History of Major Government Agency The CIA Part 2

About the history of the major government agency the Central Intelligence Agency or CIA, origins, facts and more.

SHOULD WE BE AFRAID OF THESE GROUPS?

THE CIA

* Early on, the CIA supported guerrilla movements in Eastern Europe in an attempt to roll back the Iron Curtain.

* The CIA infused large sums of money to Italy's Christian Democratic party to prevent a Communist victory in the 1948 elections. Since that time about $75 million of CIA funds has flowed into the coffers of the Christian Democrats and other anti-Communist Italian parties.

* For 20 years, beginning in the late 1940s, the agency launched a large-scale clandestine effort against the People's Republic of China. This included supporting an army of Nationalist Chinese troops who fled to Burma and then became involved in opium smuggling. A number of CIA agents were infiltrated into China, several score of whom were either captured or killed. The CIA also established a training base in Colorado for Tibetan guerrillas who were then infiltrated back into Tibet to fight against the Chinese.

* The CIA backed a Philippine drive against the insurgent Huks in the late 1950s. This program was headed by Gen. Edward Landsdale, who also ran the early CIA activities in Vietnam.

* The CIA organized and directed the 1953 coup against Premier Mossadegh of Iran. This action put the shah back in control and allowed U.S. companies a 40% share of the oil fields.

* In 1954 the agency helped in the overthrow of the leftist government of Jacobo Guzman in Guatemala.

* The CIA was active in Vietnam beginning in the early 1950s, engaging in psychological warfare, military training, and guerrilla raids, and helping Diem eliminate his political foes. In 1963 the agency advised the generals who staged a coup against Ngo Dinh Diem, resulting in his assassination. As the U.S. presence in Vietnam increased, so did the CIA's. Among the CIA operations was the Phoenix Program, run by William Colby, who later became director of the CIA. It has been reported that over 20,000 suspected Vietcong were executed during the course of Phoenix operations.

* In 1958 the CIA supported an anti-Sukarno coup in Indonesia with a fleet of B-26 bombers. One American pilot was captured. The CIA later produced a pornographic film using a stand-in for Sukarno in an attempt to discredit the Indonesian leader.

* 1961 marked the CIA disaster known as the Bay of Pigs. An agency-trained and equipped army of anti-Castro Cuban exiles invaded Cuba and were routed. Preliminary intelligence had predicted the populace would support the invaders and pick up arms against the Castro government. It also underestimated the strength of Castro's Soviet-backed forces.

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