The Central Intelligence Agency’s “The World Situation in 1970” report was a strange mixture of realistic concerns, candid admissions, and forced optimism. In one of its more realistically optimistic moments, the CIA reported that the Soviets believed “rational Americans” would want a stable Europe. In response, President Richard Nixon asked if anything could be done to “cause more trouble” instead.

A 1973 National Security Council memo to Henry Kissinger, kept classified for over 35 years, shows the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency took steps to affect the outcome of South Vietnam’s senate elections. According to the memo, “none of these activities were cleared by the NSC,” and also describes the efforts as “a major intrusion on internal [Vietnamese] politics.”

While Brazilian presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro’s overt embrace of authoritarianism may seem aberrant to many foreign observers, it differs only in degree from decades of United States influence in Latin America. Declassified Central Intelligence Agency and State Department records from the midst of the Brazilian military dictatorship reveal an official US policy of support for the very brutality Bolsonaro intends to revive.

A 1975 memo from Henry Kissinger uncovered in the Central Intelligence Agency archives details the then-Secretary of State’s talking points for an upcoming Oval Office meeting with Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the Brazilian soccer phenom better known as Pelé.

Among the many fans the child star earned as the Curly Top cutie was one of the most notoriously tough G-Men in the whole law enforcement apparatus: Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover, himself.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation file on Oleg Lyalin offers new insight into what’s been called “the single biggest action taken against Moscow by any western government” - the 1971 expulsion of dozens of Soviet personnel. According to the narrative established at the time, and repeated even in recent publications, Lyalin’s defection “led to the discovery and deportation of 105 Soviet officials who were accused of spying in Britain” and was prompted by a drunk driving arrest. As his FBI file shows, however, the real story is more complicated than that and has long been one of MI-5’s closely held secrets.

Nearly 50 years before President Trump’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel, a SECRET Central Intelligence Agency report had already declared the issue of the city’s ownership a “stumbling block” which could sink the entire peace process, and worse, one “without prospects” for a solution.

With the option to air grievances and conduct discussions via direct messages and private posts, some cities are able to sidestep public records laws. Is yours among them?

While some outlets did briefly describe the Asia Foundation as being an alleged Central Intelligence Agency conduit, the charges were typically vague and largely circumstantial. None of the archived reports specifically tied it to Agency funds until March 21, 1967 when TAF announced it in a limited hangout”, a technique used when the Agency “can no longer rely on a phony cover story to misinform the public, they resort to admitting some of the truth while still managing to withhold the key and damaging facts in the case.”

This guide will tell you everything you need to know to dive into CIA’s CREST archive and start searching like a pro.