Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA

Tim Weiner

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Seymour Hersh exposes CIA domestic spying whole source
The story ran December 22, 1974, on page one of the Sunday paper.
Ford warns the CIA could be destroyed whole source
On January 16, 1975, President Ford hosted a luncheon at the White House for senior editors and the publisher of The New York Times.
Colby warns America is losing Vietnam whole source
On April 2, 1975, Bill Colby warned the White House that the United States was about to lose a war.
Fall of Saigon whole source
At 4 a.m. on April 29, 1975, Polgar awoke to the sound of rockets and artillery.
George H. W. Bush becomes CIA director whole source
Within weeks after becoming director at the end of January 1976, Bush discovered that he loved the agency
CIA covert action in Angola whole source
Continuing failures in the field also sapped the CIA’s spirit in 1976. Among the biggest was in Angola.
Bush approves Team B whole source
In May 1976, Bush approved “Team B” with a cheery scribble: “Let her fly!! O.K. G.B.”
Nelson Mandela arrested and imprisoned whole source
The ANC’s leader, Nelson Mandela, had been arrested and imprisoned in 1962, thanks in part to the CIA.
Helsinki accords signed whole source
President Ford and the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, had signed an agreement in Helsinki in 1975 endorsing “the free movement of people an…
Carter orders CIA to pressure South Africa whole source
On March 3, 1977, at a full-dress National Security Council meeting, Carter commanded the CIA to explore how to bring economic and political…
Collapse of the Shah's army in Iran whole source
On February 11, 1979, the army of the shah collapsed and a fanatic ayatollah took control in Tehran.
CIA dismisses risk of Soviet Afghan invasion whole source
“The Soviets would be most reluctant to introduce large numbers of ground forces into Afghanistan,” the CIA’s National Intelligence Daily, i…
Carter's 'island of stability' toast whole source
On December 31, 1977, in a toast to the shah at a glittering state dinner, President Carter called the monarchy “an island of stability in a…
The Shah flees Tehran whole source
On January 16, 1979, the shah fled Tehran.
Khomeini returns to Tehran whole source
A few days later, on February 1, 1979, the popular revolution that pushed the shah from the Peacock Throne opened the way for Khomeini’s ret…
Desert One hostage rescue fails whole source
The Pentagon’s special-operations forces were in charge of Desert One, the April 1980 mission to save the hostages at the American embassy.
Reagan shot in Washington whole source
On March 30, 1981, a lunatic shot the president on a sidewalk in Washington.
Carter's first Central America covert actions whole source
In 1980, President Carter had approved three small covert-action programs in Central America.
CIA's secret war in Nicaragua begins whole source
“The secret war began on March 15, 1982, when the CIA, using Nicaraguan agents, blew up the bridges that connected Nicaragua with Honduras,”…
Congress restricts CIA in Central America whole source
On December 21, 1982, Congress passed a law restricting the CIA to its stated mission of cutting off the flow of communist arms in Central A…
Soviets go on global nuclear alert whole source
In May 1981, the Soviets weighed the rhetoric and the realities of the Reagan administration and began to fear a surprise attack by the Unit…
Mitterrand shares the Farewell dossier whole source
In July 1981, Mitterrand pulled Reagan aside at an economic summit in Ottawa.
Munich Olympics massacre whole source
henchman in the murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Israeli invasion of Lebanon whole source
That anger was a principal cause of the civil war that shattered the nation and opened the path for the Israeli invasion of June 1982.
Beirut Marine barracks bombing whole source
On October 23, 1983, Mughniyah’s terrorists drove a truck bomb into the American barracks at Beirut International Airport and killed 241 mar…
CIA station chief Buckley kidnapped in Beirut whole source
On March 7, 1984, Jeremy Levin, the CNN bureau chief in Beirut, was kidnapped. On March 16, Bill Buckley, the CIA’s station chief, disappear…
CIA issues burn notice on Ghorbanifar whole source
On July 25, 1984, the CIA officially certified Ghorbanifar as a consummate liar—“an intelligence fabricator and a nuisance”—and issued a rar…
Casey's two commands: hostages and contras whole source
In January 1985, at the start of the second Reagan administration, the director faced two urgent commands from the president. Free the hosta…
Hezbollah hijacks TWA Flight 847 whole source
On June 14, 1985, Hezbollah, the Party of God, hijacked TWA Flight 847 out of Athens en route to Rome and New York.
