The CIA and Congress: The Untold Story from Truman to Kennedy

by David M. Barrett

A gripping account of the struggle between the Central Intelligence Agency and Congress during the Agency's tumultuous first 15 years. Barrett dispels the conventional wisdom that Congress handed the CIA a blank check, demonstrating Congress's aggressive monitoring of every aspect of the CIA, while also maintaining its staunch support for the Agency's mission.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

552 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 2005

Reviews

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the limited scope of the book is a bit disappointing, Barrett does a fine job detailing the dynamics and leadership roles of Congress, the executive branch, and the intelligence community, and how the oversight process evolved from 1947 to 1961. He does a fine job describing the various personalities involved.

Barrett also describes the infighting between the Agency, the FBI, and the military; the Agency’s view of its dual missions of covert action and intelligence collection; and the Agency’s initial uneven record of briefing Congress on its operations, a record that was possible because so many legislators had no interest in the details of the Agency’s activities, but Barrett notes that Congressional oversight expanded over time, with Congress becoming more and more involved in oversight processes both formal and informal. On a whole, however, Congressional oversight during this period was quite limited.

An interesting book, although there is little on such projects as CORONA and Operation Ajax, and the book is surprisingly short on analysis.