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.