Reagan signs the arms-for-hostages finding whole source
On December 5, 1985, the president of the United States signed it.
Contra supply plane shot down over Nicaragua whole source
On October 5, 1986, a teenage Nicaraguan soldier fired a missile that brought down an American C-123 cargo plane ferrying weapons from San S…
Iran-Contra deals exposed whole source
On November 4, 1986, election day, Rafsanjani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, revealed that American officials had been to Iran bearing g…
Gates serves as acting CIA director whole source
Gates served as acting director of central intelligence for five excruciating months, until May 26, 1987, but his nomination was doomed.
KGB executes CIA source Tolkachev whole source
When the Politburo met in the Kremlin on September 28, 1986, the KGB chairman, Viktor Chebrikov, proudly informed Mikhail Gorbachev that Tol…
Cuban intelligence officer defects, exposing double agents whole source
In June 1987, Major Florentino Aspillaga Lombard, the chief of Cuban intelligence in Czechoslovakia, drove across the border to Vienna, walk…
Gorbachev tells Warsaw Pact he won't invade whole source
The CIA did not know that Gorbachev had told the Warsaw Pact meeting in May 1987 that the Soviets would never invade Eastern Europe to shore…
Last Soviet soldier leaves Afghanistan whole source
The last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan on February 15, 1989.
Carlucci lectures Soviet generals in Moscow whole source
But in August 1988 a payoff came in a moment of perfect irony. Frank Carlucci, now Reagan’s secretary of defense, went to Moscow for meeting…
George H. W. Bush sworn in as president whole source
The agency celebrated when George H. W. Bush was sworn in as president on January 20, 1989.
U.S. invades Panama to seize Noriega whole source
During Christmas week of 1989, smart bombs blasted Panama City slums into rubble while Special Forces soldiers fought their way through the…
Gulf War air campaign begins whole source
In the weeks before the seven-week air war on Iraq began on January 17, 1991, the Pentagon invited the CIA to pick bombing targets.
Fall of the Berlin Wall whole source
When it began to crack one night in November 1989, the chief of the Soviet division of the clandestine service, Milt Bearden, sat speechless…
Gorbachev announces unilateral troop cut at UN whole source
Six days later, Mikhail Gorbachev stood at the podium of the United Nations and offered a unilateral cut of 500,000 troops in the Soviet mil…
Gates presents post-Cold War threat list whole source
Over the winter, Gates compiled his to-do list for the new world, completed it in February, and presented it to Congress on April 2, 1992.
Shooting at CIA headquarters gate whole source
Not long after dawn on January 25, 1993, the fifth day of the Clinton administration, Nicholas Starr, a sixty-year-old career CIA officer, w…
First World Trade Center bombing whole source
On February 26, 1993, one month after the shooting at the agency’s gates, a bomb went off in the subterranean parking garage of the World Tr…
U.S. military intervention in Somalia whole source
The day before Thanksgiving 1992, President Bush had authorized an American military intervention for humanitarian purposes.
Plot to assassinate former President Bush whole source
On April 14, 1993, George H. W. Bush arrived in Kuwait to commemorate the victory in the Gulf War.
White House ignores Rwanda genocide warning whole source
At the end of January 1994, the White House studiously ignored a CIA study saying half a million people might die in Rwanda.
