There are three largest U.S. intelligence agencies: the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The CIA, or CIA for short, is the intelligence agency responsible for U.S. security matters worldwide. It is a mysterious and overt intelligence agency, and the largest intelligence agency in the United States. The CIA was formally established on September 18, 1947, and has a history of more than 60 years. Its predecessor was the U.S. Bureau of Strategic Intelligence during World War II.
With the end of World War II and the formation of the Cold War pattern, the CIA has since entered the American political arena. Under the provisions of the National Security Act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 26, 1947, the CIA began gathering intelligence, reporting directly to the U.S. National Security Council and the President of the United States, and coordinating the tasks of government departments related to national security intelligence. Since then, the CIA has turned its hands into clouds and overturned into rain, making the world a never-ending day in more than 60 years.
As the global Cold War pattern was established and intensified, intelligence work began to show its importance, so U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed a document code-named NSC-10/2 in June 1948, which clearly stipulated that the CIA could conduct various covert operations abroad as a complement to the U.S. government's open diplomacy. The modalities of "covert operations" include counter-propaganda, psychological warfare, sabotage, anti-sabotage, subversion, assassination, paramilitary operations, instigation and assistance in rebellion, etc., encompassing almost everything except the launching of large-scale formal wars.
The CIA is an indispensable and important agency of the U.S. government today. Its primary clients are the President of the United States and the National Security Council, but more than 500 government departments directly or indirectly use its intelligence. With a one-third of its staff around the world, it provides the Administration with up-to-date information in a timely manner, enabling the United States to preemptively and take full advantage in a variety of matters. At the same time, it often engages in covert activities under the direct orders of the president, which greatly facilitates the realization of U.S. diplomatic goals.
The unrestricted privileges of the law and the extensive intelligence network have made the CIA the most transparent agency in the U.S. government. Its personnel and budget are never made public, and only a very small number of people, such as the president and the secretary of state, know about its actions. In the name of safeguarding "national security", some illegal means and illegal acts it has taken in its actions will generally not be prosecuted. These special treatments have caused friction between the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon, and the State Department, the most fierce of which is undoubtedly the FBI. As the two major agencies in charge of foreign and domestic intelligence work, the CIA and the FBI have always looked at each other unfavorably, and on various occasions they have fought openly and secretly, and there have been cases of mutual restraint. During Edgar Hoover's tenure as FBI director, he briefly forbade his men from contacting the CIA. In addition, the CIA's tight-lipped, secretive style inevitably makes people suspicious, suspecting that many of the world's conspiracies and tricks are related to it.
The CIA's emblem is unique and eye-catching. In the center of the blue gold-rimmed circular chassis is a silver shield with a 16-pointed red horned compass shape on which is the head of an American condor with the words "CIA of the United States of America" written on the outer ring. The silver shield symbolizes the CIA as a powerful barrier to U.S. security; the 16 sharp horns symbolize the infiltration of CIA forces around the world, and the collection of intelligence material from all over the world; and the bald eagle's head symbolizes alertness, sensitivity, and ruthlessness—exactly the style of the CIA.
The CIA's more than 60 years of history has been marked by many dazzling events, many of which were groundbreaking feats – in 1948, in Italy, it plotted to fund the defeat of the Communist Party by funding the Christian Democrats to govern Italy; in 1949, it stole the design drawings and flight records of the Soviet MiG-15 jet fighter; in 1953, it carried out "Operation Ajax" to overthrow the left-wing Mossadei government in Iran; in 1954, it subverted the Guatemalan government; it stole and published Khrushchev's presence in the CPSU" The secret reports on the "Twentieth National Congress" caused riots in Eastern European countries; participated in organizing and instigating secret military operations in Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos and other countries; planned and organized more than 50 coups in Africa; accurately provided intelligence during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962; planned "Operation Jennifer" to salvage Soviet nuclear submarines; guaranteed the total victory of the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War with accurate intelligence; frequently fought with the Soviet KGB during the Cold War, and joined hands with the Israeli Mossad several times to plan the assassination of a number of foreign leaders...
It is precisely because of these "amazing moves" that shocked the world that the CIA's tentacles have been able to stretch around the world without scruples and have been recognized as "the most open intelligence organization in the world." But the CIA also paid the price for such confidence, or arrogance. How many times the operation failed, the plan failed; how many illegal acts were exposed, becoming the target of public criticism, so that those who had unlimited scenery of the bureau chiefs were burned and resigned, the most tragic of which was the "Iran-Contra" incident, due to the misjudgment of intelligence, and then the negotiations failed, they had to sell weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of hostages; the inside story of the Nicaraguan rebels who had been behind the back of Congress to aid the Nicaraguan rebels was exposed, and the city was even more stormy, so that all the relevant dignitaries were forced to resign, and even some people committed suicide because they could not escape the blame. The director had an attack on this brain tumor and died soon after.
After the 9/11 incident, the CIA encountered the biggest doubts and setbacks in recent years, becoming the focus of national accusations. Although the "beheading operation" sent Saddam Hussein, an ally of the year, to the gallows, the "weapons of mass destruction" became a fictitious lie; in addition to the bodies of more than a thousand fallen soldiers who were transported back to the United States from Iraq, there was also the "torture of prisoners" that made the United States even more conspicuous; in order to deal with the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, a large number of "freedom fighters" were painstakingly trained, and later they all became "terrorists", and the Afghan war also became the longest war in the history of the United States, and it is still difficult to end it.
With Obama in office, the CIA changed hands again. The nineteenth director, Leon Panetta, was in his 70s and had never been involved in intelligence — but under his personal command, the CIA managed to kill bin Laden impressively.
Is the CIA a threat to America's dream of freedom, or a guardian of national security? What choice should be made between the secrecy that is indispensable for intelligence work and the democratic rights of the public? This seems to be a topic that Americans have never stopped thinking about and arguing about.
