Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Files Archive USB Card

Description

CIA’s Shadow Wars: A Historical Compendium

Pre-1940s:

• 1930s-1940s (implied): Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and the events leading up to and during World War II. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) conducts psychological profiles and collects information on Hitler.
• 1940 (implied): Beginning of the Vietnam Conflict as part of a broader chronology (CIA History Staff Chronology of the Conflict 1940-1973).

1940s:

• 1943-1962: OSS and CIA files cover Berlin and East Germany, including destruction during WWII, Soviet military actions, intelligence operations, the 1948 March Crisis, the Berlin Airlift, and suppression of revolt in East Germany.
• 1944-2014: OSS and CIA documents, or reports derived from OSS information, cover the Abwehr (German Military Intelligence).
• 1945-2007: CIA files related to the Korean War, with the bulk of material from 1948-1953.
• 1946-1950: Selected CIA files cover the beginning of the Cold War, including daily and weekly summaries provided to President Truman.
• 1947 (beginning): FBI investigation of John Roselli for various racketeering violations begins.
• 1947-1953: Establishment of the CIA, as covered in internal historical studies like Arthur B. Darling’s “The Central Intelligence Agency: An Instrument of Government, to 1950” (1953) and Ludwell L. Montague’s “General Walter Bedell Smith as Director of Central Intelligence October 1950 – February 1953” (1971).
• 1948-1953 (bulk of material): CIA files cover the Korean War, including memorandums, intelligence studies, and national intelligence estimates.
• 1948 (March): The “March Crisis” in Berlin.

1950s:

• 1950s: CIA Project ARTICHOKE, a human behavior control experiment and research program, is active.
• 1950s & 60s: CIA engages in extensive human experimentation programs (MKULTRA) using drugs and psychological means to control human behavior for counterintelligence.
• 1950s: CIA Reporting on East German Prisons.
• 1950-1952 (June): “The Secret War in Korea,” a CIA Clandestine Services History, chronicles covert operations.
• 1950 (June 27) – 1953 (December 31): CIA produces daily intelligence products covering the Korean War, including daily/weekly situation reports and Current Intelligence Bulletins.
• 1952-1962: CIA files connected with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, including briefings, guidelines for nuclear weapons use, missile warning systems, and reports on CIA covert activities.
• 1953: CIA produces a manual covering the Soviet Army, surveying its leadership, organization, and combat strength.
• 1954: CIA carries out Operation PBSuccess, a covert operation to depose democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz Guzman.
• 1957-1977: CIA files cover the production and distribution of CIA-created maps related to the Vietnam War.
• 1957-1958: A less publicized Soviet nuclear “accident” near Kyshtym occurs.
• 1958-1967: Government reports cover the early Soviet space program and Luna Programme.
• 1959 (late): The CIA seriously enters the chase for Adolf Eichmann, but Israeli agents locate him first in Argentina.
• 1959-1971: CIA files related to the Soviet Luna Programme, including the “kidnapping” of a Soviet lunar spacecraft by the CIA.
• October 1959 – November 1962: CIA narrative chronology details Lee Harvey Oswald’s time in the Soviet Union.

1960s:

• August 1960: CIA publishes the “Field Double Agent Guide,” marked “KUBARK INTERNAL USE ONLY.”
• December 9, 1960 – October 20, 1964: CIA reports related to John F. Kennedy’s assassination, covering Lee Harvey Oswald’s time in the Soviet Union and his Mexico City visit.
• 1961: President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration develops plans for Cuban exiles to overthrow the Castro government, with the US involvement hidden.
• 1961: “The Inspector General’s Survey of the Cuban Operation,” a highly critical internal CIA inquiry into the Bay of Pigs invasion, is produced.
• April 4, 1961: President John F. Kennedy approves “Operation Zapata,” the Cuba invasion plan.
• April 17, 1961: 1,300 Cuban exiles, trained in Guatemala, land on Cuba’s southern coast at the Bay of Pigs. The operation collapses by the third day.
• September 1961: CIA Director Allen Dulles and his staff resign following the Bay of Pigs failure.
• March 1961 – September 1972: CIA files dealing with the Vietnam War, including operational files, intelligence reports, and background studies.
• 1961-1982: CIA files related to intercepted articles published in the Soviet Union’s top secret military journal Voyennaya Mysl (“Military Thought”).
• Early 1960s: CIA ramps up Mexico operations to monitor communist activity, including surveillance of Cuban and Soviet Embassies.
• 1962: Air America, an American passenger and cargo airline, becomes covertly owned and operated by the CIA.
• March 28, 1962: CIA creates a 199-page “Interrogation Guide: Cuba,” remaining secret for 51 years.
• 1962 (months before): CIA hatches Operation Mongoose, including plans to assassinate Fidel Castro, following the Bay of Pigs and the full embargo inception.
• 1962 (October): Cuban Missile Crisis.
• 1962-1992 (mostly late 60s and early 70s): FBI, CIA, and State Department documents deal with American POWs/MIAs in Southeast Asia.
• 1963: CIA manuals, guidance, and documents related to “Coercive Interrogation Techniques” begin.
• November 22, 1963: Assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
• 1964: CIA’s historical review department produces “The Secret War in Korea, June 1950 to June 1952.”
• 1966: CIA report, “The Vietnamese Communists Will to Persist,” is written.
• 1967: Press identifies Air America as CIA controlled.
• November 1967 – July 1973: Air America Log, a newsletter for the CIA’s covert airline, is published.
• 1967-1974: CIA domestic intelligence program Operation CHAOS (Operation MHCHAOS) compiles information on Americans, established by President Johnson and expanded under President Nixon.
• 1967-1973: CIA’s Operation CHAOS indexes 300,000 individuals and creates files on approximately 7,200 Americans and over 100 domestic groups.
• 1967-2003: CIA, Defense Department, State Department files, South Vietnamese Army history, U.S. Army and South Vietnam Army photos cover the Tet Offensive.
• 1968 (May 9-10, July 1, July 19-August 2, August 21-September 4): CIA daily situation reports cover the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
• August 20, 1968: Soviet Union leads Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion of Czechoslovakia.
• 1969-1970: CIA produces two manuals for advisors in Armed Propaganda Teams as part of the Chiêu Hồi Program in Vietnam.

