The George Bush Center
for Intelligence
FACTBOOK ON INTELLIGENCE
Office of Public Affairs
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC 20505
Phone: (703) 482-0623
For Employment Information:
Recruitment Center
P.O. Box 4090
Reston, VA 20195
www.cia.gov
The Genesis of the CIA
Original Headquarters Building Cornerstone Ceremony
Key Events in CIA's History
An Overview of American Intelligence Until World War II
Directors and Deputy Directors of Central Intelligence
The DCI and his Principal Deputies
Vision, Mission, and Values of the Central Intelligence
Agency
The Intelligence Cycle
The Intelligence Community
Executive Oversight of Intelligence
Legislative Oversight of Intelligence
The Buildings of CIA Headquarters
The Memorial Stars
The Office of Strategic Services Memorial
The Memorial Garden
The CIA Library
The Center for the Study of Intelligence
The Office of Equal Employment Opportunity
CIA Museum
CIA Medals
The CIA Seal
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Obtain Publications and Maps Available to
the Public
Key to CSI Timeline
*****Photo Caption******** "The necessity of procuring good intelligence is apparent & need not be further urged." **************
The United States has carried on foreign intelligence activities since the days of George Washington, but only since World War II have they been coordinated on a government-wide basis.Even before Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was concerned about American intelligence deficiencies — particularly the need for the State and War Departments to cooperate better and to adopt a more strategic perspective. He asked New York attorney William J. Donovan to draft a plan for a new intelligence service. In July 1941, Roosevelt appointed Donovan as the Coordinator of Information (COI) to direct the nation's first peacetime, nondepartmental intelligence organization. America's entry into World War II in December 1941 prompted new thinking about the place and role of the COI. As a result, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was established in June 1942 with a mandate to collect and analyze strategic information required by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to conduct special operations not assigned to other agencies.
During the War, the OSS supplied policymakers with essential facts and intelligence estimates and often played an important role in directly aiding military campaigns. However, the OSS never received complete jurisdiction over all foreign intelligence activities. The FBI formally received responsibility for intelligence work in Latin America when its Secret Intelligence Service was established in June 1940, and the military branches conducted intelligence operations in their areas of responsibility.
As World War II drew to a close, Donovan's civilian and military rivals feared that he might win his campaign to create a peacetime intelligence service modeled on the OSS. President Harry S. Truman, who succeeded Roosevelt in April 1945, felt no obligation to retain OSS after the war. Once victory was won, the nation wanted to demobilize quickly — which included dismantling wartime agencies like the OSS. Although it was abolished in October 1945, however, the OSS's analytic, collection, and counterintelligence functions were transferred on a smaller scale to the State and War Departments.
President Truman soon recognized the need for a centralized intelligence system. Taking into account the views of the military services, the State Department, and the FBI, he established the Central Intelligence Group (CIG) in January 1946. The CIG had two missions: providing strategic warning and conducting clandestine activities. Unlike the OSS, it had access to all-source intelligence. The CIG functioned under the direction of a National Intelligence Authority composed of a Presidential representative and the Secretaries of State, War and Navy. Rear Admiral Sidney W. Souers, USNR, who was the Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence, was appointed the first Director of Central Intelligence.
Twenty months later, the National Intelligence Authority and the CIG were disestablished. Under the provisions of the National Security Act of 1947 (which became effective on 18 December 1947) the National Security Council (NSC) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were created. The 1947 Act charged the CIA with coordinating the nation's intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating, and disseminating intelligence which affects national security. In addition, the Agency was to perform other duties and functions related to intelligence as the NSC might direct. The Act defined the DCI's authority as head of the Intelligence Community, head of the CIA, and principal intelligence adviser to the President, and made him responsible for protecting intelligence sources and methods. The act also prohibited the CIA from engaging in law enforcement activity and restricted its internal security functions. The CIA carries out its responsibilities subject to various directives and controls by the President and the NSC.
In 1949, the Central Intelligence Agency Act was passed and supplemented the 1947 Act. The addendum permitted the Agency to use confidential fiscal and administrative procedures and exempted CIA from many of the usual limitations on the expenditure of federal funds. It provided that CIA funds could be included in the budgets of other departments and then transferred to the Agency without regard to the restrictions placed on the initial appropriation. This Act is the statutory authority which allows for the secrecy of the Agency's budget.
In 1953, Congress amended the National Security Act to provide for the appointment of the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. This amendment also provided that commissioned officers of the armed forces, whether active or retired, could not occupy both DCI and DDCI positions at the same time. The DDCI assists the Director by performing such functions as the DCI assigns or delegates. The DDCI acts for and exercises the powers of the Director during his absence or disability, or in the event of a vacancy in the position of the Director.
Congressional oversight has existed to varying degrees throughout the CIA's existence. Today the CIA reports regularly to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as required by the Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980 and various Executive Orders. The Agency also reports regularly to the Defense Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees in both Houses of Congress. Moreover, the Agency provides substantive briefings to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Armed Services Committees in both bodies, as well as other committees and individual members.
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In preparing for this ceremony, a careful selection of documents and other materials for sealing within the cornerstone of the new Central Intelligence Agency Building has been made. At some future date, when opened, the box will provide items of historic interest concerning the Central Intelligence Agency, and appropriate items in connection with today's ceremony at which the President of the United States honors us by laying the cornerstone.
Contents of the cornerstone box include:
**** Photo Caption ***** President Dwight D. Eisenhower lays the Cornerstone **********
*****Graphic Caption ******* Above: Text detailing the contents of the box enclosed in the CIA Original Headquarters Building cornerstone. Excerpted from the Cornerstone Ceremony program, 3 November 1959. *******
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1941 11 July President Franklin D. Roosevelt appoints William J. Donovan as "Coordinator of Information." Donovan was a prominent lawyer who won the Congressional Medal of Honor as an Army colonel in World War I.
1942 13 June President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a military order establishing the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and naming William J. Donovan as its Director. Donovan remained a civilian until 24 March 1943, when he was appointed brigadier general. He advanced to the rank of major general on 10 November 1944.
1945 1 October President Harry S. Truman's Executive Order 9621 abolishes the OSS and transfers its functions to the State and War Departments.
1946 22 January President Truman signs a Presidential Directive establishing the Central Intelligence Group to operate under the direction of the National Intelligence Authority. Truman names the first Director of Central Intelligence, Rear Admiral Sidney W. Souers, USNR, who was sworn in on the following day.
1947 18 September The National Security Act of 1947 establishes the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to replace the National Intelligence Authority and the Central Intelligence Group.
1949 20 June The Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 provides special administrative authorities and responsibilities for the Agency and the Director.
1955 4 August President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill authorizing $46 million for construction of a CIA Headquarters Building.
1956 13 January President Eisenhower establishes the President's Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities, predecessor to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
1959 3 November President Eisenhower presides at laying of cornerstone of CIA Headquarters Building in Langley, Virginia.
1961 17 April Invasion of Cuba by CIA-supported Cuban exiles at Bay of Pigs.
20 September First employees move into CIA Headquarters from various offices in Washington, D.C., area.
1962 15-28 October The Cuban Missile Crisis, precipitated by the CIA discovery in Cuba of Soviet-made nuclear missiles capable of reaching most of the United States.
