Follow a noted CIA expert and uncover how the CIA has shaped modern world history.
The Agency: A History of the CIA
We spied with our little eyes, well, spies. Pull back the covers on the secret world-changing, country-saving efforts of the agency.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Hotel Whiskey from
Very good.
From this course one obtains glimpses of why U.S. intelligence so often fails to inspire a rational foreign policy, most frequently by not noticing foreign political developments, but also by not assessing the consequences of U.S. initiatives before they launch. Lecture 24 lists the many intelligence failures in the ‘not noticed’ category, but the ‘not assessed’ scorecard is even more grievous. Examples: the CIA gave the White House no warning of the storms that would ensue from (1) Truman’s 1948 recognition of Israel, (2) Eisenhower’s 1959 decision to deploy nuclear-warhead Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey, (3) Kennedy’s 1961 Bay of Pigs misadventure in Cuba, (4) Johnson’s 1965 Operation Starlite invasion of Vietnam by the U.S. Marines, (5) Carter’s bungled 1980 Operation Eagle Claw hostage rescue, (6) Obama’s 2012-17 Operation Timber Sycamore to promote the Syrian Civil War and overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, (7) Clinton’s 1993-99 push to bring Ukraine and Georgia into NATO and, most recently, (8), Biden’s 2022 Ukraine proxy war with the Russian Federation. Proactive CIA skepticism might have prevented some, if not all, of these policy blunders. Instead, the CIA was either not relevant to the policy formulation process or misunderstood the consequences. Of course, saying “No! Bad idea!” to an impulsive president is never politic.
Prof. Wilford’s course would have benefited with some quantitative graphics to explain the size and scope of CIA activities over the years, e.g., estimates of manning, budget, and the like. HWF, Mesa AZ.
Date published: 2022-11-11
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Mufasa from
Learned a lot
Most of the lectures are outstanding. Tremendous attention to detail and great storytelling.
Date published: 2022-08-30
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Just Another Reviewer from
Don't agree with all, but still 5 stars!
I've never agreed with anything or anyone 100%. Having said that, I'd still recommend this course with 5 stars. Why? A good teacher makes you think. A really good teacher helps you find a new way to think about things.
Pros and cons here -
Pros: Amazing ability to use roughly 30-minute lessons to address small segments of history. I am always in awe of people who can fit a lot of information into a small parcel and still do it justice.
Having said that, I can't agree with every opinion of the professor. I've attended tons of classes over the years. With all due respect, everyone has an agenda, even if it's as mild as how to fit a lot of info into a small space. This course is excellent in that respect, and I am good at history. So I appreciate the presentation, even when I disagree with the conclusions.
And whether you are Republican, Democrat or Independent, I think you can find value in this class. Just don't expect it to parrot current talking points, and this is not a criticism. I disagree with points throughout the presentations. BUT I think that there's something to be learned here.
Cons: This is my only negative, and I hope someone shares this info with the professor. The suggestions to read more? This section needs work. Half the books seem to be out of print, but that's not the obstacle. What we need are two sections - one for beginners to this part of the lecture and another for advanced students who wish to read more.
Date published: 2022-05-31
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Professional bum from
OK Title
This is an important subject. The professor knows his topic quite well. My issue is with the style of the videoing. He moves his arms constantly. This is a distraction. The producer should have had more close up shots and inserted many more power points, photos, etc. so the viewer would spend less time seeing the presenter. Video presentations are and should be different from the style used in a classroom, especially if it is a mass lecture.I would recommend the audio rather than the video.
Date published: 2022-05-07
Rated 5 out of
5
by
KiwiJane from
An Eye Opener
I got a lot from this course. I knew the usual sort of basics about the C.I.A but learnt a wealth of interesting details: the history of the organisation, the key legislation and political background, key events, and main characters. Fascinating. The lecturer is obviously very knowledgeable and managed to keep me glued to my seat the whole time - couldn't wait to the next episode/lecture. Well worth it.
Date published: 2022-03-15
Rated 4 out of
5
by
kacx from
Interesting Overview of the CIA
I found this an interesting and in depth overview of the CIA.
Date published: 2022-03-13
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Whitbrau from
I hope I can find time for you guys in 2022!!
I've invested in classes for YEARS.....And haven't been able to see any of my classes yet! So don't cancel them!!
Date published: 2022-03-03
Rated 2 out of
5
by
PMM1 from
Not so hot
It did not live up to what I expected. ...................
