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Article: Black Ops
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, andSecurity
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Black Ops
"Black ops" is shorthand for "black operations," covert or clandestine activities that cannot be linked to the organization that undertakes them. The term is a highly problematic one, for a number of reasons. First, by definition, many activities conducted by organizations such as the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) are never intended to be linked to the agency itself. Second, a known example of a successful black operation would be a contradiction in terms.
Third, and perhaps most important, is the fact that the term "black ops" itself is much more likely to be used by novices than by members of the intelligence community. A member of the CIA or any such ...