View source for Special Activities Center

{{Short description|Covert and paramilitary unit of the American Central Intelligence Agency}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = May 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = Special Activities Center
| image                         = CIA Directorate of Operations Logo.svg
| caption                       = Directorate of Operations Seal
| dates                         = 2016–present (as Special Activities Center)<br />Unknown/1947–2016 (as Special Activities Division)
| country                       = [[United States]]
| branch                        = 
| type                          = [[Paramilitary]] [[Clandestine operation|clandestine]] force
| size                          = Classified
| command_structure             = {{Tree list}}
*[[Central Intelligence Agency]]
**[[Directorate of Operations (CIA)|Directorate of Operations]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| garrison                      = [[George Bush Center for Intelligence]]<br />[[Langley, Virginia]], U.S.
| motto                         = ''Tertia Optio'' (English: "Third Option")
| battles                       = {{Tree list}}
*[[Cold War]]
**[[Permesta]]
**[[Bay of Pigs Invasion]]
**Vietnam War
**[[Operation Condor]]
**[[Operation Cyclone]]
**[[Operation Restore Hope]]
**[[Operation Eagle Claw]]
*[[War on Terror|Global War on Terrorism]]
**[[War in Afghanistan (2001–14)|War in Afghanistan]]
**[[Iraq War]]
**[[2008 Abu Kamal raid]]
**[[Operation Inherent Resolve]]
**[[Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa]]
**[[Drone strikes in Pakistan]]
**[[Operation Neptune Spear]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| battles_label                 = Known operations
| commander1                    = [[Donald Trump]]
| commander1_label              = [[President of the United States]]
| commander2                    = [[William J. Burns (diplomat)|William J. Burns]]
| commander2_label              = [[Director of the Central Intelligence Agency]]
| commander3                    = David Marlowe
| commander3_label              = [[Deputy Director of CIA for Operations]]
| specialization                = 
}}

The '''Special Activities Center''' ('''SAC''') is a division of the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]] responsible for [[covert operation|covert]] and [[paramilitary]] operations. The unit was named '''Special Activities Division''' ('''SAD''') prior to 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://unredacted.com/2015/10/27/first-complete-look-at-the-cias-national-clandestine-service-org-chart/ |title=First Complete Look at the CIA's National Clandestine Service Org Chart |date=October 27, 2015 |access-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530113939/https://unredacted.com/2015/10/27/first-complete-look-at-the-cias-national-clandestine-service-org-chart/ |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Within SAC there are two separate groups: SAC/SOG (Special Operations Group) for tactical paramilitary operations and SAC/PAG (Political Action Group) for covert political action.<ref name="Daugherty 2004">Daugherty (2004)</ref>

The Special Operations Group is responsible for operations that include [[Clandestine operation|clandestine]] or covert operations with which the US government does not want to be overtly associated.<ref name="dallas">{{cite news |work=[[Dallas Morning News]] |date=October 27, 2002 |title=CIA commandos remain covert |last=Robberson |first=Tod |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/021027-cia1.htm |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224151745/http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/021027-cia1.htm |archive-date=December 24, 2007 |url-status=live |via=[[GlobalSecurity.org]]}}</ref> As such, unit members, called Paramilitary Operations Officers and Specialized Skills Officers, do not typically wear uniforms.<ref name="woodward-post">{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Woodward |author-link=Bob Woodward |date=November 18, 2001 |title=Secret CIA Units Playing Central Combat Role |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/CIA18.html |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514002315/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/CIA18.html |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

If they are compromised during a mission, the US government may [[Plausible deniability|deny all knowledge]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Special Operations Forces (SOF) and CIA Paramilitary Operations: Issues for Congress, CRS-2 |url=http://ftp.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RS22017.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108000044/http://ftp.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RS22017.pdf |archive-date=January 8, 2016 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The group generally recruits personnel from [[special mission unit]]s within the [[United States special operations forces|U.S. Special Operations community]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Waller|first=Douglas|date=February 3, 2003|title=The CIA's Secret Army: The CIA's Secret Army|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004145-1,00.html|url-status=live|magazine=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427021352/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004145-1,00.html|archive-date=April 27, 2018|access-date=January 28, 2018|via=content.Time.com}}</ref>

SOG Paramilitary Operations Officers account for a majority of [[Distinguished Intelligence Cross]] and [[Intelligence Star]] recipients during conflicts or incidents that elicited CIA involvement. These are the highest two awards for valor within the CIA in recognition of distinguished valor and excellence in the line of duty. SOG operatives also account for the majority of the stars displayed on the [[CIA Memorial Wall|Memorial Wall]] at [[George Bush Center for Intelligence|CIA headquarters]], indicating that the officer died while on active duty.<ref>Gup, Ted (2000). ''The Book of Honor: Covert Lives and Classified Deaths at the CIA''.</ref> The [[Latin]] motto of SAC is ''Tertia Optio'', which means "Third Option," as covert action represents an additional option within the realm of national security when diplomacy and military action are not feasible.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thirdoptionfoundation.org/about/#story | title=About | access-date=January 14, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184355/https://www.thirdoptionfoundation.org/about/#story | archive-date=January 15, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref>

The Ground Branch of the Special Operations Group has been known to operate alongside the United Kingdom's [[E Squadron]],<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |last=Neville |first=Leigh |title=Special Forces in the War on Terror |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=9781472807908 |pages=296 |language=English}}</ref> the UK's equivalent paramilitary unit.

The Political Action Group is responsible for covert activities related to political influence, [[Psychological warfare|psychological operations]], [[economic warfare]], and [[cyberwarfare]].

Tactical units within SAC can also carry out covert political action while deployed in hostile and austere environments. A large covert operation typically has components that involve many or all of these categories as well as paramilitary operations.