1975 4 January President Gerald R. Ford signs Executive Order 11828 creating the Commission on CIA Activities within the United States. Chaired by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, the Commission submitted its report on CIA domestic activities to the President on 6 June 1975.
27 January The Senate establishes its Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities under the chairmanship of Senator Frank Church (D-ID). The Church Committee investigated the nation's intelligence activities for 15 months and was disestablished upon submission of its final report to the public on 26 April 1976.
19 February The House establishes its Select Committee on Intelligence to investigate allegations of "illegal or improper" activities of federal intelligence agencies. Its first chairman, Representative Lucien Nedzi (D-MI), was later replaced by Representative Otis G. Pike (D-NY). On 29 January 1976, two days before the Committee was scheduled to conclude its activities, the House voted to withhold public dissemination of the Committee's final report.
1976 19 May The Senate establishes a permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under the chairmanship of Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) to carry out oversight of the nation's intelligence organizations.
1977 14 July The House of Representatives establishes a permanent Select Committee on Intelli-gence. Chaired by Representative Edward P. Boland (D-MA), it differs from the SSCI in that it has oversight jurisdiction over CIA but shares legislative oversight authority with several other House committees over all other intelligence agencies.
1978 24 January President Carter signs Executive Order 12036, which reshapes the intelligence structure and provides explicit guidance on all facets of intelligence activities.
1981 20 October President Reagan reconstitutes the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and names 19 distinguished citizens outside of government to serve on the Board.
4 December President Reagan signs Executive Order 12333, which clarifies ambiguities of previous orders and sets clear goals for the Intelligence Community in accordance with law and regard for the rights of Americans.
1982 23 June President Reagan signs Public Law 97-200, the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982, imposing criminal penalties on those who reveal the names of covert intelligence personnel.
1984 15 October President Reagan signs the Central Intelligence Agency Information Act of 1984, which exempts the Agency from the search and review requirements of the Freedom of Information Act with respect to operational and other sensitive files which cannot be released because of operational or security considerations.
1985 1 November Vice President Bush presides at the laying of the cornerstone for the Headquarters Building Expansion.
1987 27 May First annual memorial ceremony commemorates Agency employees who have died in the line of duty.
1991 March The New Headquarters Building, attached to the Original Headquarters Building, is completed and occupied.
1992 18 December Berlin Wall Monument Dedication.
1996 7 June Memorial Garden Dedication.
1997 18 September The Central Intelligence Agency celebrates its 50th Anniversary.
1999 26 April The CIA headquarters compound is dedicated as the George Bush Center for Intelligence as specified in the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 1999.
2000 4 May Dedication of Sherman Kent School for Analysis—a key part of Strategic Direction initiatives aimed at fostering analytic tradecraft.
2001 4 June CIA announces the most far-reaching organizational realignment in its history, which establishes the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), CIO (Chief Information Officer), Global Support, Human Resources and Security Mission Support Offices and disestablishes the Directorate of Administration.
2002 24 May Dedication of Route 123 Memorial commemorating two Agency officers killed outside the entrance to CIA Headquarters the morning of January 25, 1993.
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Espionage, counterintelligence, and covert action have been important tools of U.S. political leaders since the founding of the Republic. During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington and patriots such as Benjamin Franklin and John Jay directed a broad range of clandestine operations that helped the colonies win independence. They ran networks of agents and double agents, employed deceptions against the British army, launched sabotage operations and paramilitary raids, used codes and ciphers, and disseminated propaganda and disinformation to influence foreign governments. America's founders all agreed with General Washington that the "necessity of procuring good intelligence is apparent and need not be further urged…[U]pon Secrecy, Success depends in Most Enterprizes…and for want of it, they are generally defeated…"
Presidents in the early Republic were actively involved in intelligence activities — especially covert actions. In his first State of the Union message, Washington requested that Congress establish a "secret service fund" for clandestine activities. Within two years the fund represented over ten percent of the federal budget. Thomas Jefferson drew on it to finance the United State's first covert attempt to topple a foreign government, one of the Barbary Pirate States, in 1804-05. It failed. James Madison employed agents of influence and clandestine paramilitary forces in trying to acquire territory in the Florida region from Spain during 1810-12. Several presidents dispatched undercover agents on espionage missions overseas. One spy, disguised as a Turk, obtained a copy of a treaty between the Ottoman Empire and France. Also during this period, Congress first tried to exercise oversight of the secret fund, but President James K. Polk rebuffed the lawmakers, saying, "The experience of every nation on earth has demonstrated that emergencies may arise in which it becomes absolutely necessary…to make expenditures, the very object of which would be defeated by publicity."
In the Civil War both Union and Confederacy extensively engaged in clandestine activities. They acquired intelligence from clandestine agents, military scouts, captured documents, intercepted mail, decoded telegrams, newspapers, and interrogations of prisoners and deserters. Neither side had a formal, high-level military intelligence service. The North's principal spymasters were Allen Pinkerton and Lafayette Baker — who both proved most effective at counterespionage — and military officers George Sharpe and Grenville Dodge. The confederacy had a loose array of secret services that collected intelligence and conducted sabotage and other covert actions. Three of the South's most celebrated agents were women — Rose Greenhow, Belle Boyd, and Nancy Hart. In 1864 Confederate operatives tried to organize antiwar elements in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio into a secession movement, and set a rash of fires in New York City in an attempt to burn it down. Northern and Southern agents in Europe engaged in propaganda and secret commercial activities. Overall, the North was more effective at espionage and counterintelligence, while the South had more success at covert action. The hard-won expertise and organization built up during the Civil War was soon demobilized and dispersed.
The United States' first formal permanent intelligence organizations were formed in the 1880s: the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Army's Military Intelligence Division. They posted attaches in several major European cities principally for open-source collection. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, the attaches switched to espionage. They created informant rings and ran reconnaissance operations to learn about Spanish military intentions and capabilities — most importantly, the location of the Spanish Navy. One U.S. military officer used well-placed sources he had recruited in the Western Union telegraph office in Havana to intercept communications between Madrid and Spanish commanders in Cuba. The U.S. Secret Service — in charge of domestic counterintelligence during the war — broke up a Spanish spy ring based in Montreal that planned to infiltrate the U.S. Army.
When World War I started in 1914, the United States' ability to collect foreign intelligence had shrunk drastically because of budget cuts and bureaucratic reorganizations. The State Department began small-scale operations against the Central Powers in 1916, but not until the United States declared war on Germany in 1917 did Army and Navy intelligence receive infusions of personnel and money — too late to increase their intelligence output correspondingly. The most significant advance for U.S. intelligence during the war was the establishment of a permanent communications intelligence agency in the Army — the forerunner of the National Security Agency. Meanwhile, the Secret Service and military counterintelligence aggressively interdicted numerous German covert actions inside the United States that included psychological warfare, political and economic operations, and dozens of acts of sabotage against British-owned firms and factories supplying munitions to Britain and Russia. The Justice Department's Bureau of Investigation (forerunner of the FBI) took on a counterintelligence role in 1916, and Congress passed the first federal espionage law in 1917.
