The CIAs Role Then And Now :: essays research papers fc

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) was created by President Truman as an insurance policy against that kind of surprise, which caught America off guard in World War II. According to the National Security Act of 1947 the CIA’s principal function was to be the correlation and evaluation of intelligence collected by other departments. In other words, the CIA is an All-Source Fusion Agency. The difference involving the direction of the CIA during the cold war and the function that the CIA plays now have changed somewhat, but these roles basically remain the same. During the cold war, global security rested on the shoulders of the two greatest nations: The United States and the Soviet Union. Other nations had capabilities to harm other smaller nations, but none had the world power control of the two greatest nations. The CIA’s mission in the spring of 1948 was â€Å"to collect secret intelligence on the Soviet Union itself, its military intentions, atomic weapons and advanced missiles; on Soviet actions in Eastern Europe, North Korea and North Vietnam.† (Richelson, 217). The mission set forth the guidelines for the CIA to protect the United States from the Soviet’s missiles. Now that the United States is dealing with nations of the former Soviet Union there is still a need to watch those Soviet missiles. The difference is now the CIA must track where the missiles and miscellaneous small arms are being distributed or sold. The mission of watching the missiles remains, but the role the CIA plays has slightly changed. The need for the CIA in today’s global society has increased to a higher level than that of the cold war. Today there is a threat from every corner of the world, instead of only between the major world powers. With the United States being the only world power and the Soviet Union collapsed, weapons of mass destruction have hit the open market. This new over-the-counter missile sale has multiplied America’s potential foes (Bissell, 205). Bin Laden has demonstrated that no activity oversees will be safe. With the horrific act of the attack on the USS Cole in October 2000, the Middle East has shown but one example of how the CIA’s roles of responsibility must change to watch smaller groups or organizations. The evil mix of fanaticism and flexibility that is the mark of today’s terrorist makes the next strike not a question of if, but of when and where.