National Security Intelligence by Loch K. Johnson

Author:Loch K. Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-04-17T04:00:00+00:00

Guidelines for covert action

As these illustrations suggest, special activities can be useful. This fact was demonstrated by the U.S. rout of the Taliban in Afghanistan immediately following the 9/11 attacks. The first U.S. casualty in that counterattack against Al Qaeda and its Taliban hosts was Johnny Michael “Mike” Spann of Winfield, Alabama, a CIA/SOG officer. America's combination of Special Forces, B-52 bombing, CIA paramilitary operations, and help from the local Northern Alliance in Afghanistan during 2001–02 provides a model of how covert action and overt force can be effectively intertwined to defeat enemies of democracy. Yet we know that the use of covert action can also be acutely embarrassing and damaging to a nation's reputation: witness the Bay of Pigs, the assassination plots, and the Iran–contra scandal. Hoping to avoid potential embarrassments caused by inappropriate CA activities, William H. Webster crafted a set of questions he posed to the Operations Directorate throughout his tenure as DCI (1987–91) each time its officers brought him a covert action proposal:

Is it legal? [with respect to U.S. law, not necessarily international law]

Is it consistent with American foreign policy and, if not, why not?

Is it consistent with American values?

If it becomes public, will it make sense to the American people?57

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