Chapter One: The Revolutionary War, Washington Pioneered "Knotton"
The intelligence agency "Knotton" created by George Washington himself set a precedent in the history of American intelligence, and his funds for intelligence gathering accounted for about 30% of all military expenditures; Nathan Hale, the first real spy in American history, although not from Cobain, his statue stood permanently at the headquarters of the CIA; Roosevelt experienced the most chaotic era in the history of American intelligence, and the establishment of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau turned him around.
"Norton" ushered in the history of American intelligence
The American intelligence business did not begin with the CIA, which had come a long and tortuous journey before the CIA was founded.
Some people say that George Washington is not only the founding head of the United States, but also the well-deserved "father of intelligence" in the United States - because in the era of the American Revolutionary War, he personally created the intelligence agency "Norton", and thus created the first in the history of American intelligence.
In April 1775, the North American Revolutionary War broke out, and George Washington was elected commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Washington had worked in intelligence before this responsibility, so he knew the importance of intelligence work, so he quickly set out to create a system of American intelligence of his own.
In 1776, Washington formed a force dedicated to reconnaissance and assault missions, the "Norton" Commando. This is the earliest military intelligence force in the United States, and it is also the earliest special forces in the United States. Therefore, today's U.S. Army commandos, special forces and "Delta" forces all regard this "Norton" commando of that year as their predecessors.
Under the fierce attack of the British Legion, Washington's Continental Army was forced to withdraw from the Long Island area. In order to understand the military strength and deployment of the British army, "Norton" sent the commando Nathan Hale to the British occupation zone to inquire about the situation. Nathan Hale is a young captain in the "Norton" commando who graduated from Yale University. Strictly speaking, Nathan Hale should be the first true spy in American history.
Hale was strong, brave, and patriotic, but his biggest flaw was that he didn't go through any specialized espionage training. So as soon as he infiltrated the enemy' rear, he was targeted by Robert Rogers, an experienced British counter-espionage agent. Robert Rogers was a major in the British Army when he pretended to be a spy for the Continental Legion and deceived Hale. Hale not only believed that the person in front of him was "his own person", but also unsuspectingly revealed the task and purpose of his trip.
In this way, Hale was arrested and immediately sentenced to hanging. In order to intimidate the Continental Army, the British hung Hale's body on the gallows for three days. Before his execution, Hale left a famous quote that is still widely recited today: "The only thing that makes me regret is that I did not dedicate my second life to the motherland." ”
This quote is now inscribed on a life-size statue of Hale, permanently standing at the headquarters of the CIA in honor of his patriotic fervor.
After Hale's death, Washington learned his lesson and stepped up professional training for intelligence personnel. He then assigned Major Benjamin Tarmech of the Second North American Hussar Regiment in Connecticut to form a naval spy agency, of which the "Colpa" spy group was one of the best spy groups in the spy system at that time, with more than 20 members, led by Major Benjamin Tarmech. He was one of Washington's most powerful spy generals.
Washington set aside a large sum of money from military spending for intelligence activities. Official records indicate that Washington spent $6,170 in Philadelphia alone for espionage in less than two years, not a small sum at the time. Throughout the Revolutionary War, Washington spent about 30 percent of all military spending on intelligence gathering. Under the difficult conditions of war at that time, it was impossible for Washington to do so without controversy and incomprehension, but he persevered the cause with firm determination, great boldness and high personal prestige. Later facts also proved that these heavy expenses were richly rewarded.
Washington believed that to deal with the world's most powerful British navy, it was necessary to establish a regular naval espionage agency. With washington's support, Major Talmech quickly established a professional espionage organization, sent a number of officers to infiltrate important parts of North America, carefully established an intelligence network, gradually expanded its scale, and recruited and trained many excellent spies who could act alone.
Soon, Washington's painstaking efforts paid off, and a group of his right-hand men installed a large number of spies in and around various British garrisons. In some important british-controlled towns, his spies were distributed in various social classes, from noble ladies to commoners and even beggars, almost everywhere.
In Philadelphia, there was a dignified and elegant lady who regularly held various salons and banquets, dressed in fragrant clothes, celebrities, and many senior British commanders were her guests. But no one knows that this warm and beautiful hostess is actually a master of intelligence under Washington. Once such a spy network was established, its role could be imagined, so Washington received daily reports on the movement of British troops everywhere. At critical moments, the powerful spies can even get the battle plan of the enemy commander.
One day in July 1780, in a secret stronghold on the Hudson River, Major Termech received an urgent report from an agent code-named "Madame" that sir Henry Clinton, the british commander," planned to send an army by sea to attack the French army in Rhodes, New York. The French force, led by General Roberto, had come to support the American Revolution of Independence and had just come ashore for recuperation after two months of sea voyages. The cunning English intended to wipe them out before the French could gain a foothold.
Upon learning of this important information, Washington made a plan, and under his careful arrangement, a local farmer ran to the British post and said that he had found some documents on the nearby road revealing the terrible revolutionaries' plans for the attack; at the same time, Washington sent a continental army to advance toward New York under the guise of a big swing. The suspicious British commander Clinton believed it and immediately ordered troops to withdraw from the sea to reinforce New York. This valuable information saved the French army commanded by General Roberts, who played an important role in the Siege of Yorktown on 9 October 1781, forcing the surrender of The British General Cornwaly.
"Pro-British treacherous businessman" Honeyman
There is also a special class of spies under Washington, who often operate alone, on secret missions, without contact with others, and who know their identity and activities to a very small number of people, and some are even directly led by Washington alone. Such spies generally have special social identities and occupations as a cover, and they are magical and can often provide a lot of valuable information. The widely recited legend of "Washington's Christmas Eve river crossing to attack enemy camps" was realized with the help of such an excellent spy.
The spy's name was John Horniman.
