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Encyclopedia > Clandestine operations
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with black ops. (Discuss)

Covert operations are military or political activities that are not only clandestine (undertaken in a manner that disguises the identity of the perpetrators) but also covert, i.e. denied by the governments that undertake them. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...


They are employed in situations where openly operating against a target would jeopardize the operation's success. In the case of enemies, there may be issues regarding military strength, treaties, laws, moral principles, or aversion to negative media attention. Operations may be directed at allies and friends to secure their support or to influence their policy against an enemy. Covert operations differ from espionage by attempting to influence events in another country rather than gathering information about it. Espionage is the practice of obtaining information about an organization or a society that is considered secret or confidential (spying) without the permission of the holder of the information. ...


The best-known organizations specializing in covert operations today are the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense (The Pentagon) of the United States, but covert operations have been employed by many national and sub-national governments and other organizations for centuries, with or without a formal intelligence agency. They are an established and often controversial component of foreign policy throughout the world. The equivalent Soviet terminology would be "active measures". CIA redirects here. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located at 48 N. Rotary Road, Arlington, Virginia 22211 (Map). ... An intelligence agency is a governmental organization devoted to gathering of information by means of espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public sources. ... A foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how a particular country will interact with the other countries of the world. ... Active Measures was a program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which attempted to further Soviet foreign policy goals through clandestine operations conducted by the KGB (Committee for State Security). ...


Law enforcement agencies also use covert operations to infiltrate suspected criminal organizations. For the band, see The Police. ... A criminal organization is a group run by criminals to further their illegal activities. ...

Contents


Forms of covert operations

Covert action takes many different forms reflecting the diverse circumstances in which it is used. There are paramilitary operations, in which a state trains, supports, or advises a military force in another country. There is political subversion, in which a state supports or advises a political group in another country or directs propaganda at its population. In disinformation operations, a government provides forged documents to another government to turn that government against an enemy. Some of the most controversional covert actions are those directed against individuals, such as kidnappings, assassinations, and coups d'état. A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organised in a military fashion. ... Subversion is an overturning or uprooting. ... Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation directly aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ... Disinformation, in the context of espionage, military intelligence, and propaganda, is the spreading of deliberately false information to mislead an enemy as to ones position or course of action. ... Forgery is the process of making or adapting objects or documents (see false document), with the intention to deceive. ... assassin, see Assassin (disambiguation) Jack Ruby assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald in a very public manner. ... A coup détat (pronounced ), or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government through unconstitutional means by a part of the state establishment that mostly replaces just the top power figures. ...


A common tactic in covert operations is to establish a front business or organization through which agents can operate unrecognized. Air America, the CIA-owned airline that supplied Hmong fighters in Laos during the Second Indochina War, is an example of such a front organization. A front organization (or organisation), also known as a front group (if it is structured to look like a voluntary association); a front company, a shell corporation or simply a front (if it is structured to look like a company), is any entity set up by and controlled by another... Air America pilot cap Air America was an American airline secretly controlled by the CIA that supplied and supported covert operations in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. ... The Hmong, also known as Miao (considered derogatory by some: see below) (Chinese: 苗; Pinyin: Miáo; Vietnamese: Mèo or HMông; Thai: แม้ว (Maew) or ม้ง (Mong); Burmese: mun lu-myo), Hmong: Hmoob, are an Asian ethnic group speaking the Hmong language, whose homeland is in the mountainous regions of... The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos (See Secret War) and in bombing runs (Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. ...


Examples of covert operations

  • "Studies and Observation Group" (1964-1972)

A campaign against North Vietnam conducted by the Pentagon's Special Operations Group under the cover name "Studies and Observation Group" from 1964 to 1972, said to be the largest and most complex covert operation since World War II and involving the dispatch of spies, psychological warfare, manipulation of North Vietnamese POWs and kidnapping, dirty tricks, commando raids, and operations on the Ho Chi Minh trail [1]. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN), or less commonly, Vietnamese Democratic Republic (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cộng Hòa), also known as North Vietnam, was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, September 2nd1945 and was recognized by the Peoples Republic of China and the... A regular pentagon A pentagram enclosed in a pentagon In geometry, a pentagon is any five-sided polygon. ... Special Operations Group (SOG) is a tactical team composed of Deputy US Marshals for special operations. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the use of images on this page may require cleanup, involving adjustment of image placement, formatting, size, or other adjustments. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In military science, the term commando can refer to an individual, a military unit or a raiding style of military operation. ... The Ho Chi Minh Trailwas a network of routes from North Vietnam to South Vietnam in the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia to provide logistical support to the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. ...

The assassination (by Mossad) of the Palestinians who organized the murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Operation Wrath of God also called Operation Bayonet was a covert operation directed by Israel and the Mossad to eliminate the terrorists who perpetrated the Munich Massacre. ... Operation Wrath of God also called Operation Bayonet was a covert operation directed by Israel and the Mossad to eliminate the terrorists who perpetrated the Munich Massacre. ... Official seal of the Mossad (Hebrew: המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations) is an Israeli intelligence agency, often referred to as Mossad (in English: Institution). ... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... One of the Black September terrorists on the balcony of the Israeli team quarters at the Olympic village The Munich massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September, a group... Munich (German: München, (pronounced listen) is the capital of the German Federal State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern). ...

Operation COINTELPRO, the FBI's program to infiltrate and disrupt domestic left-leaning political groups during the Cold War. COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) is a program of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States. ... COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) is a program of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... The Cold War (Russian: Холодная война Kholodnaya Voina) was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their military alliance partners. ...