Covert political and influence operations are used to support [[Foreign policy of the United States|US foreign policy]]. As overt support for one element of an insurgency can be counterproductive due to the unfavorable impression of the United States in some countries, in such cases covert assistance allows the US to assist without damaging the reputation of its beneficiaries.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1 = Shimer|first1 = David |date = August 18, 2020 |title = When the CIA Interferes in Foreign Elections |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-06-21/cia-interferes-foreign-elections |magazine=[[Foreign Affairs]]}}</ref>

==Overview==
SAC provides the [[United States National Security Council]] with alternative options when overt military and/or diplomatic actions are not viable or politically feasible. SAC can be directly tasked by the [[U.S. president]] or the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] at the president's direction, unlike other U.S. special mission forces. SAC/SOG has far fewer members than most of the other special missions units, such as the [[U.S. Army]]'s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta ([[Delta Force]]) or [[SEAL Team Six|Naval Special Warfare Development Group]] (DEVGRU).<ref name='Southworth'>Southworth (2002)</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Joint Publication 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms |publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]] |date=October 17, 2008 |url=http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf |page=512 |access-date=November 29, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123014953/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf |archive-date=November 23, 2008 }}</ref><ref name='Waller'>{{cite web|first=Waller |last=Douglas |date=February 3, 2003 |title=The CIA's Secret Army |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004145-1,00.html |access-date=January 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211120922/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004145-1,00.html |archive-date=February 11, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As the action arm of the CIA's [[Directorate of Operations (CIA)|Directorate of Operations]], SAC/SOG conducts [[Direct action (military)|direct action]] missions such as [[raid (military)|raids]], [[ambush]]es, [[sabotage]], [[targeted killing]]s<ref>{{cite news |title=CIA Pakistan Campaign is Working Director Say |first1=Mark |last1=Mazzetti |first2=Helene |last2=Cooper |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 26, 2009 |page=A15}}</ref><ref name="CIA Secret Program PM">{{cite news |title=CIA Secret Program: PM Teams Targeting Al Qaeda |first=Greg |last=Miller |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=July 14, 2009 |page=A1 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jul-14-na-cia-cheney14-story.html |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517152012/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/14/nation/na-cia-cheney14 |archive-date=May 17, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=CIA Had Plan To Assassinate Qaeda Leaders |first1=Mark |last1=Mazzetti |first2=Shane  |last2=Scott  |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 14, 2009 |page=A1}}</ref> and [[unconventional warfare (United States)|unconventional warfare]] (e.g., training and leading [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] and military units of other countries in combat) as an [[Irregular military|irregular military force]]. SAC/SOG also conducts [[special reconnaissance]] that can be either military or [[Military intelligence|intelligence]] driven and is carried out by Paramilitary Officers (also called Paramilitary Operatives or Paramilitary Operations Officers) when in "[[denied area|non-permissive environments]]". Paramilitary Operations Officers are also fully trained [[case officer]]s (i.e., "spy handlers") and as such conduct clandestine human intelligence ([[HUMINT]]) operations throughout the world.<ref name='Coll 2004'>Coll (2004)</ref>

The political action group within SAC conducts the deniable [[Psychological warfare|psychological operations]], also known as [[black propaganda]], as well as "covert influence" to induce political change in other countries as part of [[United States foreign policy]].<ref name="Daugherty 2004" /> Covert intervention in foreign elections is the most significant form of SAC's political action. This involves financial support for favored candidates, media guidance, technical support for [[public relations]], get-out-the-vote or political organizing efforts, legal expertise, advertising campaigns, assistance with poll-watching, and other means of direct action. Policy decisions are influenced by agents, such as subverted officials of the country, to make decisions in their official capacity that are in the furtherance of U.S. policy aims. In addition, mechanisms for forming and developing opinions involve the covert use of [[propaganda]].{{refn|<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/the-spymasters-toolkit/|title=The Spymaster's Toolkit - CIA|website=www.cia.gov}}</ref><ref name="SaundersCulture">{{Citation| last =Saunders| first =Frances Stonor| authorlink =Frances Stonor Saunders| year =1999| title =[[The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters]]| publisher =[[The New Press]]| isbn =1-56584-664-8}}</ref><ref name="Wilford2008">{{citation| title = The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America| first = Hugh| last = Wilford| publisher = Harvard University Press| year = 2008| isbn = 978-0-674-02681-0| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/mightywurlitzerh00wilf}}</ref><ref>Ralph W. McGehee, "Deadly Deceits: My 25 Years in the CIA" (Sheridan Square; Ocean Press 1983, 1999), {{ISBN|1-876175-19-2}} pp. [[iarchive:11-deadly-deceits-my-25-years-in-ralph-w.-mc-gehee/page/n183/mode/2up|180–181]]</ref><ref name="JourCIA">{{cite news | title = U.S. Journalists Doubling as CIA Agents, Paper Says | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 1973-11-30 | url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/157482350 | access-date = January 17, 2023 | archive-date = August 14, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170814101924/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/doc/157482350.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+30%2C+1973&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%281923-Current+File%29&edition=&startpage=&desc=U.S.+Journalists+Doubling+as+CIA+Agents%2C+Paper+Says | id = {{ProQuest|157482350}} | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Church Committee Final Report p. 455">Church Committee Final Report, Vol 1: Foreign and Military Intelligence, p. 455</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The CIA in Hollywood: How the Agency Shapes Film and Television A1 |last=Jenkins|first=Tricia|year=2012 |publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin|isbn= 9780292737075 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/14683|id={{Project MUSE|14683}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/26/archives/worldwide-propaganda-network-built-by-the-cia-a-worldwide-network.html|title=Worldwide Propaganda Network Built by the C.I.A.|work=The New York Times |date=December 26, 1977|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>}}