1970s:

• 1970s (implied): US intelligence analysts become suspicious of the Institute of Microbiology and Virology in Sverdlovsk due to satellite observations.
• 1974: CIA’s official history of the Bay of Pigs operation begins to be compiled.
• September 1974: CIA’s History Staff publishes “Vietnam: A Draft Chronology, 1940 -1973.”
• 1974: James Jesus Angleton retires as Chief of Counterintelligence for the CIA.
• January 3, 1975: John O. Marsh, Jr. mentions seeing a summary of anti-dissident activities in the Nixon Administration, written by Angleton, to President Ford. President Ford asks if the CIA was involved in Watergate.
• June 30, 1976: Air America officially disbands.
• March 1979: CIA’s Directorate of Operations Counterintelligence Staff and the Defense Intelligence Agency publish “Israel Foreign Intelligence and Security Services,” a report on Mossad and Shin-Beth.
• 1978-2008: CIA files relating to Pope John Paul II, covering his impact on Poland, the Solidarity movement, and the Soviet Union, and allegations of a Bulgarian conspiracy in the 1981 assassination attempt.
• 1979 (implied): Sverdlovsk anthrax incident.
• 1979-1989: Soviet-Afghan War, with US-backed Afghan-Mujahideen, covered by CIA, DOD, FBI, and State Department files.

1980s:

• 1980 (March 24): Archbishop Oscar Romero is assassinated in El Salvador.
• 1980-1989: CIA information provided to Ronald Reagan related to the Soviet Union and the Cold War.
• 1981: United States International Communication Agency (USCIA) begins “Project Truth” to counter Soviet propaganda.
• 1981: Pope John Paul II assassination attempt. Allegations of Bulgarian and Soviet involvement are probed.
• 1982-2001 (excluding 1992-1993): CIA publishes “Terrorism Review” reports.
• 1984: CIA’s official history of the Bay of Pigs operation concludes compilation.
• 1984-1985: Tracks of Josef Mengele finally emerge, and information regarding his associates and sightings are collected.
• 1989-1991: Selected CIA reports cover the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, including National and Special National Intelligence Estimates.

1990s:

• 1992-1995: Bosnian War, including CIA intelligence, Clinton Administration’s policy decisions, and the Dayton Peace Accords.
• September 11, 2001: Henry “Hank” A. Crumpton, as Chief of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center’s Special Operations, is considered the mastermind behind the 90-day overthrow of the Taliban.

2000s:

• 2001-2002: Henry “Hank” A. Crumpton writes “History of the CIA in Afghanistan, 2001-2002” for “Studies in Intelligence.”
• 2007: Some CIA material on Josef Mengele is released.
• August 1, 2011: Three volumes of the CIA’s five-volume official history of the Bay of Pigs are released to the public.
• October 2012: Some CIA files related to Voyennaya Mysl are released.
• December 22, 2016: The CIA report “The Vietnamese Communists Will to Persist (1966)” is released in its sanitized form.
• 2016: Some material related to Vietnam War nuclear weapon use options is declassified.
• October 2017: Much of the material related to U.S. assassination attempts against Fidel Castro is declassified.
• November 2017: Most of the FBI and CIA files covering John Roselli are declassified.
• December 2017: Some material in the collection “CIA Torture, Interrogation, ‘Coercive Techniques’ Manuals & Related Documents” is declassified.
• April 2018: Some material from CIA Project ARTICHOKE is released.
• October 2018: The “CIA Field Double Agent Manual” (August 1960) is declassified.
• November 2019: Some CIA material related to the Soviet Luna Programme is declassified.

2020s:

• 2021: Some material related to UFO Sightings from CIA, NSA, & Defense Intelligence Agency is released.
• May 2021: CIA’s “Vietnam: A Draft Chronology, 1940 -1973” (1974) is declassified and released.
• November 2021: Some documents in the Frank Sturgis collection are declassified.

