Reforming the CIA

After World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency emerged as a key weapon in the Cold War with the Soviet Union. The Soviet empire's collapse radically altered the nature of foreign threats to the United States. Today, some critics say, the CIA is ill-suited for a world where economic secrets and international criminal plots rival military conspiracies in importance. Some critics even call for dismantling the agency, especially in the wake of the recent Aldrich Ames spy scandal. Others say the agency has a role in the new world order but must be extensively changed, along with the entire intelligence community. As he seeks to retool the CIA, the agency's new director, John M. Deutch, must confront low staff morale and an ever-tightening budget.