CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia
Writing in Denial and Deception, Melissa Mahle writes, “We steal secrets by bribing foreign officials. We overthrow foreign governments hostile to the United States by funding, training and arming insurgent groups. We frequently form relationships with less than respectable people to do less than respectable things. Although Americans accommodate the existence of the Clandestine Service for the sake of national security, there are always concerns just below the surface (and sometimes above) that the CIA might employ these ‘dirty trick’ methods at home, against American citizens.”
“Foreign intelligence” consists of secret information about what other countries are planning or doing on the sly.
“Counter-intelligence” consists of foreign operations directly targeting the United States, whether it’s spying, acts of sabotage or terrorism, or simply propaganda operations.
Most covert operations require a “finding” signed by the President authorizing the activity beforehand. Such findings are typically written in vague, murky language to provide the commander-in-chief with plausible deniability in case something really bad happens (like torture or assassination).
In addition to wiretapping and other forms of surveillance, covert teams sometimes gain access to top-secret facilities, where they steal classified documents or cryptographic equipment/translators (for decoding coded messages).
CIA officers often collaborate with the intelligence agencies of other countries, for instance the ISI of Pakistan, in order to weed out terrorists or criminals, intervene in (or start) an armed conflict, uncover potential threats posed by foreign governments, monitor troop movements, or gather other forms of data.
CIA operations officers typically work in large cities or capitols, where they induce well-placed nationals to gather secret information against which the officer pays for. The more value the information have, the bigger the payment or other compensation.
- Rosemary Regello editor@thecityedition.com
Copyright 2008 TheCityEdition.com