Editing Ray Cline (section)

==CIA Career==
Cline joined the newly established Central Intelligence Agency in 1949 as an intelligence analyst, leveraging his academic background and wartime experience. His career at the CIA spanned over two decades and included significant roles in analysis and covert operations.

	•	Early CIA Roles (1949–1957):
	◦	Cline was initially responsible for intelligence on Korea but failed to predict North Korea’s 1950 invasion, which sparked the Korean War. Despite this, he served as deputy CIA station chief in South Korea in the early 1950s.
	◦	From 1951 to 1953, he worked as an attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Great Britain under Brigadier General E.C. Betts.
	◦	From 1953 to 1957, he was the CIA desk officer monitoring the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, where he accurately predicted the Sino-Soviet split, a significant intelligence achievement.

	•	Chief of CIA Station in Taiwan (1958–1962):
	◦	In 1958, Cline became Chief of the CIA station in Taiwan, officially titled chief of the United States Naval Auxiliary Communications Center, a cover for his intelligence activities. During this period, he likely worked closely with Taiwanese anti-communist groups and the Asian People’s Anti-Communist League (APACL), a precursor to the [[World Anti-Communist League]] (WACL). The APACL, rooted in the China Lobby, was supported by the CIA to counter communist influence in Asia, and Cline is alleged to have assisted in establishing the Taiwanese Political Warfare Cadres Academy.
	◦	Connection to [[Air America]] Cline’s time in Taiwan coincided with Air America’s operations in the region. Air America, a CIA-owned airline, was managed through the Pacific Corporation, which also controlled Civil Air Transport (CAT), Air America’s predecessor. CAT, founded by Claire Chennault and Whiting Willauer (both OSS veterans Cline worked with in China), operated extensively in Taiwan, supporting anti-communist efforts. While no direct evidence confirms Cline’s operational oversight of Air America, his role as CIA station chief in Taiwan suggests he likely coordinated with or was aware of Air America’s logistical support for CIA missions in Asia, given the agency’s integrated approach to covert operations.

	•	Cuban Missile Crisis and Directorate of Intelligence (1962–1966):
	◦	In 1962, Cline was appointed Deputy Director for Intelligence, heading the CIA’s analytical branch. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, his team analyzed U-2 spy plane photographs, concluding that the Soviet Union had deployed nuclear warheads in Cuba. Cline personally briefed President John F. Kennedy, playing a pivotal role in averting nuclear war through the subsequent U.S.-Soviet agreement.
	◦	He remained head of the Directorate of Intelligence until 1966, when he grew disillusioned with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s policies. His friend [[Richard Helms]] arranged for him to serve as Special Coordinator and Adviser to the U.S. Ambassador in Bonn, Germany.
	•	Director of Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1969–1973):

	◦	In 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed Cline Director of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, a position he held until November 24, 1973. He oversaw intelligence analysis during the Yom Kippur War and coordinated with the CIA on operations, including the destabilization of Chile’s [[Salvador Allende]] government.
	◦	Cline resigned in 1973, citing disagreements with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger over the handling of intelligence and détente with the Soviet Union, which he believed was oversold to the public.