Propaganda includes leaflets, newspapers, magazines, books, radio, and television, all of which are geared to convey the U.S. message appropriate to the region. These techniques have expanded to cover the internet as well. They may employ officers to work as journalists, recruit agents of influence, operate media platforms, plant certain stories or information in places it is hoped will come to public attention, or seek to deny and/or discredit information that is public knowledge. In all such propaganda efforts, "black" operations denote those in which the audience is to be kept ignorant of the source; "white" efforts are those in which the originator openly acknowledges themselves, and "gray" operations are those in which the source is partly but not fully acknowledged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2010/04/15/u-s-aggressiveness-towards-iran/|title=U.S. Aggressiveness towards Iran|work=Foreign Policy Journal|date=April 15, 2010|access-date=July 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618090520/http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2010/04/15/u-s-aggressiveness-towards-iran/|archive-date=June 18, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some examples of political action programs were the prevention of the [[Italian Communist Party]] (PCI) from winning elections between 1948 and the late 1960s; overthrowing the governments of [[1953 Iranian coup d'état|Iran in 1953]] and [[1954 Guatemalan coup d'état|Guatemala in 1954]]; arming rebels in Indonesia in 1957; and providing funds and support to the [[trade union]] federation [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] following the imposition of [[martial law in Poland]] after 1981.<ref>Daugherty (2004), p. 83</ref>

SAC's existence became better known as a result of the "[[War on Terror]]". Beginning in autumn of 2001, SAC/SOG paramilitary teams arrived in [[Afghanistan]] to hunt down [[al-Qaeda]] leaders, facilitate the entry of [[United States Army Special Forces|U.S. Army Special Forces]], and lead the [[United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan]] against the ruling [[Taliban]]. SAC/SOG units also defeated [[Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan|Ansar al-Islam]] in [[Iraqi Kurdistan]] prior to the [[invasion of Iraq]] in 2003,<ref name='Woodward 2004' /><ref name='Tucker 2008'>Tucker (2008)</ref> and trained, equipped, organized and led the [[Kurd]]ish [[peshmerga]] forces to defeat the [[Iraqi Army]] in northern Iraq.<ref name='Coll 2004' /><ref name='Woodward 2004'>Woodward (2004)</ref> Numerous books have been published on the exploits of CIA paramilitary officers, including Conboy and Morrison's ''Feet to the Fire: CIA Covert Operations in Indonesia, 1957–1958'',<ref name='feettofire'>Conboy (1999)</ref> and Warner's ''Shooting at the Moon: The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos''.<ref>Warner (1996)</ref> Most experts consider SAC/SOG the premier force for [[unconventional warfare (United States)|unconventional warfare]] (UW), whether that warfare consists of either creating or combating an insurgency in a foreign country.<ref name='Southworth' /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TLu2K11cXSMC&q=Special+activities+division+most+elite&pg=PA20 |title=Special OPS: America's elite forces in 21st century combat |first= Fred J.|last= Pushies|year=2003 | page= 20 |publisher=Zenith Imprint |via=Google Books |access-date=May 19, 2011|isbn=978-1610606905 }}</ref><ref name='USAWC 2003'>Stone & Williams (2003)</ref>

[[File:United States Special Operations Command Insignia.svg|thumb|right|United States Special Operations Command Insignia]]
There remains some conflict between the CIA's Directorate of Operations and the more clandestine parts of the [[United States Special Operations Command]] (USSOCOM),<ref>{{cite web |last=Vickers |first=Michael G |author-link=Michael G. Vickers |title=Testimony of Michael G. Vickers on SOCOM's Mission and Roles to the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats, and Capabilities |publisher=[[United States House of Representatives]] |date=June 29, 2006 |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/congress/2006_hr/060629-vickers.pdf |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213082925/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/congress/2006_hr/060629-vickers.pdf |archive-date=December 13, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> such as the [[Joint Special Operations Command]]. This is usually confined to the civilian/political heads of the respective Department/Agency. The combination of SAC and USSOCOM units has resulted in some of the more prominent actions of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the locating and [[killing of Osama bin Laden]].<ref name='USAWC 2003' /><ref name="washingtonpost1">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/osama_bin_laden_killed_in_cia_operation/2011/05/01/AFLiqoVF_gallery.html?wprss=rss_national-security |title=Osama bin Laden killed in CIA operation |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 19, 2011 |date=May 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112101440/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/osama_bin_laden_killed_in_cia_operation/2011/05/01/AFLiqoVF_gallery.html?wprss=rss_national-security |archive-date=November 12, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> SAC/SOG has several missions, one being the recruiting, training, and leading of indigenous forces in combat operations.<ref name='USAWC 2003' /> SAC/SOG and its successors have been used when it was considered desirable to have [[plausible deniability]] about US support (this is called a [[covert operation]] or "covert action").<ref name='Coll 2004' /> Unlike other special missions units, SAC/SOG operatives combine special operations and clandestine intelligence capabilities in one individual.<ref name='Waller' /> These individuals can operate in any environment (sea, air or ground) with limited to no support.<ref name='Southworth' />

==Covert action==
The CIA is authorized to collect intelligence, conduct counterintelligence, and conduct [[Covert operation|covert action]] by the [[National Security Act of 1947]].<ref name='Daugherty 2004' /> President [[Ronald Reagan]] issued [[Executive Order 12333]] titled "United States Intelligence Activities" in 1984. This order defined covert action as "special activities," both political and military, that the U.S. government would deny, and granted the exclusive authority to conduct such operations to the CIA. The CIA was also designated as the sole authority under the '''1991 Intelligence Authorization Act''' and mirrored in [[Title 50 of the United States Code]] Section 413(e).<ref name='Daugherty 2004' /><ref name='USAWC 2003' /> The CIA must have a [[presidential finding]] in order to conduct these activities under the Hughes-Ryan amendment to the 1991 Intelligence Authorization Act.<ref>Daugherty (2004), p. 25</ref> These findings are monitored by the oversight committees in both the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]], called the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] (SSCI) and the [[U.S. House of Representatives]], called the [[United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence|House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence]] (HPSCI).<ref>Daugherty (2004), p. 28</ref>

