The most prominent security agency of the United States is the CIA, or Central Intelligence Agency. Created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Truman, the CIA has been extremely active in protecting the interests of the United States in the fight against Communist and terrorist nations. Leon Panetta became director of this agency in February, 2009.
The CIA reports to the director whose responsibilities include the following:
- Collecting intelligence through human sources and other appropriate means
- Correlating and evaluating intelligence related to national security
- Providing overall direction and coordination of the collection of national intelligence outside the United States through human resources and other authorized methods.
- Performing such other duties and functions related to intelligence affecting the national security as the President or the Director of National Intelligence may direct.
The CIA is involved in such high-priority issues as counterterroism, nonproliferation, international organized crime and drug trafficking, environment, and arms control intelligence.
The CIA has recently been in the news with relation to former Vice President Dick Cheney and the Special Operations. The news media has reported that Mr. Cheney ordered the CIA to conceal a highly-secret terrorist program from Congress for eight years, possibly in breach of long-standing oversight laws.
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