  • Iran Contra (1980's)

Iran Contra affair in Nicaragua ( also known as Irangate). CIA, McFarlane and Poindexter aid the National Security Council in raising private and foreign funds..military arms are sold to the Contras for two main incentives : to aid the contras against the Sandanista governnent in Nicaragua, to use those proceeds to fund for the exchange of the 66 hostages from the United States Embassy in Iran, to hinder the advancement of communism In the Iran-Contra Affair, United States President Ronald Reagans administration secretly sold arms to Iran, which was engaged in a bloody war with its neighbor Iraq from 1980 to 1988 (see Iran-Iraq War), and diverted the proceeds to the Contra rebels fighting to overthrow the leftist and...

  • Military Intelligence Group infiltrates Quaker Group, Others (Current)

On December 13, 2005 MSNBC reported on the infiltration of a Quaker sponsored counter-recruitment group, The Truth Project, by elements of US Military Intelligence. According to several reports by Lisa Myers, Douglas Pasternak, Rich Gardella and the NBC Investigative Unit, "A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting as a 'threat' and one of more than 1,500 'suspicious incidents' across the country over a recent 10-month period." MSNBC's coverage also included a pdf showing a spreadsheet (html link) of protest activities of various groups of American citizens who oppose Bush administration policies.


Richard Hersh, a member of The Truth Project, gave testimony to the House Judiciary Democratic membership briefing January 20, 2006, about his experience of this domestic spying. In his statement, Hersh said the purpose of his group "is to help educate high school students and their parents about military service and to give them enough accurate information to make informed choices about critical decisions." January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

   
Covert operation
The Quakers welcomed us into their church, because they believed our intent was non-violent and was in keeping with their deeply-felt beliefs of teaching peace and understanding. They knew our purpose was solely to exercise our First Amendment Rights to assemble peacefully, speak freely, and worship as we choose.

We had no idea until one year later that the unfamiliar faces in the church had been sent by the President ’s Department of Defense to spy on us; NBC News investigators showed us that agents of the 902nd Military Intelligence Group from Fort Meade, MD, where the National Security Agency is headquartered, infiltrated the Quaker Meeting House, and then filed a report designating us a CREDIBLE THREAT. The president’s agents DID NOT come to worship alongside us, to help us plan our educational program, or to protect us.

And it wasn ’t just us. Shortly after NBC aired its report, churches and other groups began sharing their experiences of infiltration and intimidation with us. Saint Maurice’s Catholic Church in Dania, the Unitarian Universalists, the Fort Lauderdale Friends, members of Pax Christi in West Palm Beach, environmental groups, and many others.

Agents rummaged through trash, attacked and snooped into email, hacked web sites, and listened in on phone conversations. Indeed, address books and activist meeting lists have disappeared.
   
Covert operation

Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ...

Representations of covert operations in popular culture

Covert operations have often been the subject of popular novels, films, TV series, comics, etc.


Anime/Video Games

FMP Mission 04 DVD Cover Full Metal Panic! (Katakana: フルメタルパニック!, often abbreviated to FMP!) is the name of an anime series which originally aired in 2002. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes be merged into this article or section. ...

Literature

See Spy fiction. The genre of spy fiction — sometimes called political thriller or spy thriller or sometimes shortened simply to SpyFi — arose before World War I at about the same time that the first modern intelligence agencies were formed. ...


Film

See Spy film. The spy film film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. ...


Television

The I-SPY books were spotters guides written for British children, and particularly successful in the 1950s and 60s. ... Mission: Impossible is the name of an American television series which aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to September 1973. ... 24 is a current Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning television series, created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, and is produced by Imagine Television. ... Alias is an American Spy-fi television series, created by J. J. Abrams, that aired on ABC from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006. ... Nikita (re-titled La Femme Nikita in the United States and other international markets) is a television spy drama based upon the French film directed by Luc Besson (see Nikita). ...

See also

Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. ... The term black op is used in two instances. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... SO10 was the Specialist Operations designation for the Metropolitan Polices Crime Operations Group. ... CIFA is French abbreviation for Comite International de Recherche et dEtude de Facteurs de lAmbiance (in English: International Committee for Research and Study of Environmental Factors, ICEF). ... COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) is a program of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The NSA electronic surveillance program was named Terrorist Surveillance Program by the George W. Bush administration in response to the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy which followed the disclosure of the program. ... ACLU v. ... Hepting v. ... Covert Warfare: Intelligence, Counterintelligence and Military Deception During the World War II Era is an eighteen volume book edited by John Mendelsohn and published in 1989 by Garland. ...

References

1. Shultz, Richard H., Jr. The Secret War against Hanoi: Kennedy's and Johnson's Use of Spies, Saboteurs, and Covert Warriors in North Vietnam. HarperCollins, 1999. ISBN 0-06-019454-5.


External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Operations Cornflakes (9649 words)
Morale Operations unit attached to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations were occupied in carrying out this scheme, labeled "Operation Cornflakes." Their task was to exploit the disintegration of German administrative functions in the last weeks of the war by infiltrating printed propaganda--principally the "underground" newspaper Das Neue Deutschland--into the Reichspost.
Operation Sauerkraut in late 1944 and early 1945.
In the latter operation he was involved in sending volunteer German prisoners-of-war behind enemy lines on spying and propaganda missions.
Clandestine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (194 words)
Clandestine is an adjective meaning that its reference is something secret or guerrilla in nature, such as certain activities executed by spies.
Clandestinity is an impediment to marriage in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church.
CIRCA (Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army) is an antimilitarist British action group of clowns dressed in army uniforms.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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