The Pentagon commissioned a study to determine whether the CIA or the [[U.S. Department of Defense]] (DoD) should conduct covert action paramilitary operations. Their study determined that the CIA should maintain this capability and be the "sole government agency conducting covert action." The DoD found that it does not have the legal authority to conduct covert action or the operational agility to carry out these types of missions.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/special-reports/iraq-intelligence/article24443884.html | title=CIA, Pentagon reject recommendation on paramilitary operations | access-date=July 16, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716082339/https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/special-reports/iraq-intelligence/article24443884.html | archive-date=July 16, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In an article for [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]], former Deputy Secretary of Defense and retired CIA paramilitary officer [[Mick Mulroy]] explained that the term "covert action" is derived from ''Presidential Findings'' authorizing the CIA to conduct specific ''special activities'' to support U.S. national security objectives. He advocated for covert actions to be fully incorporated in the U.S. [[National Security Strategy (United States)|National Security Strategy]] and the 2018 [[National Defense Strategy]] in the form of a ''Covert Action Annex'' and for covert actions to be fully funded to operate in support of overall objectives in the form of a ''Covert Action Fund''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mulroy |first=Mick |date=5 January 2021 |title=Covert Action and National Security |url=http://abcnewsradioonline.com/national-news/covert-action-and-national-security.html?SSScrollPosition=612 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106174402/http://abcnewsradioonline.com/national-news/covert-action-and-national-security.html?SSScrollPosition=612 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |url-status=dead |location=USA |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] Radio |access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref>

==Selection and training==
[[File:Seal of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).svg|thumb|Emblem of the [[Joint Special Operations Command]]]]

Special Activities Center has several hundred officers, mostly former members from [[Special mission unit#United States|Tier 1 units]] like [[SEAL Team Six]] and [[Delta Force]], as well as other [[United States special operations forces|U.S. Special Operations Forces]] personnel.<ref>[http://www.haqeeqat.org/2009/07/20/dick-cheney-ordered-benazirs-assassination/] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804170645/http://www.haqeeqat.org/2009/07/20/dick-cheney-ordered-benazirs-assassination/|date=August 4, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.awg.army.mil/AWG-Contributions/AWG-Recruiting/Article-View/Article/1809184/the-most-elite-special-operations-forces-in-the-us/https://www.awg.army.mil/AWG-Contributions/AWG-Recruiting/Article-View/Article/1809184/the-most-elite-special-operations-forces-in-the-us/|title=The most elite special operations forces in the US|website=Asymmetric Warfare Group}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sofrep.com/news/ground-branch-the-cias-covert-alternative-to-special-operations/|title=Ground Branch: The CIA's covert alternative to special operations|access-date=April 18, 2023|archive-date=March 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309185627/https://sofrep.com/news/ground-branch-the-cias-covert-alternative-to-special-operations/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The CIA has also recruited individuals from within the agency.<ref name='so'>{{cite web |url=https://www.americanspecialops.com/cia-special-operations/ |title=CIA Special Activities Division (SAD) / Special Operations Group |publisher=americanspecialops.com |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104081156/http://www.americanspecialops.com/cia-special-operations/ |archive-date=November 4, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/asia/cia-afghanistan-war.html|title = A Funeral of 2 Friends: C.I.A. Deaths Rise in Secret Afghan War|newspaper = The New York Times|date = September 6, 2017|last1 = Goldman|first1 = Adam|last2 = Rosenberg|first2 = Matthew}}</ref>  The CIA's formal designations for these individuals are ''paramilitary operations officers'' and ''specialized skills officers''. Paramilitary operations officers often attend the Clandestine Service Trainee (CST) program, which trains them as clandestine intelligence operatives at an internal paramilitary training course.

The primary strengths of SAC paramilitary officers are operational agility, adaptability, and deniability. They often operate in small teams, typically made up of two to ten operatives (with some operations being carried out by a single officer), all usually with extensive military tactical experience and a set of specialized skills that does not exist in any other unit.<ref name='Waller'/> As fully trained intelligence case officers, paramilitary operations officers possess all the clandestine skills to collect human intelligence&nbsp;– and most importantly&nbsp;– to recruit assets from among the indigenous troops receiving their training. These officers often operate in remote locations behind enemy lines to carry out [[direct action (military)|direct action]] (including [[Raid (military)|raids]] and [[sabotage]]), [[counter-intelligence]], [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]]/[[unconventional warfare (United States)|unconventional warfare]], [[counter-terrorism]], and [[Hostage crisis|hostage rescue]] missions, in addition to being able to conduct espionage via [[Human intelligence (espionage)|HUMINT]] assets.

There are four principal elements within SAC's Special Operations Group, formerly called branches, now organized as departments: the Air Department, the Maritime Department, the Ground Department, and the Armor and Special Programs Department.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dorfman|first=Zach|date=January 13, 2022|title=CIA-trained Ukrainian paramilitaries may take central role if Russia invades|url=https://news.yahoo.com/cia-trained-ukrainian-paramilitaries-may-take-central-role-if-russia-invades-185258008.html|access-date=2022-01-14|website=[[Yahoo News]]|language=en-US|archive-date=January 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119105743/https://news.yahoo.com/cia-trained-ukrainian-paramilitaries-may-take-central-role-if-russia-invades-185258008.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Armor and Special Programs Department is charged with the development, testing, and covert procurement of new personnel and vehicular armor, and maintenance of stockpiles of ordnance and weapons systems used by the SOG, almost all of which must be obtained from clandestine sources abroad, in order to provide SOG operatives and their foreign trainees with plausible deniability in accordance with U.S. congressional directives.

