Uncertain Futures: The Crisis at CIA from 1947-1950 and the Arrival of the Intelligence Intellectuals

From the very beginning, CIA was beset with problems. As the Cold War developed, criticism of the Agency mounted and accusations of intelligence failure lowered its position in the national security hierarchy. When the Korean War broke out, the Director of Central Intelligence was not invited to Truman's high level pow wow. In this talk, based on his new book, The Intelligence Intellectuals: Social Scientists and the Making of the CIA (Georgetown University Press), Peter Grace discusses both the problems of dealing with uncertainty in strategic intelligence, and the then uncertain future of CIA. A new director was brought in, and he in turn ordered professors to come to Washington and reform the intelligence product.