Between the wars, American Intelligence officers concentrated on codebreaking and counterintelligence operations against Germany and Japan. Notwithstanding Secretary of State Henry Simson's alleged dictum that "gentlemen do not read each other's mail," by 1941 the United States had built a world-class signals intelligence capability. The "Black Chamber" under Herbert Yardley, the Army's Signal Intelligence Service under William Friedman, and Navy cryptanalysts cracked Tokyo's diplomatic encryption systems. Working backward from intercepts, Friedman's team figured out what kind of cipher device the Japanese used — the "Purple" machine. During the 1930s, the FBI launched an extremely effective counterintelligence attack on German and Japanese espionage and sabotage operations in the Western Hemisphere, infiltrating many networks and arresting dozens of agents. The Bureau had less success against Soviet efforts to penetrate U.S. governmental and economic institutions.
As American entry into World War II seemed to draw closer in 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt created the country's first peacetime, civilian intelligence agency — the Office of the Coordinator of Information — to organize the activities of several agencies. Soon after, however, the United States suffered its most costly intelligence disaster ever when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. That failure — a result of analytical misconceptions, collection gaps, bureaucratic confusion, and careful Japanese denial and deception measures — led to the establishment of a larger and more diversified intelligence agency in 1942, the Office of Strategic Services.
****Photo Caption**** George Washington conferring with one of his agents.***********
****Photo Caption**** Chief of the Balloon Corps, Thaddeus Lowe, observes the Battle of Fair Oaks from the "Intrepid" in 1862. *********
****Photo Caption**** American cryptanalysts cracked Japan's "Purple" machine in1941. **********
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Rear Adm. Sidney W. Souers, USNR* |
23 January 1946 —10 June 1946 |
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Lt. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, USA* |
10 June 1946 —1 May 1947 |
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Rear Adm. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, USN** |
1 May 1947 — 7 October 1950 |
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Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, USA |
7 October 1950 — 9 February 1953 |
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The Honorable Allen W. Dulles1 |
26 February 1953 — 29 November 1961 |
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The Honorable John A. McCone |
29 November 1961— 28 April 1965 |
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Vice Adm. William F. Raborn, Jr., USN (Ret.) |
28 April 1965 — 30 June 1966 |
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The Honorable Richard M. Helms |
30 June 1966 — 2 February 1973 |
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The Honorable James R. Schlesinger |
2 February 1973 — 2 July 1973 |
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The Honorable William E. Colby |
4 September 1973 — 30 January 1976 |
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The Honorable George H. W. Bush |
30 January 1976 — 20 January 1977 |
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Adm. Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret.)2 |
9 March 1977— 20 January 1981 |
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The Honorable William J. Casey |
28 January 1981— 29 January 1987 |
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The Honorable William H. Webster |
26 May 1987— 31 August 1991 |
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The Honorable Robert M. Gates |
6 November 1991— 20 January 1993 |
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The Honorable R. James Woolsey |
5 February 1993 — 10 January 1995 |
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The Honorable John M. Deutch |
10 May 1995 — 15 December 1996 |
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The Honorable George J. Tenet |
11 July 1997 — 11 July 2004 |
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The Honorable Porter J. Goss |
24 September 2004 — Present |
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1 Mr. Dulles served as Acting DCI 9—26 February. 2 Admiral Turner retired from the Navy on 31 December 1978 while serving as DCI. * Before the National Security Act of 26 July 1947 established the Central Intelligence Agency on 18 September 1947, the Director of Central Intelligence served as a member of the National Intelligence Authority and head of the Central Intelligence Group by authority of a Presidential Directive of 22 January 1946. ** The National Security Act of 26 July 1947 established the Central Intelligence Agency, which replaced the Central Intelligence Group on 18 September 1947. |
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Kingman Douglass1 |
2 March 1946 —11 July 1946 |
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Brig. Gen. Edwin K. Wright, USA |
20 January 1947— 9 March 1949 |
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The Honorable William H. Jackson |
7 October 1950 — 3 August 1951 |
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The Honorable Allen W. Dulles |
23 August 1951— 26 February 1953 |
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Gen. Charles P. Cabell, USAF |
23 April 1953 — 31 January 1962 |
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Lt. Gen. Marshall S. Carter, USA |
3 April 1962 — 28 April 1965 |
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The Honorable Richard M. Helms |
28 April 1965 — 30 June 1966 |
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Vice Adm. Rufus L. Taylor, USN |
13 October 1966 —1 February 1969 |
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Lt. Gen. Robert E. Cushman, Jr., USMC |
7 May 1969 — 31 December 1971 |
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Lt. Gen. Vernon A. Walters, USA 2 |
2 May 1972 — 7 July 1976 |
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The Honorable E. Henry Knoche3 |
7 July 1976 —1 August 1977 |
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John F. Blake 4 |
1 August 1977—10 February 1978 |
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The Honorable Frank C. Carlucci |
10 February 1978 — 5 February 1981 |
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Adm. Bobby R. Inman, USN |
12 February 1981—10 June 1982 |
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The Honorable John N. McMahon |
10 June 1982 — 29 March 1986 |
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The Honorable Robert M. Gates5 |
18 April 1986 — 20 March 1989 |
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The Honorable Richard J. Kerr6 |
20 March 1989 — 2 March 1992 |
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Adm. William O. Studeman7, USN |
9 April 1992 — 3 July 1995 |
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The Honorable George J. Tenet 8 |
3 July 1995 —11 July 1997 |
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Gen. John A. Gordon, USAF |
31 October 1997 —29 June 2000 |
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The Honorable John E. McLaughlin 9 |
19 October 2000 — Present |
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1 Mr. Douglass served as Acting DDCI 2 March 1946 —11 July 1946 2 Gen. Walters served as Acting DCI 2 July 1973 — 4 September 1973. 3 Mr. Knoche served as Acting DCI 20 January 1977— 9 March 1977. 4 Mr. Blake served as Acting DDCI 1 August 1977—10 February 1978. 5 Mr. Gates served as Acting DCI 18 December 1986 — 26 May 1987. 6 Mr. Kerr served as Acting DCI 1 September 1991— 6 November 1991. 7 Admiral Studeman served as Acting DCI 21 January 1993 —5 February 1993 and 11 January 1995 — 9 May 1995. 8 Mr. Tenet served as Acting DCI 16 December 1996 —11 July 1997. 9. Mr. McLaughlin served as Acting DCI 12 July 2004-24 September 2004. |
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The DCI is the primary adviser to the President and the National Security Council on national foreign intelligence matters. He is the head of the Central Intelligence Agency and of other such staff elements as are required for the discharge of his Intelligence Community responsibilities.
Executive Order 12333, issued by President Reagan on 4 December 1981, gives the DCI authority to develop and implement the National Foreign Intelligence Program and to coordinate the tasking of all Intelligence Community collection elements.
In addition to staff elements of the Office of the DCI, the Intelligence Community consists of the Central Intelligence Agency; the National Security Agency; the Defense Intelligence Agency; the National Reconnaissance Office; the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency; the Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the Department of State; and the intelligence elements of the military services, the U.S. Coast Guard, the FBI, and the Departments of Treasury and Energy. The Director of Central Intelligence has four major Community responsibilities: to serve as the senior intelligence officer of the government; to establish requirements and priorities for Community efforts; to develop and justify the National Foreign Intelligence Program (NFIP); and to protect sources and methods. Collateral responsibilities can be inferred, including planning, evaluation, and coordination.
The DCI also serves as Chairman of the NSC's Senior Interagency Group when it meets to consider intelligence matters. This committee addresses issues requiring interagency attention, deals with interdepartmental matters, and monitors the execution of approved intelligence policies and decisions.
