Intelligence Agencies: Illegal Engagements

As a result of the purpose and structure of intelligence agencies—secretive organizations with large, undisclosed budgets organized to target and disrupt supposed “enemies”—they are perhaps particularly susceptible to illegal engagements. Some would suggest that criminality is inherent within these organizations and their actions, particularly where broader concerns of civil and human rights are taken into account. Close relations with arms manufacturers and other corporations also provide opportunities for state-corporate crime.

Illegal activities have been regular features of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts targeting leftist groups within and outside the United States, as well as legitimate and recognized nominally left-wing governments. The Kennedy administration, for example, initiated an expansive counterinsurgency program involving tens of millions of dollars and thousands of personnel. By the time of Kennedy's assassination in November ...