Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
The United States has carried out intelligence activities since the days of George Washington, but only since World War II have they been coordinated on a government-wide basis. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed New York lawyer and war hero, William J. Donovan, to become first the Coordinator of Information, and then, after the US entered World War II, head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1942. The OSS – the forerunner to the CIA – had a mandate to collect and analyze strategic information. After World War II, however, the OSS was abolished along with many other war agencies and its functions were transferred to the State and War Departments.
It did not take long before President Truman recognized the need for a postwar, centralized intelligence organization. To make a fully functional intelligence office, Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 establishing the CIA. The National Security Act charged the CIA with coordinating the nation’s intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating and disseminating intelligence affecting national security.
On December 17, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act which restructured the Intelligence Community by abolishing the position of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI) and creating the position the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA). The Act also created the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which oversees the Intelligence Community and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).
The Mapmaker’s Craft: A History of Cartography at CIA
Arthur H. Robinson, Founder of today’s Cartography Center
(Link: https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/mapmakers-craft.html)
Since 1941, the Cartography Center maps have told the stories of post-WWII reconstruction, the Suez crisis, the Cuban Missile crisis, the Falklands War, and many other important events in history.
On July 11, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the United States’ first peacetime, non-departmental intelligence organization, the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI), and authorized it to collect and analyze all information and data relevant to national security. COI, headed by William “Wild Bill” Donovan, reported directly to the President. Donovan recruited the best and the brightest from universities, businesses, and law firms focused on foreign affairs or with experience abroad.
After the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941, COI expanded rapidly and its maps began to circulate widely. Robinson was joined by geographer Robert Voskuil, and the two focused on recruiting staff, procuring equipment, and developing training procedures. By February 1, 1942, the Cartography Section was fully operational, with Robinson serving as its chief. The Map Information Section was added to procure commercial maps, for use by cartographers and to reproduce for policymakers.
With wartime needs requiring its expansion, COI grew from an office into America’s first intelligence agency and was replaced by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) on June 13, 1942. To satisfy a dramatic increase in the demand for customized thematic maps for the President, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Joint Army Navy Intelligence Studies (JANIS), Board of Economic Warfare, and COI, the Cartography Section added 28 geographers by the end of 1942.
At that time, there were no cartographers as we know them today—so Robinson recruited geographers with an interest in mapping, and they learned on the job. Robinson developed a unique system of map production to operate in the field of intelligence, and it evolved rapidly to improve map quality and production efficiency.
In March 1943, the Topographic Models Section was added, and the three sections—Cartography, Map Information, and Topographic Models—formed the new Map Division. Geographers and cartographers amassed what would be the largest collection of maps in the world and produced strategic maps and 3D plaster terrain models in support of strategic studies and military operational plans for the JCS, the Office of Naval Intelligence, OSS, and the War Department.
The Map Division was intimately involved in the planning strategy of the Allied invasion of North Africa and Italy. It also assessed the economic and topographic conditions in other areas vital to the conduct of the war, including in the Asia-Pacific Theater. The JCS called upon cartographers for much of their secret security work concerning operations and valued cartographers for their support at the Allied conferences.
Serving as the premier source for strategic thematic maps and map resources, the Cartography and Map Information Sections survived the abolishment of OSS on October 1, 1945 and were transferred to the Division of Geography and Cartography in the Department of State. The Cartography Section would remain at the State Department until July 1, 1947, when it was transferred to the Central Intelligence Group (CIG).
Shortly thereafter, CIG gained the status of a full agency and became the Central Intelligence Agency on September 18, 1947. Serving a unique need with world-class products, Cartography Center has withstood much reorganization and name changes in the past 75 years and continues to provide timely and effective map services in support of a variety of national security topics.
1940s
In the early 1940s, map layers were drafted by hand using pen and ink on translucent acetate sheets mounted on large Strathmore boards. They were drafted at larger sizes than needed for the final (typically at a 4:1 ratio) and printed at a reduced size using photomechanical methods. Standard symbols and labels preprinted on adhesive-backed cellophane sheets called “stick-up” were applied to maps for uniformity.
During this decade, in support of the military’s efforts in World War II (WWII), cartographers pioneered many map production and thematic design techniques, including the construction of 3D map models. Cartographic support was key to the US war-planning strategy. In addition to the major events of WWII, during the 1940s, cartographic production was primarily driven by postwar reconstruction, turmoil in the Middle East, and communist expansion.
