Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

Editor’s Foreword

vii

Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligencefollows the one on

British intelligence, perhaps rightly so since the Americans actually got

started while throwing off the British yoke during the Revolution and

later cooperated very closely with the British. While the Americans

could certainly learn a trick or two about espionage during the early pe-

riod, it quickly became apparent that no one could outperform them in

most areas and especially not for technical collection of intelligence.

And there is no question that intelligence was decisive in defeating the

Axis during World War II and the Soviet Union and communism during

the Cold War. Alas, since 11 September 2001 and the war on terrorism,

the United States is pitted against an enemy in which old-fashioned hu-

man intelligence is far more important than any fancy gadgetry, and it

will have to revamp its intelligence organizations and train more agents

to face a tenacious and bitter foe. Thus, once again, the United States

intelligence community is undergoing realignment and tighter over-

sight, in the midst of a crisis that has certainly shaken the faith in its

ability to do the job.

The chronology follows the twists and turns of over two centuries of

history. The introduction explains just what intelligence is and does and

shows how U.S. intelligence operations have evolved over those centuries.

The dictionary then looks at essential aspects more closely, including the

various organizations, the persons who created and managed them, who

worked for or defied them, and the many reforms and laws adopted to im-

prove their operations or bring them under government control. This sec-

tion includes entries on the successes, and also on the failures, as well as

the present challenges, which are very different and particularly difficult to

cope with. The bibliography is helpful for those who want to learn more.

Meanwhile, the list of acronyms is there for anyone who needs to figure

out which letters represent which organizations or functions.

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