Few U.S. government activities are as controversial as covert action.
Americans may disagree about the specifics of trade policy or defense
spending, but covert action is controversial to the core. Many covert
operations, if carried out by different persons and under other
circumstances, would be plainly and seriously criminal. The process
for reviewing and approving such operations tests the limits of
democracy. It is not surprising, therefore, that while some officials
and pundits are firmly of the opinion that we need to maintain covert
action as an option, others insist that the United States has no
business carrying out such operations in any circumstances.
Because the United States and the Soviet Union are no longer
competing in Third World proxy wars, the rationale for most
traditional covert action has disappeared. However, new threats such
as terrorism and proliferation may sometimes require the United
States to consider going down that road. This is especially true in
the Information Age. On the one hand, hostile parties will likely
target our communications systems, computers, and data bases; and on
the other, the United States will have the opportunity to enhance its
security by using these technologies to its own advantage, possibly
covertly.
Unfortunately, there are many indications that the United States is
not adequately prepared to perform in this new context for covert
action. Specifically:
- Most of the public, and many officials, apparently do not
understand what covert action really is. As a result, they do not
understand when it is effective, when it is not, and the costs that
acting covertly imposes.
- Recent covert action failures suggest that as far as understanding
the usefulness and limitations of covert action, ignorance extends to
many U.S. officials.
