A Life in Intelligence

This collection of material by and about Richard Helms as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and Ambassador to Iran comprises the largest single release of Helms-related information to date. The documents, historical works, essays, interviews, photographs, and video offer an unprecedented wide-ranging look at the man and his career as the United States' top intelligence official and one of its most important diplomats during a crucial decade of the Cold War. From mid-1966, when he became DCI, to late 1976, when he left Iran, Helms dealt directly or indirectly with numerous events whose impact remains evident today and which are covered in the release. They include the Vietnam War, two military conflicts between Israel and the Arab states, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, an unsuccessful covert action in Chile, arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union, Watergate, disclosures of controversial CIA activities, the formation of OPEC, and the first oil embargo. From his respective vantage points at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Va., and the US Embassy in Tehran, Helms participated in all of these developments-depending on the situation-as intelligence manager, presidential adviser, or representative of US national security interests.