Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency historical essay, of unknown date, profiles the first three Directors of Central Intelligence: Sidney Souers, Hoyt Vandenberg and Roscoe Hillenkoetter. It describes their reluctance to serve, the setup of the Central Intelligence Group, the push for the National Security Act and the CIA Act of 1949, and criticism of Hillenkoetter's leadership. It notes that Hillenkoetter served on the board of NICAP, a civilian UFO group, from 1957 to 1962.
“Cabinet Office”2 pages
transferred to ORE. Although ORE produced the first national estimate—on Soviet capabilities and intentions—in July, it faced significant resistance from the departments, both on substance and the provision of personnel, and the evolution of a truly national estimative process and machinery would continue for decades. Vandenberg was also intent on ensuring that the DCI conduct all foreign intelligence collection and foreign counterintelligence. His determination was driven in part by his fear that an enemy might pit one foreign intelligence collector against another as had occurred in Hitler’s Germany. Unlike Souers, who had declined to take over the FBI’s clandestine operations in Latin America, he wrested control of Latin American intelligence operations from J. Edgar Hoover (Vandenberg said Hoover was “mad as hell” at being forced to cede his responsibilities).13 These new CIG duties were added to the mission of the Office of Special Operations, established by Vandenberg in July 1946 to manage the assets—money, personnel, equipment, and so forth—being transferred to the CIG from the soon-to-be eliminated Strategic Services Unit. After intense wrangling among the members of the Intelligence Advisory Board, Vandenberg also secured the right to collect foreign intelligence in the United States and assumed control of the Foreign Broadcast Information Bureau (now the Open Source Center) from the Army. Like Souers, however, Vandenberg recognized that the DCI, whose authority rested only on a presidential directive, would have no real power without Congressional legislation,14 and he stepped up efforts to give the CIG and the DCI teeth. As Truman and key Cabinet officials began discussions on improving US national security by consolidating the branches of the military and creating a national defense council, Vandenberg lobbied for the inclusion in the legislation of provisions for a central intelligence organization. During the ensuing debates, Vandenberg beat back attempts by the military services to retain control over US intelligence. The resulting National Security Act, signed by Truman on 26 July 1947, remains the basis for the organization structure of the US national security apparatus. Just under a year after replacing Souers, Vandenberg left the CIG in response to a request from General Dwight Eisenhower, then Chief of Staff of the Army, that he return to “important and necessary duties with the Army Air Forces.” He held that post only briefly before being promoted to the rank of general and named Vice Chief of Staff of the newly created independent US Air Force in October. He did not realize his dream of becoming Chief of Staff of the Air Force until succeeding General Carl Spaatz in April 1948. In 1953, suffering from prostate cancer, Vandenberg retired from active duty. He died nine months later at the age of 55. 13 See Document 1952-03-17, paragraph 11. 14 Darling, Introduction to Chapter V.
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 7 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.