FOIA Electronic Reading Room

The CIA has established this site to provide the public with an overview of access to CIA information, including electronic access to previously released documents. Because of CIA's need to comply with the national security laws of the United States, some documents or parts of documents cannot be released to the public. In particular, the CIA, like other U.S. intelligence agencies, has the responsibility to protect intelligence sources and methods from disclosure. However, a substantial amount of CIA information has been and/or can be released following review. See "Your Rights" for further details on the various methods of obtaining this information.

What's New at FOIA?

Site last updated: June 17, 2010

Baptism By Fire: CIA Analysis of the Korean War

(June 17, 2010)
This collection includes more than 1,300 documents consisting of national estimates, intelligence memo, daily updates, and summaries of foreign media concerning developments on the Korean Peninsula during 1947 - 1954. The release of this collection, which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the start of the war, makes available to the public the largest collection of Agency documents released on this issue. The release of these documents is in conjunction with the conference, "New Documents and New Histories: Twenty-First Century Perspectives on the Korean War," co-hosted by the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and the CIA in Independence, Missouri.

Strategic Warning and the Role of Intelligence: Lessons Learned From The 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia

(April 13, 2010)
The Czechoslovak crisis began in January 1968. The Czech communist leadership embarked on a program of dramatic liberalization of the political, economic, and social orders. These reforms triggered increasing Soviet concerns culminating in the invasion of 21 August 1968. This collection of documents pertains to these issues, the responses and analysis of this event in history.

Chief FOIA Officer Report for 2009 (Final)

(March 12, 2010)

2009 Annual Report

(Feb. 1, 2010)
The Central Intelligence Agency Freedom of Information Act Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2009 to Congress is now available here on the site in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format and Microsoft Excel (xls) format.

FOIA Releases

(Jan. 22, 2010)
Additional documents from 2008 - April, November and December. Final release of 2009 documents - March-December. 77 new documents have been added to the site in this collection. Other new releases may be viewed here.

Re-Release of the Family Jewels

(Jan. 22, 2010)
Document now in downloadable .PDF format. This previously released collection, widely known as the "Family Jewels," consists of almost 700 pages of responses from CIA employees to a 1973 directive from Director of Central Intelligence James Schlesinger asking them to report activities they thought might be inconsistent with the Agency's charter. File is 28MB, so please be patient while it downloads.

Warsaw Pact Documents

(Jan. 22, 2010)
Additional documents to the collection below, dating from 1961 to 1986, published in sensitive Soviet and Warsaw Pact military journals that reflect the evolution of military strategy in the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact.

Soviet and Warsaw Pact Military Journals

(Nov. 11, 2009)
A collection of sensitive Soviet and Warsaw Pact military journals from 1961 to 1984 providing a view into Warsaw Pact military strategy.

Preparing for Martial Law: Through the Eyes of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski

(Nov. 11, 2009)
A captivating collection of over 75 documents concerning the planning and implementation martial law in Poland from mid-1980 to late 1981. The collection release coincided with a CIA symposium honoring Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, a member of the Polish Army General Staff and the source of the documents. His information provided documents and personal commentary that gave intelligence analysts and US policy makers invaluable insight into the crisis.

Mission

Freedom of Information Act