ABSTRACT
The National Security Act of July 1947 totally restructured national defense and national intelligence in the United States (US). It created a National Security Council, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under a Director of Intelligence, and a national military establishment with three distinct services: Army, Navy, and Air Force under a Secretary of Defense. The Office of Strategic Services also contributed to the systematic pursuit of National Socialist functionaries, a task which was, however, apportioned primarily to the army’s CounterIntelligence Corps. The War Department took over the Secret Intelligence and the counterespionage branches which as the Strategic Services Unit continued to perform their previous activities and functions in selected areas of strategic interest to the U. S., among them Germany and Austria. Office of Research and Evaluation originally consisted of a staff of analysts provided by the Departments of State, War, and the Navy and was organized by geographical area.