Cast of Characters

• Adolf Eichmann: A Nazi war criminal investigated by the CIA and its predecessor agencies (Strategic Services Unit, Central Intelligence Group), and the Army’s CIC. He was ultimately located in Argentina by Israeli agents and brought to Israel for trial.
• Adolf Hitler: Leader of Nazi Germany. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) created biographical sketches, psychological profiles, and collected various medical and physical information on him.
• Archbishop Oscar Romero: (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980) A bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador who became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador. He was assassinated, and Pope John Paul II later gave him the title of Servant of God.
• Allen Dulles: CIA Director who resigned in September 1961 following the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
• Bob Woodward: American investigative journalist. Mentioned in CIA and FBI files related to his reporting.
• Charles Z. Wick: Director of the United States International Communication Agency (USCIA) who oversaw “Project Truth” in 1981, working with the CIA, State, and Defense Departments to counter Soviet propaganda.
• Che Guevara: Revolutionary figure credited by the CIA for bringing communism to Cuba. The CIA critiqued his economic abilities and documented his split with Fidel Castro and efforts to export revolution to other countries.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower: U.S. President. The CIA developed plans under his administration to use Cuban exiles to overthrow the Castro government. CIA files connected with him cover briefings, guidelines for nuclear weapons, and reports on covert activities.
• Fidel Castro: Leader of Cuba. Subject of numerous U.S. government efforts and influences to assassinate him, primarily masterminded by the CIA and U.S.-based exile organizations. He claimed to have survived 634 attempts.
• Frank Sturgis: Figure mentioned in FBI, CIA, HSCA, Rockefeller Commission, and SSCI files, related to Watergate, the JFK Assassination, and anti-Castro activity.
• George Hunter White: Individual related to the CIA’s Project MKULTRA.
• Henry “Hank” A. Crumpton: Chief of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center’s Special Operations at the time of the 9/11 attacks, considered the mastermind behind the 90-day overthrow of the Taliban. He also wrote “History of the CIA in Afghanistan, 2001-2002” for “Studies in Intelligence” and is identified as “Henry” in the 9/11 Commission Report.
• Jack Ruby: Individual linked to the JFK Assassination. Subject of CIA and FBI files.
• Jacobo Árbenz Guzman: Democratically elected President of Guatemala, deposed in 1954 by the CIA’s Operation PBSuccess. He was perceived as a Communist threat after land confiscation and legalizing the Communist Party.
• James Jesus Angleton: Chief of Counterintelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1954 to 1974. He launched Operation CHAOS.
• John F. Kennedy: U.S. President who approved the “Operation Zapata” Cuba invasion plan on April 4, 1961, and later took public responsibility for its failure at the Bay of Pigs. He was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Subject of CIA daily briefings (PICLs).
• John O. Marsh, Jr.: Counsellor to President Ford, who in a January 3, 1975 meeting, mentioned seeing a summary of anti-dissident activities in the Nixon Administration, written by Angleton.
• John Roselli (AKA “Filippo Sacco”): Active in California and Las Vegas, handling affairs for the Chicago La Cosa Nostra family. He was a bodyguard of Harry Cohen, a former lieutenant of Al Capone, and produced films. Investigated by the FBI for racketeering.
• Jon Ronson: Author of “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” who described Project ARTICHOKE as “not fun” and involving “insane, brutal, violent, frequently fatal new ways of interrogating people.”
• Josef Mengele (“Dr. Mengele”): Auschwitz selector and human experimenter. Subject of CIA files covering his hideouts in South America, mistaken sightings, and information on his associates.
• Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II): Head of the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005. CIA files cover his impact on Poland, the Solidarity movement, the Soviet Union, and allegations of a Bulgarian conspiracy in his 1981 assassination attempt.
• Klaus Barbie: Nazi war criminal, also known as the “Butcher of Lyon.” Subject of CIA-created and maintained documents.
• Lee Harvey Oswald: Identified in CIA reports as having spent time in the Soviet Union and visited Mexico City before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
• Leonid Brezhnev: Soviet Union leader who reportedly objected to Che Guevara’s mission to Bolivia, as documented in CIA files.
• Ludwell L. Montague: Author of “General Walter Bedell Smith as Director of Central Intelligence October 1950 – February 1953” (1971), an internal CIA historical study.
• Marina Oswald: Mentioned in CIA reports in connection with Lee Harvey Oswald’s time in the Soviet Union.
• Oleg Penkovsky (codenamed HERO): A colonel with Soviet military intelligence (GRU) during the late 1950s and early 1960s who spied for the United States, providing much of the Soviet military journal material in the early 1960s. He was the highest-level Soviet officer to spy for the United States up to that time.
• President Ford: U.S. President who, in a January 3, 1975 meeting, asked if the CIA was involved in Watergate.
• President Johnson: U.S. President who established Operation CHAOS.
• President Nixon: U.S. President who expanded Operation CHAOS. His secret White House audio recordings address the nuclear question during the Vietnam War.
• President Truman: U.S. President who received daily and weekly summaries and interpretations from the CIA covering the beginning of the Cold War.
• Richard Helms: Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) who oversaw the launch of Operation CHAOS.
• Richard Ober: Head of Operation CHAOS.
• Ronald Reagan: U.S. President who received CIA information related to the Soviet Union and the Cold War between 1980 and 1989. His administration initiated “Project Truth.”
• Seymour Hersh: American investigative journalist. CIA files comment on his reporting and concerns about leaked classified information.
• Sidney Gottlieb: Individual related to the CIA’s Project MKULTRA.
• Telford Taylor: Former Nuremberg prosecutor. An unnamed CIA agent or source in the Eichmann files vituperatively criticized him as a “comsymp” or dupe for advocating Eichmann’s trial by an international tribunal rather than an Israeli court.
• Walter Bedell Smith: Director of Central Intelligence from October 1950 to February 1953, subject of an internal CIA historical study by Ludwell L. Montague.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Files Archive USB Card

A curated collection of 178,458 pages of documents made up of 65 collections from BACM Research/PaperlessArchives each containing a considerable collection of CIA files or files related to CIA activities or interest.

Just plug the USB PEN Card into your laptop, desktop, or tablet to access a wide range of materials from Area 51 to the interrogation of Zubaydah.