1950s
The 1950s witnessed improved efficiency in map compilation and construction processes. Map layers were drafted in pen and ink on vinyl sheets for photomechanical reproduction, and type was handset using precast lead letters. Cartographers then learned scribing techniques to produce high-quality line-work for maps and adapted shaded relief techniques to better depict the nature of the terrain on maps.
As production capabilities improved to turnaround times of less than one day, a small group of cartographers and graphic designers from the Cartography Division was placed in the Cartographic Support Section to work specifically on current intelligence—daily analysis prepared for the President and other selected senior US officials.
During the 1950s, cartographic production was primarily driven by the Cold War, the Korean war, the French defeat in Vietnam, the Suez crisis, and the rise of the Castro regime in Cuba.
1960s
In 1965, the Director of Central Intelligence actively encouraged analysts to use visual arts to help explain complex problems. The Vietnam War also generated an increase in demand for maps.
In 1966, a large working group, using a borrowed digitizer, compiled and digitized coastlines and international boundaries for the entire world—in a single weekend. This digital geographic database, World Data Bank I (WDBI), contained more than 100,000 vertices that could be projected using the Cartographic Automatic Mapping (CAM) program. This eliminated the need for hand scribing graticules and coastlines, drastically expediting map production.
During the 1960s, cartographic production was primarily driven by the continuation of the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Six-Day War, the Soviet expansion, US involvement in Vietnam, and the advent of numerous African countries gaining independence.
Automation efforts flourished in the 1970s. The development of World Data Bank II (WDBII) was heavily emphasized, and more detailed data—including those for rivers, roads, railroads, administrative divisions, populated places, and attributes—were added to the growing database. Electronic typesetting capability was added, and equipment was upgraded to allow production of separation plates, vugraphs, and slides for publications and briefings. Improved efficiency led to an increase in research projects, particularly in atlases and street guides.
During the 1970s, cartographic production was primarily driven by the Vietnam war, President Nixon’s visit to China, the Arab oil embargo, the Camp David accords, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Islamic Revolution and the seizure of US Embassy officers in Tehran in November of 1979.
1980s
In the 1980s, CIA’s analytical corps expanded quickly, and the demand for maps used in briefing materials and publications increased dramatically, with more complex requests and shortened time frames. During this decade, cartography made a technological transition—from a time-intensive manual system to a computer-automated system that allowed quicker turnaround times and more innovative ways of presenting intelligence. Cartographers received Intergraph interactive color workstations to design and construct digital 2D maps and 3D terrain models. A high-speed, photoscribing plotting process was added, and a modest research program was reinstated.
During the 1980s, cartographic production was primarily driven by the Falklands War, the Iran-Iraq war, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, major acts of terror against US Marines and citizens, and US troop action in Grenada and Panama.
1990s
In the 1990s, the Cartography Center—with the help of advancing computer technology—provided increasingly complex products, such as 3D terrain perspectives and animation, to support finished intelligence requirements. Dependence on film decreased as digital files could be printed directly, and as maps were disseminated more widely, customer demand grew rapidly.
Improved computer graphics capabilities spurred greater sophistication and effectiveness in the use of color, symbolism, and design to convey intelligence stories, while the rise of geodata sources and Geographic Information Systems technology led to advancements in data classification, manipulation, and rendering.
During the 1990s, cartographic production was primarily driven by major humanitarian crises in Africa and Central America, the proliferation of WMDs, the rise of narcotics trafficking, the Middle East Peace Process, the Persian Gulf war, the breakup of the Communist Bloc, and US peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2000s
With the new millennium, Cartography Center found itself at the center of a digital revolution. Hardcopy publications and briefing materials were no longer the priority as the emphasis shifted to electronic briefings and dissemination of finished intelligence.
As Agency products continued to exploit technological breakthroughs, cartographers constantly adapted workflow to make the best use of available software and new technologies for creating and disseminating products. The rise of global terrorism also pushed cartographers to try new avenues for portraying and conveying the complex phenomena for policymakers.
During the 2000s, cartographic production was primarily driven by natural disasters and pandemics; turmoil in Africa, the Middle East, and the former Yugoslavia; nuclear developments in Iran and North Korea; terrorism, especially the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq that followed.
2010s
The past six years have witnessed a push toward modernization of cartography workflow and technology, especially toward dissemination on web and mobile platforms. For the most part, the Cartography Center has transitioned to the use of commercially available, off-the-shelf software and to scientific workstations, which handle software and large amounts of data more efficiently.
