however, were more tumultuous than his more successful domestic
programs. He assumed a confrontational approach with the Soviet
Union, authorized the Bay of Pigs invasion, began America’s long and
painful involvement in the Vietnam War, sanctioned Fidel Castro’s
ouster and assassination as part of Operation Mongoose, and
presided over the near-calamitous Cuban Missile Crisis in October- President Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963 in
Dallas, Texas. He was succeeded by his vice president, Lyndon B.
Johnson, the same day.
KENT, SHERMAN (1903–1986).The legendary pioneer in analysis
and estimative intelligenceand chair of the Board of National Es-
timatesfrom 1957 until 1967. Kent, a professor of history at Yale
University, joined the Research and Analysis Branch of the Office of
Strategic Services(OSS) in 1941. He showed uncommon talent in
applying rigorous scholarship to producing intelligence and persuad-
ing academicians to work in teams, meet tight deadlines, and satisfy
the needs of action-oriented policy consumers. At the end of World
War II, Kent wrote his seminal book, Strategic Intelligence for World
Policy, prior to returning to Yale in 1947. In 1949, however, Director
of Central Intelligence(DCI) Walter Bedell Smithrecruited Kent
into the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) and appointed him to the
Office of National Estimates(ONE). Because Kent’s genius lay in
his recognition that scholarship had to adapt to the policy world—not
the other way around—he eventually became director of the ONE
and chair of the Board of National Estimates. Kent retired from the
CIAin 1967. See alsoNATIONALINTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE.KEYHOLE (KH).The designation Keyhole refers to the entire range
of unarmed U.S. satellites operated by the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) from 1960 onward. The early KH satellites used pho-
tographic film on spools that were ejected and returned to earth in
capsules. KH-11, deployed on 19 December 1976, was the first U.S.
satellite to provide real-time digital telephoto television signals, but
it was also a signals intelligence (SIGINT) platform. The United
States has developed more recent versions of KH as well as other
more sophisticated and capable satellites, but KH-11 is still in use.
See alsoCORONA.110 • KENT, SHERMAN05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 110