Aldrich Ames arrested for spying whole source
On Presidents’ Day, February 21, 1994, a team of FBI agents hauled Ames out of his Jaguar as he left his suburban home for headquarters, sla…
Sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway whole source
Not the March 1995 attack by a religious cult that poured sarin gas into the Tokyo subways, killing 12 people and injuring 3,769, an event t…
Oklahoma City bombing whole source
Not the April 1995 bombing of the federal headquarters in Oklahoma City, which killed 169 people, the deadliest attack on American territory…
Srebrenica massacre missed by CIA whole source
In Bosnia, on July 13, 1995, as the world’s press reported mass killings of Muslims by Serbs, a spy satellite sent back pictures of prisoner…
Legacy of the 1954 Guatemala coup whole source
In Guatemala, 200,000 civilians had died during forty years of struggle following the agency’s 1954 coup against an elected president.
CIA creates the bin Laden station whole source
In January 1996, the CIA created a counterterrorism unit of a dozen people devoted entirely to the Saudi—the bin Laden station.
Saddam crushes CIA-backed coup plot whole source
On June 26, 1996, Saddam began arresting at least two hundred officers in and around Baghdad.
Tony Lake withdraws as CIA nominee whole source
On March 17, 1997, Lake withdrew in anger, telling the president that he was not going to spend three more months as “a dancing bear in a po…
George Tenet becomes CIA director whole source
George Tenet was sworn in as the eighteenth director of central intelligence on July 11, 1997.
India tests a nuclear bomb whole source
A few days later, on May 11, 1998, the agency was caught by surprise again when India exploded a nuclear bomb.
East Africa embassy bombings whole source
On August 7, 1998, President Clinton was awakened by a 5:35 a.m. call reporting the bombings of the American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, an…
First Predator flight over Afghanistan whole source
The first flight had come on September 7, 2000.
September 11 attacks whole source
September 11 was the catastrophic failure Tenet had predicted three years before.
Bush's secret directive unleashes the CIA whole source
On Monday, September 17, President Bush issued a fourteen-page top secret directive to Tenet and the CIA, ordering the agency to hunt, captu…
Bombing of the USS Cole whole source
On October 12, in the harbor of Aden, the capital of Yemen, two men in a speedboat stood and bowed as they approached an American warship, t…
Bush orders warrantless eavesdropping whole source
President Bush ordered him to execute the plan on October 4, 2001.
Taliban leadership toppled in Afghanistan whole source
By the third week of November 2001, the American military knocked out the political leadership of the Taliban, leaving behind the rank and f…
Cheney asserts Iraq has WMD whole source
“There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction,” Vice President Dick Cheney said on August 26, 2002.
Bush's State of the Union case for war whole source
President Bush presented the CIA’s case and more in his State of the Union speech on January 28, 2003: Saddam Hussein had biological weapons…
Powell's WMD case at the United Nations whole source
On the eve of the war, on February 5, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell, whose international stature was unmatched in the Bush administr…
Iraq War begins whole source
On March 20, 2003, the war began ahead of schedule with a bad tip from the CIA.
Kay reports no Iraqi weapons found whole source
Kay nonetheless went before the Senate Armed Services Committee on January 28, 2004, and spoke the truth.
Tenet resigns as CIA director whole source
On July 8, 2004, seven years after he took office, George Tenet resigned.
Goss confirmed as CIA director whole source
He went to his Senate confirmation hearings with a swagger on September 14, 2004, saying he could fix the CIA once and for all.
Congress creates the Director of National Intelligence whole source
In December 2004, with the upheaval at the agency in full force, Congress passed and the president signed a new law establishing the directo…
Office of Director of Central Intelligence abolished whole source
On April 21, 2005, the office of director of central intelligence disappeared into history.
Eisenhower lays the CIA headquarters cornerstone whole source
The CIA’s historian recalled President Eisenhower’s words when he came to lay the cornerstone for the agency’s headquarters on November 3, 1…
CIA calls off its Indonesia operation whole source
On May 19, Allen Dulles sent a flash cable to his officers in Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Singapore: stand down, cut off the mon…
Frank Wisner's mental breakdown whole source
He came back from the Far East in June 1958 at the edge of his sanity, and at summer’s end he went mad. The diagnosis was “psychotic mania.”
