CIA Analysis of the Warsaw Pact Forces: The Importance Of Clandestine Reporting

This study examines the role of clandestine reporting in CIA's analysis of the Warsaw Pact from 1955 to 1985. The Soviet Union established itself as a threat to the West at the end of World War II by its military occupation of eastern European countries and the attempts of its armed proxies to capture Greece and South Korea. The West countered with the formation of NATO. While the West welcomed West Germany into NATO, the Soviets established a military bloc of Communist nations with the Warsaw Treaty of May 1955. This study continues CIA’s efforts to provide a detailed record of the intelligence derived from clandestine human and technical sources from that period. The Historical Collections and Information Review and Release Divisions of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Information Management Services has reviewed, redacted, and released more than 1,000 documents highlighting CIA’s analysis of the Warsaw Pact forces and its importance of clandestine reporting.