John Hornemann was a textile businessman before the war and was willing to serve Washington because of his sympathy for the Revolutionary War. In 1776, he was ordered by Washington to go to New Brunnyk, New Jersey, to gather intelligence. There, he became a businessman who specialized in the beef business. He pretended to be rich and declared his loyalty to Britain. Once, for this reason, he was almost arrested by the "rebellious thugs." Hornemann soon became a well-known "pro-British" merchant in the area, doing well and establishing close ties with the British garrison in Trenton and the Hesse mercenaries (british mercenaries recruited from Prussia). His generosity, friendliness and "loyalty to Great Britain" enabled him to make friends with some senior British commanders.
On December 22, 1776, Commander Washington ordered the arrest of "pro-British traitor" Honeyman.
Within a few days, however, Hornemann miraculously "escaped" from the Continental Army barracks and fled back to New Brunnyk. By this time, Washington knew that british troops in the Trenton area had been sent to New York, leaving only Hesse mercenaries in place. The commander, Colonel Ruhr, was arrogant, and his troops were also drunk and unguarded, and did not build any fortifications. Fleeing, Hornemann reported to Colonel Ruhr that the Continental Army was in the winter barracks and showed no signs of action. As soon as the soldiers heard the news, they rejoiced day and night with even greater confidence. As a result, on Christmas eve, Washington commanded his army to quietly cross the Delaware River. The Hesseian mercenaries, who were reveling in the joy of Christmas, were caught off guard and had to be captured.
The Battle of Trenton was small in scale, but this victory was achieved at a critical time when the Continental Army was repeatedly defeated and morale was at its lowest level in the early stages of the war, and was of great significance. Obviously, the "pro-British traitor" Horniman played an irreplaceable role in it. Since then, espionage work has become even more meaningful in washington's eyes.
It is worth mentioning that there is also a female spy under Washington who is code-named "355". The woman was adept at disguise, mysterious in her whereabouts, resourceful and bold, and was highly appreciated by Washington, and was even called the "perfect spy." As a spy, her grades are truly outstanding. She uncovered the true face of benedict Arnold, a defective American general who attempted to sell the West Point Fortress to the British for £20,000, and single-handedly captured the Head of British Intelligence, Major John Andre, nearly paralyzing the British intelligence network. The Americans were able to win the War of Independence, and she was instrumental. Because she was under Washington's personal command, the real name of the "355" is still unknown. But in the minds of future generations, she was a hero who saved the United States, and she was also an idol worshipped by the excellent female spies in the United States.
Anti-spy master
In addition to a group of excellent spies in the Washington era, there were also a group of counter-espionage masters. John Jay, who later became the first chief justice of the U.S. Federal Court, was one of them.
In the summer of 1776, the Tories (pro-British royalists) in the New York area hatched a conspiracy to destroy the city's defenses and military buildings in anticipation of the arrival of the British occupying forces. With the strong support and financial support of the British Governor and the Mayor of New York, they were arrogant, arrogant, and even managed to rebel against the Guards of Washington. Fortunately, this conspiracy was detected in time. Under Jay's auspices, the revolutionaries set up a special committee to investigate the conspiracy. Jay is full of eyeliner, starting from the most suspicious person, never easily hit the grass snake, one by one, one by one, the conspirators were swept away, and Washington's guard Thomas Hickley was executed for the case. The British governor fled to the British ship in New York Harbor to save his life.
Jay's "New York Commission of Inquiry" dealt with counterintelligence, hunting down British spies, pro-Anglo-Tories, conspirators, and saboteurs. It's a headache. In the early days of the war, there were not many North Americans who supported independence, and the victory of the British army made some people who were originally sympathetic and neutral lose confidence in the revolution, and the British took the opportunity to use land and money as bait to recruit a large number of pro-British elements to spy on intelligence, many of whom were influential socialites and wealthy businessmen. At the same time, due to lack of professional training and lack of management, the initial counter-espionage activities of the rebel army were also chaotic, and those who should not be arrested were arrested indiscriminately, and some people took the opportunity to declare personal revenge.
It was Jay who changed that. He continued to make people aware of the importance of counterintelligence work, strengthened the organization and management of subordinates, and trained a considerable number of capable counterintelligence agents. An agent named Corousby was one of Jay's most successful counterintelligence officers. His story still circulates in the Hudson River Basin. Many people believe that the famous writer James F. Kennedy The protagonist of F. Cooper's novel The Spy is based on him.
Colausby turned out to be a shoemaker. After the outbreak of war, he used multiple pseudonyms and mixed with different Tories to collect information on their activities and report to Jay in time. He appeared in different identities every once in a while, and he used so many pseudonyms that sometimes even Jay was dazzled and overwhelmed. Colausby's greatest skill was that he could always manage to escape when the organization he belonged to was rounded up, and with the exception of a few high-ranking counter-espionage officials such as Jay, it was entirely possible for revolutionaries who did not know the truth to arrest and kill him as a Tory. To make matters worse, the Hudson River region was so small and densely populated that Colausby, who had been dying several times, scurryed around and soon became a local celebrity, and many people were familiar with his face. This forced him to reduce the number of pseudonyms he used and find sufficient reasons for him to "evade the pursuit of the revolutionaries."
In October 1777, he went on a mission to Marlborough on the north bank of the Hudson River, posing as a pro-British man hunted and persecuted by the revolutionaries, "inadvertently" revealing his experience of sabotage in New York City and other places in a tavern, and "surprisingly" making Tory "friends" who had "accidentally" met here. The tavern, which had been a frequent meeting place for pro-British elements, was soon welcomed by the extremely "adored and loyal" Mr. Smith, who was smoothly integrated into an armed force of local Tories commanded by the British.