The DDCI is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The DDCI assists the Director by performing such functions as the DCI assigns or delegates. He acts for and exercises the powers of the Director in his absence or disability or in the event of a vacancy in the position of the Director.
The DDCI/CM, whose position was established in 1997, is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The incumbent exercises the DCI's responsibilities in planning and developing the intelligence budget, managing requirements and collection, and overseeing analysis, production, and acquisition. The DDCI/CM is assisted by the Assistant DCI (ADCI) for Administration, the ADCI for Collection, the ADCI for Analysis and Production, and a Senior Acquisition Executive. The Executive Director for Intelligence Community Affairs reports to the DDCI/CM and directs the Community Management Staff. CMS is responsible for developing the National Foreign Intelligence Program, establishing requirements for collection and production and their priorities, conducting audits and evaluations as necessary, ensuring the protection of sensitive intelligence sources and methods, and other concerns of common interest.
The DCI appoints the EXDIR, who is the Agency's Chief Operating Officer. The EXDIR manages the CIA on a daily basis, formulating and implementing policies and programs that affect the corporate interests of the Agency and its personnel on behalf of the DCI with input from the four Deputy Directors (mission managers) and the heads of the five Mission Support Offices.
The Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support (ADCI/MS), whose position was established in 1995, is the DCI's principal adviser and representative on military issues. The ADCI/MS coordinates Intelligence Community efforts to provide Joint Force commanders with timely, accurate intelligence. The ADCI/MS also supports Department of Defense officials who oversee military intelligence training and the acquisition of intelligence systems and technology. A senior general officer, the ADCI/MS ensures coordination of Intelligence Community policies, plans and requirements relating to support to military forces in the intelligence budget.
The DDI manages the production and dissemination of all-source intelligence analysis on key foreign problems. The DDI is responsible for the timeliness, accuracy, and relevance of intelligence analysis to the concerns of national security policymakers and other intelligence consumers.
The DDO has primary responsibility for the clandestine collection of foreign intelligence, including human source intelligence (HUMINT). Domestically, the DDO is responsible for the overt collection of foreign intelligence volunteered by individuals and organizations in the United States.
The DDS&T is responsible for applying technology and technical expertise to the most critical intelligence problems. The DS&T engages in all phases of the intelligence process. It develops technologies and analytic tools to close gaps in access, processing, and exploitation of information. The DS&T expands the sense of what's possible, infusing collection operations with innovative technologies. It partners with the DI and other Agency all-source centers to exploit the revolution in information technology. The DDS&T ensures that the Directorate is ready to provide technical support to the DO whenever and wherever needed.
The General Counsel is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, a requirement added in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997. The General Counsel serves as the legal adviser to the DCI and is responsible for the conduct of all the Agency's legal affairs. The Office of General Counsel provides legal interpretation of any statute, regulation, or Executive order relevant to the DCI.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) promotes efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in the administration of Agency activities. OIG also seeks to prevent and detect fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The Inspector General is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Inspector General, whose activities are independent of those of any other component in the Agency, is subordinate only to the DDCI and the DCI and reports directly to the latter. OIG conducts inspections, investigations, and audits at Headquarters and in the field, and oversees the Agency-wide grievance-handling system. The OIG provides a semiannual report to the DCI which the DCI is required to submit to the Intelligence Committees of Congress within 30 days.
Mission Support Offices (MSO) are five offices with centralized responsibilities that make it possible for the mission managers of the three directorates of the CIA (the Directorate of Intelligence, the Directorate of Operations, and the Directorate of Science and Technology) to accomplish their collective goals of intelligence collection, analysis, and production.
The five offices comprising the MSOs are Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer, Human Resources, Security, and Global Support. Operating in a competitive, customer-focused environment, the Mission Support Offices provide a wide range of services that include information technology, communications, logistics, training, financial management, medical services, human resources, records management and declassification, and the protection of Agency personnel, information and facilities.
The National Intelligence Council, managed by a Chairman, a Vice Chairman, and a Director for Evaluations, is comprised of National Intelligence Officers—senior experts drawn from all elements of the Community and from outside the Government. The National Intelligence Officers concentrate on the substantive problems of particular geographic regions of the world and of particular functional areas such as economics and weapons proliferation. They serve the DCI in his role as leader of the Intelligence Community by producing National Intelligence Estimates. These officers work closely with policymakers and serve as personal staff officers and senior advisers to the DCI in their respective areas of functional or regional responsibility.
The primary advisor to the Director and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence on Intelligence Community support to the evolving U.S. Government homeland security mission. The ADCI/HS facilitates and, when necessary, directs substantive intelligence support to the efforts by the Office of Homeland Security and several law enforcement and domestic agencies to identify, prevent, and disrupt foreign terrorist threats in the United States. In support of the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence for Community Management (DDCI/CM), the ADCI/HS reviews and makes recommendations on the allocation of intelligence resources for homeland security requirements, planning, policy, programming, and budgeting according to the DCI's highest priorities. The ADCI/HS also works closely with the Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support to coordinate Intelligence Community policy and resources for the military needs of the new Northern Command (NORTHCOM).
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To be the keystone of a U.S. Intelligence Community that is preeminent in the world, known for both the high quality of our work and the excellence of our people.
We support the President, the National Security Council, and all who make and execute U.S. national security policy by:
What we stand for:
How we do our work:
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The Intelligence Cycle is the process of developing raw information into finished intelligence for policymakers to use in decisionmaking and action. There are five steps which constitute the Intelligence Cycle.
... is management of the entire effort, from identifying the need for data to delivering an intelligence product to a consumer. It is the beginning and the end of the cycle—the beginning because it involves drawing up specific collection requirements and the end because finished intelligence, which supports policy decisions, generates new requirements.
The whole process depends on guidance from public officials. Policymakers—the President, his aides, the National Security Council, and other major departments and agencies of government—initiate requests for intelligence.
... is the gathering of the raw information needed to produce finished intelligence. There are many sources of information, including open sources such as foreign broadcasts, newspapers, periodicals, and books. Open source reporting is integral to CIA's analytical capabilities. There are also secret sources of information. CIA operations officers collect such information from agents abroad and from defectors who provide information obtainable in no other way.
Finally, technical collection—electronics and satellite photography—plays an indispensable role in modern intelligence, such as monitoring arms control agreements and providing direct support to military forces.
... involves converting the vast amount of information collected to a form usable by analysts. This is done through a variety of methods including decryption, language translations, and data reduction.
... is the conversion of basic information into finished intelligence. It includes integrating, evaluating, and analyzing all available data—which is often fragmented and even contradictory—and preparing intelligence products. Analysts, who are subject-matter specialists, consider the information's reliability, validity, and relevance. They integrate data into a coherent whole, put the evaluated information in context, and produce finished intelligence that includes assessments of events and judgments about the implications of the information for the United States.
The CIA devotes the bulk of its resources to providing strategic intelligence to policymakers. It performs this important function by monitoring events, warning decisionmakers about threats to the United States, and forecasting developments. The subjects involved may concern different regions, problems, or personalities in various contexts—political, geographic, economic, military, scientific, or biographic. Current events, capabilities, and future trends are examined.
