The original idea behind the creation of the CIA was to give the government and the nation authoritative analyses of long-term trends in the world. Latterly, it has been involved in drone strikes, abductions, torture, killings and paramilitary actions. This situation has crept up on the United States, probably because the conventional military have been unable to win a normal war, let alone a secret, surreptitious one.
Norman Birnbaum, writing on http://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/should-we-abolish-the-cia on July 9th advocates abolishing the CIA as it stands. He points out that at every juncture of history where it should have been expected to forecast the actions and policies of other countries (e.g especially North Vietnam and the Soviet Union) it has got it wrong. In other words, it is doing actual harm as a “secret” army and cannot get its insights and predictions right either. CIA operatives, on the other hand, have often been right in their judgments but have been overuled by a politicized management, who presumably, as with Iraq, gave the President the information they thought he wanted.
There has apparently been apprehension within the CIA that its operations, having diverted the Agency from the purpose for which it was originally founded in 1947, might be handed over to another, more responsible, agency, such as the State Department, which has arguably proven much better at correctly analyzing the realities of foreign policy. CIA dissenters and staff critics have been punished by the bureaucracy, and sometimes have had their careers amd lives ruined.
Epicurus would, I am sure, support Norman Birnbaum and call for the winding up of this over-mighty subject, which is making a legion of fresh enemies without thrashing the existing ones.
I once met a very senior, recently retired member of the British security services. He was naturally reluctant to talk about his job, but he did say that the european secret services, along with others, did their best work with the aid of “assets” (read spies) on the ground. Electronic surveillance had an important place, but was over relied upon by the CIA, who were doing it en masse because they could do it. He didn’t think much of its cost effectiveness. And that was years ago.
Failure of the CIA to fulfill its intended purpose and the politicization of intelligence combine to diminish American security.
The pressing need for reform is documented by retired agents themselves. For example, re Vietnam, “None So Blind: A Personal Account of the Intelligence Failure in Vietnam” by George W. Allen, (2001.) More recently regarding the Middle East, “The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames,” by Kai Bird, 2014. In both cases, it was not the lack of accurate intelligence it was the political rejection of accurate intelligence.