For those of you who are unfamiliar, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is an agency of the United States government responsible for gathering Intelligence and carrying out covert operations around the world. It was originally formed in 1947 and is currently headed by Gina Haspel. One of its most recognizable symbols is the infamous ‘Q’ symbol that appears on the majority of its publications. If you’ve never written a novel before, now might be a good time to start. Below we’ll discuss just what you should know about the CIA to ensure your fictional characters can get into and out of trouble, as well as what situations you might encounter as a novelist while investigating the intelligence agency.
The CIA Mission
While the CIA is officially overseen by the U.S. government, it operates largely independent of supervision. It is, however, heavily regulated by the U.S. government and isn’t generally allowed to operate outside North America. Below we’ll discuss a few of the primary reasons why the CIA was founded and how it has evolved to serve such a crucial role in U.S. Intelligence.
The Agency’s Origins
The CIA was officially formed on October 9, 1947, in response to a growing concern over the control of atomic weapons development, particularly by the Soviet Union. At the time, the U.S. was heavily involved in the nascent nuclear arms race and many in the country felt that a strong central intelligence agency was needed so that America’s nuclear efforts would be coordinated and streamlined. Additionally, those in power at the time sought ways to neutralize the Communist threat at home, while also being a bulwark against the Soviet Union. The new agency was charged with providing “integrated analysis and synthesized reports” to help guide American policy and strategy in the Cold War. Its first director was Colonel William J. Sibley, who served in this role until he was replaced by Admiral George T. Douglas in 1950.
The Cold War
The Cold War was undoubtedly one of the defining periods of the modern CIA. The world’s two largest nuclear powers were on a collision course and the stakes couldn’t have been higher. During the Cold War, the CIA was responsible for gathering and analyzing intelligence that was vital to the country’s national security and understanding of the Soviet Union. As tensions rose and the world became more threatening, the CIA expanded its operations and in the year 1961 it added a secret headquarters inside the beltway where it could continue to expand its staff and resources. The division of the CIA that was responsible for clandestine operations was called the Directorate for Operations and it was initially led by Desmond FitzGerald. It was this branch that carried out the agency’s first ever covert action, Operation Bernstein, which was designed to destabilize the government of Chile, then led by General Augusto Pinochet. The covert operation was aimed at bringing down the ‘strongman’ of Chile and thus paving the way for a democratic government to be reestablished (more on this below). The success of Operation Bernstein helped birth the modern day CIA.
Operations
We now live in a post-Cold War world and although the threat of conflict has diminished, the CIA has continued to evolve and expand its role in defense of American national security. It now has a whole organization dedicated to cyber warfare and digital security and in 2018, the CIA celebrated its 70th anniversary. The agency has also significantly expanded the scope of its operations beyond simply gathering and analyzing intelligence. It is now active in almost every area of affairs from economics to politics, from defense to education, and from health to the environment. The agency runs a global network of agents and has carried out a wide range of missions, from covert action to counter-terrorism, covert disruption to COUNTERRORISM.
Clandestine Operations
Although the bulk of the CIA’s work is done in the open—throughout the year the public has access to millions of documents—the agency is responsible for a significant amount of sensitive work that is carried out on a need-to-know basis. This is largely done through its Directorate of Clandestine Operations (DCO), which is responsible for carrying out covert actions that are meant to sabotage the enemy without going through normal diplomatic channels.
Transnational Terrorism
Another area of strategic focus for the CIA is combating Transnational Terrorism—the threat posed by non-state actors such as terrorist groups and organized crime syndicates that operate across international borders. The director of the CIA’s National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) estimates that there are currently 20,000 distinct terrorist groups around the world, 80% of which are non-state actors. This makes the fight against terror significantly more complex. The world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations, such as ISIS, carry out a significant amount of their operations outside of their home countries, often using online and social media to spread their radical message and attract recruits. The rise of the Islamic State has posed a significant threat to global security and the battle against terror has become more difficult as a result. The CIA has a whole division dedicated to dealing with transnational threats and the agency’s Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI) is responsible for analyzing and mitigating the growing cyber threat posed by international terror organizations and other non-state actors. The U.S. has also significantly stepped up its use of cyberwarfare, particularly against ISIS, and there are now several thousand active-duty U.S. troops that are trained in cyber warfare—a capability that the U.S. has neither the funding nor the political will to eliminate.
Covert Action
Another area of strategic focus for the CIA is Covert Action. This refers to operations that are designed to clandestinely manipulate or infiltrate enemy political and military structures in order to obtain valuable intelligence. A classic example of this would be Operation Bernstein, which we discussed earlier. This is generally carried out by agents of influence—people who act in the interests of a country or organization without appearing to do so—that are planted in enemy territory. As the Cold War came to an end, the CIA significantly stepped up its covert action program and currently has several thousand agents and informants that it uses, primarily in the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America. The agency is also responsible for various psychological operations (PSYOPS), which are operations designed to influence and control the thoughts, feelings and actions of enemy targets, opponents and even friendly nations.
The ‘Q’ Symbol
The Q symbol is used by the CIA to represent itself and is part of a logo designed by Sid Bass, who was a graphic artist for the agency for over 30 years. It initially appeared on documents and publications in the early 1950s and became the symbol of the agency due to its ability to blend in with paper—even when printed on a different color page—and it’s shape also matched the letter ‘Q’ in the Roman alphabet, which is used to represent the CIA in cryptography. It is generally accepted that the symbol came from the Latin words ‘Cogito Ergo Sum’, which can be translated to mean ‘I think, therefore I am’ and is often seen as a symbol of the Intelligence community in general.
It is a common misconception that the ‘Q’ symbol stands for the letters ‘CQ’, which is commonly known as the ‘Quest’ Code. That is the Code for the covert communications system built by the Office of Naval Research in the 1970s.
The Media And The Blogosphere
It is also worth noting that in the modern day, the media and the blogosphere—largely considered to be contemporary forms of news and commentary—have become important areas of espionage and intelligence gathering. The CIA has a whole division called the Office of News and Public Affairs (OI) that is charged with monitoring and analyzing media coverage of the agency. The division will, using propaganda, disinformation and other covert tactics, attempt to influence the news cycle and alter media coverage to favor the U.S. Similarly, the agency’s Information Collection, Analysis and Synthesis Division (IS&SD) is responsible for monitoring and analyzing the news media and the blogosphere for key words and phrases that can help provide insights into national security matters. The division also creates analysis pieces that are disseminated to journalists around the world through intelligence bureaus or direct contacts in order to influence media coverage.