Covert Action

Covert Action

According to the United States of America Code Title 50, Covert Action refers to the state's practices that impact the political, economic, and military issues internationally. The public masses do not appreciate its obligation. Even though covert force is essential in protecting the nation's interests, they also have their advantages and disadvantages. Just from the definition of covert action, there is the advantage of deniability as long as the activities remain a secret. The main reason behind such is scenarios is based upon two stands. That is essential when open knowledge to everyone would affect the operation's success and prevent the victims from retaliation and vengeance after being attacked. Additionally, the United States government gets an opportunity to carry out a foreign policy in terms of the authority to strike some actions while the targets lack information about it. That is essential in situations where diplomacy and war have completely failed, as it offers a quiet option in finding a solution to the problems. However, it is also associated with some potential risks (Cormac, & Aldrich, 2018). For example, diplomatic disruptions may eventually affect regional and international relations.  Besides, in cases where the United States militia is found guilty for such covert operations in other countries, that is interpreted as war activities as per the International law because it is a breach of the other parties' sovereignty.

After several studies, I'm certain that the current legal oversight and protectives are quite effective. Congressional oversight is the obligation of the parliament to oversee and control all federal activities, programs and policies. The power is originating from the constitution under the implied powers of Congress. Conducting continuous oversight of the Intelligence groups is essential because it maintains national security and acts as a possible check and balance of power abuse. Therefore, the Congressional oversight acts in part to slow down any war operations in case of emergencies. However, the whole procedure today requires faster intervention because matters to do with foreign policies have become numerous, and many countries are also fighting modern cyberwars (Rositzke, 2019).  For example, the 9/11 commission regarded that the congressional oversight was no longer functional with only a few solutions. Even after a long time of structural changes and authority, the Commission remained functionless and counterproductive, an assertion that means the oversight of covert activities is limited.

When comparing the AUMF and the CIA operations, I think one of them happens to be more lenient than the other. For instance, during the 9/11 attacks, the Head of State, George Bush, initiated the Authorization for the use of Military Force (AUMF). The branch gave the President the whole authority to apply any force at his disposal against those states, entities and individuals that he thought planned, organized and helped the terrorist acts in September 2011. Therefore, that is the reason why strikes are conducted against any people who are dealing with terrorists (Cutler, 2017). However, the majority of the operations are carried out by the Special Operation Forces (SOF). Therefore, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has a responsibility to provide written notification to Congress to get permission to conduct certain operations and have the particular findings. However, there are still some justifications as to why the activities are conducted. The lack of such resolutions would make the approval of such operations unnecessary compared to those requiring reporting. The AUMF requires enough oversight because it only talks about a single individual, the President, yet the actions always affect the interests of the whole nation. 

References

Cormac, R., & Aldrich, R. J. (2018). Grey is the new black: covert action and implausible deniability. International affairs, 94(3), 477-494.

Cutler, L. (2017). AUMF, Transparency, and the Role of Congress. In President Obama’s Counterterrorism Strategy in the War on Terror (pp. 127-136). Palgrave Pivot, New York.

Rositzke, H. (2019). The CIA's secret operations: espionage, counterespionage, and covert action. Routledge.