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Saturday, January 7, 2017

Birth of the CIA

Are intelligence agencies in the habit of 
election interventions? We'll see.

After the two world wars, Americans were ready to have the
country return to normalcy,  meaning back to their isolation
again. Truman saw no need for peacetime espionage and
information gathering so in 1945 he disbanded the OSS (Office of
Strategic Service).

New and faster modes of travel made the world a little smaller
and it was soon apparent that America DID need an intelligence
service so the CIA was born in 1948.  At that time I was in
psychiatric nurses training and we were using the plant Scopolamine
( Devils Breath), at a time when the CIA was using it for mind
control in covert operations.

At the same time, a Communist coup was taking place in
Czechoslovakia and it was indicated that Italy would be
Communist by popular vote in their current election. America
struck panic mode that Britain, W. Germany and France could
follow suit.

The Russian Communists were generously filling the coffers of the
Italian Communists as the CIA was also contributing to the
Italian Western Christian  Democrats.  A big win for the Democrats
and a win for the CIA's first journey into covert operations.

Congress passed the Central Intelligence 
Agency Act in 1949.   (Same year I got married)

Truman had later lamented that he was afraid of the CIA going
rogue with so much power. Here we go.  The CIA came out a
huge winner from the government with unlimited funds and
exempt from  all federal laws that required any disclosure of
the agency.  An example of their budget in 2013 was 14.7 billion.
And what are they doing with the money?  Who knows.
The CIA mostly works over-seas while the FBI federally
assists in local law enforcement.

Shucks pardner, so there you have a few more tid-bits of recent history.  Feel
free to jump in with more tid-bits.





9 comments:

  1. Damn with that kind of dough who knows what they are doing. I don't know if I ever see them going truly rogue, already mercenaries for that. But I bet they have their hands in just about everything. Most of it is probably boring as hell though, sitting in some far away hideout and listening to recordings and such.

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  2. Pat
    The CIA always sounds exciting with mystery and intrigue, or like James Bond, surrounded by sexy babes but most of the peoople I have met who work for CIA are just office workers. Ha

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  3. The story of CIA and FBI continues to flood out. Thankfully they are watching and reporting. What will they discover in the next chapter

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    Replies
    1. Susan
      Yes, it floods and flows and reveals many things. Today especially the world welcomes a watchful eye. I hope you are resting up nicely.

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  4. Fascinating bit of history. I love learning more about what happened then and how it affects us today.

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    Replies
    1. Emma
      Thank you for the visit and the nice comment.
      I too, love to read history because it let us realize how we got to where
      we are today.

      Delete
  5. Unlimited funds? Hokey smokes. BUT... you don want eyes and ears in places where they need to be.

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  6. Rosey
    When one thinks of the budget and the spending in the US, it boggles the mind and America is a very wealthy country. Yet we are in debt for over 21 Trillion. The running of a country can be confusing and all the departments of government require their own funds.

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  7. Thanks for the history lesson. What would happen if all of us had unlimited funds and were
    exempt from all federal laws? That's right. Now, tell me about that Devils Breath. Would it make me forget I'm ill?

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