Bissell takes over clandestine service as Castro seizes power whole source
On January 1, 1959, Richard Bissell became the chief of the clandestine service. That same day, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba.
Bissell proposes eliminating Castro whole source
On December 11, 1959, having reached that conclusion, Richard Bissell sent Allen Dulles a memo suggesting that “thorough consideration be gi…
U-2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union whole source
On May Day, as the president had feared, the U-2 was shot down in central Russia. The CIA’s pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was captured alive.
Eisenhower says he would like to resign after U-2 lies whole source
Eisenhower walked into the Oval Office on May 9 and said out loud: “I would like to resign.”
Eisenhower orders Lumumba eliminated whole source
According to secret Senate testimony delivered years later by the NSC’s notetaker, Robert Johnson, President Eisenhower then turned to Dulle…
Patrice Lumumba executed in the Congo whole source
a Belgian officer of Flemish origin executed Lumumba with a burst of submachine gun fire
Kennedy defeats Nixon by a razor-thin margin whole source
John Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon in November by fewer than 120,000 votes.
Intelligence board urges reassessment of covert action whole source
Then, on January 5, 1961, the President’s Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities issued its final recommendations.
Eisenhower leaves a 'legacy of ashes' whole source
“I have suffered an eight-year defeat on this,” said the president of the United States. He said he would “leave a legacy of ashes” to his s…
CIA arms Dominican conspirators against Trujillo whole source
On January 19, 1961, Dearborn was advised that a shipment of small arms was on its way to a group of Dominican conspirators who aimed to kil…
Rafael Trujillo assassinated whole source
When Trujillo’s killers shot him two weeks later, the smoking gun might or might not have been the agency’s.
Bay of Pigs invasion begins with air strikes whole source
On Saturday, April 15, eight American B-26 bombers struck three Cuban airfields as the CIA’s brigade of 1,511 men headed for the Bay of Pigs…
Bay of Pigs ends in disaster whole source
In sixty hours, 1,189 members of the Cuban brigade had been captured and 114 killed.
Allen Dulles retires as director of central intelligence whole source
In September 1961, Allen Dulles retired as director of central intelligence.
Berlin Wall erected whole source
The wall had been erected—first barbed wire, then concrete—in August 1961.
Kennedys create Special Group (Augmented) to eliminate Castro whole source
In November 1961, in the greatest secrecy, John and Bobby Kennedy created a new planning cell for covert action, the Special Group (Augmente…
West German spy chief Heinz Felfe arrested as Soviet mole whole source
On November 6, 1961, the West German chief of counterintelligence, Heinz Felfe, was arrested by his own security police.
CIA creates the 'Rifle' assassination program whole source
In February 1962, Harvey created an “executive action” program, code-named Rifle, and retained the services of a foreign agent, a resident o…
Robert Kennedy briefed on the Rifle project whole source
On May 7, 1962, the attorney general was briefed in full on the Rifle project by the CIA’s general counsel, Lawrence Houston, and the agency…
Kennedy installs Oval Office taping system whole source
On Monday, July 30, 1962, John F. Kennedy walked into the Oval Office and switched on the brand-new state-of-the-art taping system he had or…
McCone predicts Soviet missiles will go to Cuba whole source
He predicted that the Soviet Union was going to give Castro nuclear weapons—medium-range ballistic missiles capable of striking the United S…
CIA campaign drives out British Guiana's Cheddi Jagan whole source
The president launched a $2 million campaign that eventually drove Jagan from power.
U-2 discovers a surface-to-air missile site in Cuba whole source
On August 30, a CIA analyst bent over his light table and shouted: I’ve got a SAM site!
CIA estimate rejects Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba whole source
“The establishment on Cuban soil of Soviet nuclear striking forces which could be used against the US would be incompatible with Soviet poli…
U-2 flight confirms Soviet missiles in Cuba whole source
At first light on October 14, a U-2 aircraft, piloted by Air Force Major Richard D. Heyser of the Strategic Air Command, flew over western C…
Kennedy decides to take out the Cuban missiles whole source
“We’re certainly going to do number one,” he said. “We’re going to take out these missiles.”