One day, When Corollby learned that the troops would raid the Revolutionary Army the next night, he cleverly sent the information to Jay in the name of "Smith." A commando unit of the revolutionary army laid an ambush early and beat the Tories who had come to attack with no power to fight back. Corousby was going to sneak into a haystack and climb out afterwards, pretending to be "escaping" again. But the commando pointed his dangling bayonet at him, and he had to raise his hands in surrender. The commando commander on duty did not know The true identity of Colausby, and Colausby could never tell him. So he, along with all his "cohorts," was escorted back to Jay's residence. At this point, Corollby was hopeful. But Jay happened to be out at this time, and his comrades were outside with guns to discuss what to do with their "enemies."
Thankfully, Jay's maid recognized Colausby. The clever and kind maid thought of making the guards guarding Corollsby drink brandy, so she cleverly let Colausby go. This is a thrilling adventure. The news of Mr. Smith's escape spread throughout the Tory community, and the "brave and resourceful" man soon joined the new Tory Party, gaining trust and admiration.
Along with Jay was Washington's right-hand man, Benjamin Franklin. The North American gentleman who invented the lightning rod was recognized by the world as an outstanding scientist and the most influential spy in Washington—but his power was mainly used in diplomatic and social activities.
Forged a complete Boston newspaper
In 1776, Franklin became a semi-formal diplomatic envoy to Paris for North American revolutionaries, and his main task was to find an alliance with France against the British. Franklin was knowledgeable, versatile, personable, elegant, witty and humorous, and honest and selfless, modest and friendly, and won the favor of the French. The image of the North American he represents is in stark contrast to the arrogant and shallow Englishman in the heart of the French. He was loved by French dignitaries and parisians, and sympathetic and supportive of the North American Revolution he represented. This good public image and good personal friendship provided Great convenience for Franklin's espionage operations.
Creating propaganda and public opinion offensives was Franklin's specialty. He constantly created false news, exposed all kinds of shady scenes in British politics and the army, and skillfully disseminated it through various channels. And his own integrity makes these messages quite credible. As a result, Britain's image is getting worse and worse in France and even in Europe as a whole.
One day in 1777, within the Prussian mercenaries fighting in the North American colonies, a letter suddenly and inexplicably circulated, supposedly written by the Crown Prince of Prussia to his mercenary generals serving in the British army, and this letter soon spread to the European continent as well. In his letter, the Crown Prince said that he suspected that the British had deliberately concealed the number of mercenary casualties in order to reduce compensation, and he also advised mercenary commanders not to treat the wounded, because the wounded were "crippled" and useless, and the British paid the dead much more than the wounded. The letter caused great confusion and anger among the mercenaries, and for a time the number of deserters surged. There was a wave of protests from all walks of life in Europe against Britain's practice of selling the lives of those soldiers as commodities, and the British Foreign Office and military department were temporarily tired of coping.
Naturally, the author of this letter was none other than Franklin.
In 1782, Franklin crafted another masterpiece.
This time, he forged a full-page Boston newspaper. In this newspaper, classifieds, local news and lace anecdotes are all available. Among them was news reports that Britain's Royal Governor-General in Canada was offering a bounty to its Indian allies for the scalps of North American colonists. The report highlighted that many of the scalps sold by Indians to the governor were actually of women and children. As soon as the news spread, there was an uproar in Britain and across Europe, with waves of protests and opposition Whigs demanding that the government clarify the facts and end the war as soon as possible. The British government was really overwhelmed this time, and it was very hot.
Interestingly, Franklin was even the head of the Pirates at one point. In the North American War of Independence, when a considerable number of revolutionaries piloted armed ships and intercepted British merchant ships at sea, Franklin was responsible for coordinating these privateer activities in European ports. He arranged the attack plan in an orderly manner and organized a special group of port workers to supply, repair and sell the loot on these privateers. The French government turned a blind eye to these "pirate" activities and sometimes agreed to buy "stolen goods" stolen from the British. The proceeds were used by Franklin to buy arms and warships. Franklin's "piracy" activities caused a lot of trouble for Britain. As merchant ships were frequently attacked, British overseas trade profits also fell sharply. The British public complained. The British government knew who the culprit was, and they repeatedly protested angrily to the French government, but finally gave up because there was no evidence and the French government's favoritism.
George Washington passed away peacefully in 1799 on his estate full of vines and fig trees. As the founding father of the United States, he played an indelible role and influence on the establishment and development of the American intelligence industry, and the American intelligence community has always regarded him as a grandfather. The CIA deliberately contacted Langley headquarters to a conference room at the convention center, specifically named after George Washington, in honor of the great "Father of the Nation" and the great "Father of Spies."
Black slave spy James
It is worth mentioning that although the 1787 U.S. Constitution recognized the legitimacy of slavery because of the North-South compromise, a slave spy became a great figure in the history of American espionage because of his wit and loyalty - he was the black slave James at that time.
In the summer of 1781, the focus of the North American Revolutionary War came to Virginia. The British general Cornwaley (the one who later surrendered his sword to Washington) led 7,000 British troops stationed in Yorktown. The Americans confronted it under the command of the Frenchman Lafayette. At that time, the main force of the British army was concentrated in New York, and the department's contact with Cornwaly was mainly by water. Washington judged that the war would end in victory only if Cornwallis of Yorktown was defeated. The most important point in order to defeat Cornwallis was to cut off the British forces between the two places. This task will be accomplished by the French reinforcement fleet. At this moment, the U.S. military urgently needs to place a reliable eyeliner around Cornwaley to closely monitor the every move of the British army.
When a slave named James heard the news, he volunteered to his master and asked to take on the task. James is loyal, reliable, intelligent, and improvised. So Lafayette decided to recruit him as a SPY for the U.S. Military.