Together, the SAC/SOG comprises a complete [[combined arms]] covert paramilitary force. Paramilitary operations officers are the core of each branch and routinely move between the branches to gain expertise in all aspects of SOG.<ref name="so"/> As such, paramilitary operations officers are trained to operate in a multitude of environments. Because these officers are taken from the most highly trained units in the U.S. military and then provided with extensive additional training to become CIA clandestine intelligence officers, many U.S. security experts assess them as the most elite of the U.S. special missions units.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TLu2K11cXSMC&q=special+ops:+america%27s+elite+forces+delta+the+best+period&pg=PA24 |title=Special OPS: America's elite forces in 21st century combat |first= Fred J.|last= Push|year=2003 | page= 24 |publisher=Zenith Imprint |via=Google Books |access-date=May 19, 2011|isbn=978-1610606905 }}</ref>

Paramilitary operations officers require a [[bachelor's degree]] to be considered for employment. SAC officers are trained at [[Camp Peary]], Virginia (also known as "The Farm"), "The Point" ([[Harvey Point]]), a facility outside of [[Hertford, North Carolina]], and at privately owned training centers around the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/crs/rs21048-3.pdf |title=globalsecurity.org: U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107134941/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/crs/rs21048-3.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=John |last=Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/021027-cia1.htm |title=The Dallas Morning News October&nbsp;27,&nbsp;2002 |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525110034/http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2002/021027-cia1.htm |archive-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref> In addition to the eighteen months of training in the Clandestine Service Trainee (CST) program<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/clandestine/paramilitary-operations-officer-specialized-skills-officer.html|title=Paramilitary Operations Officer/Specialized Skills Officer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130005641/https://www.cia.gov/careers/opportunities/clandestine/paramilitary-operations-officer-specialized-skills-officer.html|archive-date=January 30, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> required to become a clandestine [[intelligence officer]], paramilitary operations officers are trained to a high level of proficiency in:
* [[Bomb|explosive devices]] and [[firearm]]s (foreign and domestic)
* [[hand-to-hand combat]]
* high-performance / tactical driving (on and off-road)
* apprehension avoidance (including [[Lock picking|picking]] [[handcuff]]s and escaping from confinement)
* [[improvised explosive device]]s
* [[cyberwarfare]]
* [[covert channels]]
* HAHO / HALO [[parachuting]]
* combat and commercial [[Scuba diving|SCUBA]]
* [[rebreather|closed circuit diving]]
* proficiency in foreign languages
* surreptitious entry operations (picking or otherwise bypassing locks)
* vehicle [[hot-wiring]]
* [[Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape]] (SERE)
* [[survival skills|extreme survival]] and wilderness training
* combat [[Emergency medical services|EMS]] medical training
* [[tactical communications]]
* [[tracking (hunting)|tracking]]

==History==
===Office of Strategic Services===
[[File:William Donovan.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[William Joseph Donovan]]]]

While the [[World War II]] [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS) was technically a military agency under the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]], in practice, it was fairly autonomous and enjoyed direct access to [[List of Presidents of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Major General [[William Joseph Donovan]] was the head of the OSS. Donovan was a soldier and Medal of Honor recipient from World War I. He was also a lawyer and former classmate of Roosevelt at [[Columbia Law School]].<ref>''Wild Bill Donovan: The Last Hero'', Anthony Cave Brown, New York: Times Books, 1982 {{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref>  Like its successor the CIA, the OSS included both [[HUMINT|human intelligence functions]] and special operations paramilitary functions. Its Secret Intelligence Division was responsible for espionage, while the [[Operation Jedburgh|Jedburgh]] teams, a U.S.-U.K.-French collaboration, were forerunners of groups that create guerrilla units, such as the U.S. Army Special Forces and the CIA. The OSS's Operational Groups were larger U.S. units that carried out direct action behind enemy lines. Even during World War II, the idea of intelligence and special operations units not under strict military control was controversial. The OSS operated primarily in the [[European Theater of Operations]] and to some extent in the [[China-Burma-India Theater]], although [[General of the Army (United States)|General of the Army]] [[Douglas MacArthur]] was extremely reluctant to have any OSS personnel within his area of operations.

From 1943 to 1945, the OSS played a major role in training [[Kuomintang]] troops in China and Burma, and recruited other indigenous irregular forces for sabotage as well as guides for [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] in [[China Burma India Theater of World War II|Burma]] fighting the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese army]]. OSS also helped arm, train and supply [[resistance movement]]s, including [[Mao Zedong]]'s [[People's Liberation Army]] in China and the [[Viet Minh]] in [[French Indochina]], in areas [[military occupation|occupied]] by the [[Axis powers of World War II|Axis powers]]. Other functions of the OSS included the use of [[propaganda]], espionage, [[Subversion (politics)|subversion]], and post-war planning.

One of the OSS's greatest accomplishments during World War II was its penetration of [[Nazi Germany]] by OSS operatives. The OSS was responsible for training German and [[Austrian people|Austrian]] commandos for missions inside Nazi Germany. Some of these agents included exiled communists, socialist party members, [[labor activist]]s, [[anti-Nazi]] [[POW]]s, and German and [[Jewish refugees]]. At the height of its influence during World War II, the OSS employed almost 24,000 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/14/spies.revealed.ap/index.html |title=Chef Julia Child, others part of World War II spy network |access-date=August 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080814145107/http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/14/spies.revealed.ap/index.html |archive-date=August 14, 2008 |df=mdy}}, CNN, August 14, 2008</ref>

OSS Paramilitary Officers parachuted into many countries that were behind enemy lines, including France, Norway, Greece, and the Netherlands. In Crete, OSS paramilitary officers linked up with, equipped and fought alongside [[Greek resistance]] forces against the [[Axis occupation of Greece during World War II|Axis occupation]].

