The CIA's black ops

the long version

"The CIA's Black Ops goes beyond simple history by examining the issues raised by covert action and the tension created by clandestine activities carried out by a democratic government. Explaining the many and varied types of covert action - subsidies, graymail, propaganda, psychological operations, economic warfare, military support, paramilitary operations, coups d'etat, and assassinations - and providing detailed examples of successes and failures undertaken in the name of "national security," this book reveals how the United States has become too enamored with covert action; how black ops have often substituted for U.S. foreign policy; and how during the cold war, the CIA developed into a policy maker, dangerously independent of the government that created it. It also shows how a foreign policy elite in the United States has subverted covert operations for its own purposes, in part because the modern CIA has become more law abiding."--BOOK JACKET. "In exploring and revealing the interconnection between black operations and American society. The CIA's Black Ops not only asks the hard questions, but also shows readers how to arrive at their own conclusions."--Jacket.