Office of Strategic Services

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The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the second non-departmental civilian intelligence agency of the United States. It was formed during World War II as the direct successor of the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI). The OSS was created as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branches of the United States Armed Forces. Other OSS functions included the use of propaganda, subversion, and post-war planning. The OSS was dissolved a month after the end of the war. Intelligence tasks were soon resumed and carried over by its successors, the Strategic Services Unit (SSU), the Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), the intermediary precursor to the independent Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the United States Army Special Forces, colloquially known as the "Green Berets". On December 14, 2016, the organization was collectively honored with...

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