World War II ended in 1945, but America could not rest. “Serious discussion about reorganization began in Congress and the military department in 1944 and aroused much public interest” (Trask 1997). Because the Air Force played such a large role, discussion of separating the Air Force from the Army Air Forces (AAF) began. A proposal was created to establish one department for the United States Armed Forces, combining all the military branches under one department. “On 19 December 1945, President Truman sent a message to Congress recommending a single department of national defense with three coordinate branches – land, sea, and air.” (Trask 1997). Management of Military and foreign policies were needed during peacetime as they were during wartime. The United States need for a national defense department, and a need to prevent any future attacks like Pearl Harbor, led to President Truman signing the National Security Act of 1947.
The National Security Act of 1947 created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). President Truman’s vision of the CIA was a peacetime intelligence agency that provided early warnings in the event of an attack. After President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, a loophole was found. The National Security Act “instructed the CIA to correlate, evaluate, and disseminate intelligence and to perform ‘other functions and duties related to intelligence affecting the national security’ ” (Weiner 2007). The CIA used this wording of ‘other functions’ to conduct secret operations overseas and to practice cloak and dagger methods in obtaining intelligence. Since its establishment over sixty years ago, the CIA’s implementation of cloak and dagger intelligence gathering has evolved to developing a componen...
... middle of paper ...
...Establishment may have has a name change to the Department of Defense, however the decision to have a civilian secretary over the United States military is still in effect. America could not rest after World War II, and she still has to remain vigilant today. The offices created by the National Security Act of 1947 are still to this day charged with protecting the United States.
Works Cited
Herring, G., (2008). From Colony to Superpower – U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Trask, R., & Goldberg, A., (2001). The Department of Defense 1947-1997: Organization and Leaders. Washington, DC: United States. Department of Defense – History.
Trest, W., (1998). Air Force Roles and Missions: A History. Washington, DC: United States. Air Force – History
Weiner, T., (2007). Legacy of Ashes – The History of the CIA. New York, NY: Doubleday
“President Bush has stated that about a hundred detainees were held under the Central Intelligence Agency secret detention program, about a third of whom were questioned using “enhanced interrogation techniques. The CIA has a way of very publicly blowing their cover seeming to pop up wherever turmoil, and political problems arise. The CIA exists to prevent threats, its operations involve covert actions or spying through various means to gather critical intelligence data. The CIA dates back to 1947. The qualifications and skills are above average. The job of the CIA is to anticipate and quickly assess rapidly evolving international developments and their impact, both positive and negative, on US policy concerns. When researching the career of
Weigley, Russel F. History of the United States Army. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1st Edition, 1984.
Hogan, D. (2004). Centuries of Service. Retrieved September 11, 2009, from the Center of Military History website
?Espionage.? 2000-2004. The War to End All Wars. Michael Duffy. Original Material. Primary Documents Online.
‘The wink and the nod’ that was all somehow acceptable to your primary sponsor caused many a dictator to adopt these methods to take and maintain power. Only recently have internal CIA documents become available, allowing researchers to begin to look inside the CIA itself. Partial as these releases are, they supply valuable insight into the machinations of this secretive organization. These documents outline the beginning of the Terror; let's hope we are seeing the end of it.
The Devil's Chessboard by David Talbot is explosive, headline making portraits of Allen Dulles, the man who changed the CIA to be the most powerful. Dulles decade as director of the CIA that dark time in US politic. Calling himself the secretary of state from countries unfriendly, Dulles sees itself as above the law chosen, manipulate and subvert the US president in the pursuit of personal interest and those of the wealthy elite, Dulles counted as friends and clients. Targeting foreign leader for assassination and over-throwing nationalist government is not in line with their political goal, he worked those same tactics to further his goal at home, the cost of David Talbot, offering a
... strategies, CIA run uprisings to out undesirable leader. Like previous overthrows, the Cold War regime changes occurred "only when economic interests coincided with ideological ones." The CIA is a dogmatic instrument used, but perceived as an independent immoral and dishonorable force during the Cold War, that lead regime in the fight against civil liberties and insurgence. In the regards to the CIA, Kinzer shines light to the similarities amongst the event and role of the CIA in the Chilean Coup against Salvador Allende in 1973. The CIA abided by the rules and did as they were told even, when personnel cautioned the intervention. Not only was the brutal dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet proof of this sentiment, but when the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigated the coup in years after, it found president Nixon, not the CIA, most responsible.
