On July 11, 1941, the COI was established with 58-year-old William Donovan at its head. President Roosevelt established this organization as a civilian agency in the executive branch of the government, answering directly to himself. Roosevelt described the agencies job as "collecting and analyzing all information and data which may bear upon national security" and "carrying out such supplementary activities as may be needed" to ensure the safety of this nation and victory over the Axis.

"It is essential" said William Donovan "that we set up a central enemy-intelligence organization which would collect pertinent information. The data should be analyzed and interpreted by specialized, trained research officials in scientific fields, including technological, economic, financial and psychological scholars."

Privately, Donovan expanded on this, saying:

"There is a need, which this organization will satisfy, for psychological, and even parapsychological, attack against the moral and spiritual defenses of the Axis, through propaganda, and possibly even supernatural and quasi-religious means. No project is so implausible, no weapon so outlandish as to be discarded out of hand, if it will help defeat Hitler and the dangerous schemes that his reich devises."

For the most implausible and outlandish projects, Donovan quietly created Detachment 66.

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