History of the Central Intelligence Agency

Essay by dfrankmanJunior High, 8th gradeA+, March 2004

download word file, 10 pages 5.0

The purpose of the CIA is to gather information from around the world and use that information for national security. Before the CIA was created the United States had other ways or gathering intelligence information but they weren?t nearly as sophisticated as the way that the CIA gathers information. Due to a lack of national security in the United States the Japanese Royal Airforce was able to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. After this disaster it was apparent that a strong well organized group would need to be put together to gather intelligence information for United States national security. The Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI) was created following the attack so that the United States would have a better way of gathering information on foreign intelligence. By 1942, the COI and the military?s intelligence units were units were forced to work together more closely, and The COI was renamed the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

After world War Two in 1947 United States law makers saw the Soviet Union as a threat to national security. Congress passed the national security act and theory created internationally an informational unit of the government to gather and sort out information they called it the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The CIA gathers information only on foreign countries or people not about the United States or it?s citizens. The CIA has two missions the first one is to provide timely and accurate intelligence on threats to Americas security. And the second mission is to conduct counter intelligence to protect our nations secrets when there is a threat to our national security. The CIA?s activities in foreign countries are limited by law. The CIA does their work by taking risks to get the job done, by working with their coworkers throughout...