Soon, James successfully entered the British camp as an "honest and hardworking" laborer, and James, who won the appreciation of the British army, was assigned to collect food. This task also facilitated his travel between the two camps. Because of his "outstanding performance", James quickly caught Cornwalli's attention and gained his trust. Cornwaley decided to recruit James as a British spy. As a result, James was often ordered to infiltrate the US military camp to "spy on intelligence". His real job, of course, was to inform Lafayette of insider information he had spied on Connwaley's side. Lafayette repeatedly praised the "smart guy" in his letter to Washington.
James, on the other hand, also provided a lot of "useful information" to his other British "master", Cornwaley, who, under the misleading influence of this so-called intelligence, decided to stay on the spot. As a result, on August 30, 1781, the French reinforcement fleet arrived in time, and on September 5-9, the unsuspecting British fleet was defeated. The Yorktown defenders were completely encircled. What followed was Washington's prophecy of victory in the war.
On October 19, 1781, according to the custom of the time, the victorious commander Lafayette made a courtesy visit to the British camp. Cornwallis also made a return visit. To the latter's deep surprise, among the people who came to greet him in the American camp was James, the black slave he trusted the most.
On November 30, 1782, the warring parties signed the Treaty of Paris, and the United States became independent, but James himself remained a slave. In 1784, Lafayette found this spy friend during his re-visit to the United States. As a result of his activities, James officially became a freedman on New Year's Day 1787. As a token of gratitude, James changed his surname to Lafayette. James died on his farm on 9 August 1830. In recognition of James' exploits, the Valentine Museum in Richmond, Virginia, still displays his portraits today.
Donovan's Intelligence Coordination Bureau
Although the ESPION work of the United States has a long history, in the more than one hundred years since the victory in the War of Independence, the US spy organization has not developed much, and the efficiency of its intelligence work is not high, and it cannot provide long-term and strategic intelligence at all, and even conventional tactical intelligence processing is slow to respond. The reason is that after the victory in the Revolutionary War, the United States was surrounded by small countries. The small countries of Latin America could not pose a threat to the security of the United States, so the U.S. government at the time saw no need to spend time on it, which led to a neglect of intelligence work.
At this time, the United States returned to the era of "isolationism". The main security objectives have shrunk to twofold: to defend the security of the homeland and the dependent colonies, and to not allow other forces to meddle in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere. Troops were drastically reduced, and intelligence agencies bore the brunt of it. All illegal agent operations were ordered to be cancelled, and the "black room" specializing in codebreaking was shut down — a "black room" that had deciphered more than 45,000 code signals in dozens of countries that year.
Since then, U.S. intelligence agencies have been in a state of chaos. The FBI is responsible for domestic intelligence work, while national intelligence activities are overseen by the State Department, the War Department, the Navy Department and other departments. Each organization is independent, the boundaries of the field of responsibility are not divided, some are copied in large quantities, some have no one to study at all, the collection and analysis of intelligence is not systematic, and the quality of personnel is generally low. Not only is it impossible to submit high-quality information, but there are often quarrels between agencies over unfair funding allocations or some overstepping.
This chaotic situation of US espionage work has given many foreign agents an opportunity to take advantage of it. During World War II, a large number of German and Japanese spies seized this opportunity to come to the United States to frantically spy and collect intelligence. Many of the secrets of the U.S. government lack the necessary means of secrecy and control, and it is easy for spies to get them. Once, when a German spy wanted to get a code for communication between a coastal artillery unit in the United States and the Coastal Fleet, he found a soldier who had recently retired from the artillery unit and bought it for only $30. What's more, even the Germans could get a big pile of secret correspondence telegrams between Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
There was another thing at the time that could be seen in the Americans' neglect of intelligence work. An Italian media outlet revealed that Japan had built two super battleships, and the U.S. government knew nothing about it. Later, an officer of the Admiralty was ordered to investigate and asked the Japanese side for a reply, but the Japanese authorities gave an ambiguous answer, saying that they would "not comment on the Italian report." When the U.S. government heard about it, it stopped investigating. These few things have simply disgraced the US intelligence community. A senior admiral once put it bluntly: "Our country is completely devoid of a decent intelligence and counterintelligence agency." ”
It wasn't until 1932, when legendary American President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to power, that that situation began to change.
Roosevelt was the 32nd president in U.S. history. After coming to power in 1932, he was elected three times in the 1936, 1940, and 1944 elections until his death in April 1945, becoming the only president in U.S. history to win four consecutive terms. Roosevelt lived in an era of great turmoil in the world. From the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 to the official end of September 1945, Roosevelt experienced the entire process of World War II.
After Roosevelt took office, he was very dissatisfied with the current situation of the US intelligence agency. In addition to constantly coordinating disputes between the various intelligence agencies, he also envisioned the creation of a real intelligence agency. In late 1938, roosevelt allocated $300,000 to the FBI in order to strengthen counterintelligence efforts, much to the dismay of other intelligence agencies. FBI Director Edgar Hoover took the opportunity to draw up a plan to exchange information with the Army and Navy Intelligence Departments on an irregular basis, but the two intelligence agencies simply did not buy his account. At the same time, other non-military intelligence agencies such as the State Department and the Treasury Department are reluctant to weaken their intelligence functions, feeling that the FBI is too arrogant. As a result, the US intelligence community was in a state of strife. The old and cunning Hoover took a chance and pushed the mess back to the White House.
President Roosevelt found things a little tricky. Because the Second World War was already on the verge of breaking out, Hitler had already occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia, and Germany, Italy, and Japan had begun to move, the international situation was very tense, and these domestic intelligence services not only could not deliver what he wanted, but even quarreled over control. Thus, in 1939, President Roosevelt issued a secret directive to hand over all espionage, counter-espionage, and sabotage to the FBI and the Departments of Army and Naval Intelligence. He also authorized the FBI to conduct counterintelligence and security efforts in Latin America against Axis spies.
