Presidential limitations on the ethical uses of covert action

• Main Author: Burgos, Joselito
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2009
• Subjects: International law; Military studies; Political science
• ISBN: 9781109090598; 1109090595

This thesis is an ethical investigation of the use of covert action in support of the broad national security objectives of the nation as articulated by the President of the United States. The U.S. Constitution and U.S. laws empower the President as the sole individual able to authorize covert action. This thesis argues that while the President may have the legal authority to authorize covert action, such operations may not be ethical. Covert action stands apart from traditional intelligence activities because it operates beyond information gathering while covert action involves activity intended to interfere with the internal affairs of a sovereign state in a way that is not attributable to the United States. The President must rely on intelligence professionals to carry out authorized covert action. The burden of acting ethically would lie in the hands of both the President and intelligence professionals. After demonstrating this point, this thesis develops a general framework for a code of ethics for intelligence officers. The National Security Council (NSC) and its staff guide the development of covert action plans. Historically, the NSC guided operations that were intended to repel communism, to test the limits of drugs on unwitting test subjects, and to prevent nuclear war. As a bureaucracy of the Executive branch, the NSC has far-reaching influence over the national security actions of the nation. One concern with a body with such great power is explained by Guy B. Adams and Danny L. Balfour in Unmasking Administrative Evil. These authors illustrate that organizations can administratively sanitize “evil” behavior and convince bureaucrats that a particular action is rational and proper in terms of efficiency. They use the example of the efficient, bureaucratic, rationalized system of exterminating Jews in Nazi Germany. Arguably, covert action can also be viewed as an administrative evil that can rationalize almost any action in the name of national security. This thesis argues that covert action is indeed needed in defense of the nation; however, it should be used in a measured way and with specific, limited objectives as articulated by the President. The structure of the argument is as follows. Chapter One introduces the concept that although covert action is lawful, such action may not be ethical. While covert action is not a new tool of the state, its use and abuse returns to a recurring question: What are the ethical uses of covert action? Chapter Two illustrates that after the president approves a covert action, intelligence officers complete the directed actions, then examines whether intelligence work is a profession that requires the use of a code of professional ethics in the fulfillment of the directed actions. Intelligence work is a profession, although it does not perfectly fit the pattern of other traditional professions. As a profession, it must operate within a written professional code of ethics. Chapter Three defines the legal and ethical distinctions in intelligence work and points out how law and ethics are sometimes two separate issues. Chapter Four shows how even the mere perception of covert action can have unintended consequences on U.S. foreign policy. In Ethics and Intelligence after September 2001, author Michael Herman suggested evaluating whether the intelligence action promotes or discourages responsible government behavior and good inter-state relationships or avoids war. Chapter Five asserts that there is a place for covert actions in the defense of the nation, especially in the Global War on Terror. Daily, the President receives a great deal of advice—both right and wrong—from a team composed of employees who have various agendas; however, the President is the final arbitrator on all decisions, particularly covert action. In reviewing historical use of covert action, the previous attempts to replace a communist government or leader with one more supportive of U.S. objectives were challenging, if not impossible, to accomplish. Therefore, the limits of covert action must be faced with a realistic perspective. In the pursuit of national security objectives, intelligence professionals and their code of professional ethics may be the key to achieving both realistic and ethical operations that would allow the general American public to be proud of the operations in decades after the information is declassified.