Date published: 2022-01-04
Overview
About
Hugh Wilford is a Professor of History at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). He was born in the United Kingdom and graduated with a BA with honors in Modern History from the University of Bristol. Professor Wilford earned his PhD in American Studies from the University of Exeter. He began his career teaching US history in England at Middlesex University in London and the University of Sheffield. While still based in the UK, he received scholarships from the Fulbright Commission and the British government to teach and research in the United States, first at CSULB, then at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he remains a Faculty Affiliate. At CSULB, Professor Wilford has received a President’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement in teaching and research and the Distinguished Faculty Scholarly & Creative Achievement Award. He has also received awards from several other US institutions, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Princeton University Library, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Professor Wilford has published extensively in the field of US history on such topics as the CIA, US–Middle East relations, Americanization and anti-Americanism in Europe, the American left, and US intellectuals. He is the author of many scholarly articles and papers as well as several books, including The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America; The CIA, the British Left and the Cold War: Calling the Tune?; and The New York Intellectuals: From Vanguard to Institution. Professor Wilford’s book America’s Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East won a gold medal in The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Book Prize competition. He is the coeditor, with Helen Laville, of The US Government, Citizen Groups and the Cold War: The State-Private Network. Professor Wilford’s work has been featured in numerous TV, radio, and newspaper interviews.
Trailer
01: Secrecy, Democracy, and the Birth of the CIA
Why did the United States create a secret foreign intelligence service in the first place? For the answer, examine three key periods of U.S. government intelligence before the birth of the CIA: the American Revolution to the late 1930s, World War II, and the postwar years from 1945 to 1947.
29 min
02: George Kennan and the Rise of Covert Ops
Professor Wilford reveals how the CIA transformed from an intelligence agency to housing the United States’ premier covert-action unit in the space of just two years. Central to this conversion is George F. Kennan, who declared “political warfare” against the Soviet Union through his policies of both containment and “rollback.”
30 min
03: The CIA, China, and the Korean War
Discover how the CIA, with its attention drawn to Asia, failed to rein in the growing emphasis on covert operations and restore its focus on intelligence gathering and analysis. Two factors you’ll focus on: the lack of public scrutiny of the CIA’s actions and the arrival of future CIA director Allen Dulles.
29 min
04: The Iran Coup of August 1953
More than any other operation, the 1953 Iran Coup created a culture of covert action that would shape the CIA’s future. First, study the shifting political attitudes toward Iranian nationalism. Then, learn about the Iran operation itself (TP-AJAX). Finally, ponder who was most responsible for Mohammad Mosaddeq’s fall from power.
27 min
05: Regime Change in Guatemala
In this lecture, explore the CIA’s role in the Guatemalan coup (the operation codenamed PB-SUCCESS) that brought about a new era of murderous dictatorship to the country—and a surge of anti-American sentiment across Central and South America that has haunted U.S. relations with the region to this day.
30 min
06: Operation Rollback in Eastern Europe
One of the CIA’s first major setbacks was the tragic failure of the Hungarian uprising, despite the agency’s attempts to liberate the Eastern Bloc countries during the early 1950s. Here, investigate CIA efforts to organize anti-communist Eastern European émigrés to liberate their homelands and the creation of Radio Free Europe to counteract communist-controlled media.
29 min
07: U-2 Spy Missions and Battleground Berlin
Focus on the CIA’s efforts to gain intelligence about its chief Cold War enemy: the Soviet Union. Professor Wilford covers how the CIA employed human agents as spies (HUMINT), how the CIA attempted to intercept Soviet signals (SIGINT), and how the CIA used advanced technology—like the U-2 spy plane—to gather intelligence (TECHINT).
29 min
08: The CIA in Syria, Indonesia, and the Congo
Go inside the CIA’s three major covert ops setbacks of the late 1950s. The first was a follow-up attempt at regime change in Syria (1957), the second was an attempt to unseat the Indonesia leader Sukarno (1958), and the last was the effort to remove the Congolese prime minster, Patrice Lumumba (1960).
30 min
09: Under Orders: The Agency Targets Castro
Why were both Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy so dead-set on removing Fidel Castro from power? How did the CIA plan to use hallucinogens to assassinate the communist dictator? What made the CIA’s Bay of Pigs covert operation such a resounding—and public—disaster?
28 min
10: Missile Crisis in Cuba and at Langley
The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was arguably the defining moment in the Cold War: 13 days in which the world came closest to a nuclear confrontation. Using recent scholarship, Professor Wilford unpacks the CIA’s performance during the crisis and how it sparked a return to traditional intelligence work instead of covert ops.
