Ray Steiner Cline (June 4, 1918 – March 15, 1996) was an official at the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

and is best known for being the chief CIA analyst during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

Background

Ray S. Cline was born in Anderson Township, Clark County, Illinois in 1918 and raised in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

, graduating from Wiley High School in 1935. He earned a scholarship to study at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where he graduated with an A.B. in 1939. He received the Henry Prize Fellowship to Balliol College, Oxford University 1939–40. He returned to Harvard and earned an M.A. He was invited to join the

Harvard Society of Fellows The Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginnings of their careers by Harvard University for their potential to advance academic wisdom, upon whom are bestowed distinctive opportunities to foster their individual and intellect ...

in 1941, but with the outbreak of World War II, he left after a year to join the war effort.Gernand, Bradley, ed. (2010)
"Biographical note." ''Finding Aid to the Ray S. Cline Papers.''
Washington, D.C.:

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Cline married Marjorie Wilson in 1941; the couple had two daughters, Judith and Sibyl. Until Sibyl's divorce, Cline was the father-in-law of Stefan Halper. Cline died from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

at his home in

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

, on March 15, 1996, aged 77.

Career

U.S. Government

Cline served in World War II first as a cryptanalyst for the U.S. Department of the Navy (1942–1943) and then joined the newly created

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

. He became Chief of Current Intelligence in 1944, serving until 1946. He later traveled to China where he worked with other OSS officers such as John K. Singlaub,

Richard Helms Richard McGarrah Helms (March 30, 1913 – October 23, 2002) was an American government official and diplomat who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1966 to 1973. Helms began intelligence work with the Office of Strategic Ser ...

, E. Howard Hunt, Paul Helliwell, Robert Emmett Johnson, and Lucien Conein. In 1946, he was assigned to the Operations Division of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

of the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

, tasked with writing the history of the Operations Division. According to Sterling Seagrave,

Edward Lansdale Edward Geary Lansdale (February 6, 1908 – February 23, 1987) was a United States Air Force officer until retiring in 1963 as a major general before continuing his work with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Lansdale was a pioneer in clande ...

found a large cache in caves and tunnels in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

after World War II ended. Johnson, Chalmers (November 20, 2003)
"The Looting of Asia": A review of ''Gold Warriors: America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold'' by Sterling Seagrave and Peggy Seagrave Verso, 332 pp
''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'' v. 25, no. 22. from the original on November 19, 2003. Retrieved January 15, 2021. Cline stated that both Paul Helliwell and Robert Anderson created 176 "black gold" banking accounts in 42 countries after moving loot from the Philippines by ship to support future United States operations. Cline joined the newly founded

in 1949 as an intelligence analyst, having completed his Ph.D. at Harvard that year. He was initially responsible for intelligence on

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, but he failed to predict

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

's 1950 invasion of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, which began the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. From 1951 to 1953, he served as an attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Great Britain under the supervision of Brigadier General E. C. Betts. From 1953 to 1957, he was the CIA desk officer charged with monitoring the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

; in this capacity, he correctly predicted the

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...

. In 1958 he became Chief of the CIA station in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, with his official title being chief of the United States Naval Auxiliary Communications Center. In 1962, Cline moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as the head of CIA's Directorate of Intelligence, the agency's analytical branch. He replaced Robert Amory Jr who had held this Office in 1953–1962. Cline played a crucial role in the

when, under Cline's leadership, the Directorate of Intelligence concluded after study of U2 spy plane photographs of Cuba that the Soviet Union had shipped nuclear warheads to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

; Cline was among those who informed

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

of this development. Cline played a role in the formation of the

World League for Freedom and Democracy The World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD) is an international non-governmental organization of anti-communist politicians and groups. It was founded in 1954 as the Asian Peoples' Anti-Communist League (APACL) under the initiative of C ...

in 1966. Cline remained head of the Directorate of Intelligence until 1966, when, disillusioned with President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, he determined to leave the CIA. His old friend

intervened to have Cline posted as Special Coordinator and Adviser to the

United States Ambassador to Germany The United States has had diplomatic relations with the nation of Germany under its various forms of governments and leaders since 1871, and its principal predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835. These relations were broken twice ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. In 1969, Cline returned to the United States when President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

nominated him as Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and he subsequently held this office from October 26, 1969, until November 24, 1973. In this capacity, he oversaw U.S. intelligence in the build-up to the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

Academic

Cline left government service in 1973, becoming an executive director of the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. While at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, he became a prolific author on American intelligence and foreign policy. He also became an ardent defender of the CIA in testimony before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

and in the media. Cline was head of the U.S. Global Strategy Council.Small Arms Survey (2011),
Small Arms Survey 2011: States of Security
',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, p84

Publications

Books

*''Washington Command Post''. U.S. Department of the Army (1951). * ''World Power Assessment: The Calculus of Strategic Drift''. Boulder, Colo.:

Westview Press Westview Press was an American publishing company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado founded in 1975. Field of work Westview primarily publishes textbooks. History Westview Press was founded by Frederick A. Praeger in 1975. Praeger sold ...

