Title 50 and presidential findings: how American covert action really works
Guests trace how the CIA was built and how covert operations, up to assassination as a third option, are authorized, and sometimes carried out without a formal presidential finding. Understanding the legal machinery shows how much foreign policy happens out of public view.
What is the third option in American foreign policy, as Annie Jacobsen describes it? Show answer
Covert action and, at times, assassination, used when diplomacy is inadequate and war is a terrible idea.
What is the difference between Title 10 and Title 50? Show answer
The military operates under Title 10 with the rules of war, while the CIA operates under Title 50, where the president's wishes set the rule.
Why is the ban on assassination weaker than it sounds? Show answer
It is an executive order, and former CIA general counsel John Rizzo told Jacobsen it can be overwritten by another order.
What is sheep dipping? Show answer
Placing military personnel, who normally operate under Title 10, under CIA authority so a mission can run under Title 50.
Why were the SEALs sheep dipped for the bin Laden raid? Show answer
The United States was not at war with Pakistan, so a military operation there was not allowed and the mission ran under CIA authority.
What is a presidential finding? Show answer
The formal presidential authorization required for every CIA covert action, a result of the Church and Pike committee reforms of the 1970s.
What workaround does Mike Benz describe? Show answer
Work the president will not sign off on can go to USAID, which needs no finding and can label it democracy promotion.
What was ZunZuneo, according to Benz? Show answer
An Obama-era Cuban Twitter built by a USAID contractor with disguised funds and front companies, drawing about 60,000 users before a planned shift to political messaging.
How was oversight of ZunZuneo blocked, in Benz's account? Show answer
Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff said they had no visibility because USAID said explaining its work could get people killed.
What did Truman intend the CIA to be, according to Ian Carroll? Show answer
A newspaper about what was going on in the world for the president, which Carroll says Allen Dulles turned into a covert operations shop.
What reform does Benz propose? Show answer
A hard domestic firewall with criminal penalties for agencies and civil liability so individuals could sue agencies and the NGOs they fund.
How should readers weigh the three sources? Show answer
Jacobsen names sources and says what she does not know, Benz shows documents and flags speculation, and Carroll ranges furthest with claims he admits are unproven.