Kennedy announces the Cuban blockade to the world whole source
The president announced that decision to the world in a televised address on Monday night, October 22.
U-2 shot down over Cuba during missile crisis whole source
Then, at about 6 p.m., McNamara suddenly announced that another U-2 had been shot down over Cuba, killing Air Force Major Rudolf Anderson.
Secret Cuba-Turkey missile trade ends the crisis whole source
He told Dobrynin that the United States accepted the quid pro quo on the missiles, provided it was never made public.
FitzGerald meets Cuban agent Cubela in plot to kill Castro whole source
On October 29, 1963, FitzGerald took a plane to Paris and met Cubela in a CIA safe house.
Kennedy laments the assassination of South Vietnam's Diem whole source
Alone in the Oval Office on Monday, November 4, 1963, John F. Kennedy dictated a memo about a maelstrom he had set in motion half a world aw…
Vietnam partitioned at Geneva after Dien Bien Phu whole source
After Ho defeated the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam was partitioned into North and South at an international conference in…
Buddhist monk Quang Duc immolates himself in Saigon whole source
On June 11, a sixty-six-year-old monk named Quang Duc sat down and set himself ablaze in a Saigon intersection.
Ambassador Lodge commits to overthrowing Diem whole source
On August 29, his sixth day in Saigon, Lodge cabled Washington: “We are launched on a course from which there is no turning back: the overth…
President Diem overthrown and killed whole source
Conein returned to the American embassy to report that President Diem was dead.
President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas whole source
The president had been shot. McCone clapped on his fedora and went to Bobby Kennedy’s house, a minute away by car.
Oswald telephones the Soviet embassy in Mexico City whole source
The file said that at 10:45 a.m. on October 1, 1963, a man identifying himself as Lee Oswald had telephoned the Soviet embassy in Mexico Cit…
Warren Commission created to investigate Kennedy's killing whole source
On November 29, the day after Thanksgiving, he cajoled the reluctant chief justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren, to lead the investigat…
Hoover calls FBI's Oswald handling 'gross incompetency' whole source
It was “gross incompetency,” J. Edgar Hoover declared in a December 10, 1963, memo that stayed secret until the turn of the century.
KGB officer Yuri Nosenko defects to the United States whole source
His suspect was Yuri Nosenko, who had come to the United States as a KGB defector in February 1964, just as Angleton took over the CIA’s inv…
Soviet spy Kim Philby flees to Moscow whole source
In January 1963, Angleton’s prime tutor in counterintelligence, his old confidant, his drinking partner, fled to Moscow.
CIA imprisons Nosenko in solitary confinement whole source
In April 1964, with the approval of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the CIA threw Nosenko into solitary confinement, first in a CIA safe…
Truman creates the National Security Agency whole source
The NSA had been created by Truman in 1952 at the urging of Walter Bedell Smith after the crushing surprises of the Korean War.
National Reconnaissance Office founded to build spy satellites whole source
Then there was the National Reconnaissance Office, born in 1962 to build spy satellites.
First Gulf of Tonkin clash with the USS Maddox whole source
Shortly after 3 p.m., the Maddox fired three times at the North Vietnamese patrol boats.
Phantom second Gulf of Tonkin attack whole source
The radar and sonar operators aboard the Maddox and the Turner Joy reported seeing ghostly blotches in the night. Their captains opened fire…
Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution whole source
On August 7, Congress authorized the war in Vietnam. The House voted 416–0. The Senate voted 88–2.
Vietcong attack the American base at Pleiku whole source
At 2 a.m. on February 7, 1965, the Vietcong attacked an American base in Pleiku, the central highlands of Vietnam. Eight Americans died.
US Marines land at Da Nang whole source
On March 8, the marines landed in Da Nang in full battle dress.
McCone resigns warning Vietnam cannot be won whole source
On April 2, 1965, John McCone quit for the last time, effective as soon as Lyndon Johnson selected a successor.
