Dirty Tricks or Trump Cards: U.S. Covert Action and Counterintelligence

385 Pages·2000·29.793 MB·English

by  Roy Godson

Seventh printing 2011
New material this edition copyright 2001 by Transaction Publishers, New
Brunswick, New Jersey. Originally published in 1995 by National Strategy
Information Center, Inc.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conven-
tions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
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This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National
Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 00-023427
ISBN: 978-0-7658-0699-4
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Godson, Roy, 1942-
Dirty tricks or trump cards : U.S. covert action and counterintelligence
1.Roy Godson.
p. cm.
Originally published:Washington:Brassey’s, c1995, in series: Brassey’s
intelligence and national security library. With new introd.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7658-0699-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Intelligence service—United States. 2. United States—Politics and
government—1945–1989. 3. United States—Politics and government—
1989– I. Title.
JK468.I6 2000
327.1273—dc21 00-023427
Give me twelve good men who mean what they say
and say what they mean
From a headstone in a London cemetery

Contents
Introduction to the Transaction Edition xi
Preface xliii
1 Neglected Elements in American Intelligence 1
INTEGRATING THE ELEMENTS 3
NEGLECTED ELEMENTS 6
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE 9
COVERT ACTION 18
2 Steps and Missteps: Covert Action Since 1945 27
HALCYON DAYS 32
Consensus: Stopping Communism 35
A Sometime Instrument of Policy 39
Successes 42
Missteps 46
Expose 50
THE WIND SHIFTS 51
Congressional Assertiveness 53
The Central American Drama 55
COVERT ACTION IN THE 1990s 58
The Current Ethos 64
3 Building and Rebuilding:
Counterintelligence Since World War II 66
BUILDING THE COLD WAR CONSENSUS 67
The FBI 74
Collection 76
Analysis 81
Exploitation 82
TheClA 85
Military Counterintelligence 95
BREAKING THE MOLD 100
REBUILDING 102
The FBI 107
viii CONTENTS
TheClA 111
The Military 115
4 Handmaiden of Policy: Principles of Covert Action 120
FIRST PRINCIPLES 121
POLICY, OPPORTUNITY, AND PEOPLE 122
The Infrastructure 126
Personnel 126
Material Support 129
Question of Values 130
Symbiosis 132
Ends, Means, and Historical Lessons 134
Political Action 135
Agents of Influence 139
Helping Organizations 145
Movement of Money and Support 147
Covert Propaganda 151
Paramilitary Operations 158
Assassination 159
Terrorism 161
Guerrillas and Resistance Movements 164
Safe Haven 170
Materiel Support for Paramilitary Operations 171
Special Forces 173
Coups d'Etat 175
Intelligence Support 177
COUNTERTERRORISM: SYNERGY IN ACTION 180
5 Offensive Defense: Principles of Counterintelligence 184
CENTRAL COORDINATION AND STRATEGY 185
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS 187
Triage of Targets 188
Assessing Vulnerability 190
Adversaries: Targets and Competence 191
Counterdeception Analysis 192
Support for Operations 195
Counterintelligence Analysis and Positive Intelligence 199
CONTENTS ix
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE COLLECTION 201
Integration of Sources 201
Collection from Open Sources 203
Clandestine Collection from Human Sources 207
Defectors 211
Physical Surveillance 216
Access Agents 218
Double Agents 219
Liaison 220
Illegals 221
Technical Counterintelligence 224
EXPLOITATION 226
On the Offensive 231
Deception and Offensive Counterintelligence 235
Positive Intelligence 237
6 In Pursuit of Effective Intelligence 241
VARIABLESATPLAY 241
The Pace of Modernization and Technological
Innovation 241
Government Structure and Bureaucratic Culture 243
The Perception of Political Circumstances 246
The Nature of the Regime 249
PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER· 251
FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE 252
Notes 257
Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations 303
Bibliography 309
Index 327