The OSS was disbanded shortly after World War II, with its intelligence analysis functions moving temporarily into the [[United States Department of State]]. Espionage and counterintelligence went into military units, while paramilitary and other covert action functions went into the [[Office of Policy Coordination]] set up in 1948. Between the CIA's original creation by the [[National Security Act of 1947]] and various mergers and reorganizations through 1952, the wartime OSS functions generally ended up in the CIA. The mission of training and leading guerrillas in due course went to the [[United States Army Special Forces]], but those missions required to remain covert were performed by the (Deputy) Directorate of Plans and its successor the [[Directorate of Operations (CIA)|Directorate of Operations]] of the CIA. In 1962, the CIA's paramilitary operations centralized in the Special Operations Division (SOD), the predecessor of the SAC. The direct descendant of the OSS' Special Operations is the CIA's Special Activities Division.

===Tibet===
{{Main|CIA Tibetan program}}
After the Chinese invasion of Tibet in October 1950, the CIA inserted paramilitary (PM) teams into Tibet to train and lead [[Tibetan resistance]] fighters against the [[People's Liberation Army]] of China. These teams selected and then trained Tibetan soldiers in the [[Rocky Mountains]] of the United States;<ref name="The CIA 2002">The CIA's Secret War in Tibet, Kenneth Conboy, James Morrison, The University Press of Kansas, 2002.</ref> training occurred at [[Camp Hale]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Freeing Tibet: 50 years of struggle, resilience, and hope |last1=Roberts |first1=John B |first2=Elizabeth A. |last2=Roberts |year=2009 |publisher=Amacom Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0814409831 |page=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BSb-a72RyQMC&q=Camp%20Hale%20tibet%20CIA&pg=PA43 |access-date=March 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108000044/https://books.google.com/books?id=BSb-a72RyQMC&lpg=PA43&dq=Camp%20Hale%20tibet%20CIA&pg=PA43#v=onepage&q=Camp%20Hale%20tibet%20CIA&f=false |archive-date=January 8, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Buddha's warriors: the story of the CIA-backed Tibetan freedom fighters, the Chinese invasion, and the ultimate fall of Tibet |last=Dunham |first=Mikel |year=2004 |publisher=Penguin |location=New York |isbn=978-1585423484 |page=315 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVMn6TwcMZ4C&q=Camp%20Hale%20tibet%20CIA&pg=PA315 |access-date=March 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108000044/https://books.google.com/books?id=bVMn6TwcMZ4C&lpg=PA315&dq=Camp%20Hale%20tibet%20CIA&pg=PA315#v=onepage&q=Camp%20Hale%20tibet%20CIA&f=false |archive-date=January 8, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>  The PM teams then advised and led these [[commando]]s against the Chinese, both from Nepal and India and in some cases worked with [[Research and Analysis Wing]]. In addition, CIA Paramilitary Officers were responsible for the [[Dalai Lama]]'s clandestine escape to India along with Indian intelligence, narrowly escaping capture by the People's Liberation Army.<ref name="The CIA 2002"/>

According to a book by retired CIA officer John Kenneth Knaus, entitled ''Orphans Of The Cold War: America And The Tibetan Struggle For Survival'', Gyalo Thondup, the older brother of the [[14th Dalai Lama]], sent the CIA five Tibetan recruits. These recruits were trained in paramilitary tactics on the island of [[Saipan]] in the [[Northern Marianas]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://intelnews.org/2009/03/14/01-100/|title=CIA veteran reveals agency's operations in Tibet|date=March 14, 2009|first=Joseph|last=Fitsanakis|work=intelNews.org|access-date=December 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222173618/http://intelnews.org/2009/03/14/01-100/|archive-date=December 22, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>  Shortly thereafter, the five men were covertly returned to Tibet "to assess and organize the resistance" and selected another 300 Tibetans for training. U.S. assistance to the Tibetan resistance ceased after the [[1972 Nixon visit to China]], after which the United States and China normalized relations.<ref>Knaus, John Kenneth(1999). ''Orphans Of The Cold War America And The Tibetan Struggle For Survival'', {{ISBN|1891620851}}{{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref>

===Korea===
[[File:Battle of Inchon.png|thumb|left|[[Battle of Incheon]]]]

The CIA sponsored a variety of activities during the Korean War. These activities included maritime operations behind North Korean lines. Yong Do Island, connected by a rugged isthmus to [[Pusan]], served as the base for those operations. Well-trained Korean guerrillas carried out these operations. The four principal U.S. advisers responsible for the training and operational planning of those special missions were Dutch Kramer, Tom Curtis, George Atcheson, and Joe Pagnella. All of these Paramilitary Operations Officers operated through a CIA front organization called the [[Joint Advisory Commission, Korea]] (JACK), headquartered at Tongnae, a village near Pusan, on the peninsula's southeast coast.<ref name="historynet.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/korean-war-cia-sponsored-secret-naval-raids.htm |title=Korean War: CIA-Sponsored Secret Naval Raids |publisher=History Net |access-date=May 19, 2011 |date=June 12, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515082518/http://www.historynet.com/korean-war-cia-sponsored-secret-naval-raids.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>  These paramilitary teams were responsible for numerous maritime raids and ambushes behind North Korean lines, as well as [[prisoner of war]] rescue operations.

