on unimportant issues, entrust important issues to inefficient performers;
- engage in perfectionism and endless finishing of unnecessary things;
- promote inefficient employees;
- hold meetings and conferences more often when there is a lot of critical work;
- produce more instructions and explanations on all sorts of different issues, carry out coordination as widely as possible – where one solution is enough, involve three;
- always encourage colleagues to “take your time” and be careful;
- try to set things aside for “further study” by all sorts of committees, when creating which try to make the number of participants as large as possible.
The difference in agent training
The CIA uses 2 training centers to train its agents. The main one is called The Farm and is located at the Camp Pirie Army Base in Virginia. The second center is called The Point. It is located in Harvey Point, North Carolina.
Expert OpinionKarnaukh Ekaterina Vladimirovna Graduated from the National University of Shipbuilding with a degree in Enterprise Economics. The FBI is currently implementing a large-scale plan to create an extensive network of secret informants in the United States. The planned number of the network is 15 thousand people. They will be used to fight terrorists and counter foreign intelligence agents. Also, employees will be involved in the investigation of crimes that fall within the competence of the FBI.
What is the key difference
The main difference between organizations is the direction of their activities. The FBI is a government agency that operates under the US Department of Justice and deals with homeland security issues. At the same time, the CIA is considered an independent US civilian intelligence agency. This structure is responsible for external threats.
CIA vs FBI
It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of who exactly is more important. The CIA and FBI are the leading intelligence agencies that serve the needs of the United States perfectly. However, organizations pursue completely different goals. Thus, the work of the CIA is aimed at closely monitoring international incidents, while the FBI deals with matters of internal security.
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