The Cartography Center has capitalized on the advent of US Government and open-source map data and tools, exploring and incorporating them as appropriate to improve efficiency and help visualize big data.
During the first half of the 2010s, cartographic production was primarily driven by the Ebola virus and natural disasters resulting in humanitarian crises, the rise of the Arab Spring, the Russian invasion of Crimea, and the continued spread of terrorism and the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (Link: https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/mapmakers-craft.html)
A Brief History of Basic Intelligence and The World Factbook
The Intelligence Cycle is the process by which information is acquired, converted into intelligence, and made available to policymakers. Information is raw data from any source, data that may be fragmentary, contradictory, unreliable, ambiguous, deceptive, or wrong. Intelligence is information that has been collected, integrated, evaluated, analyzed, and interpreted. Finished intelligence is the final product of the Intelligence Cycle ready to be delivered to the policymaker.
The three types of finished intelligence are: basic, current, and estimative. Basic intelligence provides the fundamental and factual reference material on a country or issue. Current intelligence reports on new developments. Estimative intelligence judges probable outcomes. The three are mutually supportive: basic intelligence is the foundation on which the other two are constructed; current intelligence continually updates the inventory of knowledge; and estimative intelligence revises overall interpretations of country and issue prospects for guidance of basic and current intelligence. The World Factbook, The President's Daily Brief, and the National Intelligence Estimates are examples of the three types of finished intelligence.
The United States has carried on foreign intelligence activities since the days of George Washington but only since World War II have they been coordinated on a government-wide basis. Three programs have highlighted the development of coordinated basic intelligence since that time: (1) the Joint Army Navy Intelligence Studies (JANIS), (2) the National Intelligence Survey (NIS), and (3) The World Factbook.
During World War II, intelligence consumers realized that the production of basic intelligence by different components of the US Government resulted in a great duplication of effort and conflicting information. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 brought home to leaders in Congress and the executive branch the need for integrating departmental reports to national policymakers. Detailed and coordinated information was needed not only on such major powers as Germany and Japan, but also on places of little previous interest. In the Pacific Theater, for example, the Navy and Marines had to launch amphibious operations against many islands about which information was unconfirmed or nonexistent. Intelligence authorities resolved that the United States should never again be caught unprepared.
In 1943, Gen. George B. Strong (G-2), Adm. H. C. Train (Office of Naval Intelligence - ONI), and Gen. William J. Donovan (Director of the Office of Strategic Services - OSS) decided that a joint effort should be initiated. A steering committee was appointed on 27 April 1943 that recommended the formation of a Joint Intelligence Study Publishing Board to assemble, edit, coordinate, and publish the Joint Army Navy Intelligence Studies (JANIS). JANIS was the first interdepartmental basic intelligence program to fulfill the needs of the US Government for an authoritative and coordinated appraisal of strategic basic intelligence. Between April 1943 and July 1947, the board published 34 JANIS studies. JANIS performed well in the war effort, and numerous letters of commendation were received, including a statement from Adm. Forrest Sherman, Chief of Staff, Pacific Ocean Areas, which said, "JANIS has become the indispensable reference work for the shore-based planners."
The need for more comprehensive basic intelligence in the postwar world was well expressed in 1946 by George S. Pettee, a noted author on national security. He wrote in The Future of American Secret Intelligence (Infantry Journal Press, 1946, page 46) that world leadership in peace requires even more elaborate intelligence than in war.
The Central Intelligence Agency was established on 26 July 1947 and officially began operating on 18 September 1947. Effective 1 October 1947, the Director of Central Intelligence assumed operational responsibility for JANIS. On 13 January 1948, the National Security Council issued Intelligence Directive (NSCID) No. 3, which authorized the National Intelligence Survey (NIS) program as a peacetime replacement for the wartime JANIS program. Before adequate NIS country sections could be produced, government agencies had to develop more comprehensive gazetteers and better maps. The US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) compiled the names; the Department of the Interior produced the gazetteers; and CIA produced the maps.
The Hoover Commission's Clark Committee, set up in 1954 to study the structure and administration of the CIA, reported to Congress in 1955 that: "The National Intelligence Survey is an invaluable publication which provides the essential elements of basic intelligence on all areas of the world. There will always be a continuing requirement for keeping the Survey up-to-date." The Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS program was terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and gazetteer components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The Factbook was first made available on the Internet in June 1997. The year 2014 marks the 67th anniversary of the establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency and the 71st year of continuous basic intelligence support to the US Government by The World Factbook and its two predecessor programs.