With the lightning attack of the German army, Hitler drove all the way into the European battlefield, occupied France and then confronted Britain across the sea. Distraught, Roosevelt set out to support the besieged British. However, the intelligence agencies have been inefficient for a long time, and the State Council is rigid in thinking, and loves to sing to him, so he is really uneasy about these fixed intelligence channels, so he began to reuse private intelligence networks. He decided to skip the government's rules and directly select and use some people who were extremely loyal and reliable to him, and wanted them to be directly responsible to him personally. Among them were diplomats, military personnel, journalists, writers, celebrities, and some of them his personal friends. William Joseph Donovan, who later became the founding father of the CIA, was one of them.
In the history of American intelligence, William Joseph Donovan was indeed a legendary figure.
Donovan was Roosevelt's classmate at Columbia Law School, and both were hardliners at heart, always having to express their opinions on issues and often arguing over disagreements. To outsiders, they seem to be making trouble, but in fact, the two people have a very good relationship in private. Donovan is strong, brave, determined, and extremely excited and active as soon as he goes to war. During World War I, he accompanied Army General Pershing on expeditions to Mexico. At that time, the troops marched long every day, and the soldiers complained bitterly, and Captain Donovan, who was always energetic, shouted at them: "Look at me, I have not fallen down, nor have I gasped, why can't you eat!" Someone whispered at the back of the line, "We're not like you, Savage Bill." ”
Since then, this nickname has slowly spread. Unexpectedly, Donovan was very happy when he found out, and openly called himself a "savage Bill". By the end of the war, "Savage Bill" had been promoted to colonel and became a distinguished combat hero.
Donovan was a typical Yankee, extremely brash, social, energetic, talented, enterprising, and an intelligence genius who combined romanticism, a witty mind, and a sharp mind. He has an extraordinary passion for politics, is loyal to friends, and is adept at building and nurturing close relationships. After retiring from the army, Donovan wanted to pursue his career and realize his political ambitions. But his luck was bad, and several consecutive campaigns for governor ended in failure. But Donovan has had good personal relations with several presidents and has good connections in both the government and Congress.
In 1924, Donovan was appointed by President Calvin Coolidge as Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General and later as Deputy Secretary of Justice. He was also good friends with herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, served as Hoover's political adviser and author, and served as hoover's campaign chief when he ran for president. Edgar Hoover, the future FBI director, was his subordinate at this time. After his friend Herbert Hoover was elected president, Donovan thought he would be appointed minister of justice, but for various reasons, he could not do so, so he had to pat his ass and leave. Later, the White House invited him to serve as deputy secretary of the Navy, but he felt bored, so he unceremoniously refused and opened a law firm on Wall Street.
When Donovan started a law firm on Wall Street, he easily made many of his subordinates loyal to him. The law firm's business has been booming, and he quickly made a fortune. By the time Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President of the United States in 1932, Donovan was already a millionaire. Because he and Roosevelt were classmates, although they strongly opposed the new policies introduced by Roosevelt on many occasions, this did not affect his personal relationship with Roosevelt. Both were born and raised in New York State, were equally optimistic, energetic, and believed that courage could do wonders, and both admired American democracy and freedom and wanted to spread that belief around the world.
From 1936 onwards, Donovan handed over the law firm to the management of partners and began to work for his old classmate Roosevelt. At that time, he traveled to various battlefields in Europe and witnessed the german offensive in Europe. He analyzed the dynamics and trends of the Axis powers, and examined the resistance movements in Britain, France and other countries. Later, he went to Europe many times, traveling across the European continent, in fact, responsible for the intelligence collection task given by Roosevelt. Donovan visited the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt, Yugoslavia and Albania.
In July 1940, Donovan was invited to Roosevelt's Oval Office to share his views on the state of the country and Britain. His audience consisted of four people: the President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of The Army, and the Secretary of the Navy. Donovan was in high spirits and gushed, repeatedly stressing that the United States should be prepared for war and give Britain the necessary assistance in time to counter the German Nazi offensive. In addition, he strongly advocated that the United States need to establish a "unified foreign intelligence agency." This coincided with Roosevelt's thinking at the time. At this point, Washington had just received two pieces of information that were diametrically opposed: Ambassador John F. Kennedy pessimistically believed that Britain would not resist long before it would surrender, while the rest of the embassy insisted that the British resistance movement would hold out. In order to get a practical understanding of the actual situation in Britain, after the secret talks, Roosevelt sent Donovan to Britain to examine his morale and strength in the fight against the Nazis, as well as to understand its intelligence work and counter-espionage experience.
In December 1940, Donovan came to England and received the most solemn welcome. Prime Minister Churchill and King George VI received him. Churchill repeatedly stressed to him the importance of intelligence work, hoping to maintain intelligence cooperation with the United States, and suggested that the United States establish a coordinated intelligence agency. Britain, which was increasingly war-torn, had been desperately seeking the United States to enter the war and had initial cooperation with the United States on the exchange of secret intelligence. The British side hoped to maintain the stability of this intelligence cooperation, and also hoped that the cooperation in intelligence would enable the United States to see the situation more clearly and enter the war as soon as possible, so it has been trying to persuade Roosevelt to establish a coordinated unified intelligence agency by the United States. So the British saw Donovan's visit as an important opportunity.
Menzies, the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, personally accompanied Donovan throughout the visit and assured him that he would meet anyone he wanted to see and know anything he wanted to know; Accompanied by Menzies, Donovan saw britain's preparations to resist the Nazis, saw the latest secret weapons invented by the British, and learned about the experience, training methods, and some basic tactics of British intelligence work.
In the process of investigation, Donovan understood and recognized the development of modern intelligence work, and deeply felt the great significance of intelligence work to a country, especially the necessity and urgency of establishing a strong intelligence system in the environment of all-out war, thus initially forming his basic idea of establishing a modern intelligence system in the United States.