knowledge of the CIA and who would later would be involved in the clash between the
The War Department prior to being referred to as the Department of Defense (DoD) housed in the Pentagon has been existence since 1789. The Army, Navy and Marine Corps were established in 1775 and in 1790 the Coast Guard (part of Homeland Security in peacetime) was established. In addition, the U.S. Air Force was also established in 1947. The mission of the Department of Defense is to utilize the military to deter war and ultimately protect and defend the United States of America. The DoD is America's oldest and largest government agency. It is considered the largest employer in the nation with over 1.3 million active duty service members, 742 thousand
In the middle of 1946, the Central Intelligence Agency Act laid the foundations and placed strict guidelines on responsibility of the agency’s officials. Until 1955, the CIA did not have a central headquarters, but in August of that year President Eisenhower funded forty-six million dollars for the construction of a headquarters for the CIA (“Key Events” 1). In March of 1991 the
The NSA or the National Security Agency, is “the largest intelligence agency in the US, which is responsible for collecting and analyzing communications and signals intelligence, plus cybersecurity” ( MacAskill, Borger, and Greenwald par. 1-2). Since its inception, “the very existence of the National Security Agency was not revealed more than two decades after its establishment in 1952” ( MacAskill, Borger, and Greenwald par. 1). and since “its structure and activities remain largely unknown. Hence its wry nickname: No Such Agency” ( MacAskill, Borger, and Greenwald par.1). “Once President Harry Truman established the NSA, its purpose was to collect data and information across the country and internationally. The task originally gi...
The US Department of Defense is comprised of multiple chiefs and staff however they report to the president (Commander in Chief). There are a total of 15 executive departments that form the president’s cabinet. The DOD consists of the armed services, National Security
The United States has involved itself in several covert operations throughout the nation’s short history. Operations, like the Iran-Contra Affair, and the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) role in Afghanistan are just two examples of these types of secret government missions, which have become divulged to the American public. Both of these operations occurred under President Regan, who listed strict executive goals to fight the Soviet social influence, Communism, from spreading across the world. Moreover, other similarities are observed between the two covert missions, like providing armaments and training to foreign rebel forces (National Security Archive 2006, Johnson 2011). Moreover, different agencies were used in the missions for distinct
The history of the Central Intelligence Agency has been shrouded in infamy since it’s introduction in 1947. The Common goal of an organization, such as the CIA, is to protect the people they govern. This may includes collected efforts, publicly acknowledged by the common people as the best way to use a nation’s time and effort towards peace. On the other hand, organizations like these have also worked in complete secrecy and these efforts have more or less molded the foundation of the american way as we see it today.
President Roosevelt wanted to increase the influence and prestige of the United States on the world stage and make the country a global power. Moreover, he had a belief that the exportation of American values and ideals would have an ennobling effort in the world. As a result, he developed a diplomatic maxim that focused on speaking softly and carrying a big stick and maintained that the authority and those in power must be willing to use force while practicing the art of persuasion. To exercise all his ideas, he had to assemble one of the strongest and powerful armies in the world to avoid conflicts with enemies who might prey on their weaknesses. It is worth noting that President Roosevelt would act aggressively in foreign affairs often without the support or consent of the Congress all in the attempt of expanding American empire to the rest of the world. During his tenure, Roosevelt ensured that American political system and social values were considerably adjusted the military policy’s considerations as well as ensuring that American defense policies were built upon pluralistic military institutions constituting of professionals and citizen-soldiers to ensure that these policies were effective and efficient to conquer their