The Evolution of The World Factbook
National Basic Intelligence Factbook produced semiannually until 1980. Country entries include sections on Land, Water, People, Government, Economy, Communications, and Defense Forces.
1981 Publication becomes an annual product and is renamed The World Factbook. A total of 165 nations are covered on 225 pages.
1983 Appendices (Conversion Factors, International Organizations) first introduced.
1984 Appendices expanded; now include: A. The United Nations, B. Selected United Nations Organizations, C. Selected International Organizations, D. Country Membership in Selected Organizations, E. Conversion Factors.
1987 A new Geography section replaces the former separate Land and Water sections. UN Organizations and Selected International Organizations appendices merged into a new International Organizations appendix. First multi-color-cover Factbook.
1988 More than 40 new geographic entities added to provide complete world coverage without overlap or omission. Among the new entities are Antarctica, oceans (Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific), and the World. The front-of-the-book explanatory introduction expanded and retitled to Notes, Definitions, and Abbreviations. Two new Appendices added: Weights and Measures (in place of Conversion Factors) and a Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names. Factbook size reaches 300 pages.
1989 Economy section completely revised and now includes an Overview briefly describing a country's economy. New entries added under People, Government, and Communications.
1990 The Government section revised and considerably expanded with new entries.
1991 A new International Organizations and Groups appendix added. Factbook size reaches 405 pages.
1992 Twenty new successor state entries replace those of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. New countries are respectively: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan; and Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia. Number of nations in the Factbook rises to 188.
1993 Czechoslovakia's split necessitates new Czech Republic and Slovakia entries. New Eritrea entry added after it secedes from Ethiopia. Substantial enhancements made to Geography section.
1994 Two new appendices address Selected International Environmental Agreements. The gross domestic product (GDP) of most developing countries changed to a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis rather than an exchange rate basis. Factbook size up to 512 pages.
1995 The GDP of all countries now presented on a PPP basis. New appendix lists estimates of GDP on an exchange rate basis. Communications category split; Railroads, Highways, Inland waterways, Pipelines, Merchant marine, and Airports entries now make up a new Transportation category. The World Factbook is first produced on CD-ROM.
1996 Maps accompanying each entry now present more detail. Flags also introduced for nearly all entities. Various new entries appear under Geography and Communications. Factbook abbreviations consolidated into a new Appendix A. Two new appendices present a Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes and a Cross-Reference List of Hydrogeographic Data Codes. Geographic coordinates added to Appendix H, Cross-Reference List of Geographic Names. Factbook size expands by 95 pages in one year to reach 652.
1997 The World Factbook introduced onto the Internet. A special printed edition prepared for the CIA's 50th anniversary. A schema or Guide to Country Profiles introduced. New color maps and flags now accompany each country profile. Category headings distinguished by shaded backgrounds. Number of categories expanded to nine with the addition of an Introduction (for only a few countries) and Transnational Issues (which includes Disputes-international and Illicit drugs).
1998 The Introduction category with two entries, Current issues and Historical perspective, expanded to more countries. Last year for the production of CD-ROM versions of the Factbook.
1999 Historical perspective and Current issues entries in the Introduction category combined into a new Background statement. Several new Economy entries introduced. A new physical map of the world added to the back-of-the-book reference maps.
2000 A new "country profile" added on the Southern Ocean. The Background statements dramatically expanded to over 200 countries and possessions. A number of new Communications entries added.
2001 Background entries completed for all 267 entities in the Factbook. Several new HIV/AIDS entries introduced under the People category. Revision begun on individual country maps to include elevation extremes and a partial geographic grid. Weights and Measures appendix deleted.
2002 New entry on Distribution of Family income - Gini index added. Revision of individual country maps continued (process still ongoing).
2003 In the Economy category, petroleum entries added for oil production, consumption, exports, imports, and proved reserves, as well as natural gas proved reserves.
2004 Bi-weekly updates launched on The World Factbook website. Additional petroleum entries included for natural gas production, consumption, exports, and imports. In the Transportation category, under Merchant marine, subfields added for foreign-owned vessels and those registered in other countries. Descriptions of the many forms of government mentioned in the Factbook incorporated into the Definitions and Notes.
