Central Intelligence Agency

"The best handpicked group of warriors on the planet"

- Shepherd descriping Task Force 141 and welcoming Allen to the C.I.A. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is the primary intelligence agency of the United States of America, which directs a wide variety of operations from direct action to counter-intelligence. It is the technical successor of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which operated during World War II.

The agency is featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In the mission No Russian, players undertake the role of Pvt. Joseph Allen, who is disguised as Alexei Borodin, to infiltrate the inner circle of Russian Ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov. It is one of three playable factions feature in the game. This is the only time in the campaign that the CIA is mentioned.

Known Members

 * Joseph Allen

Trivia

 * Curiously, the cutscene preceding Cliffhanger and No Russian depicts a highly inaccurate version of the CIA emblem. Primarily, the background color is dark red as opposed to blue. The text reading "United States of America" on the bottom is not placed on a ribbon. The star differs slightly from the design of the real world version, and the eagle atop adopts a completely different appearance- it should be behind the shield, with only its head visible, and looking the other way. This was perhaps done to avoid copyright lawsuits, or simply re-stylize the emblem for dramatic effect, as with other insignias in Modern Warfare 2.
 * The concept of a US Army General recruiting one of his own men for a Central Intelligence Agency operation is a highly unlikely scenario, as the CIA has its own paramilitary division consisting of operatives trained for such undertakings. This is known as the Special Activities Division, with a subordinate section known as the Special Operations Group responsible for direct-action and black operations. It is possible that Shepherd arranged a transfer because Allen's new assignment involved intelligence gathering. If such an event were to occur, it's incredibly unlikely that a Private First Class would be selected for such an operation.
 * An interesting note is that the Special Activities Division lent multiple Operators to Task Force 121, one of the inspirations for Modern Warfare 2's Task Force 141.
 * Shepherd says to Allen, "Welcome to Task Force 141", when actually he's working for the CIA, although the CIA could simply be overseeing the operation.
 * It is questionable why the CIA would authorize Allen's mission, knowing that hundreds of civilians would be killed. This may indicate that Shepherd's corruption may have extended into the agency.
 * The CIA could also be a part of Task Force 141 as it is their full operation and Allen is a member of TF141, just like Shepherd said.