The CIA produces numerous written reports, which may be brief—one page or less—or lengthy studies. They may involve current intelligence, which is of immediate importance, or long-range assessments. The Agency presents some finished intelligence in oral briefings. The CIA also participates in the drafting and production of National Intelligence Estimates, which reflect the collective judgments of the Intelligence Community.
The last step, which logically feeds into the first, is the distribution of the finished intelligence to the consumers, the same policymakers whose needs initiated the intelligence requirements. Finished intelligence is provided daily to the President and key national security advisers. The policymakers, the recipients of finished intelligence, then make decisions based on the information, and these decisions may lead to the levying of more requirements, thus triggering the Intelligence Cycle.
Intelligence is
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The person who is Director of Central Intelligence is simultaneously Director of the CIA and the leader of the Intelligence Community, of which CIA is one component. The Intelligence Community refers in the aggregate to those Executive Branch agencies and organizations that conduct the variety of intelligence activities which make up the total U.S. national intelligence effort. The Community includes the Central Intelligence Agency; the National Security Agency; the Defense Intelligence Agency; offices within the Department of Defense for collection of specialized national foreign intelligence through reconnaissance programs; the Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the Department of State; Army, Navy, and Air Force intelligence; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of the Treasury; and the Department of Energy. Members of the Intelligence Community advise the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) through their representation on a number of specialized committees that deal with intelligence matters of common concern. Chief among these groups are the National Foreign Intelligence Board and the Intelligence Community Principals‘ Committee, which the DCI chairs.
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The National Security Council (NSC) was established by the National Security Act of 1947 to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security. The NSC is the highest Executive Branch entity providing review of, guidance for, and direction to the conduct of all national foreign intelligence and counterintelligence activities. The statutory members of the NSC are the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense. The Director of Central Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff participate as advisors.
The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) is maintained within the Executive Office of the President. Its sixteen members serve at the discretion of the President and are appointed from among trustworthy and distinguished citizens outside of government on the basis of achievement, experience, and integrity. They serve without compensation. The Board continually reviews the performance of all government agencies engaged in the collection, evaluation, or production of intelligence or in the execution of intelligence policy. It also assesses the adequacy of management, personnel, and organization in intelligence agencies and advises the President concerning the objectives, conduct, and coordination of the activities of these agencies. The Advisory Board is specifically charged to make appropriate recommendations for actions to improve and enhance the performance of the intelligence efforts of the United States.
The President's Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB) was established by President Gerald Ford in 1976 as a White House entity with oversight responsibility for the legality and propriety of intelligence activities. The Board, which reports to the President, is charged primarily with preparing reports "of intelligence activities that the IOB believes may be unlawful or contrary to Executive order or Presidential directive." The Board may also refer such reports to the Attorney General. This standard assists the President in ensuring that highly sensitive intelligence activities comply with law and Presidential directive. In 1993, the IOB was made a standing committee of the PFIAB.
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The U.S. Congress has maintained oversight responsibility over CIA since the Agency was established in 1947. However, prior to the mid-1970s, oversight responsibilities resided in the Armed Services Committees of both chambers and were less formal than they are to date. Then, the DCI and his representatives interacted directly with the respective chairmen of the congressional committees, and formal hearings and testimony were rare.
Following allegations of wrongdoing by U.S. intelligence agencies, the Senate established the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) on 19 May 1976. The House of Representatives followed suit on 14 July 1977 by creating the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). These committees, along with the Armed Services as well as the Foreign Relations and Foreign Affairs Committees, were charged with authorizing the programs of the intelligence agencies and overseeing their activities.
The 1980 Intelligence Oversight Act established the current oversight structure by making SSCI and HPSCI the only two oversight committees for the CIA. The Appropriations committees, given their constitutional role to appropriate funds for all U.S. Government activities, also exercise some oversight functions. In addition, the CIA interacts closely with other committees, depending on issues and jurisdiction.
The Office of Congressional Affairs in CIA deals directly with oversight issues. SSCI and HPSCI receive over 2,200 CIA finished intelligence products annually. Moreover, CIA officials and analysts provide more than 1,200 substantive briefings a year to members of Congress, congressional committees, and their staffs. In addition, the Office of Congressional Affairs provides annually an average of 150 notifications to our oversight committees; responds to approximately 275 Committee Directed Actions, including preparation of Annual Reports; and prepares responses to nearly 500 oral and written inquiries. With input from other agencies in the Intelligence Community (IC), the Office of Congressional Affairs prepares the annual draft of the Intelligence Authorization Act; monitors all new legislation introduced to determine the potential impact on the Intelligence Community and its activities; and seeks legislative provisions needed by the CIA and the IC (with concurrence of the Administration). A review of the Congressional Record and other sources for Congressional legislative activities of interest to CIA is conducted daily.
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The Original Headquarters Building was designed in the mid-1950s by the New York firm of Harrison and Abramovitz, designers of the UN building. Located about eight miles from downtown Washington, the grounds were envisioned by then Director of Central Intelligence, Allen W. Dulles, as an environment similar to a college campus.
The New Headquarters Building was designed in the early 1980s by the Detroit architectural and engineering firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls. The new building is joined to the west facade of the original building and includes two six-story office towers connected by a four-story core area. It is a steel and glass structure as compared to the precast concrete construction of the original building.
The cornerstone of the original building was laid on 3 November 1959, and construction was completed in November 1963. President Ronald Reagan broke ground for construction of the New Headquarters building on May 24, 1984. The cornerstone was laid by then Vice President of the United States, George Bush, on 1 November 1985. Occupancy of the new building began in June 1988, and it was fully completed and occupied in March 1991.
The original building consists of 1,400,000 square feet, and the new building contains 1,100,000 square feet of space. Buildings and grounds comprise 258 acres.
Commissioned by President Harry S. Truman and completed during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose name appears on the cornerstone, the original building has various artistic references to the past, including a life-size statue of Maj. Gen. William J. Donovan, sculpted by Larry Ludtke, and a bas-relief of Allen Dulles, who was CIA Director for nine years.
Etched into the wall of the original building's main lobby is a biblical verse which also characterizes the intelligence mission in a free society. It reads:
"And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."John VIII-XXXII |
Artwork purchased from and loaned by the late Vincent Melzac from his private collection are on the first floor of the Original Headquarters Building and the second and third floors of the New Headquarters Building. Mr. Melzac was one of the earliest collectors of Washington Color School art and was former director of the Corcoran Gallery. He also donated the original bust of George Bush, sculpted by Marc Mellon, which is located in the Exhibit Hall in the original building.
Mounted on the wall of the fourth floor lobby is a plaque showing a three-quarter facial image of former Director William J. Casey. The image is sculpted in green serpentine stone from Buckingham, Virginia.
Throughout the Headquarters buildings, original art can be found in the form of sculptured busts, bas-reliefs, and plaques. Oil portraits of each Director line one hallway.
There are three sculptures on the grounds. One is of Nathan Hale, done by Bela Lyon Pratt, and another, "Kryptos," by James Sanborn, incorporates native American materials with a theme of information gathering. Sanborn's sculpture includes an encoded copper screen. An installation memorializing the fall of the Berlin Wall was dedicated on 18 December 1992.
