The history of the CIA is a history of incompetence and an almost total absence of accountability. The agency started after WWII as a continuation of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). What it became was a self-perpetuating monster that both fueled the Cold War and was fueled by it; and that led to a broader U.S. policy of destabilizing and overthrowing governments not to our liking, propping up military dictatorships; and even training torturers and human rights abusers.

By definiti... (show more)

The history of the CIA is a history of incompetence and an almost total absence of accountability. The agency started after WWII as a continuation of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). What it became was a self-perpetuating monster that both fueled the Cold War and was fueled by it; and that led to a broader U.S. policy of destabilizing and overthrowing governments not to our liking, propping up military dictatorships; and even training torturers and human rights abusers.

By definition, the CIA is an organization steeped in secrecy, with the details of many operations known only to a handful of people. That secrecy naturally has led to abuses and is one of the greatest threats to American democracy this country has ever known. Among other things, there is abundant evidence (laid out most recently and impressively in David Talbot's "Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years") that the CIA was part of a shadowy network of intelligence operatives, mafia thugs, and virulently right-wing Cuban exile groups that planned, organized, and helped to carry out the assassination of John F. Kennedy -- and quite possibly of Robert F. Kennedy, as well. (show less)