A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow

plausible deniability Plausible deniability is the ability of people, typically senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command, to denial, deny knowledge of or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by members of their organizational hierarchy. Th ...

by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performed in secret and meant to stay secret. Covert operations aim to secretly fulfill their mission objectives without anyone knowing who sponsored or carried out the operation, or in some cases, without anyone knowing that the operation has even occurred.

Impact

According to a 2018 study by University of Chicago political scientist Austin Carson, covert operations may have the beneficial effect of preventing escalation of disputes into full-blown wars. He argues that keeping military operations secret can limit escalation dynamics, as well as insulate leaders from domestic pressures while simultaneously allowing them communicating their interest to the adversary in keeping a war contained. He finds that covert operations are frequently detected by other major powers.

Laws

Under U.S. law, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) must lead covert operations unless the president finds that another agency should do so and properly informs Congress. Normally, the CIA is the U.S. government agency legally allowed to carry out covert action.''Executive Secrets: Covert Action and the Presidency'', William J. Daugherty, University of Kentucky Press, 2004, page 25. The CIA's authority to conduct covert action comes from the

National Security Act of 1947 The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...

.William J. Daugherty, ''Executive Secrets: Covert Action and the Presidency'', University of Kentucky Press, 2004. President Ronald Reagan issued Executive Order 12333 titled ''United States Intelligence Activities'' in 1984. This order defined covert action as "special activities", both political and military, that the US Government could legally deny. The CIA was also designated as the sole authority under the 1991 Intelligence Authorization Act and in Title 50 of the United States Code Section 413(e). The CIA must have a "Presidential Finding" issued by the President of the United States in order to conduct these activities under the Hughes-Ryan Amendment, Hughes-Ryan amendment to the 1991 Intelligence Authorization Act. These findings are then monitored by the oversight committees in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. As a result of this framework, William J. Daugherty writes that the CIA "receives more oversight from the Congress than any other agency in the federal government". The Special Activities Division (SAD) is a division of the CIA's Directorate of Operations (CIA), Directorate of Operations, responsible for Covert Action and "Special Activities". These special activities include covert political influence and paramilitary operations.

Military intelligence and foreign policy

Covert operations and clandestine operations are distinct. The ''Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms'' (Joint Publication JP1-02), defines "covert operation" as "an Military operation, operation that is so planned and executed as to conceal the identity of or permit Plausible deniability, plausible denial by the sponsor. A covert operation differs from a clandestine operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of a sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation". The United States Department of Defense definition has been used by the United States and NATO since World War II. In a covert operation, the identity of the sponsor is concealed, while in a clandestine operation the operation itself is concealed. Put differently, ''clandestine'' means "hidden", while ''covert'' means "Plausible deniability, deniable". The term ''stealth technology, stealth'' refers both to a broad set of military tactics, tactics aimed at providing and preserving the element of surprise and reducing enemy resistance and to a set of Technology, technologies (stealth technology) to aid in those tactics. While secrecy and stealthiness are often desired in clandestine and covert operations, the terms ''secret'' and ''stealthy'' are not used to formally describe types of missions. Covert operations are employed in situations where openly operating against a target would be disadvantageous. Operations may be directed at or conducted with allies and friends to secure their support for controversial components of foreign policy throughout the world. Covert operations may include sabotage, assassinations, support for Coup d'état, coups d'état, or support for Subversion (politics), subversion. Tactics include the use of a false flag or front group. The activity of organizations engaged in covert operations is in some instances similar to or overlaps with, the activity of front organizations. While covert organizations are generally of a more official military or paramilitary nature, like the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule, DVS German Air Transport School in the Nazi era, the line between both becomes muddled in the case of front organizations engaged in Terrorist front organization, terrorist activities and organized crime.

Law enforcement

Undercover operations (such as sting operations or infiltration of organized crime groups) are conducted by Law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies to deter and detect crime and to gather information for future arrest and prosecution. The FBI's domestic operations were defined on September 29, 2008, by the "Attorney General's Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations".(31 January 2017). "The FBI's Secret Rules series:Domestic Investigations and Operations Guid
The Intercept
Retrieved 27 July 2021.

Examples

* Black operations * CIA Project Cherry * Creation of Bangladesh * False flag * Huston Plan * Iran-Contra affair * Lavon Affair * Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group * Operation Anthropoid * Operation CHAOS * Operation Gladio * Operation Storm-333 * Operation Wrath of God * Palace Dog * Project MKULTRA * Raven Forward Air Controllers * Vang Pao's clandestine army

In popular culture

Covert operations have often been the subject of popular films (''Zero Dark Thirty'', ''Argo (2012 film), Argo'', ''The Falcon and the Snowman, The Falcon and The Snowman'', ''The Kremlin Letter''), novels, TV series, and comics. The Company (Prison Break), The Company is a fictional covert organization featured in the American TV series ''Prison Break''. Also other series that deal with covert operations are ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'', ''Alias (TV series), Alias'', ''Burn Notice'', ''The Unit'', ''The State Within'', ''Covert Affairs'', ''Air Wolf'', ''24 (TV series), 24'', ''The West Wing'', ''The Blacklist (TV series), The Blacklist'', ''Scandal (TV series), Scandal, Strike Back (TV series), Strike Back series, and Vagabond (TV series), Vagabond.''

References

External links

20 January 2006 (HTML) via thewall.civiblog.org

20 January 2006 (HTML) via thewall.civiblog.org * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070707201837/http://thewall.civiblog.org/rsf/big_brother_talons_on_you.html "Big Brother is Watching You Part 1 - 902 MI Group TALON Project Summary, Spreadsheet, Rep. Wexler response, and News Coverage collection] (includes Shane Harris's "TIA Lives On") via thewall.civiblog.org
Steath Network Operations Centre
– Covert Communication Support System
Covert Warfare
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covert Operation Military intelligence collection Intelligence operations by type Covert organizations Secrecy Covert operations,