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Authors: Allen W. Dulles
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free peoples to maintain their free institutions and their national integrity against aggressive movements seeking to impose on them totalitarian regimes.” He added that we could not allow changes in the status quo brought about by “coercion or by such subterfuges as political infiltration,” in violation of the United Nations Charter.
It was by then obvious that the United Nations, shackled by the Soviet veto, could not play the role of policeman. It was also clear that we had a long period of crisis ahead of us. Under these conditions, a series of measures were taken by the government to transform our words into action. One of the earliest was the reorganization of our national defense structure, which provided for the unification of the military services under a Secretary of Defense and the creation of the National Security Council.
At that time President Truman recommended that a central intelligence agency be created as a permanent agency of government. A Republican Congress agreed and, with complete bipartisan approval, the CIA was established in the National Security Act of 1947. It was an openly acknowledged arm of the executive branch of government, although, of course, it had many duties of a secret nature. President Truman saw to it that the new agency was equipped to support our government’s effort to meet Communist tactics of “coercion, subterfuge, and political infiltration.” Much of the knowhow and some of the personnel of the OSS were taken over by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The two years between the end of World War II when the OSS was dissolved and the creation of CIA in the fall of 1947 had been a period of interdepartmental infighting as to what to do with intelligence. Fortunately, many experienced officers of the OSS remained on during this period in the various intelligence units which functioned under the aegis of the State and War Departments in the postwar period.
This was largely due to the foresight of General Donovan. At an early date he had directed President Roosevelt’s attention to the importance of preserving the OSS assets and providing for the carrying on of certain of the intelligence functions which had devolved upon the OSS during World War II.
As early as October, 1944, Donovan had discussed this whole problem with the President, and in response to his request had sent him a memorandum outlining his ideas of what an intelligence service should be equipped to do in the postwar period. In this memorandum he stressed that while intelligence operations during the war were mainly in support of the military and hence had been placed under the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the postwar period he felt they should be placed under the direct supervision of the President. He further proposed that a central intelligence authority, to include the Secretaries of State and Defense, as well as a representative of the President himself, should be created to supervise and coordinate intelligence work. In concluding his memorandum, General Donovan stated: “We have now in government the trained and specialized personnel needed for the task. This talent should not be dispersed.”
Under the pressure of events during the last months of the war, it was not until April 5, 1945, that President Roosevelt, as one of his last acts, answered General Donovan’s memorandum. The President instructed him to call together “the chiefs of foreign intelligence and internal security units in the various Executive agencies so that a consensus of opinion can be secured” as “to the proposed centralized Intelligence service.”
President Truman took the oath of office on April 12, 1945, and was of course immediately involved in all of the intricate questions arising out of the end of the war in Europe, the prosecution of the war against Japan and the preparation for the Potsdam Conference of July, 1945. But on April 26 he had a chance to discuss intelligence with the Director of the Bureau of the
It was by then obvious that the United Nations, shackled by the Soviet veto, could not play the role of policeman. It was also clear that we had a long period of crisis ahead of us. Under these conditions, a series of measures were taken by the government to transform our words into action. One of the earliest was the reorganization of our national defense structure, which provided for the unification of the military services under a Secretary of Defense and the creation of the National Security Council.
At that time President Truman recommended that a central intelligence agency be created as a permanent agency of government. A Republican Congress agreed and, with complete bipartisan approval, the CIA was established in the National Security Act of 1947. It was an openly acknowledged arm of the executive branch of government, although, of course, it had many duties of a secret nature. President Truman saw to it that the new agency was equipped to support our government’s effort to meet Communist tactics of “coercion, subterfuge, and political infiltration.” Much of the knowhow and some of the personnel of the OSS were taken over by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The two years between the end of World War II when the OSS was dissolved and the creation of CIA in the fall of 1947 had been a period of interdepartmental infighting as to what to do with intelligence. Fortunately, many experienced officers of the OSS remained on during this period in the various intelligence units which functioned under the aegis of the State and War Departments in the postwar period.
This was largely due to the foresight of General Donovan. At an early date he had directed President Roosevelt’s attention to the importance of preserving the OSS assets and providing for the carrying on of certain of the intelligence functions which had devolved upon the OSS during World War II.
As early as October, 1944, Donovan had discussed this whole problem with the President, and in response to his request had sent him a memorandum outlining his ideas of what an intelligence service should be equipped to do in the postwar period. In this memorandum he stressed that while intelligence operations during the war were mainly in support of the military and hence had been placed under the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the postwar period he felt they should be placed under the direct supervision of the President. He further proposed that a central intelligence authority, to include the Secretaries of State and Defense, as well as a representative of the President himself, should be created to supervise and coordinate intelligence work. In concluding his memorandum, General Donovan stated: “We have now in government the trained and specialized personnel needed for the task. This talent should not be dispersed.”
Under the pressure of events during the last months of the war, it was not until April 5, 1945, that President Roosevelt, as one of his last acts, answered General Donovan’s memorandum. The President instructed him to call together “the chiefs of foreign intelligence and internal security units in the various Executive agencies so that a consensus of opinion can be secured” as “to the proposed centralized Intelligence service.”
President Truman took the oath of office on April 12, 1945, and was of course immediately involved in all of the intricate questions arising out of the end of the war in Europe, the prosecution of the war against Japan and the preparation for the Potsdam Conference of July, 1945. But on April 26 he had a chance to discuss intelligence with the Director of the Bureau of the
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