Donovan wrote a whole bunch of analyses after returning from England, and finally came to the conclusion that the United States should prepare for a full-scale war as soon as possible. His optimistic report strengthened Roosevelt's determination to abandon neutrality and aid Britain. At the same time, Donovan again proposed to the president that a specialized agency, following the British approach, should be established to be responsible for foreign intelligence work, gather enemy information, and provide analysis for the president. He pointed out that the United States is facing a dangerous international situation and is in great need of strategic intelligence, that is, basic information on the capabilities and intentions of countries. He suggested that Roosevelt immediately establish a unified central intelligence agency.
Roosevelt was a little moved by Donovan's proposal, but the Departments of Army, Naval Intelligence, and the FBI unanimously opposed it, fearing that Donovan's agency would encroach on his authority and refusing to work with the "freewheeling" and "lawless" man. But Donovan ignored all this, and he still indomitablely sought out President Roosevelt. Donovan also selected a large number of young agents to go to England for special training. Because of his extraordinary relationship with William Stephenson, the director of The British Bureau of Strategic Intelligence.
William Stephenson, known as "Little Bill", opened six large secret training bases in Canada and the United Kingdom at that time, "X Training Camp", specializing in training agents. He trained not only more than 2,000 prominent agents for Britain, Canada, and the United States, but also five directors for the future CIA.
Young Americans who are new to covert intelligence operations are still very unfamiliar with this industry, but they are full of enthusiasm and serious learning, which is in stark contrast to the old oilers in the British intelligence community. Stephenson, through his special friendship with the White House, is also constantly speaking for Donovan, hoping that the president will accept his advice.
On June 22, 1941, Germany went to war against the Soviet Union. The gravity of the situation was much greater than Roosevelt had anticipated, as well as that expected by the U.S. Departments of Army, Naval Intelligence, and the FBI. It was then that Roosevelt approved Donovan's proposal and established the Intelligence Coordination Bureau to coordinate wartime intelligence. Donovan has since begun his long-desired espionage career.
In July 1941, Donovan received a $450,000 grant from the Budget Bureau and began working in several dilapidated buildings near the White House, conducting strategic intelligence research on hostile countries and collecting political, economic, and military intelligence on the countries concerned for the president's decision-making. In addition, Donovan also used his flexible social skills to attract a large number of elites. There are well-known scholars, famous poets, bankers, film directors, playwrights, etc., all of whom are prominent figures, shrewd and capable, and have great powers. A few months later, the intelligence coordination bureau's staff had soared from a few dozen to more than 600, with offices in washington and many parts of New York. But Donovan was not satisfied, and he wanted to double the size of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau. So Donovan completely ignored the relevant administrative regulations, and wantonly recruited talents of all identities, whether they were chicken thieves or people with different political tendencies, as long as they had a skill. He wants to train these "potential people" into first-class spies through formal training. Donovan opened many secret training institutions, hired many British intelligence experts as teachers, and taught spies in the Special Operations Division of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau a variety of stealthy operations skills, including cartography, assassination, demolition, and fighting.
At that time, he divided the work of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau into two parts: open and covert. Public activities are mainly conducted by scholars to conduct special analysis and research on intelligence, and covert work mainly refers to sabotage and subversive activities behind enemy lines. The Intelligence Coordination Bureau is composed of 5 specialized bodies, including the Secret Intelligence Service, which is engaged in espionage work, the Special Operations Service, which engages in sabotage and subversive activities, the Counter-Intelligence Service, which is engaged in espionage prevention, the Psychological Warfare Operations Division, which manufactures and disseminates black propaganda, and the Training Service, which trains guerrilla units infiltrating enemy-occupied areas. In addition, there are financial management, communications, personnel recruitment and other logistics departments.
In addition, there is a secret and important department under the Intelligence Coordination Bureau, which is the Research and Development Division, which is mainly composed of inventors and scientists, responsible for developing various intelligence tools, forging various identity documents and developing special weapons for the use of secret agents. They invented many silent pistols and elaborate explosive devices used in assassinations. At that time, they developed an ingenious device called "Kathy Jones" specifically designed to destroy the railway. It uses magnets to suck the lower part of the locomotive and electric eye, and waits until the train enters the tunnel before it explodes, which causes more damage.
The Intelligence Coordination Bureau grew rapidly and was very productive, and Donovan continued to provide President Roosevelt with a steady stream of information, and the President was very satisfied with his work. However, in Donovan's design, the function of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau is not exactly these, it can completely cover the entire espionage industry of the United States, unifying the intelligence channels of the whole country. But Roosevelt's suspicious nature made him distrust the intelligence provided by any one agency or another. So at that time, there were at least a dozen intelligence channels in the United States operating, providing him with intelligence. At the same time, the U.S. Departments of Army and Naval Intelligence and the FBI were worried that the excessive expansion of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau would endanger their own interests, so they rejected it and refused to provide some secret information. On many occasions, they are doing Donovan a favor and holding him back at every turn.
Therefore, the establishment of the US Intelligence Coordination Bureau did not in fact completely change the chaotic situation of the US intelligence services in the past. And this situation eventually led to a historic tragedy.
Pearl Harbor gave birth to the U.S. Strategic Intelligence Agency
On December 7, 1941, on a calm day, Donovan was watching a football match at the Polo Stadium, and the game saw a crucial moment when the loudspeaker outside the stadium suddenly sounded: "Urgent notice!" Urgent notification! Colonel William Donovan, please call the Washington 19 operator! ”
Radio Operator 19 in Washington is an emergency telephone line in the White House. As soon as Donova heard it, he knew immediately that something was wrong. After the phone was connected, the president's secretary told him that the Japanese had sneaked into Pearl Harbor and that the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor had been devastated, and the president asked him to rush back to Washington immediately.
