The Hidden Hand is a succinct accessible and up-to-date survey of the Central Intelligence Agency’s history from its inception in 1947 to the present.

• Covers both aspects of the CIA’s mission – the collection and analysis of intelligence and the execution of foreign policy through covert, paramilitary operations
• De-mythologizes the CIA’s role in America’s global affairs while addressing its place within American political and popular culture
• Written by an esteemed scholar and high-ranking officer in the intelligence community, drawing on the latest research
• Assesses the agency’s successes and failures, with an eye to the complex and controversial nature of the subject

Richard H. Immerman is Professor and Edward J. Buthusiem Distinguished Fellow in History at Temple University and Marvin Wachman Director of its Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy. The recipient of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations' Bernath Book Prize in 1983 and its Bernath Lecture Prize in 1990, he served as SHAFR’s president in 2007.  His most recent publications include The Oxford Handbook of the Cold War (2013) and Empire for Liberty: A History of U.S. Imperialism from Benjamin Franklin to Paul Wolfowitz (2012). From September 2007-December 2008, he served as Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analytic Integrity and Standards and Analytic Ombudsman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He currently chairs the Historical Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of State.

Preface and Acknowledgments ix

Note on Redactions xiii

1 Birth of an Enigma: 1945–1949 1

2 Halcyon Days and Growing Pains: 1950–1961 35

3 The CIA and its Discontents: 1961–1976 70

4 A Time of Troubles: 1977–1987 108

5 Victory Without Redemption: 1988–2000 138

6 9/11, WMD, GWOT, IRTPA, and ODNI: 2001–2004 172

7 Crisis of Identity: 2005–2013 206

Index 235