Covert Action: Title 10, Title 50, and the Chain of Command
Abstract
Recent media reports have Pentagon officials considering putting elite special operations troops under CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] control in Afghanistan after 2014, just as they were during last year s raid on [Osama bin Laden s] compound. This shell game would allow Afghan and U.S. officials to deny the presence of American troops in Afghanistan because once assigned to CIA control, even temporarily, they become spies. Nearly simultaneously, Department of Defense (DOD) leaders were warned to be vigilant in ensuring military personnel are not inappropriately utilized in performing new, expanding, or existing missions, ensuring the force is aligned against strategic choices supported by rigorous analysis. Placing Servicemembers uniformed members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force under CIA control demands such rigorous analysis. The raid on bin Laden s compound provides a framework. In his May 1, 2011, televised address, President Barack Obama reported to the American people and to the world that the United States ha[d] conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden. President Obama initially detailed little beyond noting that he had directed the[n] Director of the CIA [Leon Panetta], to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda and that the operation, carried out by a small team of Americans was done at [his] direction [as President]. In the following days, senior executive branch officials garrulously provided explicit details, from the now-iconic White House Situation Room photograph to intricate diagrams of the Abbottabad compound and the assault force s composition.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA618714
Entities
People
- Joseph B. Berger Iii
Organizations
- National Defense University