Johnson appoints Admiral Red Raborn to run the CIA whole source
On the afternoon of April 6, 1965, he placed a call to a fifty-nine-year-old retired admiral named Red Raborn, a native son of Decatur, Texa…
US troops land in the Dominican Republic whole source
It was the first large-scale landing of American forces in Latin America since 1928, and the first armed adventure of its kind in the Caribb…
Press coins Johnson's 'credibility gap' whole source
The phrase was first published on May 23, 1965.
Coup and killings convulse Indonesia whole source
At least five generals were assassinated that night, including the army chief of staff. The state-run radio announced that a revolutionary c…
US troop strength in Vietnam reaches 184,000 whole source
The war in Vietnam was now on full tilt; 184,000 troops were deployed by year’s end.
Mass killings of suspected communists in Indonesia whole source
Ambassador Green later told Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, in a conversation at the vice president’s office in the U.S. Capitol, that “3…
US embassy hands Indonesian army a list of PKI leaders whole source
Martens gave the emissary an unclassified list of sixty-seven PKI leaders, a roster he had compiled out of communist press clippings.
Frank Wisner takes his own life whole source
That afternoon, Wisner went up to his country house, took down a shotgun, and blew off his head.
McNamara commissions the Pentagon Papers whole source
He told his aides to begin to compile a top secret history of the war since 1954—the Pentagon Papers.
CIA accepts a falsified count of enemy forces in Vietnam whole source
The agency officially accepted the falsified figure of 299,000 enemy forces or fewer.
Ramparts exposes CIA funding of the National Student Association whole source
A little leftist monthly called Ramparts was about to publish a story saying that the National Student Association, a well-respected worldwi…
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty exposed as CIA creations whole source
Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, and the Congress for Cultural Freedom were revealed as the agency’s creations.
Drew Pearson prints the 'political H-bomb' story whole source
On March 3, Pearson’s column reported that “President Johnson is sitting on a political H-bomb—an unconfirmed report that Senator Robert Ken…
CIA correctly predicts the Six-Day War whole source
On June 5, 1967, Israel launched an attack on Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. The CIA saw it coming.
Desmond FitzGerald dies of a heart attack whole source
Five weeks later, a heart attack killed him as he played tennis with the British ambassador.
CIA-backed Barrientos wins the Bolivian presidency whole source
“With the election of Rene Barrientos as President of Bolivia on July 3, 1966, this action was brought to a successful completion.”
Che Guevara captured in Bolivia whole source
On October 8, 1967, Che was captured after a clash with the Bolivian Rangers.
Che Guevara executed whole source
“Guevara was executed with a burst of shots at 1:15 p.m.,” Rodriguez radioed to Tilton.
CIA launches domestic spying Operation Chaos whole source
The CIA undertook a domestic surveillance operation, code-named Chaos.
Urban riots sweep American cities whole source
In 1967, America’s ghettoes had become war zones; seventy-five separate urban riots wracked the nation, resulting in 88 deaths, 1,397 injuri…
Tet Offensive stuns the United States whole source
On January 31, 1968, 400,000 communist troops hit almost every major city and military garrison in South Vietnam.
Robert Kennedy assassinated on the campaign trail whole source
Helms was truly shocked when the senator was murdered on the campaign trail in June.
Nixon wins the presidency and keeps Helms whole source
Three days after winning the election, Nixon placed a call to LBJ. “What do you think about Helms?” he asked.
Helms erases a passage from a Soviet nuclear estimate whole source
In the end, that is exactly what Helms did, erasing a key passage of the CIA’s most important estimate on Soviet nuclear forces in 1969.
Nixon orders the CIA to hit the Soviets hard whole source
With respect to black operations, the President enjoined me to hit the Soviets, and hit them hard, any place we can in the world.
CIA pours millions into Italian politics whole source
Beginning in 1970, after receiving formal approval from the Nixon White House, Martin oversaw the distribution of $25 million to both Christ…
CIA stages the appearance of democracy in Thailand whole source
In February 1969, covert action created the appearance of democracy in Thailand.