This collection includes as a finding aid, a unified full-text index of all computer recognizable text in all documents in this collection, making it possible to quickly search all computer recognizable text across all pages of all collections in one search.

The USB Pen card works with any device with a USB 2.0, 3.0 or 3.1 interface.

The PEN card chip is housed in a metal body that is waterproof, shock-proof, temperature-proof, magnet-proof, and X-ray-proof.

Collections include:

Click name of collection to see complete description and sample pages.

Adolf Eichmann CIA Files

1,449 pages of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Files covering Adolf Eichmann. Documents in these files illustrate how the CIA and its predecessor agencies (the Strategic Services Unit and the Central Intelligence Group), as well as the Army’s CIC, went about investigating rumors about Eichmann’s whereabouts, mainly from hearsay and unsubstantiated assertions. The CIA did not seriously enter the chase for Eichmann until late 1959, but Israeli agents located him in Argentina first and spirited him out to Israel for trial. The file contains a vituperative diatribe by an unnamed CIA agent or source against former Nuremberg prosecutor Telford Taylor, who he termed a “comsymp” or dupe because he publicly advocated that Eichmann be tried by an international tribunal, rather than an Israeli court.

Adolf Hitler OSS – CIA Files

1,860 pages of Office of Strategic Services (OSS) files related to Adolf Hitler. Files are composed of a biographical sketch, two analyses of Adolph Hitler’s psychological profile, a collection of abstracts of source materials dealing with Adolf Hitler, medical and physical information about Hitler and a set of assorted Adolf Hitler OSS files.

Archbishop Oscar Romero Assassination CIA and Department of State Files

1,850 pages of CIA and State Department files related to the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980). Romero was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador. After his assassination, Pope John Paul II gave him the title of Servant of God.

Area 51 CIA Files, Film & Other Historical Documents

2,154 pages of CIA, Air Force, DIA, Atomic Energy Commission files and twenty minutes of CIA film, related to the Nevada Test and Training Range at Groom Lake often referred to by using the disambiguation “Area 51.” The base there conducts research and operations that are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).

Bay of Pigs CIA – NSC – State Department Files

2,200 pages of CIA, National Security Council, and Department of State files covering the Bay of Pigs. In 1961 a covert operation codenamed “Operation Zapata” called for 1,500 Cuban exiles to land on the southwestern coast of Cuba, mostly at the Bay of Pigs (Bahia de los Cochinos).

Bay of Pigs CIA Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation

1,582 pages of CIA Bay of Pigs Official History compiled between 1974 and 1984. Three volumes of this five volume report were not available to the public until August 1, 2011. One volume was released in 1998. The fifth volume is still Top Secret and has not been released by the CIA. The still withheld volume contains a rebuttal to the 1961 report, “The Inspector General’s Survey of the Cuban Operation.”  That IG report was a highly critical internal CIA inquiry into the Bay of Pigs invasion. During the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed plans to use Cuban exiles to overthrow the Castro government. The plans called for the involvement of the United States to remain hidden. Less than three months after succeeding Eisenhower, President John F. Kennedy on 4 April 1961, approved the Operation Zapata Cuba invasion plan. On April 17, 1961, 1,300 Cuban exiles trained in Guatemala landed on Cuba’s southern coast, Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) in Las Villas Province. It was hoped that the invasion would be accompanied by a popular uprising in Cuba. Fidel Castro received warnings of the pending invasion and had ample time to prepare for the action. The operation collapsed by its third day. One-hundred and eighteen members of the invasion force were killed, 114 Cuban exiles and 4 American aircrew members. President Kennedy took public responsibility for the failure. CIA Director Allen Dulles and his staff resigned in September 1961

Berlin – East Germany CIA and OSS Files

552 pages of selected OSS and CIA files covering Berlin and East Germany from 1943 to 1962. Documents cover the destruction of Berlin during World War II, Soviet military actions and plans, intelligence operations, the 1948 March Crisis, the Berlin Airlift, suppression of revolt in East Germany, the Berlin Tunnel, and the Berlin Wall.

Bob Woodward CIA and FBI Files

627 pages of CIA and FBI files related to Bob Woodward.

Bosnian War (1992-1995) Bosnia, Intelligence and Clinton’s Presidency: CIA, State Dept, Defense Dept & White House Files

2,346 pages of CIA, State Department, DOD, National Security Council and White House files concerning the Bosnian War, CIA Intelligence, Clinton Administration’s policy decisions, and the Dayton Peace Accords.

Che Guevara: CIA – State Department – Department of Defense White House Files

1,231 pages of CIA, State Department, Department of Defense and White House files related to Che Guevara. Files show the CIA credited Guevara for bringing communism to Cuba. A report gives the CIA’s critique of Guevara ability to run the Cuban economy. Memos account a split between Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Mentions are given to Guevara’s exporting of revolution to Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guatemala. Honduras, and Nicaragua. Material includes a CIA book review of the diary of Che Guevara. Memos document disagreement between the Soviet Union and Cuba, files chronicle Soviet Union leader Leonid Brezhnev’s objections made to Cuba over Che Guevara’s mission to Bolivia.

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident CIA, KGB, Soviet, Ukraine, DoD, Energy Dept, Congress Files

4,620 pages of CIA, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Congressional, GAO, and foreign press monitoring files related to the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident. The files cover the Soviet Union’s atomic energy program; The effect of the Chernobyl accident on the Soviet nuclear power program; and the social and political ramifications of the accident in the Soviet Union. A 1981 report covers the less publicized Soviet nuclear “accident” near Kyshtym in 1957-58.

