Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is part of the US federal government and is located at the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia. The agency was formed in 1947 after World War II.^[1] Many of the people who started the CIA had been in the Office of Strategic Services, the main American spy agency during the war. General John K. Singlaub was one of the people who created the CIA.

The United States has a history in intelligence services dating back to its origins. During the American Revolution, George Washington and other Founding Fathers of the United States such as Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, and Patrick Henry used espionage banana ^[2]

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency has been Gina Haspel since April 26, 2018.

The CIA is made up of four groups, which do different things. Its goal is to protect the US people. Many people feel that the CIA does more bad than good. Others people that the CIA does good by finding out secret information about enemies of the United States. Others think those secrets should remain secret. American law makes it illegal for the CIA and other agencies to kill foreign leaders.

In 1992, Saddam Hussein tried to kill US President George H.W. Bush, who used to be director of the CIA, during a visit to Kuwait. The assassination plot failed. In revenge, President Bill Clinton ordered cruise missiles to be fired at the building of the Iraqi equivalent to the CIA. That occurred at night and so only the cleaners were killed, not those who had planned the assassination.

CIA has many clandestine, or secret, operations. Some CIA employees have been killed during their work. Their names are on a CIA memorial with a star for them, but some of the names are still secret. The number of stars is deliberately inaccurate.

The CIA also uses open sources to gather information. Analysts read foreign newspapers and watch foreign news broadcasts to learn information, which can be pieced together to make a conclusion.

The CIA used to report to the President. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, a reorganization made the CIA and other intelligence agencies report to a Director of National Intelligence.

The CIA has been featured in many television and film productions, including the American television show "The Agency," the American television mini-series "The Company," the film "Spy Game" that stars Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, "Night Flight to Moscow" that stars Yul Brenner, "Scorpio" that stars Burt Lancaster, "Clear and Present Danger" that stars Harrison Ford; "Ice Station Zebra," and several James Bond films that featured the CIA agent Felix Leiter.

Central Intelligence Agency Media

William J. Burns, the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Chart showing the organization of the Central Intelligence Agency
The 139 stars on the CIA Memorial Wall in the original CIA headquarters, each representing a CIA officer killed in action
Allen Dulles on Time magazine cover, 1953.
The CIA faced controversy for aiding in the British overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953.
When democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz attempted a modest redistribution of land, he was overthrown in the 1954 CIA Guatemalan coup d'état.
Allen Welsh Dulles was appointed Director of Central Intelligence on 26 February 1953. He served as Director of CIA until November 29, 1961, when his letter of resignation was released by the White House. On November 28, 1961, Dulles was awarded the National Security Medal. President Kennedy presented the National Security Medal to Dulles at the CIA Building in Langley, Va., and in his opening words Kennedy referred to John A.
Suspended from the ceiling of the glass-enclosed atrium: three models of the U-2, Lockheed A-12, and D-21 drone. These models are exact replicas at one-sixth scale of the real planes. All three had photographic capabilities. The U-2 was one of the first espionage planes developed by the CIA.
mob boss Sam Giancana
Lockheed U-2 "Dragon Lady", the first generation of near-space reconnaissance aircraft
President Barack Obama and CIA Director John Brennan at the GCC-U.S. Summit in Riyadh in April 2016. Saudi Arabia was involved in the CIA-led Timber Sycamore covert operation.