The Fine Arts Commission ensures compliance with principles set forth by the General Services Admin-istration and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Headquarters Auditorium was part of the original building design in the mid-1950s. It is a freestanding, dome-shaped structure connected to the Original Headquarters Building by an underground passage. The auditorium and its stage meet the compliance standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The auditorium has some 7,000 square feet of floor space and seats that can accommodate up to 470 people. Its stage contains a projection screen that rises from and disappears into the floor. The auditorium's lighting system is supplemented with side and rear lights to accommodate the use of color television cameras and motion picture filming. Large plaster rings on the inside surfaces of the dome enhance both the aesthetic and acoustical characteristics of the structure. Listening devices are available for individuals who are hearing impaired.
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The words and stars in the photograph, carved in the marble facade of the north wall of the foyer of the CIA Headquarters Building, silently but permanently immortalize those CIA officers who lost their lives in the service of their country. The glass-encased Book of Honor located below the wall of stars displays the names of those whose names can, in death, now be revealed.
This simple but starkly elegant memorial was sculpted by Harold Vogel in July 1974, having been commissioned by the Fine Arts Commission of the Central Intelligence Agency in May 1973.
* As of this printing, the Memorial Wall has 79 stars.
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The OSS Memorial, dedicated in 1992 on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the OSS, honors those members of the CIA's predecessor organization who gave their lives in the service of their country during World War II. The monument consists of a single star and an inscription on the south wall in the Headquarters Building main lobby, opposite the Memorial Stars, and a statue of OSS Director William J. Donovan, which was dedicated in 1988. A book lists the names of OSS members who were killed during the war.
"To those of us here today, this is General Donovan's greatest legacy. He realized that a
modern intelligence organization must not only provide today's tactical intelligence, it must provide tomorrow's long-term assessments. He recognized that an effective intelligence organization must not allow political pressures to influence its counsel. And, finally, he knew that no intelligence organization can succeed without recognizing the importance of people—people with discretion, ingenuity, loyalty, and a deep sense of responsibility to protect and promote American values."
From DCI Webster's remarks
at dedication of statue of
Maj. Gen. William J. Donovan,
CIA Headquarters, 28 October 1988
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Situated on the hillside between the Original Headquarters Building and the Auditorium is the Memorial Garden. Designed in 1995 by Sheila Brady of landscape architects Oehme, Van Sweden & Associates and dedicated in 1996, the garden makes exceptional use of the natural environment. An inscribed brass plaque which reads "In remembrance of those whose unheralded efforts served a grateful nation" is set in fieldstone which surrounds a large pond. The blend of natural and landscaped plantings amid the stone outcroppings, from which a cascade of water continuously falls, has created a tranquil and reflective retreat for Agency employees.
"In
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The CIA library, available to Agency personnel only, contains approximately 125,000 books and subscribes to about 1,700 periodicals. The Library maintains three collections—Reference, Circulating, and Historical Intelligence. New material for these collections is selected around current intelligence objectives and priorities. The reference collection includes core research tools such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, commercial directories, atlases, diplomatic lists, and foreign and domestic phone books. CD-ROMs and extensive commercial database services round out the collection. The circulating collection consists of monographs, newspapers, and journals. Many information resources are available to customers at their desktop via the Digital Library. These include CD-ROMs and web-based resources and are accessible from the library's homepages. The library also participates in inter-library loans of circulating items with other domestic libraries. The Historical Intelligence Collection is primarily an open-source library dedicated to the collection, retention, and exploitation of material dealing with the intelligence profession. Currently there are over 25,000 books and an extensive collection of press clippings on that subject.
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Founded in 1974, the Center for the Study of Intelligence (CSI) was formed as a result of DCI James Schlesinger's desire to create within CIA an organization that could "think through the functions of intelligence and bring the best intellects available to bear on intelligence problems." Since then, CSI has attempted to document lessons learned from past operations and analysis, to develop innovative solutions to today's intelligence challenges, and to explore the needs and expectations of intelligence customers.
Today, CSI has three core missions: to inform the decisions of key Agency leaders, to write the authoritative history of the CIA, and to enhance the public's understanding of the role of intelligence in national security. To support these activities, CSI publishes books and monographs as well as a quarterly journal, Studies in Intelligence, which since 1955 has covered historical, operational, doctrinal, and theoretical aspects of the practice of intelligence. CSI also regularly organizes classified and unclassified conferences and symposia that contribute to these three core missions. CSI contains the CIA History Staff and the CIA Museum; it also maintains the Historical Intelligence Collection in the CIA Library.
The CIA History Staff, founded in 1951, comprises professionally trained historians with internationally recognized expertise in the history of CIA and American intelligence. Staff historians write classified and unclassified histories, edit collections of declassified documents for public symposia, lecture in Agency training courses and classes at American universities, and serve CIA and the Intelligence Community as a reference service.
Staff historians work closely with their colleagues in the federal government and academia, as well as with archivists and records managers both in CIA and other federal agencies. Outside CIA, the Department of State is the most important beneficiary of the Staff's knowledge of CIA history. Staff historians assist State historians in identifying and locating Agency records for inclusion in the State Department's Foreign Relations of the United States series, the official documentary record of American diplomatic history.
Several of CSI's programs serve to increase the public's understanding of the role of intelligence in the national security process. Foremost among these is the Officer-in-Residence Program, which CSI manages on behalf of the Agency. This program allows CIA officers to teach intelligence-related courses at universities during two-year tours as visiting professors.
CSI regularly sponsors conferences and symposia in cooperation with public universities such as Princeton, Georgetown, and Texas A&M. Such events provide a forum for practitioners and scholars to exchange views, discuss newly-released information, review the history of intelligence, or formulate recommendations for dealing with issues of current concern to the Community.
Finally, the CIA History Staff identifies historically important Agency documents and collections for declassification review and release to the American people. Agency historians consult with and assist reviewers to ensure that, when possible, CIA makes its history a matter of public record.
"The Center for the Study of Intelligence seeks to promote study, debate, and understanding of the role of intelligence in American society." |
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects against discrimination on the basis of age (40 and over), color, disability (mental and physical), national origin, race, religion, sex, and reprisal for participation in the EEO process. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires federal agencies to reasonably accommodate qualified employees with disabilities. Executive Order 11478 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and Executive Order 13152 prohibits discrimination based on an individual's status as a parent. Agency policy specifies a zero tolerance policy to any form of harassment—either sexual or nonsexual. By embracing these laws and policies, the Agency aims to develop the fullest potential of all employees, without unfairly favoring or disadvantaging any group of employees.
The Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO) is the Agency focal point for equal opportunity and compliance programs. OEEO's two staffs ensure that the Agency is a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and that qualified employees with disabilities are given the tools they need to succeed.
OEEO's Counseling and Investigation Staff advises employees and managers on preventing and addressing discrimination and harassment. EEO Counselors respond to complaints with prompt intervention. Their goal is to defuse conflict, mitigate collateral damage, and facilitate resolution. EEO investigators develop impartial, factual investigative reports, which Agency managers, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials, and U.S. District Court judges use in making decisions about cases.
The Reasonable Accommodations Staff (RAS) provides assistive technology and specialized services to meet the job-related needs of Agency employees with disabilities. An Assistive Technology Officer works directly with individuals and their managers to evaluate the work environment, research existing technology, and acquire and deploy the appropriate accommodation for each request. RAS also provides sign language interpreters and readers for the blind to support individuals from application to retirement. OEEO maintains centralized funding for assistive technology products and services, as well as for structural changes that are necessary to accommodate an individual with a disability. The office individually evaluates each request to provide the most appropriate reasonable accommodation.