CIA Chief Counterterrorism Center Special Operations’ History of the CIA in Afghanistan, 2001-2002

An article written for the CIA’s journal, “Studies in Intelligence,” by Henry “Hank” A. Crumpton, as chief of the CIA’S Chief Counterterrorist Center’s Special Operations at the time of the September 11th, 2001 attacks, he is considered the mastermind behind the 90-day overthrow of the Taliban. At the time of writing this article Crumpton was CIA Directorate of Operations. Crumpton has also been identified as the “Henry” in the September 11 Commission Report

CIA Establishment 1947 to 1953 – CIA’s Secret Internal Histories

The combined 3,329 pages of finished studies. This collection is composed of two completed formerly secret internal historical studies concerning the establishment of the CIA, 1947 to 1953, Arthur B. Darling’s “The Central Intelligence Agency: An Instrument of Government, to 1950,”(1953) and “General Walter Bedell Smith as Director of Central Intelligence October 1950 – February 1953” (1971), by Ludwell L. Montague.

CIA Field Double Agent Manual

A Top-Secret until October 2018 manual published by the CIA in August 1960 titled, Field Double Agent Guide, and marked on every page, “KUBARK INTERNAL USE ONLY.” KUBARK was the CIA code name for the CIA. The manual is based on research by KUDESK (KUDESK was the CIA’s code name for the CIA Counterintelligence Department).

CIA Interrogation Guide: Cuba

A March 28, 1962, 199-page CIA guide titled, “Interrogation Guide: Cuba,” which remained secret for 51 years. The guide was created after the 1961 failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, the 1962 inception of a full embargo, the CIA hatches Operation Mongoose which includes plans to assassinate and months before the Cuban Missile Crisis.

CIA Manual of the Soviet Army (1953)

A 177-page, 1953 manual covering the Soviet Army produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The purpose of this manual was to give a survey of the leadership, organization, and combat strength of the Soviet Army.

CIA Operation CHAOS, CACTUS, RESISTANCE, & MERRIMACK American Dissidents Monitoring Programs Files

5,325 pages of CIA files (3,244 pages) and Congressional investigation reports related to Operation Chaos. Operation CHAOS or Operation MHCHAOS was the code name of a Central Intelligence Agency domestic intelligence program compiling information on Americans from 1967 to 1974, Established by President Johnson and expanded under President Nixon, the program’s original mission was to uncover possible foreign influence on domestic race, anti-war and other protest movements. The operation was launched under Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Richard Helms by chief of counter-intelligence James Jesus Angleton, and headed by Richard Ober. 300,000 individuals were indexed in a CIA computer system and separate files were created on approximately 7,200 Americans and over 100 domestic groups during the course of CIA’s Operation CHAOS (1967-1973).

CIA Project ARTICHOKE – Mind Control – “Manchurian Candidate” CIA Files

1,373 pages of CIA files related to Project ARTICHOKE, the CIA’s 1950’s human behavior control experiment and research program. Some material in this collection was not released until April 2018. Jon Ronson, the author of “The Men Who Stare at Goats” wrote in his non-fiction work about more recent army experiments, described ARTICHOKE as, “Artichoke is the program that is not fun. Recently declassified documents revealed that Artichoke was all about inventing insane, brutal, violent, frequently fatal new ways of interrogating people.”

CIA Report: The Vietnamese Communists Will to Persist (1966)

This 316-page CIA report was not available to the public in its current sanitized form until December 22, 2016. It had to be approved for release by the CIA, Defense intelligence Agency, United States Air Force, Joints Chiefs of Staff, National Security Agency, State Department, U.S. Army, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

CIA Reporting on East German Prisons

CIA Reporting on East German Prisons from the 1950’s.

CIA Spy Plane: Lockheed A-12 Blackbird Project Oxcart – Project BLACK SHIELD CIA Files, Flight Logs and Manuals

4,179 pages of CIA files. Memos, correspondences, reports, and manuals covering the development of the Lockheed A-12 Blackbird, its testing, and its missions.

CIA Terrorism Review Reports (1982-2001)

3,922 pages of the periodical CIA report, “Terrorism Review,” dating from 1982 to 1991 and 1994 through 2001. The files contain approximately 2,200 pages with discernable information due to redactions made by the CIA. These reports were published by the Director of Central Intelligence’s Counterterrorist Center. Compiled by the Deputy Director, Instability and Insurgency Center, Office of Global Issues. The publication provided a world-wide overview of entities engaging in recent terrorist activity. It noted current trends and changing dynamics of pursuits of individuals, groups and nations involved in terroristic actions.

CIA Torture, Interrogation, “Coercive Techniques” Manuals & Related Documents

2,708 pages of publications and documents related to CIA manuals, guidance and guidance received by the CIA covering  “Coercive Interrogation Techniques,” dating from 1963 to 2013. Some material in this collection was not declassified until December 2017.

Cold War Beginnings CIA Files

416 pages of selected CIA files covering the beginning of the Cold War from 1946 to 1950. Files comprised from pages of daily and weekly summaries and interpretations provided to President Truman.

