Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room
Welcome to the Central Intelligence Agency's Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room.
Do UFOs fascinate you? Are you a history buff who wants to learn more about the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam or the A-12 Oxcart? Have stories about spies always fascinated you? You can find information about all of these topics and more in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Electronic Reading Room.
What is the Electronic Reading Room?
(Updated April 24, 2018)
The CIA FOIA Annual Report is now available in PDF, and in machine-readable XML formats.
What's New on the Electronic Reading Room?
Do You Know What Came Before the PDB?
You probably know that the CIA provides the President of the United States a summary of critical intelligence issues every day. But did you know that this was happening even before there was a CIA? The Central Intelligence Agency was not formally established until 1947. In January 1946, however, President Harry Truman directed the newly-formed Central Intelligence Group to provide him with a coordinated intelligence report known as the Daily Summary. This report evolved over the years and its name has changed —it’s now called the President’s Daily Brief or PDB— but the tradition begun in 1946 of informing the President with a coordinated daily report continues to this day. Once “for the President’s eyes only” (and those of his most senior advisors), these reports can now be released to the public.
See Daily Summary reports from 1946, 1947, and 1948
1949
The long-running Chinese civil war came to an end in 1949 with the victory of Mao Zedong's Communist forces over the Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek. The political and military position of the Nationalists weakened throughout the year, as the Communists took control of more territory. Having taken Beijing, Mao formally proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949. Chiang and his supporters left mainland China for Taiwan in December, where he served as President of the Republic of China until his death in 1975. For the United States and its allies, the question of whether to recognize the PRC (and under what conditions) became a critical issue as 1949 drew to a close.
This historical release includes the Daily Summary from 3 January-30 December 1949 (4 documents/403 pages).
Highlights of this installment not only include the establishment of the People's Republic of China, but also the ongoing Berlin crisis, continuing efforts to achieve a negotiated settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Soviet efforts to isolate Marshall Tito's Yugoslavia.
This release is the fifth in a six-part monthly series. Check back in the middle of next month to see more.
President George H. W. Bush's Farewell Visit to CIA
With gratitude and respect
From the men and women of the Central Intelligence Agency
