Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian intelligence agency U.S. Government responsible for providing national security information to senior politicians of United States. The CIA also engages in covert activities, at the request of the President of the United States.

It is the successor of Office of Strategic Services formed during the WWII to coordinate espionage activities between the branches of Armed Forces of the United States.

The main role of CIA is to gather information about foreign governments, corporations and individuals and to advise public policy. The agency conducts clandestine operations and actions paramilitary and exerts influence on foreign policy through its Special Activities Division.

The CIA and its responsibilities have changed significantly in 2004. Before December 2004, the CIA was the main intelligence organization the U.S. government, which coordinated and supervised not only their own activities but also activities of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC ) as a whole. A preventive law the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism of 2004 created the post of director of national intelligence (DNI), who took some of the government and IC- range of functions. The DNI manages the IC and therefore the intelligence cycle. The functions that moved to the DNI included the preparation of the consolidated opinion estimates of IC 16 agencies, and preparation of briefings for United States President.

History

The agency was created in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) by an agreement of governmental National Security to meet a strategic need due to the early Cold War and the advancement of communism.

The espionage foreign theft projects the areas of technology, armaments and drain information brought about the need to monitor and report all matters relating to national security the President, seeking the best possible way to interfere with and neutralize the negative effects from external threats.

To coordinate activities of the Agency, there is a Central Intelligence Board, whose function is to connect the community to inform the U.S. President, making the best advice possible strategies and their consequences in order to intervene, when necessary, organizations or states which could harm the United States.

Powers
The duties of running the CIA monitoring of foreign intelligence (Information Services foreign) in a precise, inclusive and timely, providing national security topics.

Perform counter-intelligence activities, administering special activities and other functions related to foreign intelligence and national security, when ordered by the President.

To accomplish its mission, the CIA is engaged in research and development of technology for intelligence purposes. As an independent agency, the CIA serves as a source of data analysis , working with other organizations in the Intelligence Community and Homeland Security to ensure that the data collected to reach the greatest possible accuracy to White House and the battlefield, when necessary.

Due to new global realities of national security, the CIA is working with the creation of multidisciplinary teams prioritizing counter-terrorism, taking care of the counter-information, restraining and combating organized crime and trafficking drugs international, analyzing and monitoring the aggression against the environment, creating conditions for a stable security to the people of the United States, leading to the Intelligence Community analysis of all topics that affect national security.

Disputes and mistakes Intelligence
The CIA is often accused of involvement in international drug trafficking in Asia (Especially in Afghanistan and Vietnam) and Latin America ( as illustrated by his long and controversial involvement with Manuel Noriega at Panama). The agency has been proven to offer support and protection to the production and transportation of opium, heroin and cocaine with groups deemed anti- (a fact amply documented in books like The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia of Alfred W. McCoy).

On August 24, 2009, documents describing part of the instructions of CIA Torture Program been practiced since 2001 , were released through a lawsuit initiated by the American Civil Liberties Union " ACLU. The documents show , according to experts , several cases of violation of Laws and International Treaties and Laws of America. A criminal investigation into the activities of torture by the CIA was also started on August 24, 2009 , the Attorney General Eric Holder.

In 1993, CIA Headquarters was attacked by Mir Aimal Kansi, and two CIA employees were killed - Frank Darling and Lansing Bennett.

The documents called "Family Jewels"(The "Family Jewels " in English ) and other documents show the CIA's various illegal activities including involvement in domestic police activities, which the CIA is prohibited by law to participate.

The CIA was involved in various illegal activities of research in humans with devastating results for their victims (Project MKULTRA).

Recently, the CIA has been involved in a series of controversies related to torture and murder in both Guantanamo, Cuba as in so-called "black holes".

Involvement in Coups

 * Articulation of the deposition of elected leaders in several countries in South America and Latin
 * The deposition of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, Prime Minister of Iran and the coup that leads the Shah to power in 1953.
 * Financing opponents of the regime Salvador Allende by encouraging the military coup September 11 of 1973 in Chile that led to the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet killing Allende in process, that subsequently prosecuted for crimes against humanity and other coups in Latin America.
 * Financing of cons of Nicaragua including using money from cocaine trafficking.
 * Shares anti-Soviet at Afghanistan, having armed the Taliban and trained Osama Bin Laden).
 * Assassination of political leaders and leftist militants as was the case of [[Che Guevara]
 * Fabrication of false evidence regarding the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in order to create justifications for the Iraq War
 * Torture of innocent people that the CIA has labeled as terrorists of Al Qaeda and whose charges were later verified as false.
 * Creation of secret bases in Eastern Europe, in Middle East and Africa for torture and disappearances of prisoners of war in contravention of the International Laws
 * Loss of the trail of bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders and Taliban
 * Creating a network of clandestine flights to transport to places of torture of several people who accused the CIA of terrorist
 * Recent revelations that the CIA failed the American Congress and Senate about the creation of a program of vigilante killings to be carried in any country and without any legal verification of such activities or intelligence involved in such plays