OEEO also supports Agency management by coordinating outreach efforts with the DCI's Special Assistant for Diversity Plans and Programs, working with the Agency's Ombudsman, and assisting the Agency Diversity Council and various affinity groups, and participating in inter-Agency efforts such as the Community Diversity Issues Board and the Community Deaf and Disabled Accommodation Action Team.
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The CIA Museum, administered by the Center for the Study of Intelligence, is the preeminent national archive for the collection, preservation, documentation and exhibition of intelligence artifacts, culture, and history. The Museum Collection, which currently numbers 3,500 items, is held in trust for the American people. Because the museum is not open to the public, the CIA Museum develops public exhibitions in partnership with the Presidential Libraries and other major museums and institutions in order to promote a wider understanding of the craft of intelligence and its role in the broader American experience.
The CIA Museum's scope of collection includes material associated with all activities of the CIA's predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services, material associated with activities of foreign intelligence organizations, and material associated with the history and mission of the Central Intelligence Agency. Articles in the Museum Collection include clothing, equipment, weapons, and memorabilia and insignia designed, manufactured, or used by intelligence organizations historically and presently. The Collection also includes unique items such as weapons, clothing and equipment developed specifically through research and development, or manufactured by units or individuals to further the mission of intelligence operations.
The CIA Museum currently maintains three exhibits of important historical intelligence artifacts at CIA Headquarters in Langley, VA. Dedicated in June 2002 to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Office of Strategic Services, the CIA Museum's North Gallery houses an exhibit devoted to preserving the legacy CIA inherited from the OSS. The exhibit displays personal memorabilia from Major General William J. Donovan, the founder of the Office of Strategic Services, examples of OSS equipment; and a German "Enigma" enciphering machine from World War II. The Cold War Gallery was established in collaboration with collector and historian H. Keith Melton in 1997. "The Cold War: Fifty Years of Silent Conflict" showcases many of the 7,000 clandestine espionage artifacts from the United States, the former Soviet Union, and East Germany, which comprise the world's largest private collection of spy gear. "Analysis Informing American Policy", located in the Fine Arts Exhibit Hall, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Directorate of Intelligence (1952) and its long record of service and achievement to provide our national leaders with timely, relevant, and accurate intelligence analysis.
****** Photo Caption ****** Welbike, British Special Operations Executive, WWII; Collection of H. Keith Melton *********
****** Photo Caption ****** U-2 Pressure Suit and Helmet, ca. 1955 ********
****** Photo Caption ****** Maquette, The Day the Wall Came Down �1999 Veryl Goodnight ********
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Distinguished Intelligence Cross
For a voluntary act or acts of extraordinary heroism involving the acceptance of existing dangers with conspicuous fortitude and exemplary courage.
Distinguished Intelligence Medal
For performance of outstanding services or for achievement of a distinctly exceptional nature in a duty or responsibility.
Intelligence Star
For a voluntary act or acts of courage performed under hazardous conditions or for outstanding achievements or services rendered with distinction under conditions of grave risk.
Intelligence Medal of Merit
For the performance of especially meritorious service or for an act or achievement conspicuously above normal duties.
Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal
For service reflecting a pattern of increasing levels of responsibility or increasingly strategic impact and with distinctly exceptional achievements.
Career Intelligence Medal
For a cumulative record of service which reflects exceptional achievement.
Career Commendation Medal
Awarded for exemplary service significantly above normal duties that had an important contribution to the Agency's mission.
Intelligence Commendation Medal
For the performance of especially commendable service or for an act or achievement significantly above normal duties which results in an important contribution to the mission of the Agency.
Exceptional Service Medallion
For injury or death resulting from service in an area of hazard.
Gold Retirement Medallion
For a career of 35 years or more with the Agency.
Silver Retirement Medallion
For a career of 25 years or more with the Agency.
Bronze Retirement Medallion
For a career of at least 15 but less than 25 years with the Agency.
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Section 2 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 provided for a seal of office for CIA. The de-sign of the seal was approved and set forth on 17 February 1950 in President Harry Truman's Execu-tive Order 10111.
In this Order, the CIA seal is described in heraldic terms as follows:
SHIELD: Argent, a compass rose of sixteen points gules.
CREST: On a wreath argent and gules an American bald eagle's head erased proper.
Below the shield on a gold color scroll the inscription "United States of America" in red letters and encircling the shield and crest at the top the inscription "Central Intelligence Agency" in white letters.
All on a circular blue background with a narrow gold edge.
Interpretation of the CIA SealThe American Eagle is the national bird and is a symbol of strength and alertness. The radiating spokes of the compass rose depict the convergence of intelligence data from all areas of the world to a central point. The shield is the standard symbol of defense. Intelligence provided to our policymakers is to help defend our country. |
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The Central Intelligence Agency's primary mission is to collect, evaluate, and disseminate foreign intelligence to assist the President and senior U.S. Government policymakers in making decisions relating to the national security. The Central Intelligence Agency does not make policy; it is an independent source of foreign intelligence information for those who do. The Central Intelligence Agency may also engage in covert action at the President's direction in accordance with applicable law.
The CIA carefully selects well-qualified people in nearly all fields of study. Scientists, engineers, economists, linguists, mathematicians, secretaries, accountants and computer specialists are but a few of the professionals continually in demand. Much of the Agency's work, like that done in academic institutions, requires research, careful evaluation, and writing of reports that end up on the desks of this nation's policymakers. Applicants are expected to have a college degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and must be willing to relocate to the Washington D.C. area. Selection for Agency employment is highly competitive and employees must successfully complete a polygraph and medical examination and a background investigation before entering on duty. The Agency endorses equal employment opportunity. For further information, see the employment page of the CIA website at www.cia.gov.
Neither the number of employees nor the size of the Agency's budget can, at present, be publicly disclosed. A common misconception is that the Agency has an unlimited budget, which is far from true. While classified, the budget and size of the CIA are known in detail and scrutinized by the Office of Management and Budget and by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Defense Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committees in both houses of Congress. The resources allocated to the CIA are subject to the same rigorous examination and approval process that applies to all other government organizations.
In 1997, the aggregate figure for all U.S. government intelligence and intelligence-related activities—of which the CIA is but one part-—was made public for the first time. The aggregate intelligence budget was $26.6 billion in fiscal year 1997 and $26.7 billion for fiscal year 1998. The intelligence budget for fiscal year 1999 has not been publicly released.
No. Logistical problems and security considerations prevent such tours. A virtual tour is available on the CIA website.
Yes, the CIA declassifies and releases information to the public under the auspices of several specific public mandates. Under the provisions of Executive Order 12958 (a Presidential order outlining a uniform system for handling national security information), the CIA each year systematically reviews and releases to the National Archives and Records Administration (see page 35) millions of pages of documents that are available there for public review. This same E.O. also provides a mechanism whereby anyone can specifically request that a classified document be reviewed for declassification and release.
The Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act (the latter statute provides U.S. citizens and Permanent Resident Aliens access to U.S. Government information about themselves) are two Public Laws that also provide possible access to CIA information in general or, in the case of the Privacy Act, to information that the CIA may hold on the requester. In response to the FOIA, the Agency also maintains the CIA Electronic Document Release Center at www.foia.cia.gov which contains previously released information of broad interest to the public as well as in order to provide guidance on how to request information under the FOIA or the Privacy Act. Specific copies of any previously declassified records, that are not available on the CIA website, are available directly from the CIA FOIA office.
