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Covert Actions During The Cold War

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Good points. When diplomacy fails, and a nation does not wish to partake in war, what actions can be taken to avoid sending troops into war? The United States has experienced war many times throughout the nation’s history, and the internal toll that war can be detrimental if not entirely supported by its citizens. Protests, peace movements, political turmoil, decreased support for combat troops and diminished support for the sitting president are some issues, which a war can draw out from the homeland. Covert actions can assist in the avoidance of war by seeking to gain or sway influence or spark actions in other countries. During the Cold War, the United States was caught several times in trying to interfere with the spread of communism through covert means. President John F. Kennedy was looking to rid communism from Cuba, through secret actions leading to the Bay of Pigs incident. President Ronald Regan administration utilized covert operations referred to as the Iran-Contra affair, which the operation helped arm a sworn enemy in Iran, and provide funding for anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua (Clark 2007, 2-5, 11-12). …show more content…

As you mention, George Washington realized the importance of intelligence and that some operations must remain clandestine to remain effective. The majority of presidents have used covert operations for one reason or another (Clark 2007, 3-8). However, due to the significant implications, a discovered covert operation can carry, congressional oversight is now required. Do you think congressional oversight of covert operations is good or does having politicians approve and oversee secret actions create more political issues which can hinder

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Additionally, there is another example that proves this claim which can be seen through the Vietnam War: This is known as the Gulf of Tonkin. The year 1964 would mark the formal involvement of the U.S. entering the Vietnam War issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Having similar ideas like those of the CIA interventions, the U.S. also had intentions of stopping communism from happening in Vietnam. All starting because of two separate attacks on two US Navy destroyers: “U.S.S Maddox and U.S.S Turner Joy” (Gulf of Tonkin Resolution), the Gulf of Tonkin shows how similar to Operation Cyclone and Pearl Harbor it really was to the idea of increasing military supplies based on both threats of communism and threats of attacks, as well as gaining the support of Americans by justifying these threats as “major problems that must be taken care of all in the name of “protecting and serving our nation”.

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have more validity. Even if the president has choosing power to some extent Congress can keep any major decsions in check.5 Covert action, in other words, is a necessary evil for the United States now and during the Cold War. The ethical dilemma of covert action has been pointed out, but the problems that arise with the loss of covert action are worse in the grand scheme of things. In the book Regulating Covert Action: Practices, Contexts, and Policies of Covert Coercion Abroad in International and American Law Michael Reisman states “The United States may, as a moral matter, simply decide to eschew all covert action of certain kinds.

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