Any discussion of covert action tends to evoke conversations regarding ethics, long-term effects, risk analysis, the value and benefits, and the inevitable justification for some policy option that exists somewhere between gentleman's diplomacy and killing each other to get what we want. The nature of covert action also presents some unique conflicts of interest. Those who recommend and carry out covert action also are responsible for painting the justification for the covert action–and there is very little oversight. It has been, rightly or wrongly, characterized as giving the prisoners keys to the prison.

Answer the following: 250+ words Chicago Style

What is the role of covert action as a tool of strategic decision-making? What conflicts exist where an intelligence agency is the same that uses secret information to carry-out executive decisions to engage in covert action? Does covert action support the practice of state-craft or is it a tool used to carry out actions to further security, military, economic, and business interests?

Here are some references:

Scott, Len. “Secret Intelligence, Covert Action and Clandestine Diplomacy.” Understanding Intelligence in the 21st Century. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Ltd. (163-179).

Erwin, Marshall Curtis. 2013. “Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions.”Congressional Research Service. (April): 1-14.

Snyder, Britt L. "The Agency and the Hill: CIA's Cooperation with Congress 1946-2004." Washington DC: Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2008. 259-310.