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History of the CIA

Central Intelligence Agency Official Seal of the CIA

The United States has carried out intelligence activities since the days of George Washington, but only since World War II have they been coordinated on a government-wide basis. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed New York lawyer and war hero, William J. Donovan, to become first the Coordinator of Information, and then, after the US entered World War II, head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1942. The OSS – the forerunner to the CIA – had a mandate to collect and analyze strategic information. After World War II, however, the OSS was abolished along with many other war agencies and its functions were transferred to the State and War Departments.

It did not take long before President Truman recognized the need for a postwar, centralized intelligence organization. To make a fully functional intelligence office, Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 establishing the CIA. The National Security Act charged the CIA with coordinating the nation’s intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating and disseminating intelligence affecting national security.

On December 17, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act which restructured the Intelligence Community by abolishing the position of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI) and creating the position the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA). The Act also created the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which oversees the Intelligence Community and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).

Secrets of World War II — What Really Happened to Rommel

Secrets of World War II — What Really Happened to Rommel
This film chronicles the career of Germany’s most brilliant World War II tactician. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) was nicknamed the “Desert Fox” for his brilliant leadership of German troops in North Africa. He had an unbroken string of victories until defeated by General Montgomery’s much larger forces in Egypt. This documentary contains film clips of the famed “Ghost Division” and rare footage of Rommel’s state funeral. The question of Rommel’s fate is addressed: was he murdered, or did he commit suicide? It is known that he became convinced that Germany would lose the war and that Hitler should relinquish power. Rommel’s involvement in the plot to oust Hitler is examined, along with the intrigue surrounding Rommel’s death.

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