Black operation

A black operation or black op is a covert or clandestine operation by a government agency, a military unit or a paramilitary organization; it can include activities by private companies or groups. Key features of a black operation are that it is secret and it is not attributable to the organization carrying it out.[1]

"Black op" and "Black ops" redirect here. For other uses, see Black Ops (disambiguation).

This US Douglas A-26C Invader was painted in fake Cuban Air Force colors for the military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the USAF sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 in April 1961.

A single such activity may be called a black bag operation;[1] that term is primarily used for covert or clandestine surreptitious entries into structures to obtain information for human intelligence operations.[2] Such operations have been carried out by the FBI,[3] CIA,[4] KGB, Mossad, MI6, MI5, ASIS, COMANF, DGSE, AISE, CNI, MSS, R&AW, DGFI, SVR, FSB, Kuwait 25th Commando Brigade, ISI and the intelligence services of other states.[2]

The main difference between a black operation and one that is merely secret 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 (e.g. false flag operations).[5][6]

Etymology

Black may be used as a generic term for any government activity that is hidden or secret. For example, in the United States, some activities by military and intelligence 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.[7][8]

Reported examples

See also

References
  1. Smith, W. Thomas Jr. (2003). Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency. New York: Facts on File, Inc. p. 31. ISBN 0-8160-4666-2.
  2. "Tallinn government surveillance cameras reveal black bag operation". Intelnews. December 16, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  3. Rood, Justin (June 15, 2007). "FBI to Boost 'Black Bag' Search Ops". ABC News. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  4. "The CIA Code Thief Who Came in from the Cold". matthewald.com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  5. 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."
  6. Djang, Chu, 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 misrepresented in one way or another so as not to be attributed to the people who really engineered it."
  7. "Dirty Secrets Of The "Black Budget"". Business Week. February 27, 2006. Archived from the original on December 31, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  8. Shachtman, Noah (February 1, 2010). "Pentagon's Black Budget Tops $56 Billion". Wired. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  9. Ross, Brian; Esposito, Richard (May 22, 2007). "Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran". ABC News. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  10. Shipman, Tim (May 27, 2007). "Bush sanctions 'black ops' against Iran". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  11. Montopoli, Brian (May 23, 2007). "ABC News Comes Under Fire For Iran Report". CBS News. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  12. Tisdall, Simon (June 22, 2007). "CIA to release cold war 'black files'". The Guardian. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
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