The CIA and the USSR: The Challenge of Understanding the Soviet Threat

Abstract

This chapter outlines how countering the perceived threat from the USSR became the central mission of the CIA. It also details just how little information the CIA had to work with, and how central judgements and analysis came to be in shaping policy direction about possible USSR actions. Developing analytical capabilities was key to this, and it was institutionalised in CIA as early as 1946 with the creation of the Office of Reports and Estimates. Meanwhile, the CIA continued to evolve. Particularly significant in this regard was Walter Bedell Smith. Document: Intelligence on the Soviet Bloc