In honor of CISA passing the senate, which is another nail in the coffin of the rule of law in exchange for homeland security, I thought it would be a good time to post a lot of random stuff on how all the emphasis on intelligence by the CIA and others has grown over the last 60 years or so.
First off, a great read here on the architect of the modern day CIA – Allen Dulles:
http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/10/12/new-book-on-cia-master-plotter-dulles-sneak-peek-part-1/
Granted, this is a pretty evil account of Allen Dulles – who knows how much of it is true. But given the fact that we already know Operation Northwoods and Operation Mockingbird was engineered by the CIA during Dulles tenure, it doesn’t seem like this account is too much of a stretch.
Speaking of Operation Mockingbird, I ran across this article from the 1970’s from none other than Carl Bernstein on how effective the CIA has been in partnering with the media.
http://carlbernstein.com/magazine_cia_and_media.php
Worth a read – a couple good outtakes:
The Columbia Broadcasting System. CBS was unquestionably the CIAs most valuable broadcasting asset. CBS President William Paley and Allen Dulles enjoyed an easy working and social relationship.
Time and Newsweek magazines. According to CIA and Senate sources, Agency files contain written agreements with former foreign correspondents and stringers for both the weekly news magazines.
Finally, here is a copy of the op-ed that Harry Truman wrote in 1963 regarding his concerns about the CIA:
http://www.maebrussell.com/Prouty/Harry%20Truman’s%20CIA%20article.html
The last quote is particularly prescient:
I never had any thought that when I set up the CIA that it would be injected into peacetime cloak and dagger operations. Some of the complications and embarrassment I think we have experienced are in part attributable to the fact that this quiet intelligence arm of the President has been so removed from its intended role that it is being interpreted as a symbol of sinister and mysterious foreign intrigue—and a subject for cold war enemy propaganda.