CIA abandons the Tibetan resistance whole source
In August 1969, the agency requested $2.5 million more to support Tibet’s insurgents in the coming year, calling the 1,800-man paramilitary…
Secret US bombing of Cambodia begins whole source
American B-52s would drop 108,823 tons of bombs on six suspected communist camps that the CIA and the Pentagon had identified—incorrectly—as…
CIA spends millions to defeat Allende in 1964 Chile vote whole source
The agency put in the plumbing and pumped roughly $3 million into the political apparatus of Chile.
Salvador Allende wins the Chilean presidency whole source
On September 4, 1970, Allende won the three-way election by a 1.5 percent margin, with less than 37 percent of the vote.
Nixon secretly orders a coup to stop Allende whole source
Nixon had ordered him to mount a military coup without telling the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, the American ambassador, or…
Chilean army chief General Schneider ambushed whole source
On October 22, fifty hours before Congress was to convene to confirm the election results, a gang of armed men ambushed General Schneider on…
Congress confirms Allende as president of Chile whole source
He was shot repeatedly and died in surgery shortly after Salvador Allende was affirmed by Congress as the constitutionally elected president…
Pinochet's coup topples Allende whole source
The coup came on September 11, 1973. It was swift and terrible. Facing capture at the presidential palace, Allende killed himself with an au…
Car bombing kills Orlando Letelier in Washington whole source
Contreras distinguished himself with a singular act of terror: the 1976 assassination of Orlando Letelier, who had been Allende’s ambassador…
Augusto Pinochet dies under indictment whole source
Pinochet died in December 2006 at age ninety-one, under indictment for murder and with $28 million in secret bank accounts abroad.
New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers whole source
In June, The New York Times began publishing long excerpts from the Pentagon Papers, the secret Vietnam history commissioned by Defense Secr…
Watergate break-in at Democratic headquarters whole source
“I’ve just learned that the District police have picked up five men in a break-in at the Democratic Party National Headquarters at the Water…
Nixon fires Richard Helms whole source
On November 20, Nixon fired Richard Helms in a short, awkward meeting at Camp David.
Nixon gives the CIA to James Schlesinger whole source
On November 21, Nixon offered the CIA to James Schlesinger, who accepted the president’s offer with pleasure.
Helms destroys his secret tapes on leaving the CIA whole source
By the date of his official departure on February 2, 1973, every one had been destroyed.
Schlesinger orders the CIA to report illegal activities whole source
Schlesinger’s order was dated May 9, 1973, and effective immediately.
CIA fails to foresee the Yom Kippur War whole source
When the holy days of Yom Kippur and Ramadan coincided in 1973, Egypt went to war against Israel and drove deep into Israeli-held territory.
Greek colonels seize power in a CIA-linked coup whole source
Most of it came from members and supporters of “the colonels”—the Greek junta that seized power in April 1967, led by George Papadopoulos, a…
Turkey invades Cyprus whole source
The Turks hit the beach in northern Cyprus and cut the island in half with American tanks and artillery.
Richard Nixon resigns the presidency whole source
On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon resigned.
Tenet's CIA backs the case for war in Iraq whole source
George Tenet at the White House with President Bush and Vice President Cheney as the war on Iraq begins in March 2003.
Michael Hayden sworn in as CIA director whole source
In March 2006, General Mike Hayden was sworn in as CIA director at headquarters.
Bush fires CIA director Porter Goss whole source
On May 5, 2006, President Bush fired Porter Goss after nineteen months of ceaseless backstabbing at the CIA.
CIA official Dusty Foggo indicted for corruption whole source
Unsealed on February 13, 2007, it charged Foggo with fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.
Robert Gates becomes Secretary of Defense whole source
Bob Gates took over the Pentagon on December 18, 2006—the only entry-level analyst ever to run the CIA and the only director ever to become…
Franklin Roosevelt dies; Truman becomes president whole source
Catapulted into the White House by the death of President Franklin D.
