Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

North Vietnam, the incursion into Cambodia, and the peace negotia-

tions in Paris. He also authorized various controversial covert opera-

tions in Chile, Angola, and elsewhere. Despite his closeness to Pres-

ident Nixon, Kissinger was not implicated in the Watergate scandal.

President Gerald R. Fordretained him as secretary of state upon

President Nixon’s resignation in August 1974. After leaving govern-

ment in 1975, Dr. Kissinger founded Kissinger Associates, an inter-

national consulting firm, of which he is chairman. See alsoFEA-

TURE (OPERATION); FUBELT (OPERATION); NATIONAL

SECURITYDECISION MEMORANDUM 93.

KOREAN WAR. The Korean War began with North Korea’s surprise in-

vasion of its southern neighbor on 25 June 1950; a truce was signed on

27 July 1953. The conflict had its origins in the deal between the

United States and the Soviet Unionat the end of World War II, in

which Korea, a colony of Japan until the war’s end, was split between

the Soviet controlled part north of the 38th parallel and the American-

controlled south. The war was also the first proxy war between the

United States and the Soviet Union in the nascent Cold War.

For U.S. intelligence, the Korean War constituted an embarrassing

intelligence failure. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) not only

failed to forecast the North Korean invasion but also the entry of the

People’s Republic of China (PRC) into the war on 19 October 1950.

The CIAhad warned American policymakers in 1949 that a North Ko-

rean attack was “probable” if the United States withdrew troops from

South Korea, but many in the policy community, including the De-

partment of Defense(DOD), attributed the warnings to the CIA’s

pessimism and dismissed them. After the attack, President Harry S.

Trumanreplaced Director of Central Intelligence (DCI)Roscoe

Hillenkoetterwith General Walter Bedell Smith, who promptly re-

organized the CIAfor greater efficiency and established its analytic

capability. See alsoOFFICE OF NATIONALESTIMATES.

– L –

LACROSSE. Aproject to develop a space-based imaging radar satel-

lite was initiated in late 1976 by Director of Central Intelligence

LACROSSE• 113

05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 113