27 min
11: Unquiet American: Edward Lansdale in Vietnam
Get a more complete understanding of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War by including the CIA in the larger narrative—specifically the fascinating and controversial Edward Lansdale. Learn how the CIA tried to win the war through nation-building and counterinsurgency, and how it provided the military with tactical and strategic intelligence.
31 min
12: CIA Fronts and the Ramparts Exposé
Why did the CIA secretly fund groups of Americans at home in the United States—the longest-running and most expensive operation of the Cold War era? What did the groups themselves think of the roles they played? Investigate how the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union quickly became a global ideological battle.
29 min
13: Spies in Hollywood: Romance and Thriller
Since its inception, the CIA has deliberately tried to influence the purveyors of culture in film, television, and literature. Visit the cultural front of the Cold War as the CIA becomes a secret patron of American musicians, artists, writers, and filmmakers. Also, take a closer look at how popular culture, in turn, shaped the CIA.
27 min
14: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Coup in Chile
Professor Wilford challenges the dominant narrative of the CIA’s involvement in the Chilean coup of 1973. Learn why the organization was less responsible than other U.S. players (such as Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger), and why the coup illustrates the agency’s decline during the 1970s as a chief weapon of the Cold War.
29 min
15: Watergate, Nixon, and the Family Jewels
Using recently released government records, unpack the domestic CIA operations of the Nixon era and discover a systemic culture of secret government overreach—with the CIA at the center. Topics include the program known as MH-CHAOS, the CIA’s contributions to Watergate, and journalist Seymour Hersh’s 1974 exposé of CIA domestic intelligence operations.
27 min
16: James Angleton and the Great CIA Molehunt
Explore intelligence officer James Angleton’s dramatic hunt for Soviet moles inside the CIA, a story of deception, betrayal, and tragedy. Angleton’s story—and his ultimate fate—hold powerful lessons for our own time, when secret state power is the source of renewed public debate and concern.
30 min
17: Colby, Church, and the CIA Crisis of 1975
The 1970s saw a growing movement against the CIA, from congressional joint-oversight committees to whistleblowers like Philip Agee. Was the CIA out of control? What forces drove the antagonism toward the agency, and why were they so powerful in the spring of 1975? Discover the answers here.
27 min
18: The CIA, Carter, and the Hostage Crisis in Iran
Go inside the story of the 1979 Tehran hostage crisis that wracked Jimmy Carter’s presidency, with a particular focus on the CIA’s failure to anticipate Iran’s Islamic revolution. Despite the geopolitical gloom, spend some time examining the one bright spot for the CIA: the successful rescue of six diplomats who avoided capture.
29 min
19: Reagan, Casey, and the Iran-Contra Scandal
The start of the Reagan presidency saw a return to the unchecked freedom of the CIA’s golden age. Then came the Iran-Contra Scandal, which culminated in criminal charges, convictions, pardons, and dismissals. As you’ll learn, the potential for 1970s-style conflict between Congress and the CIA remained.
29 min
20: Afghanistan, the Soviets, and the CIA
Turn now to the final years of the Cold War and the CIA’s adventures in Afghanistan during the 1980s. Also, investigate the agency’s intelligence about the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union a decade later. Do covert operatives deserve credit for bringing these events about?
28 min
21: Intelligence Failure: The Road to 9/11
First, follow the rise of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda during the final decades of the 20th century and the dawn of the terrorist organization’s war with the United States. Then, Professor Wilford addresses the provocative question of why the CIA failed to predict—or disrupt—the terrorist attacks of September 11.
28 min
22: CIA Advance in Afghanistan, Retreat in Iraq
Trace the CIA’s role in the first years of the War on Terror—years that were among the darkest in the agency’s history. Focus on the agency’s major setbacks in the War on Terror, including the failure to capture Osama bin Laden and the faulty evidence that led to the Iraq War.
28 min
23: CIA Renditions, Interrogations, and Drones
Examine the CIA’s role in two phases of the War on Terror: the capture and interrogation of suspected terrorists and, after those methods were discredited, the killing of terrorists using drone strikes. By the end of the Obama era, the agency had regained some of its stature—and had become more vulnerable.
29 min
24: The CIA Balance Sheet: Wins and Losses
What does a balance sheet of the CIA’s wins and losses since its creation look like? As Professor Wilford reveals, the CIA’s intelligence performance hasn’t been as poor as some have argued. But there still remains, in the world’s largest democracy, an abiding tension between secret government power and accountability.
32 min
