Why Harry Truman wanted to Dismantle the CIA

Strangely former President Harry S. Truman (D-Missouri) wanted to dismantle the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) — an organization he helped form.

In retirement, Truman became concerned about the CIA’s operations. In 1963, the former President wrote a Washington Post op-ed demanding that the CIA’s “cloak and dagger” operations be shut down. To explain, cloak and dagger was how Truman described covert operations.

Truman’s concern was that the CIA was neglecting its primary duty of collecting intelligence. Instead, the CIA was…