Cold War End CIA Files – Bush Administration CIA 1989-1991

378 pages of selected CIA reports covering the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and the end of the of the cold war between 1989 and 1991. Files contain selected pages from National and Special National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs and SNIEs). NIEs and SNIEs are prepared for the President, the Cabinet, the National Security Council, and senior policymakers and officials. NIEs focus on strategic issues of mid or long-term importance to US policy and national security, and SNIEs

Cuban Missile Crisis Presidential – CIA – NSA – NSC – State Dept Files – Audio Recordings 

3,884 pages of files and 1 hour and 27 minutes of audio recordings covering the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Fidel Castro: U.S. Assassination Attempts Against Castro CIA, FBI & Other U.S. Government Files

9,929 pages of material related to U.S. Government efforts and influences to bring about the assassination of Fidel Castro. Much the material in this collection was not declassified until October 2017. Much of the material intersect investigations into the assassination of President Kennedy. Fidel Castro claimed he survived 634 attempts or plots to assassinate him, mainly masterminded by the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S.-based exile organizations. Some of the known attempts involved the use of poison pills, a toxic cigar, exploding mollusks, and a chemically tainted diving suit. Another plan involved giving him powder that would make his beard fall out and so undermine his popularity. There was a plan to use LSD with the hope it would cause him to flail into delusional gyrations during a public appearance.

Frank Sturgis – Watergate, JFK Assassination, Anti-Castro Activity – FBI and CIA Files

3,579 pages of FBI, CIA, The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), Rockefeller Commission (Also known as The United States President’s Commission on CIA Activities within the United States), and the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) files covering Frank Sturgis and issues related to him. Some documents in this collection were not declassified until November 2021.

Guatemala 1954 Coup – Operation PBSuccess CIA Files & State Department Transcriptions

2,846 pages of CIA documents and State Department transcriptions covering the Agency’s involvement in the 1954 coup in Guatemala to overthrow President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman. PBSuccess was the code name for a covert operation carried out by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz Guzman and ended the Guatemalan Revolution of 1944–1954. Guzman was seen as a serious Communist threat after confiscating two-thirds of United Fruit Co.’s 332,000 acres and legalizing the Communist Party.

JFK Assassination: CIA Surveillance of Soviet & Cuban Embassies in Mexico U.S. Government Files

3,027 pages of files related to the CIA’s surveillance of the Cuban and Soviet Embassies in Mexico during the early 1960’s. The CIA station in Mexico City kept a close eye on both the embassies of Cuba and the Soviet Union, using “multi-line phone taps, three photographic sites, a mobile surveillance team and a mail intercept operation,” according to one document. The CIA in the 1960s had ramped up its Mexico operations to monitor communist activity.

JFK Assassination: Jack Ruby CIA File

3,862 of pages of CIA files related to Jack Ruby, material produced or collected by the Agency. Approximately 2,700 pages of the files are from the CIA. Approximately 1,000 pages are FBI and House Select Committee on Assassinations files containing information related to both the CIA and Ruby.

John F. Kennedy Assassination CIA Reports

1,287 pages of CIA reports, produced mainly during the months after the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, copied from material held at the National Archives and Records. The files date from December 9, 1960, to October 20, 1964. Much of the material covers the time Lee Harvey Oswald spent in the Soviet Union and his visit to Mexico City two and half months before the death of President Kennedy. A CIA produced narrative chronology gives an annotated timeline account of the Oswalds in the Soviet Union from October 1959 to November 1962, based on personal documents, interviews, and official and un-official correspondence. A report titled “Name List with Traces” contains the names of persons in the Soviet Union known to or mentioned by Lee Harvey Oswald and Marina Oswald. Entries include identifying information from name traces.

John Roselli – La Cosa Nostra – Chicago Outfit FBI & CIA Files

3,566 pages of FBI and CIA files covering John Roselli. Most of the files were not declassified until November 2017. John Roselli, AKA “Filippo Sacco,” was active in California and Las Vegas, handling affairs for the Chicago La Cosa Nostra family. Roselli was once a bodyguard of Harry Cohen, President of Columbia Pictures, and a former lieutenant of Al Capone. He also produced films for “B” movie outfit Monogram Studios. Beginning in 1947, the FBI investigated Roselli for various racketeering violations

Josef Mengele “Dr. Mengele” CIA Files

574 pages of CIA files covering the Auschwitz selector and human experimenter Dr. Josef Mengele. Some material in this collection was not released by the CIA until 2007. These CIA files on Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele consists of published articles about Mengele and his various hideouts in South America, mistaken sightings of him, information of unknown reliability about his associates in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, and much information about events in 1984-85, when his tracks finally emerged.

Klaus Barbie CIA Files

1,481 pages of CIA created and/or maintained documents concerning Klaus Barbie the Nazi war criminal, also known as the Butcher of Lyon. The documents in this collection includes CIA files, State Department messages, German language SS personnel files, published materials, declassified documents, interrogations, confidential reports from agents or informants, and CIA analytical reports.

Korean War CIA Files

1,270 pages of CIA files related to the Korean War. The documents date from 1945 to 2007. The bulk of the material dates from 1948 to 1953. The files mostly consist of memorandums, intelligence studies, finished intelligence reports, national intelligence estimates, and special national intelligence estimates.

Korean War: CIA Clandestine Services History – The Secret War in Korea, June 1950 to June 1952

The releasable pages of the report “The Secret War in Korea, June 1950 to June 1952,” produced by the CIA’s historical review department in 1964. Only 3 copies were made when first produced, of this mostly still secret report.

