FBI was asked to investigate sabotage, espionage, draft dodging etc. during World War I. After the war FBI got engaged in the obsession of containing the “Red Scare’. In the 1920 Palmer Raids, with Edgar Hoover actively involved, thousand of communists, civil rights and labor union activists were rounded up and harried. FBI had its reputation tarnished following uncovering of massive abuse of its powers for illegal searches and arrests.

J. Edgar Hoover took over as the agency’s director in 1924.He replaced those found wanting with more better qualified, professional and talented agents. He emphasized training, reporting, and employing scientific analysis techniques. Following the Lindbergh Act of 1932 Congress in 1934 declared bank robbery, extortion, and interstate racketeering as crime and this added to FBI “s responsibilities.

During the World War II years FBI was once again involved in an obsession, that of combating the spreading of fascism and Communism. The Smith Act of 1940 gave the agency the task of investigating espionage, counter-espionage etc. FBI agents tracked spies and suspects, draft dodgers and the agency also helped other agencies in deciphering coded messages.

Following the end of World War II the Soviet Union came to be perceived as a threat to the free world. FBI’s agenda emphasized domestic security, counterintelligence activities and it’s monitoring of Communist groups and sympathizers. Leaders of the U.S. Communist Party were arrested and prosecuted under the Smith Act.

Government officials though to be ‘soft’ on communist ideology were similarly persecuted. McCarthyism ( the term refers to Senator Joseph McCarthy) was obsessed with fears of communism and FBI was used to do everything to counter the fear. (Yahoo!Directory:Federal Bureau of Investigations)

Hoover launched the counterintelligence program ( called COINTELPRO) in 1956 to foil the activities of political groups. FBI got actively engaged in monitoring Black Nationalist groups, civil rights and socialist organizations, and anti-Vietnam War groups. Wire tapping, illegal house searches became routine. Hoover also worked on discrediting civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. by spreading false propaganda against him. Hoover used to keep files on political leaders for using the classified information against these persons.

Hoover’s term in FBI lasted nearly five decades and after his death in 1972 the maximum tenure has been fixed as ten years. FBI extensively used wiretapping during the Nixon years and its new director L. Patrick Gray admitted destroying evidence pertaining to the Watergate scandal.

Following all these disclosures FBI once again had its image tarnished for chasing shadows and imaginary threats and neglecting criminal investigations. Surveys confirmed its plummeting image. In 1975 U.S. Senate and House established special committees to look into abuses in the FBI. Following the committees’ recommendations several reforms were introduced. Agency’s new director Clarence M. Kelley observed that the FBI should never again occupy the “unique position that permitted improper activity without accountability. Permanent committees were formed to monitor FBI activities. (Yahoo!Directory:Federal Bureau of Investigations)

In the 1970’s FBI investigated white-collar crime. It probed corruption among members of Congress, resulting in the convictions of six U.S. representatives, one U.S. senator, and several local officials. However it was criticized once again for over stepping its authority by delving improperly into activities of the aid group called the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES).

President Reagan further expanded the role of FBI to carry out a campaign against drugs and also to counter terrorist’s attacks on American citizens outside of the U.S. (Yahoo!Directory:Federal Bureau of Investigations)

The Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents in the 1990’s raised a public furor, which resulted in revision of FBI policy on use of deadly force to permit such force “only in the face of imminent death or serious physical injury to the officer or another person.” (History of the FBI 2004)

The 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City and the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995 were both successfully investigated by the FBI. Kaczynski who killed and maimed university professors and business executives with homemade bombs was also arrested after a long and expensive search. With these successes came the charge that FBI laboratories fabricated evidence and bent findings to suit prosecution-prompting reforms there. FBI also was criticized for the lapse at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia. (History of the FBI 2004)

The FBI launched the largest investigation in its history after a group of aircraft hijackers attacks on the World Trade Center. It was able to solve the case by determining the identity of the hijackers and establishing their link to o Al-Qaeda, a radical Islamic group led by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden
A little later the agency investigated the mailing of several letters containing lethal anthrax bacteria to media companies and political offices, but it was unable to identify any suspects. FBI though has come under fire for not detecting and thus preventing the September 11 attacks. This has again set in motion reforms in the agency. CIA also gave wrong information about a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan as a result of which the factory was bombed.

We have surveyed the FBI so now we can start comparing and contrasting it with CIA starting with their respective ages. The origin of CIA is recent . President Harry S. Truman established the Central Intelligence Group in January 1946. Against this FBI was created in 1908. There is nearly a forty-year gap between the lives of these two agencies. (CIA - History 2004)

Next while the CIA is a part of the executive offices of the U.S. President the FBI is does not enjoy any such status. The President exercises direct control over CIA and appoints the CIA director and assistant director himself with consent from the Senate. The FBI director reports to the U.S. attorney general though he too is nominated by the U.S. President.