Late on the night of December 7, Donovan was called into the president's Oval Office. I saw Roosevelt sitting there with a somber face, and the atmosphere in the room was very awkward. Suddenly, Roosevelt knocked the table and began to lash out: They are hitting our warships like hunters fighting wild ducks! Fight the ducks! Did you know, Bill? ”
Roosevelt waved his arms, excited and angry.
It was only then, after Donovan arrived at the president's office, that he understood what had happened—in the early hours of December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy's aircraft carrier aircraft and miniature submarines suddenly attacked the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet's Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii, sinking 4 of its 8 battleships, running aground, and severely damaging the rest; 6 cruisers and 3 destroyers; 188 aircraft destroyed, resulting in thousands of casualties.
"These bastards!" When Donovan heard the truth of the incident, he angrily scolded it. He had already asked the Army and Naval Intelligence Departments for materials about Japan's military movements, but the gang of bastards did not provide them. Although one of the responsibilities of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau is to "coordinate the various intelligence agencies", in many cases, Donovan simply cannot get the most timely and core secret information; while the Army and Navy Intelligence Departments themselves present to the president with basic original materials, not the results of overall analysis, which makes the US intelligence system always have a congenital defect. The intelligence coordination agencies, the FBI, and the Army and Navy Intelligence Departments were all in disarray, all busy gathering intelligence on their own, but no one cared about the intelligence that Donovan was asking for.
The "Pearl Harbor incident" caused great shock throughout American society. Why aren't there any alerts? What are so many intelligence agencies doing? Who is responsible for the tragedy of this country? A barrage of questions and accusations was rife.
Donovan also had reason to be angry. Because in his opinion, the tragedy of Pearl Harbor could have been completely avoidable. Information indicates that from the beginning of 1941 onwards, U.S. military intelligence agencies had obtained information on the possible Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor several times through different channels, but this information was either shelved for some reason or ignored as unimportant. Edwin Layton, an intelligence officer in the U.S. Pacific Fleet, had previously detected unusual Japanese carrier movements, repeatedly warning of possible fighting in the Far East and Pearl Harbor. But he was therefore seen by the senior officers in the War Department as a mediocre self-botherer, a guy who "loves to spread the Saturday crisis" and is a guy. At the same time, the Spies of the Chinese Nationalist Party at that time also saw the clues by deciphering the Japanese telegrams, and promptly informed the American intelligence agencies, but they also did not pay attention to it.
In any case, as one senior military official put it: "The intelligence services have an unshirkable responsibility for pearl harbor." The Army and Naval Intelligence Departments were immediately targeted and scolded for not being able to lift their heads.
In the midst of anger and shame, any ridiculous and comical plan could come out —
Donovan, who was equally hot-headed, urged the president to send half the remaining Pacific Fleet and more than ten thousand commandos—no such commando in the United States—to attack Hokkaido, Japan. It was also suggested that the United States bomb Japanese volcanoes and bury Japan in magma and ashes. The Intelligence Coordination Bureau did not know where to get the information, saying that the Japanese were extremely afraid of bats, so they offered to airdrop bats to Japan to disturb people's minds. Even more ironic is that President Roosevelt seriously considered and adopted this plan— the U.S. military painstakingly captured tens of thousands of large bats and tied a special miniature bomb to them in order to cause explosions and fires after landing, causing greater panic. Later, the US military dispatched a number of bombers to airdrop these bats into Japan, and as a result, most of the bats froze to death or fell to their deaths at high altitudes before they landed, and those who did not die were also dying - and the Japanese were not afraid of this at all!
In short, such an absurd and strange thing should happen in a modern democratic country, which can be regarded as a strange story.
After Pearl Harbor, with Roosevelt's support, Donovan increased the scope and intensity of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau's activities. For a time, he even, like his old friend Stephenson, the famous British spy boss, regularly sent people to the Spanish Embassy in Washington to conduct secret searches, secretly photographing the codebooks and important documents of the Franco government in the Axis countries to help the British crack the German "dumb" cipher machine. But Donovan's secret move infuriated FBI Director Hoover because it was his business. In a fit of rage, when the agents of the Intelligence Coordination Bureau infiltrated the Spanish embassy again, they dispatched vehicles, turned on bright signal lights, and raised the alarm signal, and finally arrested the panicked agent. Hoover's actions made Donovan tremble with rage, and he and Hoover quarreled until Roosevelt. But the president, out of his own considerations, did not reprimand Hoover, but instead ordered the task to be transferred to the FBI.
In order to improve the chaotic situation in the intelligence services of the United States at that time, in early 1942, Roosevelt once wanted to disband the Intelligence Coordination Bureau and assign its various agencies to other intelligence services. When Donovan heard the news, he was really angry and anxious. In order to stop the president's idea, Donovan went to great lengths to lobby the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) — because it was the highest military leadership in the United States — to convince the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the United States must have a secret agency specializing in intelligence against the enemy, and that secret agency was his Donovan's Intelligence Coordination Bureau.
An explosion at Pearl Harbor finally gave birth to the modern spy agency in the United States. On June 13, 1942, on the joint proposal of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Donovan, President Roosevelt issued an order to integrate all the spy agencies in the United States at that time, bringing together more than a dozen separate intelligence units to form the first national unified spy agency in American history, the United States Strategic Intelligence Agency, with William Joseph Donovan as its director.
From the Intelligence Coordination Bureau to the Strategic Intelligence Agency, the American intelligence industry has finally taken a new leap forward. Unlike the Intelligence Coordination Bureau, the mission of the Bureau of Strategic Intelligence is not to integrate existing intelligence, but mainly to engage in the collection and analysis of foreign intelligence in wartime and special activities such as strategic intelligence research behind enemy lines, psychological operations, and paramilitary operations, which are subordinate to the Us Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Strategic Intelligence Agency was the prototype of the later CIA. But from the Establishment of the Strategic Intelligence Agency to the CIA, U.S. espionage agencies still have a long way to go.