Korean War: CIA Day-to-Day Reports

5,500 pages, 891 documents, composed of various intelligence products produced by the CIA on a daily basis covering the Korean War. The documents date from June 27, 1950, to December 31, 1953. This collection contains some material that was not declassified until March 2010. The material includes Daily and Weekly situation reports, Daily Digest of Significant Traffic, and Current Intelligence Bulletins.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane CIA Files

2,039 pages of CIA files and 1,009 pages of Defense Department reports. The SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft was the world’s fastest jet-propelled aircraft and the most advanced member of the Blackbird family developed by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation’s clandestine “Skunk Works” division.  According to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, which prominently features an SR-71 at its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the aircraft was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude.

MKULTRA – CIA’s Project MKULTRA FBI Files

FBI files on Sidney Gottlieb, George Hunter White and Dr. Frank Olson, persons related to the CIA’s Project MKULTRA. In the 1950s and 60s, the CIA engaged in extensive programs of human experimentation, using drugs, and other psychological means, in search of techniques to control human behavior for counterintelligence and covert action purposes. (Also see Project MKULTRA – CIA mind control program CIA Files & Congressional Investigations)

Mossad – Shin Beth: Israel Foreign Intelligence and Security Services History CIA File

A 47-page March 1979 report by the CIA’s Directorate of Operations Counterintelligence Staff and the Defense intelligence Agency, titled, “Israel Foreign Intelligence and Security Services.” The study covers the Mossad (Secret Intelligence Service), Shin-Beth (Counterespionage and Internal Security Service) and military Intelligence. The study reviews their functions, organization, administrative practices, methods of operation, and relations with each other.

Pope John Paul II CIA Files

980 pages from documents obtained from the CIA relating to Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla). The material chiefly covers the impact of a Polish Pope and the Vatican on Poland; the Solidarity movement; and the Soviet Union. Also, among the documents are briefs and a analysis of the allegations of a Bulgarian conspiracy, in the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. By the Agency. Correspondence with members of Congress show their interest in having allegations of Soviet involvement in the assassination attempt on the Pope probed.  The files date from 1978 to 2008.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower FBI – CIA Files

940 pages including 188 pages of CIA files dating from 1952 to1962, connected with Dwight D. Eisenhower. Files include: CIA staff accounts of briefings of Eisenhower. Memorandums concerning Eisenhower’s guidelines for the use of nuclear weapons. Missile warning systems. A report ordered by President Eisenhower of CIA covert activities, which outlines the agency’s theories and policies concerning covert activities.

President John F. Kennedy CIA Daily Briefings

5,550 pages of President’s Intelligence Checklists (PICLs) prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for President Kennedy. These documents were written specifically for the president; they summarize the day-to-day intelligence and analysis on current and future national security issues.

President Ronald Reagan Cold War Ending CIA Files

2,890 pages of CIA files covering CIA information provided to Ronald Reagan between 1980 and 1989, related to the Soviet Union and the Cold War.

Project MKULTRA – CIA mind control program CIA Files & Congressional Investigations

17,241 pages of CIA Files. In the 1950s and 60s, the CIA engaged in extensive programs of human experimentation, using drugs, psychological, and other means, in search of techniques to control human behavior for counterintelligence and covert action purposes. MKULTRA was the principal CIA program involving the research and development of chemical and biological agents.

Seymour Hersh American Investigative Journalist CIA Files

1,453 pages of CIA files commenting on the reporting by or making note of the consequence of Seymour Hersh’s reporting to the Central Intelligence Agency, especially concerns about leaked classified information.

Soviet Afghanistan War (1979-1989) U.S. Backed Afghan-Mujahideen CIA, DOD, FBI, and State Dept Material

14,361 pages of CIA files, Department of Defense studies, Department of State documentary history and Reagan Administration files. A unique aspect of this collection is that it has recounting of Soviet-Afghan War battles from both Soviet officers and Mujahideen resistance fighters.

Soviet Biological Weapons Sverdlovsk 1979 Accident CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of State, Navy & Army Files

1,447 pages of CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of State, Navy, and Army files related to the Sverdlovsk anthrax incident. The Institute of Microbiology and Virology in the Russian city of Sverdlovsk, 850 miles east of Moscow, reportedly aroused the suspicions of U.S. intelligence analysts in the 1970s because of certain characteristics observed by satellite. Photo interpreters identified tall incinerator stacks, large cold storage facilities, animal pens, sentries, and double barbed-wire fences.

Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia CIA Situation Reports

196 pages of CIA daily situation reports covering the events of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Reports cover May 9-10, July 1, July 19-August 2 and August 21-September 4, 1968. On August 20, 1968, the Soviet Union led Warsaw Pact troops in an invasion of Czechoslovakia to crack down on reformist trends in Prague.

Soviet Union – Luna Programme/Lunik First Lunar Spacecraft First to the Moon CIA Files

1,441 pages of documents dealing with the Soviet Luna Programme, which sent the first manmade object, Lunik 1, to the moon. 861 pages of CIA Files dating from 1959 to 1971 and 579 pages of government reports on Luna and the early Soviet space program, dating from 1958 to 1967. A highlight in this collection is the CIA account of the “kidnapping” by the CIA of one of the Soviet program’s lunar space craft. Some CIA material in this collection was not declassified until November 2019

Soviet Union Top Secret Military Journal Voyennaya Mysl “Military Thought” CIA Files

15,451 pages of CIA files related to intercepted articles published in the Soviet Union’s top secret military journal Voyennaya Mysl. Voyennaya Mysl is translated from Russian to English as “Military Thought.” The files date from 1961 to 1982. Some material in this collection was not released by the CIA until October 2012. Much of the Soviet material from the early 1960’s was provided by Oleg Penkovsky. Oleg Vladimirovich Penkovsky, given the codenamed HERO by the CIA, was a colonel with Soviet military intelligence during the late 1950s and early 1960s who spied for the benefit of the United States. He was the highest-level Soviet officer to spy for the United States up to that time.