As for the organization structure both agencies have a similar structure at the top. Both have a director and a deputy director. Both have four additional deputy directors reporting to them. Each of these additional deputy directors heads a directorate. The directorates are Operations Directorate, Science and Technology Directorate, Intelligence Directorate and Administration Directorate. The Operations Directorate carries out covert activities and counterintelligence overseas. The Science and Technology Directorate interprets data obtained from a multitude of sources ranging from telephone and radio transmissions to satellite photographs. The Intelligence Directorate produces analyses from records and reports from within CIA as well as from other intelligence agencies like the FBI , National Security Agency (NSA) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) . The Intelligence Directorate handles financial, personnel matters as well as the computer facilities and internal security and espionage. The FBI has under its director and deputy director four executive assistant directors. The responsibilities that each of these four assistant directors hold are (i ) criminal investigations, (ii) counterintelligence (ii) counter terrorism(iii) law enforcement services and (iv) administration. (CIA - History 2004)
The CIA employs hundreds of field officers throughout the world to gather intelligence for the United Sates. Electronic intelligence gathering was more important during the cold war years following end of World War II when the U.S. and the USSR vied for world dominance. This is clearly not a role for the FBI.

The FBI is responsible for investigating violations of federal criminal laws. It is also responsible for protecting the United States from foreign intelligence and terrorist activities. FBI also is geared to provide services to other law enforcement agencies such as fingerprint identification, laboratory analysis of criminal evidence, police training, and access to a centralized crime information database.

CIA on the other hand is responsible for assessing the long-term potential threat to the United States by other countries. CIA’s responsibilities also include identifying terrorists and halting terrorist attacks, anticipating threats like disruption of oil supplies. CIA has also been used by U.S. Presidents to remove governments or leaders of governments deemed hostile to U.S. interests. It has aided and abated coup d’état in such countries.

The major role for CIA at present is to detect and report the clandestine activities of the anti-U.S. groups linked to Al-Qaeda who plan attacks on U.S. interests both in and outside of U.S. This is a major test and challenge for the agency at this point in time.

We can clearly see now that the focus of CIA is on foreign countries and on foreign agents operating on U.S. soil. FBI on the other hand is focused on violations of laws within the United States.

CIA analysts use open sources for their analyses. These include print and electronic media, speeches by foreign leaders etc. to predict how a country is likely to act in the future. This enables the president, Congress, and other important officials to formulate effective U.S. policies. The U.S. political leadership can be said to be the customers of CIA. The customers for FBI are the same though they help out all other domestic intelligence agencies and the police departments with their expertise in finger print matching, laboratory tests etc. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
CIA has also, like the FBI, come into a fair bit of criticism inside the U.S. and in foreign countries. Its covert operations are looked upon as illegitimate intervention in other sovereign countries. CIA involvement of the overthrow of Mosaddeq’s government in 1953 in Iran is a case in point. The undemocratic monarchy of the Shah was put in place to serve U.S. interests. In Guatemala, the government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán intended to take over land in control of a U.S. owned business enterprise. CIA plotted Arbenz’s overthrow in 1954 and installed a right-wing dictatorship. This was followed in 1961 by the attempt to overthrow the Cuban leader Fidel Castro. About 1,500 Cuban exiles, trained by CIA, landed at the Bay of Pigs to stir up a movement. These exiles did not get any support from the locals and were quickly rounded up.

FBI agents were sent to CIA since the 1980’s on counter-terrorism. Although FBI was on board the CIA did not brief them about the entry of two suspects entering the U.S. These two suspects were involved in the September 11 attacks. There is closer cooperation between these agencies following the 9/11 tragedy. A new program called TTIC (pronounced tee-Tick) has been initiated where agents from both the organizations will work under one roof. (FBI, CIA analysts to begin working together 2004)

Summary/Conclusion

We have seen the origin and the development through time of both agencies. We have also described their organization structure. We have briefly dealt with their achievements and failures. Our discussion also includes a brief account of the public perception of these agencies. These agencies supplement and complement each other though there may be some areas where they overlap. Perhaps in the coming years these two agencies can work under one command say the Department of Homeland Security.

List of Works Cited

‘CIA - History’ Retrieved on November 04,2004 from the website
www.fas.org/irp/cia/ciahist.htm
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Retrieved on November 04,2004 from the website www.cia.gov
FBI, CIA analysts to begin working together 2004 Retrieved on November 04,200.
History of the FBI’ Retrieved on November 04,2004 from the website
www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/ history/historymain.htm
Yahoo! Directory: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > History Retrieved on November 04,2004.