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{{Redirect2|Black op|Black ops|other meanings|Black Ops (disambiguation)}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}} |
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A '''black operation''' or '''black op''' is a [[covert operation]] by a government, a government agency, or a military organization. This can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it is clandestine, it has negative overtones, and it is not attributable to the organization carrying it out.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book|last=Smith, Jr.|first=W. Thomas|title=[[Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency]]|year=2003|publisher=Facts on File, Inc.|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-8160-4666-2|page=31}}</ref> The main difference between a black operation and one that is merely clandestine is that a black operation involves a significant degree of deception, to conceal who is behind it or to make it appear that some other entity is responsible ("[[false flag]]" operations).<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=zDRQAAAAYAAJ&q=clandestine+%22black+operation%22&dq=clandestine+%22black+operation%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qVXXT_zXHMjg2QWVnoC8Dw&sqi=2&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ ''Popular Electronics, Volume 6, Issue 2–6'']. Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., Inc. 1974, p. 267. "There are three classifications into which the intelligence community officially divides clandestine broadcast stations. A black operation is one in which there is a major element of deception."</ref><ref>Djang, Chu, [http://books.google.com/books?id=6V9cK2ydGe4C&pg=PA54&dq=clandestine+%22black+operation%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=H1bXT_eIEaSQ2gXrwpWOCw&ved=0CGAQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=clandestine%20%22black%20operation%22&f=false ''From Loss to Renewal: A Tale of Life Experience at Ninety''], Authors Choice Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, p. 54. "(A black operation was) an operation in which the sources of propaganda were disguised or mispresented in one way or another so as not to be attributed to the people who really engineered it."</ref> |
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A single such activity may be called a "black bag operation";<ref name = "Smith" /> that term is primarily used for [[covert]] or [[clandestine operation|clandestine]] surreptitious entries into structures to obtain information for [[HUMINT|human intelligence]] operations.<ref name = "intelnews">{{cite news|url=http://intelnews.org/2008/12/16/04-11/|title=Tallinn government surveillance cameras reveal black bag operation|date=December 16, 2008|work=Intelnews|accessdate=3 December 2012}}</ref> Such operations are known to have been carried out by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2007/06/as_part_of_its_/|title=FBI to Boost ‘Black Bag’ Search Ops|last=Rood|first=Justin|date=June 15, 2007|work=ABC News|accessdate=3 December 2012}}</ref> the [[Central Intelligence Agency]],<ref name = "wald">{{cite web|url=http://www.matthewaid.com/post/32043919336/the-cia-code-thief-who-came-in-from-the-cold|title=The CIA Code Thief Who Came in from the Cold|work=matthewald.com|accessdate=3 December 2012}}</ref> [[Mossad]], [[MI6]], [[Ministry of State Security (China)|MSS]], [[Research and Analysis Wing]] and the intelligence services of other nations.<ref name = "intelnews" /> |
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==Etymology== |
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"Black" may be used as a generic term for any government activity that is hidden or secret. For example, some activities by military and intel agencies are funded by a classified "[[black budget]]," of which the details, and sometimes even the total, are hidden from the public and from most congressional oversight.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_09/c3973050.htm|title=Dirty Secrets Of The "Black Budget"|date=February 27, 2006|work=Business Week|accessdate=June 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/pentagons-black-budget-tops-56-billion/|title=Pentagon’s Black Budget Tops $56 Billion|last=Shachtman|first=Noah|date=February 1, 2010|work=Wired|accessdate=June 12, 2012}}</ref> |
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==Reported examples of black operations== |
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* In 2007 the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] declassified secret records detailing illegal domestic surveillance, [[assassination]] plots, kidnapping, and infiltration and penetration of other "black" operations undertaken by the CIA from the 1950s to the early 1970s. CIA Director General [[Michael Hayden (general)|Michael Hayden]] explained why he released the documents, saying that they provided a "glimpse of a very different time and a very different agency".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jun/22/usa.simontisdall|title=CIA to release cold war 'black files'|last=Tisdall|first=Simon|date=June 22, 2007|work=The Guardian|accessdate=June 7, 2012}}</ref> |
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* In May 2007 [[ABC News]], and later the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'', reported that [[United States president]] [[George W. Bush]] had authorized the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] to undertake "black operations" in [[Iran]] in order to promote [[regime change]] as well as to sabotage [[Iran's nuclear program]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2007/05/bush_authorizes/|title=Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran|last=Ross|first=Brian|author2=Esposito, Richard|date=May 22, 2007|publisher=ABC News|accessdate=June 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1552784/Bush-sanctions-black-ops-against-Iran.html|title=Bush sanctions 'black ops' against Iran|last=Shipman|first=Tim|date=May 27, 2007|work=The Telegraph|accessdate=June 7, 2012}}</ref> ABC News was subsequently criticized for reporting the secret operation, with [[Mitt_Romney_presidential_campaign,_2008|2008 presidential candidate Mitt Romney]] saying he was "shocked to see the ABC News report regarding covert action in Iran," but ABC said the CIA and the Bush Administration knew of their plans to publish the information and raised no objections.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218002320/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500486_162-2842625-500486.html|title=ABC News Comes Under Fire For Iran Report|last=Montopoli|first=Brian|date=May 23, 2007|publisher=CBS News|accessdate=January 26, 2014 via Wayback Machine}}</ref> |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Wiktionary|black operation}} |
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{{Espionage}} |
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[[Category:Secret government programs]] |
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[[it:Black operation]] |
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