Soviet Covert Action (The Forgery Offensive); Hearings before the Subcommittee on Oversight of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, House of Representatives Ninety-Sixth Congress Second Session February 6, 19, 1980
Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1980. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. iii, [1], 245 pages. Wraps, illustrations. Charts. Appendices. Some soiling and creasing to covers. Ink notes and marks on page iii, and other ink marks noted in the text. This hearing primarily consisted of the testimony of John MaMahon, Deputy Director for Operations, Central Intelligence Agency and Ladislav Bittmen, former Deputy Chief of the Disinformation Department of the Czechoslovakia Intelligence Service. A covert operation is a military or intelligence operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible denial by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performed in secret and meant to stay secret. Covert operations aim to secretly fulfill their mission objectives without anyone knowing who sponsored or carried out the operation, or in some cases, without anyone knowing that the operation has even occurred. In a covert operation, the identity of the sponsor is concealed, while in a clandestine operation the operation itself is concealed. Put differently, clandestine means "hidden", while covert means "deniable". Covert operations are employed in situations where openly operating against a target would be disadvantageous. Operations may be directed at or conducted with allies and friends to secure their support for controversial components of foreign policy throughout the world. Covert operations may include sabotage, assassinations, support for coups d'état, or support for subversion. Tactics include the use of a false flag or front group. The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Adam Schiff. It is the primary committee in the U.S. House of Representatives charged with the oversight of the United States Intelligence Community, though it does share some jurisdiction with other committees in the House, including the Armed Services Committee for some matters dealing with the Department of Defense and the various branches of the U.S. military. The committee was preceded by the Select Committee on Intelligence between 1975 and 1977. House Resolution 658 established the permanent select committee, which gave it status equal to a standing committee on July 14, 1977.
During the 1980s the HPSCI worked to acquire access to covert action notifications of the CIA, as well as to strengthen the role of the committee in intelligence agency funding. Under the Reagan administration, the HPSCI and United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) worked with the Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey on what was known as the "Casey Accords". The accords required that covert action findings were to be accompanied by "scope papers" that included a risk/gain assessment of each such activity. However, the deal was not acceptable to the HPSCI, and after the Iran-contra scandal, more pressure was placed on strengthening the oversight of committees. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Intelligence, Hearings, U.S. Congress, Russia, Covert Actions, Forgery, John McMahon, CIA, Propaganda, Ladislav Bittmen
[Book #55621]
Price: $125.00