3.0

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Covert action (CA) remains a highly controversial and generally misunderstood element within the Intelligence Community. Title 50 of the United States Code defines Covert Action as: “…an activity or activities of the United States Government to influence political, economic, or military conditions abroad, where it is intended that the role of the United States Government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly.” Lying somewhere between overt diplomatic initiatives and direct military intervention, CA is often referred to as the “third option” when addressing foreign policy issues that impact on U.S. national security interests. Through selected case studies, we will review the mechanisms by which CA is initiated, managed and executed – determining what CA can and equally important, cannot accomplish. We will also see how CA, as conducted by the CIA, is often used in a dual track program alongside State Department initiatives in an effort to resolve particularly difficult foreign policy dilemmas. CA is not unique to the U.S., and is often employed by other countries as well. Whether Russian “active measures,” or French “direct action,” variants of CA continue to form an integral, albeit highly secretive, element of statecraft.