CIA Involvement in Torture
According to ABC News, current and former CIA officials teem revealed details of the torture program created by President George Bush and implemented by the CIA. Among the various torture techniques aimed at " breaking " the prisoner, include: drowning , electric shocks , beatings , threats against person and against the family , rape and threats of rape, and several others.

The strategies of CIA torture were developed over years (see MKULTRA ) And more recently led the work for the CIA from several professionals who have dedicated themselves to develop methods of torture. Among such is the military psychologists James Elmer Mitchell and Bruce Jessen who are currently under investigation.

The techniques of torture adopted by the CIA are based, among others, in experiments conducted by psychologist Martin Seligman in which dogs were placed in cages and subjected to electric shock severe to the point where animals no longer showed any ability to resist electric shocks. This technique of torture was called " learning helplessness "("learned helplessness.")

Many of the other torture techniques used by CIA are degradation and humiliation in accordance with the Convention on Human Rights of the United Nations.

Use of Mercenaries (Blackwater USA)
On August 19, 2009, the New York Times revealed that the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) hired the firm Blackwater USA to carry out the program of secret killings that the CIA is legally prevented from doing. Most details about the CIA 's agreements with the company Blackwater was not revealed.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, on August 20, 2009 declined to give details about the secret program , but said "It's easy to hire others to do the job for which you do not want accept responsibility. "

In the book Blackwater - The Rise of the Army World's Most Powerful Mercenary, the researcher Jeremy Scahill presents detailed facts of the CIA 's relations with the company of mercenaries.

Organization
Departments of the CIA: International influence
 * Directors of Central Intelligence in Congress, are functions of management accountability to the Congress while they are observed the participants and their actions.
 * Executive Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency, it is for the board control and decision making related to the central government, the executive interacts with all other boards in order to improve performance and administration interdiretorias , in addition to coordinating and improving the distribution data between all departments.
 * Directorate of Intelligence, is this board that are made all analysis, data processing and statistics, leaving the presidency to make the right decision at the right time on the data collected and processed , the directorate of intelligence , watch the other boards and departments central agency.
 * Directorate of Science and Technology, is responsible for the creation of possible use of information technologies appropriate to use the agency's surveillance equipment, communications, weapons , equipment for observation, information against information espionage conventional spatial intelligence , espionage against the all types , is responsible for monitoring possibilitação conditions in domestic or foe.
 * Directorate of Operations, all agents are subordinate this board, where they are given the orders and executing actions on national territory or in enemy territory, such as surveillance and intervention when needed in local politics , seeking the good of National Security United States.
 * Center for the Study of Intelligence and historical materials and statistics, all data are used or not, after processed and cataloged, go to this board, for use at any time and moment that may be necessary , is this board which makes the processing Statistical long -term trends of global power and its nations, it is emanating from the councils to consider the president together with the views of other boards and agencies for making strategic decisions.
 * Office of Counsel General in this office runs the processing of important decisions for the agency is directly subordinate to the president.
 * Office of Public Affairs, this office are made contacts with the countries aligned and from which emanates the necessary information for your use.

It is for the CIA to effectively contribute to the global intelligence community (information), managing services of common interest , image analysis , collecting and processing data in a participatory manner with other intelligence agencies (intelligence), in research and development and technology.

Emphasizing adaptability in its approach, the CIA proposed to provide intelligence support to the users , satisfying their needs war when necessary , intervening or changing the social conditions of the nations involved in order to increase the protection of National Security of the United States.

Directors

 * Richard Helms Director from 1966 to 1973, convicted of lying to Congress about covert CIA activities.
 * George H. W. Bush later U.S. President. Being acused of hide informations of Kennedy
 * George Tenet, CIA director during the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 and Invasion of Iraq.
 * Leon Edward Panetta, The current director.

External References

 * Official website (
 * Masters in CIA Torture
 * Blackwater, CIA assassins ?
 * ABC News - CIA Torture Program
 * Comite Church - official documents of the Investigation of Illegal CIA activities