Cover

Cover  (deception)

Cover is a basic part of both tradecraft and statecraft. Spooks & criminals in general do not put "intelligence officer", "drug trafficker" or "fraudster" on their business cards. They need at least the facade of legitimate business behind which to carry on their covert business.

Diplomatic cover

A certain proportion of diplomats (1/3??) are reputed to be fact spooks. In Britain, embassy "passport officer" used to be a well-known cover for MI6.

Business cover

Serving under what is referred to as "nonofficial cover" (NOC), CIA officers pose as American businessmen in friendly countries, from Asia to Central America to Western Europe. There, they recruit agents from the ranks of foreign officials and business leaders, pilfer secrets, and even conduct special operations and paramilitary activities. Some of the most familiar firms in America's corporate hierarchy have sponsored NOCs overseas: RJR Nabisco, Prentice-Hall, Ford Motor Co., Procter & Gamble, General Electric, IBM, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan Bank, Pan Am, Rockwell International, Campbell Soup, and Sears Roebuck.

In some cases, flamboyant conservative businessmen like Ross Perot and Malcolm Forbes have actively cooperated with the CIA in stationing officers worldwide. In other cases, obscure U.S. companies doing business abroad–such as a tiny Texas firm that deals in spare tractor parts in Latin America, cited by a former CIA officer–have taken part in the NOC program. Shipping lines, mineral and oil exploration firms, and construction companies with international operations, like the Bechtel Corp., often house NOCs. </ref>https://www.economist.com/business/2020/02/22/spies-often-use-businesses-as-cover</ref>

Journalistic cover

The 1976 Church Committee found that more than 50 American journalists had worked clandestinely as CIA agents during the Cold War era. The practice is as still ongoing The use of journalistic cover is very common also for many other countries.

NGO cover

NGO activities are very frequently cover for spook activities, especially by the CIA.

Academic cover

Anthropology was used as cover by the US in both WW1 and WW2, and the practice has continued uninterrupted since then.

Religious cover

In 1976 it was exposed that the CIA used missionaries as cover. The practice was allegedly banned in 1980. Also the Peace Corps was used as cover.

Case studies

The official narrative of George H. W. Bush's life is that he ran an oil business, but it was as if an occult hand had drawn him to parts of the world in which CIA operations were being set up.Also, although it never seemed to make money for its investors, he always seemed to have sufficient money for new ventures. This is expertly deconstructed in Russ Baker's Family of Secrets.

Deep state cover

A remark by UK Deep state operative, Simon Bracey-Lane, highlights the fact that while the external organisation names and logos are disposable, the personal relationships are not:

“What might prevent us from achieving our aims?: Lack of clear messaging, are we IFS or are we II.”
Simon Bracey-Lane (2018) 
Emphasis added

Cover-up

Full article: Cover-up

While common criminals may do their best to hide their criminal activities, intelligence agencies and deep states are far more able to do so. Sometimes covert means are used to subvert police or judges.

National security

Full article: “National security”

Cover-ups are facilitated in many jurisdictions by a culture of impunity surrounding spooks or deep state operatives, especially when the legal recourse of "national security" is available. This grants a far reaching exception to standard procedure. For example, in 2008, when Jeffrey Epstein was being charged with sexual offences involving a minor, the prosecuting attorney, Alexander Acosta was told that the case had "national security" implications, and that therefore he make a plea deal which granted blanket immunity to anyone else whom it later transpired was involved.

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