ABSTRACT
Covert action involves a vast array of different methods that can be employed separately or in some form of combination. The different types of covert action can be usefully mapped against what Lowenthal refers to as a ‘ladder of escalation’. Paramilitary, or ‘special’, operations may be considered to constitute covert action at its most extreme, with the highest degree of violence and greatest tendency to attract attention, likely making it difficult to maintain ‘plausible deniability’ for very long. Undermining the economy of a country constitutes another form of covert action. Compared to military force, covert action can also be relatively inexpensive. Covert action is the area of intelligence activity which raises the most ethical and moral questions. Details of many US covert action operations were sensationally revealed to the public during the 1970s, through both investigative journalism and subsequently a US Select Committee chaired by Senator Frank Church.
