Changes

The 1947 National Security Act created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and led to the National Security Council (NSC) that had authority over it. The 1950s and 1960s saw the CIA leading many anti-communist and Soviet activities, where the US began to get far more involved in foreign politics, such as elections of left-wing leaders in different states. The most noted success was the uncovering of nuclear missiles sent to Cuba in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In the 1960s, the Directorate of Science and Technology (DST) was created to coordinate technology efforts to aid in spying, including the production of spy satellites and other technologies. Meanwhile, the FBI became more active in domestic surveillance, where communism as well as organized crime were of keen interest. The next major change was the Patriot Act of 2001, which gave the government increased authority to collect and analyze private data. There was also a mandate to better coordinate foreign and domestic intelligence. This was in reaction to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. Since then, controversies have often revolved how much private information should the government posses and the balance of security and counter-terrorism efforts.<ref>For more on post-World War II spy developments in the United States, see: Carnes, Mark C., ed. 2007. <i>The Columbia History of Post-World War II America</i>. Columbia Guides to American History and Cultures. New York: Columbia University Press.</ref>