These were the first maritime [[unconventional warfare (United States)|unconventional warfare]] units that trained indigenous forces as [[Proxy war|surrogates]]. They also provided a model, along with the other CIA-sponsored ground-based, paramilitary Korean operations, for the [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group]] (MACV-SOG) activities conducted by the U.S. military and the CIA/SOD (now Special Activities Center) in Vietnam.<ref name='Southworth'/><ref name="historynet.com"/> In addition, CIA paramilitary ground-based teams worked directly for U.S. military commanders, specifically with the 8th Army, on the "White Tiger" initiative. This initiative included inserting South Korean commandos and CIA Paramilitary Operations Officers prior to the two major amphibious assaults on North Korea, including the landing at [[Inchon]].<ref name='Southworth'/>

===Cuba (1961)===
{{Main|Bay of Pigs Invasion}}
[[File:Cuba Bahia de Cochinos-en.svg|thumb|Map showing the location of the [[Bay of Pigs]]]]

The Bay of Pigs Invasion (known as "La Batalla de Girón," or "[[Playa Girón]]" in Cuba) was an unsuccessful attempt by a U.S.-trained force of [[Cuban exile]]s to invade southern Cuba and overthrow the Cuban government of [[Fidel Castro]]. The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after [[John F. Kennedy]] assumed the presidency of the United States. The [[Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces]], trained and equipped by [[Eastern Bloc]] nations, defeated the exile-combatants in three days.

The sea-borne invasion force landed on April 17, and fighting lasted until April 19, 1961. CIA Paramilitary Operations Officers [[Grayston Lynch]] and [[William "Rip" Robertson]] led the first [[Amphibious warfare|assault on the beaches]], and supervised the amphibious landings.<ref name='Lynch (2000)'>Lynch (2000), pp. 83, 129</ref> Four American aircrew instructors from [[Alabama Air National Guard]] were killed while flying attack sorties.<ref name='Lynch (2000)'/> Various sources estimate Cuban Army casualties (killed or injured) to be in the thousands (between 2,000 and 5,000).<ref>Triay (2001){{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref> This invasion followed the successful overthrow by the CIA of the [[Mosaddeq]] [[Government of Iran|government]] in Iran in 1953<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/world/secrets-history-cia-iran-special-report-plot-convulsed-iran-53-79.html?pagewanted=all|title=Secrets of History – The C.I.A. in Iran – A special report. How a Plot Convulsed Iran in '53 (and in '79)|date=April 16, 2000|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 3, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929004250/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/world/secrets-history-cia-iran-special-report-plot-convulsed-iran-53-79.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=September 29, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Arbenz]] government in Guatemala in 1954,<ref>Piero Gleijeses, Nick. ''Secret History: The CIA's Classified Account of Its Operations in Guatemala, 1952–1954''. {{ISBN|0804768161}}{{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref> but was a failure both militarily and politically.<ref>Lazo, Mario, ''Dagger in the Heart: American Policy Failures in Cuba'' (1970), Twin Circle Publishing, New York {{page?|date=September 2022}}{{ISBN?}}</ref> Deteriorating [[Cuban-American relations]] were made worse by the 1962 [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].

===Bolivia===
The [[National Liberation Army of Bolivia]] (ELN-Ejército de Liberación Nacional de Bolivia) was a communist [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] force that operated from the remote Ñancahuazú region against the pro-U.S. [[Bolivian government]]. They were joined by [[Che Guevara]] in the mid-1960s.<ref name="#refSelvage1985|Selvage 1985">[[#refSelvage1985|Selvage 1985]].</ref><ref>[[#refAnderson1997|Anderson 1997]], p. 693.</ref> The ELN was well equipped and scored a number of early successes against the [[Bolivian army]] in the difficult terrain of the mountainous [[Camiri]] region.<ref name='Rodriguez 1989'>Rodriguez (1989)</ref>  In the late 1960s, the CIA deployed teams of Paramilitary Operations Officers to Bolivia to train the Bolivian army in order to counter the ELN.<ref name='Rodriguez 1989'/> These teams linked up with U.S. Army Special Forces and Bolivian Special Forces to track down and capture Guevara, who was a special prize because of his leading role in the [[Cuban Revolution]].<ref name='Rodriguez 1989'/> On October 9, 1967, Guevara was executed by Bolivian soldiers on the orders of CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer [[Félix Rodríguez (Central Intelligence Agency)|Félix Rodríguez]] shortly after being captured, according to CIA documents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB5/index.html#declass |title=Death of Che Guevara |publisher=Gwu.edu |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816041436/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB5/index.html#declass |archive-date=August 16, 2000 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Vietnam and Laos===
[[File:South Vietnam Map.jpg|thumb|left|South Vietnam, Military Regions, 1967]]

The original OSS mission in Vietnam under [[Major (rank)|Major]] [[Archimedes Patti]] was to work with [[Ho Chi Minh]] in order to prepare his forces to assist the United States and their [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in fighting the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]]. After the end of World War II, the U.S. agreed at [[Potsdam Agreement|Potsdam]] to turn Vietnam back to their previous French rulers, and in 1950 the U.S. began providing military aid to the French.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1945.html|title=The History Place – Vietnam War 1945–1960|access-date=August 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217062228/http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1945.html|archive-date=December 17, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

CIA Paramilitary Operations Officers trained and led [[Hmong people|Hmong]] tribesmen in [[Laos]] and Vietnam, and the actions of these officers were not known for several years. [[Air America (airline)|Air America]] was the air component of the CIA's paramilitary mission in Southeast Asia and was responsible for all combat, logistics and search and rescue operations in Laos and certain sections of Vietnam.<ref>''Air America and The Ravens'' by Chris Robbins. Both are the history of CIA/IAD's war in Laos, providing biographies and details on such CIA Paramilitary Officers as Wil Green, Tony Poe, Jerry Daniels, Howie Freeman, Bill Lair, and the pilots, ground crew and support personnel managed by IAD/SOG/Air Branch under the proprietaries Bird Air, Southern Air Transport, China Air Transport, and Air America&nbsp;– and the U.S. Air Force forward air controllers (RAVENS) who were brought in under CIA/IAD command and control as "civilians" to support secret combat ops in Laos.</ref> The ethnic minority forces numbered in the tens of thousands. They conducted direct actions missions, led by Paramilitary Operations Officers, against the communist [[Pathet Lao]] forces and their North Vietnamese allies.<ref name='Southworth'/>