The Agency frequently releases items of more general interest on its website at www.cia.gov. The website provides unclassified current publications, speeches, press releases, congressional testimony, employment information, and basic references, including the CIA World Factbook. Documents and maps available in hard copy are listed in CIA Maps and Publications released to the Public, which is on the website and is available from the Office of Public Affairs. Publications on the list may be purchased from the Government Printing Office, the National Technical Information Service, and the Library of Congress (see page 35). Most CIA publications are classified, however, and are not publicly available.
For more information, contact the Chief, Information Review and Release Group, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Information Management Services, CIA, Washington, D.C. 20505 at (703) 613-1287 or the Office of Public Affairs at (703) 482-0623.
Law specifically prohibits the CIA from collecting foreign intelligence concerning the domestic activities of U.S. citizens. Its mission is to collect information related to foreign intelligence and foreign counterintelligence. By direction of the President in Executive Order 12333 of 1981 and in accordance with procedures issued by the Director of Central Intelligence and approved by the Attorney General, the CIA is restricted in the collection of intelligence information directed against U.S. citizens. Collection is allowed only for an authorized intelligence purpose; for example, if there is a reason to believe that an individual is involved in espionage or international terrorist activities. The CIA's procedures require senior approval for any such collection that is allowed, and, depending on the collection technique employed, the sanction of the Attorney General and Director of Central Intelligence may be required. These restrictions on the CIA have been in effect since the 1970s.
Only the President can direct the CIA to undertake a covert action. The National Security Council (NSC) usually recommends such actions. Covert actions are considered when the NSC judges that U.S. foreign policy objectives may not be fully realized by normal diplomatic means and when military action is deemed to be too extreme an option. Therefore, the Agency may be directed to conduct a special activity abroad in support of foreign policy where the role of the U.S. Government is neither apparent nor publicly acknowledged. Once tasked, the Director of Central Intelligence must notify the intelligence oversight committees of the Congress.
The Central Intelligence Agency supports the overall U.S. Government effort to combat international terrorism by collecting, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence on foreign terrorist groups and individuals. The CIA also works with friendly foreign governments and shares pertinent information with them.
The CIA does neither. Executive Order No. 12333 of 1981 explicitly prohibits the Central Intelligence Agency from engaging, either directly or indirectly, in assassinations. Internal safeguards and the congressional oversight process assure compliance.
Regarding recent allegations of CIA involvement in drug trafficking, the CIA Inspector General found no evidence to substantiate the charges that the CIA or its employees conspired with or assisted Contra-related organizations or individuals in drug trafficking to raise funds for the Contras or for any other purpose. In fact, the CIA plays a crucial role in combating drug trafficking by providing intelligence information to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the State Department.
Both the Congress and the Executive Branch oversee the Central Intelligence Agency's activities. In addition, the CIA is responsible to the American people through their elected representatives, and, like other government agencies, acts in accordance with U.S. laws and executive orders. In the Executive Branch, the National Security Council—including the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense—provides guidance and direction for national foreign intelligence and counterintelligence activities (see page 16). In the Congress, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as other committees, closely monitor the Agency's reporting and programs (see page 17). The CIA is not a policymaking organization; it advises policymakers on matters of foreign intelligence, and it conducts covert actions only at the direction of the President.
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The CIA Maps and Publications Released to the Public catalog lists Central Intelligence Agency products released through DOCEX from 1971 and through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) since 1980. It is arranged by country or geographic area or topic with the titles of the reports in chronological order.
All maps and publications may be purchased from GPO and/or NTIS. Although we attempt to maintain a current price list, we recommend that you contact NTIS and/or GPO directly for current price information. For the most recent updates of publications, visit the CIA's website at http://www.cia.gov /cia/publications/pubs.html
To obtain maps and publications published after 1 January 1980, write to:
National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
U.S. Department of Commerce
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, Virginia 22161U.S. Government Printing Office
Superintendent of Documents
P.O. Box 371954
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954
or call:
NTIS Order Desk: (703) 605-6000 or 1-800-553-NTIS (6847)
Use NTIS document number (PB number) when ordering. Prices are subject to change, so we suggest you telephone NTIS to confirm prices.
Visit the NTIS website at http://www.ntis.gov
Government Printing Office Order Desk
Superintendent of Documents
Telephone: 1-866-512-1800 (toll free)
(202) 512-2250 (local)
Visit the GPO Access website at http://book store.gpo.gov/
Publications published before 1980 and those published through the present (excluding maps) are available in photocopy or microfiche from the Library of Congress.
To obtain these publications, write to:
Library of Congress
Photoduplication Service
101 Independence Ave., S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20540-4570
or call:
(202) 707-5640
Fax: (202) 707-1771
Use the title of the document when ordering.
Visit the Library of Congress Photoduplication Service Web site at http://www.lcweb.loc.gov/preserv/pds/
To subscribe to all CIA publications, write to:
Documents Expediting Project (DOCEX)
ANA Division/Government Section
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20540-4172
or call:
(202) 707-9527
Fax: (202) 707-0380Annual Subscription Fees:
$375.00 - domestic mail
$425.00 - foreign surface mail
$475.00 - foreign air mail
To obtain access to the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, connect to World News Connection at http://wnc.fedworld.gov. WNC is a fee-based service offered by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). For additional information call the NTIS Subscriptions Department at (703) 605-6060.
The Central Intelligence Agency Factbook on Intelligence brochure is available to the public free of charge. To obtain this publication, contact the:
Central Intelligence Agency
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20505
(703) 482-0623
All artifacts, excluding sculpture and Virginia Hall's DSC, property of the CIA Museum
German Enigma Enciphering Machine WWII
Special Forces' Wings WWII
Virginia Hall's Distinguished Service Cross WWII
(Courtesy of Lorna Catling)
OSS/Early CIA Time Stamp
ca.1945
On the Front Lines of the Cold War: Documents on the Intelligence War in Berlin, 1946 to 1961
The CIA Under Truman
Venona: Soviet Espionage and the American Response, 1939-1959
Selected Estimates on the Soviet Union 1950-1959
Sign, North Building,
Original CIA Headquarters,
2430 E Street, Washington, D.C.
ca. 1950
Corona: America's First Satellite Program 1960
Air America Cap
ca. 1960
Pneumatic Tube System, Original Headquarters Building
ca. 1963
The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974
Winter Hat, Soviet Military ca. 1980
Minox ‘Model B' Camera 1948-1972
Soviet Infrared Night Vision Device
ca. 1970s
Intentions and Capabilities: Estimates on Soviet Strategic Forces, 1950-1983
At Cold War's End: US Intelligence on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 1989-1991
Canteen, Iraqi Military ca. 1991
Helmet, Iraqi Military ca. 1991
Caltrop (tire spike) 1991
The Day the Wall Came Down, �1991
by Veryl Goodnight,
Berlin, Germany
Studies in Intelligence
Psychology of Intelligence Analysis by Richards J. Heuer, Jr. 1999
In June 2002, the CIA commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Office of Strategic Services with a special publication of Studies in Intelligence and a new legacy exhibit on the OSS in the CIA Museum.
Visit our website at
www.cia.gov
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC 20505
5/03
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