The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia , and is sometimes metonymously called "Langley".
A major member of the United States Intelligence Community IC , the CIA has reported to the director of national intelligence since , and is focused on providing intelligence for the president and the Cabinet. The CIA is headed by a director and is divided into various directorates, including a Directorate of Analysis and Directorate of Operations.
Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI , the CIA has no law enforcement function and focuses on intelligence gathering overseas, with only limited domestic intelligence collection. It has been instrumental in establishing intelligence services in many countries, and has provided support to many foreign organizations. The CIA exerts foreign political influence through its paramilitary operations units, including its Special Activities Center. It has also provided support to several foreign political groups and governments, including planning, coordinating, training in torture , and technical support.
It was involved in many regime changes and carrying out terrorist attacks and planned assassinations of foreign leaders. The office was abolished in by President Harry S. Truman , who created the Central Intelligence Group in The Central Intelligence Agency Act of exempted the agency from most Congressional oversight, and during the s, it became a major instrument of U. The CIA employed psychological operations against communist regimes, and backed coups to advance American interests.
In , the Church Committee of the U. The agency has been the subject of numerous controversies , including its use of political assassinations , torture , domestic wiretapping , propaganda , mind control techniques , and drug trafficking , among others. When the CIA was created, its purpose was to create a clearinghouse for foreign policy intelligence and analysis, collecting, analyzing, evaluating, and disseminating foreign intelligence, and carrying out covert operations.
