Espionage, Intelligence, & Policy Making in the 20th Century
Spring 2013
All nations have used intelligence and espionage to gain advantages. US intelligence traces its roots to the revolutionary struggle that created a nation. The Continental Congress used secret committees to conduct sensitive missions against the British. George Washington sent secret agents behind enemy lines to access the strength of opposing military forces and approved numerous secret intelligence and counterintelligence operations. Neither Washington nor successor US administrations, however, saw any need for a peacetime intelligence organization. Other nations in Europe and in Asia did maintain extensive peacetime intelligence operations.
A major US espionage/intelligence system did not emerge in the United States until the 20th century. World War I brought renewed emphasis on intelligence by all countries involved. This course will focus on the development and evolution of intelligence in the 20th century and its impact on policymakers. It will trace intelligence operations by the United States both at home and abroad and compare and contrast the US effort with that of other major powers. It will examine not only espionage and counterintelligence efforts but the key role technology played in intelligence collection and analysis. It will also look at covert operations as a major tool for furthering foreign policy goals and objectives.
While it will examine early 20th century development in intelligence, it will concentrate on the modern US Intelligence Community and its growth and impact during the Cold War and the end of the 20th century. It will highlight the similarities and differences between the US Intelligence Community and its major competitors. The course will also detail US efforts against the Soviet Union in the intelligence war and how the United States used intelligence as a major tool and an offensive weapon against the Soviets. It will also look at Soviet efforts to penetrate US organizations. In addition, it will trace efforts at oversight by the U.S. Congress and the concept of accountability of a secret intelligence organization in a democratic society. The course is designed to add to the continuing debate on the propriety, utility, effectiveness, and accountability of intelligence activities in a modern society.
Required Readings:
For Purchase:
Christopher Andrew, For the President’s Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to Bush (New York: Harper Collins, 1995).
Nick Cullather, Secret History: The CIA’s Account of Its Operations in Guatemala 1952-1954 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999).
Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali, “One Hell of a Gamble:” Khrushchev, Castro, and Kennedy, 1958-1964 (New York: Norton, 1997).
Timothy Naftali, Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism ( New York: Basic Books, 2005).
On CIA Website
Harold Ford, CIA and the Vietnam Policymakers: Three Episodes 1962-1968 (Washington, DC: CIA, 1998).
Gerald K. Haines and Robert Leggett, eds., Watching the Bear: CIA Analysis of the Soviet Union, 1947-1991 (Washington, DC: CIA, 2003).
