The Hidden Hand A Brief History of the CIA

Since its inception in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency has played an outsized role in the political life of the United States, whether by formulating and implementing policy or by fueling popular culture and imagination. The Hidden Hand is an accessible and up-to-date history of the agency that succinctly takes the reader from its early days of intelligence gathering and analysis to its more recent involvement in the execution of foreign policy through covert operations, psychological warfare, and other programs. In manageable chapters and easy-to-digest prose, the author — a respected scholar who has researched intelligence for more than 30 years and also served as a high-ranking officer in the intelligence community — covers all aspects of the CIA from its mission to its performance to its record. He draws on the latest evidence and research to assess the agency’s successes and failures over the last half century, highlighting key operations of the past and present. Throughout, his assessment is balanced and thorough with an eye on the complex and controversial nature of the subject. This is a masterful account that demythologizes the CIA’s role in America’s global affairs while addressing its integral place within American political and popular culture.

Richard H. Immerman is Professor and Edward J. Buthusiem Distinguished Fellow in History at Temple University and Marvin Wachman Director of its Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy. The recipient of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations' Bernath Book Prize in 1983 and its Bernath Lecture Prize in 1990, he served as SHAFR’s president in 2007.  His most recent publications include The Oxford Handbook of the Cold War (2013) and Empire for Liberty: A History of U.S. Imperialism from Benjamin Franklin to Paul Wolfowitz (2012). From September 2007-December 2008, he served as Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analytic Integrity and Standards and Analytic Ombudsman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He currently chairs the Historical Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of State.

Preface and Acknowledgments ix

Note on Redactions xiii

1 Birth of an Enigma: 1945–1949 1

2 Halcyon Days and Growing Pains: 1950–1961 35

3 The CIA and its Discontents: 1961–1976 70

4 A Time of Troubles: 1977–1987 108

5 Victory Without Redemption: 1988–2000 138

6 9/11, WMD, GWOT, IRTPA, and ODNI: 2001–2004 172

7 Crisis of Identity: 2005–2013 206

Index 235

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