Joint Chiefs shelve Donovan's intelligence agency plan whole source
On March 6, 1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff formally shelved them. They wanted a new spy service to serve the Pentagon, not the president.
Truman dissolves the OSS and fires Donovan whole source
On September 20, 1945, six weeks after he dropped America’s atomic bombs on Japan, the president of the United States fired Donovan and orde…
Magruder keeps OSS operations alive under new name whole source
On September 26, 1945, six days after President Truman signed away the OSS, General Magruder stalked down the endless corridors of the Penta…
Souers named first Central Intelligence Group director whole source
Admiral Leahy recorded the moment of the investiture in his office diary for January 24, 1946: “At lunch today in the White House, with only…
Wisner's Romanian spy network destroyed by Soviets whole source
Frank Wisner opened The New York Times on November 20, 1946, and read a short article on page ten reporting that his old agent Manacatide, “…
NSC authorizes CIA covert psychological operations whole source
Nevertheless, on December 14, 1947, the National Security Council issued its first top secret orders to the CIA.
Berlin blockade spurs passage of the Marshall Plan whole source
On March 5, 1948, while the Czech crisis was exploding, a terrifying cable came to the Pentagon from General Lucius D.
Kennan defines Cold War as organized political warfare whole source
In a top secret paper sent to perhaps two dozen people at the State Department, the White House, and the Pentagon on May 4, 1948, Kennan pro…
Wisner takes charge of CIA covert operations whole source
Frank Wisner took charge of American covert action on September 1, 1948. His mission: to roll the Soviets back to Russia’s old boundaries an…
Bedell Smith names Dulles deputy director of plans whole source
On January 4, 1951, Bedell Smith bowed to the inevitable and appointed Allen Dulles as the CIA’s deputy director of plans (the title was a c…
Stalin dies; Eisenhower finds CIA unprepared whole source
Allen Dulles had been director of central intelligence for one week when, on March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin died.
Soviet Union tests its first thermonuclear weapon whole source
In August 1953, when the Soviet Union tested its first weapon of mass destruction—not quite a thermonuclear bomb, but near enough—the agency…
CIA and Britain plan Mossadeq's overthrow in Iran whole source
On February 18, 1953, the newly installed chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service arrived in Washington. Sir John Sinclair, a soft-…
Guatemala coup plot leaks; CIA plants disinformation whole source
They awoke the next morning to discover that their scheme had been blown sky-high. Every major newspaper in the Western Hemisphere published…
Doolittle report warns CIA is out of control whole source
On October 19, 1954, Doolittle went to see the president at the White House. He reported that the agency had “ballooned out into a vast and…
Kishi unites Japan's conservatives with CIA funding whole source
In November 1955, Kishi unified Japan’s conservatives under the banner of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Dulles leaks Khrushchev's secret speech to press whole source
Dulles then picked up the phone and called his brother.
CIA warns NSC of communist threat in Indonesia whole source
The agency first raised the alarm over Indonesia in a report delivered to the National Security Council on September 9, 1953.
Congress passes the CIA Act of 1949 whole source
The CIA Act was rammed through Congress on May 27, 1949. With its passage, Congress gave the agency the widest conceivable powers.
CIA guerrilla team captured in Manchuria trap whole source
The CIA was still searching for the elusive resistance forces when it dropped a four-man Chinese guerrilla team into Manchuria in July 1952.
Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal whole source
Then, in July 1956, Nasser challenged the legacies of colonialism by nationalizing the Suez Canal Company, the corporation created by the Br…
Dulles feeds Eisenhower Israeli disinformation on Suez whole source
On October 26, the director conveyed their falsehoods to the president at the National Security Council meeting: The king of Jordan has been…
Wisner orders Radio Free Europe to incite Hungary whole source
On October 28, Wisner flew to Paris and convened a few trusted members of an American delegation attending a NATO conference on the question…
Dulles falsely tells Eisenhower Hungarian army defected whole source
The director was ecstatic when he briefed Eisenhower on the situation in Budapest at the next National Security Council meeting on November…