UFO Sightings: CIA, NSA, & Defense Intelligence Agency Files

4,888 pages of documents created or maintained and released by the CIA, NSA, and Defense Intelligence Agency. Files covering reporting of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). Some material was not released until 2021.

USCIA Soviet Propaganda Alerts & Project Truth Documents CIA Files

880 pages of material related to USCIA’s Soviet Propaganda Alerts & Project Truth. The United States International Communication Agency in response to a Reagan Administration desire to counter Soviet propaganda, in 1981 began a new effort of its own called ”Project Truth.”  Charles Z. Wick, the USCIA’s director, was tasked with overseeing his agency working with the Central Intelligence Agency and the State and Defense Departments to gather ”evidence” for the project. Press guidance at the time said that ”Project Truth” was designed to provide a fast-reply service to posts abroad when rumors or news reports about American activity thought to be untrue begin to circulate.

Vietnam War: CIA Maps

200 pages of CIA files, dating from 1957 to 1977, covering the production and distribution of CIA created maps including general reference, topographical, thematic, navigation charts and cadastral maps and plans, related to the Vietnam War.

Vietnam War: Key Events CIA Files

A trove 3,000 pages of CIA files dealing with the Vietnam War, dating from March 1961 to September 1972. Material is made up of CIA operational files, finished intelligence reports, memoranda, and background studies.

Vietnam War: POW/MIA Southeast Asia FBI – CIA – State Department Files

7,670 pages of FBI, CIA, and State Department documents dealing with American POWs/MIAs in Southeast Asia. 2,200 pages of CIA operational files, finished intelligence reports, memoranda, background studies, and open-source files dealing with American POWs/MIAs in Southeast Asia from 1962 to 1992, mostly from the late 60’s and early 70’s. These records concerning Vietnam-era prisoners of war and missing in action were located, reviewed, and released as a result of requests from next of kin and other interested parties concerning specific individuals in this category.

Vietnam War: Air America – CIA’s Covert Airline Newsletter: Air America Log

255 pages, 33 issues of Air America Log, dating from November 1967 to July 1973. Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1962 to 1976. It supplied and supported covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. It officially disbanded on June 30, 1976. As early as 1966 it was identified in the press as CIA controlled.

Vietnam War: Armed Propaganda Teams CIA Handbooks

109 pages of two CIA manuals produced in 1969-1970 for advisors in Armed Propaganda Teams apart of the Chiêu Hồi Program. The Chiêu Hồi (Open Arms) Program involved South Vietnamese personnel encouraging defection by the Viet Cong and their supporters to the side of the Southern Government.

Vietnam War: CIA History Staff Chronology of the Conflict 1940-1973 (1974)

This 142-page chronology of events in the Vietnam Conflict, “Vietnam: A Draft Chronology, 1940 -1973,” published in September 1974,” was not declassified and released by the CIA to the public until May 2021.

Vietnam War: CIA Official Internal Secret History Studies

2,358 pages, 48 different documents of once classified official history of the CIA’s involvement in Vietnam, produced by the History Staff of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA historians and current and former CIA personnel.

Vietnam War: Nuclear Weapon Use Options Defense Dept, White House, CIA Files, and White House Secret Audio

2,156 pages of Department of Defense, White House, National Security Council, CIA files, Nixon and Johnson secret White House audio recordings that address the nuclear question faced during the Vietnam War. Some material in this collection was not declassified until 2016.

Vietnam War: Tet Offensive CIA – Defense – State Dept – South Vietnamese Army Report

3,921 pages of CIA, Department of Defense, State Department files, South Vietnamese Army history, U.S. Army photos and South Vietnam Army photos covering the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive. Material dates from 1967 to 2003.

Watergate CIA Files

This collection includes 2,910 pages of material. A wide range of CIA and related files, related to the CIA’s possible proximity to Watergate.

World War II: Abwehr (German Military Intelligence) OSS – CIA Files

2,016 pages of documents created by or maintained by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or reports by other U.S. intelligence agencies derived from information gained by the OSS, covering the Abwehr. Documents date from 1944 to 2014.

FULL-TEXT FINDING AID

This collection includes as a finding aid a unified full-text index of all computer recognizable text in all documents in this collection.

To search the index, it is recommended that you use an Adobe product for PDF viewing. The latest free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded at:

https: //get.adobe.com/reader/

The file that organizes the index can be found in the root directory and is titled:

CIA Files Archive Index.pdx

To search the index in Adobe Acrobat Reader select Edit from the menu bar then select Advanced Search.

Then select Show more Options, then the file CIA Files Archive Index.pdx from the root directory, and click OK

Type the word or phrase you would like to search for in the appropriate box, specify any available search options you would like to use below the search term box and click Search.

In a few moments the search results will be returned to you. The results box will first indicate in how many compiled files in the collection the search term was found, then how many instances.

If searching for the name “Angleton” to search for mentions of James Jesus Angleton, Chief of Counterintelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1954 to 1974, you will get 365 hits in 19 different collections. Including the memos below from the CIA Watergate collection           .

In a January 3, 1975, meeting at the White House, John O. Marsh, Jr., Counsellor to President Ford, mentions seeing a summary of anti-dissident activities in the Nixon Administration, written by Angleton. President Ford goes on to ask, “Was the CIA involved in Watergate?”