2005 In the People category, a Major infectious diseases field added for countries deemed to pose a higher risk for travelers. In the Economy category, entries included for Current account balance, Investment, Public debt, and Reserves of foreign exchange and gold. The Transnational issues category expanded to include Refugees and internally displaced persons. Size of the printed Factbook reaches 702 pages.
2006 In the Economy category, national GDP figures now presented at Official Exchange Rates (OER) in addition to GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP). Entries in the Transportation section reordered; Highways changed to Roadways, and Ports and harbors to Ports and terminals.
2007 In the Government category, the Capital entry significantly expanded with up to four subfields, including new information having to do with time. The subfields consist of the name of the capital itself, its geographic coordinates, the time difference at the capital from coordinated universal time (UTC), and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note is added to highlight those countries with multiple time zones. A Trafficking in persons entry added to the Transnational issues category. A new appendix, Weights and Measures, (re)introduced to the online version of the Factbook.
2008 In the Geography category, two fields focus on the increasingly vital resource of water: Total renewable water resources and Freshwater withdrawal. In the Economy category, three fields added for: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home, Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad, and Market value of publicly traded shares. Concise descriptions of all major religions included in the Definitions and Notes. Responsibility for printing of The World Factbook turned over to the Government Printing Office.
2009 The online Factbook site completely redesigned with many new features. In the People category, two new fields provide information on education in terms of opportunity and resources: School Life Expectancy and Education expenditures. Additionally, the Urbanization entry expanded to include all countries. In the Economy category, five fields added: Central bank discount rate, Commercial bank prime lending rate, Stock of narrow money, Stock of broad money, and Stock of domestic credit.
2010 Weekly updates inaugurated on the The World Factbook website. The dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles results in two new listings: Curacao and Sint Maarten. In the Communications category, a Broadcast media field replaces the former Radio broadcast stations and TV broadcast stations entries. In the Geography section, under Natural hazards, a Volcanism subfield added for countries with historically active volcanoes. In the Government category, a new National anthems field introduced. Concise descriptions of all major Legal systems incorporated into the Definitions and Notes. In order to facilitate comparisons over time, dozens of the entries in the Economy category expanded to include two (and in some cases three) years' worth of data.
2011 The People section expanded to People and Society, incorporating ten new fields. The Economy category added Taxes and other revenues and Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-), while the Government section introduced International law organization participation and National symbols. A new African nation, South Sudan, brings the total number of countries in The World Factbook to 195.
2012 A new Energy category introduced with 23 energy-related fields. Several distinctive features added to The World Factbook website: 1) playable audio files in the Government section for the National Anthems entry, 2) online graphics in the form of a Population Pyramid feature in the People and Society category's Age Structure field, and 3) a Users Guide enabling visitors to navigate the Factbook more easily and efficiently. A new and distinctive Map of the World Oceans highlights an expanded array of regional and country maps. Size of the printed Factbook's 50th anniversary edition reaches 847 pages.
2013 In the People and Society section five fields introduced: Demographic profile, Mother's mean age at first birth, Contraceptive prevalence rate, Dependency ratios, and Child labor - children ages 5-14. In the Transnational Issues category, a new stateless persons subfield embedded under the Refugees and internally displaced persons entry. In the Economy section two fields added: GDP - composition by end use and Gross national saving. In the Government category the Judicial branch entry revised and expanded to include three new subfields: highest court(s), judge selection and term of office, and subordinate courts.
2014 In the Transportation category, the Ports and terminals field substantially expanded with subfields for major seaport(s), river port(s), lake port(s), oil/gas terminal(s), LNG terminal(s), dry bulk cargo port(s), container port(s), and cruise/ferry port(s). In the Geography section, the Land boundaries entry revised for all countries, including the total country border length as well as the border lengths for all neighboring countries. In the Government category, the first part of the Legislative branch field thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated for all countries under a new description heading. This subentry includes the legislative structure, the formal name(s), the number of legislative seats, the types of voting constituencies and voting systems, and the member term of office.
2015 In the Government category, the first part of the Legislative branch field thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated for all countries under a new description heading. This subentry includes the legislative structure, the formal name(s), the number of legislative seats, the types of voting constituencies and voting systems, and the member term of office. Area Comparison Maps introduced online for about half of the world’s countries.
2016 In the Government section for all countries, a new “Citizenship” field added to describe policies related to the acquisition of citizenship and to the recognition of dual citizenship. Also, under the “Country name” entry, etymologies (historical origins) added to explain how countries acquired their names.
A brief Summary of the 2015 Factbook Worldview
Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landin