Central Intelligence Agency Act example essay topic

In October 1945, the OSS was abolished, and its functions were transferred to the State and War Departments. The need for a postwar centralized intelligence system remained a problem. Eleven months earlier, Donovan, at the time a major general had submitted to President Roosevelt a proposal that called for the separation of the OSS from the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the new organization having direct Presidential supervision. Donovan proposed an organization which will procure intelligence both by overt and covert methods and will at the same time provide intelligence guidance, determine national intelligence objectives, and correlate the intelligence material collected by all government agencies. 2 Under his plan, a powerful, centralized civilian agency would have coordinated all the intelligence services.

Donovan plan drew heavy political debate. In response to this policy dispute, President Harry S. Truman established the Central Intelligence Group in January of 1946, directing it to coordinate existing departmental intelligence, supplementing but not supplanting their services. 3 Twelve months later, the National Intelligence Authority and its operating component, the Central Intelligence Group, were disestablished. Under the provisions of the National Security Act of 1947, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency were established. The 1947 Act charged the CIA with coordinating the nations intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating and disseminating intelligence, which affects national security.

4 The Act also made the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) responsible for protecting intelligence sources and methods. The Central Intelligence Agency Act was passed in 1949 permitting the Agency to use confidential fiscal and administrative procedures, and this Act is the authority for the secrecy of the Agency budget. In order to protect intelligence sources and methods from disclosure, the 1949 Act exempted the CIA from having to disclose its organization, functions, names, officials, titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed. 5 The national interests of the United States require the Intelligence Community to maintain worldwide vigilance on the foreign threats to U.S. citizens, both civilian and military, infrastructure, and allies. In addition, they also seek to inform policy makers of opportunities to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives. To accomplish its missions, the CIA engages in research, development, and deployment of technology for intelligence purposes.

7 Most American citizens are not fully aware of the full extent to which the CIA has affected American society. The public has limited knowledge of the secret operations of the CIA, but the few campaigns that are open to the public prove that the CIA plays an essential role in American foreign relations. The birth of the CIA actually occurred because of the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941 (Tully 8). This attack, which wiped out Americas Pacific fleet, revealed our governments lack of a single organization to analyze, coordinate, and distribute vital intelligence information (9). Although President Franklin D. Roosevelt started the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), our countrys first national spy agency, Harry S. Truman discontinued it because of governmental lobbyists who insisted that it was not necessary during peacetime (9). However, President Truman, confused by the different intelligence reports, appointed several high-ranking military men as the National Intelligence Authority, which, in turn, became the Central Intelligence Agency (10)..