ABSTRACT
The Church Committee's approach to the general subject of covert action reflected awareness of the notoriety it had received, reinforced by at least a visceral reservation on the part of some of the committee members about clandestine activities. In the introduction to its discussion of Chile, the Church Committee's final report contains this categorical statement: "In Chile, the United States attempted to overthrow a democratically elected government." The two examples cited by the Church Committee—Chile and Angola—demonstrate both the misleading nature of popular perception and the difficulty of making sweeping judgments on such issues. Coups d'etats involve the likelihood of some level of violence, since incumbents are unlikely to leave office without some resistance. The machinery in the National Security Council, where the President's advisers in the government are brought together to give their best advice, reinforces the likelihood of a valid and balanced judgment.