(1975). . ** Published in cooperation with the

, Washington, D.C. * ''Secrets, Spies and Scholars: The CIA from Roosevelt to Reagan''. Washington D.C.: Acropolis Books (1976). . **Republished as ''The CIA Under Reagan, Bush, and Casey''. Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books (1981). * ''World Power Assessment 1977: A Calculus of Strategic Drift''. Boulder, Colo.:

(1977). . ** Published in cooperation with the

, Washington, D.C. * ''World Power Trends and U.S. Foreign Policy for the 1980s''. Boulder, Colo.:

(1980). . . ** Published in cooperation with the

, Washington, D.C. * ''The CIA Under Reagan, Bush, and Casey'' (1982). ** Republished as ''CIA: Reality v Myth''. * ''The Intelligence War''. Salamander Books (1983). * ''Central Intelligence Agency Under Reagan, Bush and Casey'' (1982). * ''Terrorism: The Soviet Connection'', with Yonah Alexander. New York: Crane Russak (1985). . ** Published in cooperation with the

. * ''Western Europe in Soviet Global Strategy'' (1987) . * ''Metastrategy''. New York: Crane Russak (1988). * ''Central Intelligence Agency: A Photographic History'' (1989). * ''Foreign Policy Failures in China, Cuba, and Nicaragua: A Paradigm''. Washington, D.C.: United States Global Strategy Council (1992). *''Chiang Ching-Kuo Remembered: The Man and His Political Legacy'' Washington: United States Global Strategy Council (1993). *''The Power of Nations in the 1990s: A Strategic Assessment''. Washington:

University Press of America University Press of America (''UPA'') is the former name of an American Academic publishing, academic publishing company based in Lanham, Maryland, which became the parent company of Rowman & Littlefield publishing house, then was later re-intr ...

(1995). Foreword by Paul H. Nitze. . .

Book contributions

* to , by Joseph D. Douglass Jr. Second Opinion Pub, Inc. (1990), pp. 7–10. ** New York: Edward Harle (1999). . .

Articles

"Opinion: Policy without Intelligence."
''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'', no. 17 (Winter 1974), pp. 121–135. . .
"Toward a Two Chinas Policy."
'' Asian Affairs'', vol. 3, no. 5 (May/June 1976), pp. 281–286. .
"Politics and Foreign Policy."
''

Wilson Quarterly ''The Wilson Quarterly'' is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. It is noted for its nonpartisan, non-ide ...

'', vol. 4, no. 3 (Summer 1980), p. 189.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

. .
"Correction: In Pursuit of Well-Being."
''

'', vol. 4, no. 3 (Summer 1980), p. 189.

. .
"The Communist Five and the Capitalist Ten Socio-Economic Systems in Asia."
''Journal of East Asian Affairs'', vol. 2, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 1982), pp. 1–14. Institute for National Security Strategy. .
"Commentary: The Cuban Missile Crisis."
''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

'', vol. 68, no. 4 (Fall 1989), pp. 190–196.

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

. . .

Awards

Distinguished Intelligence Medal The Distinguished Intelligence Medal is awarded by the U.S. CIA, Central Intelligence Agency for performance of outstanding services or for achievement of a distinctly exceptional nature in a duty or responsibility. Recipients This list includes ...

Ashland University Ashland University is a private university in Ashland, Ohio, United States. The university consists of a main campus and several off-campus centers throughout central and northern Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern U ...

Ray S. Cline
Major Issues Lecture Series, Topic: A Historical Perspective on American Intelligence, Tuesday, September 16, 1986 *

Career Intelligence Medal The Career Intelligence Medal is awarded by the Central Intelligence Agency for a cumulative record of service which reflects exceptional achievements that substantially contributed to the mission of the Agency.CIA web pageMedals of the CIA See ...

Notes

References

Sources

* *

External links

Ray Cline
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cline, Ray S. 1918 births 1996 deaths Harvard Fellows American anti-communists Harvard University alumni People from Clark County, Illinois People of the Central Intelligence Agency People of the Office of Strategic Services United States assistant secretaries of state Deaths from dementia in Virginia Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Virginia