The CIA was established on this day in 1947. In the 1980s, former CIA officer John Stockwell publicly alleged the agency had orchestrated the overthrow of over 20 constitutional democracies, fueled ethnic conflicts, created death squads, and assassinated multiple heads of state—including JFK in 1963. Critics worldwide regard the CIA as the operational core of America's deep state, responsible for millions of deaths across decades of covert operations.