Elements of the Special Activities Division were seen in the CIA's [[Phoenix Program]]. One component of the Phoenix Program was involved in the capture and killing of suspected [[Viet Cong]] (VC) members.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Phoenix Program|first=Douglas|last=Valentine|year=2000|publisher=iUniverse |isbn =978-0595007387}}</ref>  Between 1968 and 1972, the Phoenix Program captured 81,740 VC members, of whom 26,369 were killed. The program was also successful in destroying their infrastructure. By 1970, communist plans repeatedly emphasized attacking the government's "pacification" program and specifically targeted Phoenix agents. The VC also imposed quotas. In 1970, for example, communist officials near [[Da Nang]] in northern South Vietnam instructed their agents to "kill 400 persons" deemed to be government "tyrant[s]" and to "annihilate" anyone involved with the "pacification" program. Several North Vietnamese officials have made statements about the effectiveness of Phoenix.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/MarApr06/Andrade-Willbanks.pdf|title=US Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth|website=army.mil|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625022447/http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/milreview/English/MarApr06/Andrade-Willbanks.pdf|archive-date=June 25, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Colby, William; Peter Forbath (1978) (extract concerning Gladio stay-behind operations in Scandinavia). ''Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA''. London: Hutchinson.{{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref>

MAC-V SOG ([[Studies and Observations Group]], which was originally named the Special Operations Group, but was changed for cover purposes) was created and active during the Vietnam War. While the CIA was just one part of MAC-V SOG, it did have operational control of some of the programs. Many of the military members of MAC-V SOG joined the CIA after their military service. The legacy of MAC-V SOG continues within SAC's Special Operations Group.<ref>''Shooting at the Moon'' by Roger Warner, The history of CIA/IAD'S 15-year involvement in conducting the secret war in Laos, 1960–1975, and the career of CIA PMCO (paramilitary case officer) Bill Lair.</ref>

On May 22, 2016, the CIA honored three paramilitary officers with stars on the memorial wall 56 years after their deaths. They were David W. Bevan, Darrell A. Eubanks, and John S. Lewis, all young men, killed on a mission to resupply anti-Communist forces in Laos. They were all recruited from the famous [[smokejumper]]s from Montana.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/18/they-were-smokejumpers-when-the-cia-sent-them-to-laos-they-came-back-in-caskets/ |title=They were smokejumpers when the CIA sent them to Laos. They came back in caskets. |first=Ian |last=Shapira |date=June 18, 2017 |access-date=January 28, 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129080602/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/18/they-were-smokejumpers-when-the-cia-sent-them-to-laos-they-came-back-in-caskets/ |archive-date=January 29, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> One former smokejumper and paramilitary officer, Mike Oehlerich, believed he should have been on that flight, but they accidentally missed their pickup to the airport. They got stuck in Bangkok and so another crew – Bevan, Eubanks, and Lewis – flew that mission on August 13, 1961. "We had no idea anything happened until we got back the next day, and that's when they told us that they went into a canyon and tried to turn around and got into bad air," he said. CIA officials told him days after the crash that Lewis had jumped out of the plane, rather than remain inside. "When they told me that, I teared up," Oehlerich recalled. "It was something John and I had talked about&nbsp;– 'Don't go down with the airplane, your chances are better if you get out.'"<ref name="auto"/>

===Maritime activities against the Soviet Union===
In 1973, SAD and the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology built and deployed the [[USNS Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193)|USNS ''Glomar Explorer'' (T-AG-193)]], a large deep-sea salvage ship, on a secret operation. This operation was called [[Project Azorian]] (erroneously called [[Project Jennifer]] by the press).<ref name="Drew, 1998 p.196">Sontag and Drew, ''Blind Man's Bluff.'' New York: Public Affairs (1998), p. 196</ref> Her mission was to recover a sunken Soviet submarine, {{Ship|Soviet submarine|K-129|Golf II|2}}, which had been lost in April 1968.<ref>Burleson, Clyde W. ''The Jennifer Project''. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0890967644}}.</ref><ref>PBS, [https://www.pbs.org/saf/1305/features/ship2.htm "The Glomar Explorer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016085120/http://www.pbs.org/saf/1305/features/ship2.htm |date=October 16, 2015 }} Scientific American Frontiers, ''Mysteries of the Deep: Raising Sunken Ships'', p. 2</ref>  A mechanical failure caused two-thirds of the submarine to break off during recovery,<ref name="Drew, 1998 p.196"/> but SAC recovered two nuclear-tipped torpedoes, cryptographic machines and the bodies of six Soviet submariners.<ref>Sontag, Sherry (1998). ''Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage''. Harper. {{ISBN|006103004X}}{{page?|date=September 2022}}.</ref>  An alternative theory claims that all of K-129 was recovered<ref name="sewell-rsnf">Sewell (2005) ''Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces'', Center for Arms Control Studies, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, edited by Pavel Podvig</ref> and that the official account was an "elaborate cover-up".<ref>Sewell (2005) ''Minutes of the Sixth Plenary Session'', USRJC, Moscow, August 31, 1993</ref>

Also, in the 1970s, the [[U.S. Navy]], the [[National Security Agency]] (NSA) and SAD<ref>''Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage'' (paperback reprint ed.). New York: HarperCollins. {{ISBN|006103004X}}.{{Page?|date=September 2022}}</ref> conducted [[Operation Ivy Bells]] and a series of other missions to place wiretaps on Soviet underwater communications cables. These operations were covered in detail in the 1998 book ''[[Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage]]''.<ref>''Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage'' (paperback reprint ed.) New York: HarperCollins. {{ISBN|006103004X}} {{page?|date=September 2022}}.</ref>  In the 1985 edition of "Studies in Intelligence", the CIA's in-house journal that outsiders rarely get to see, the CIA describes the "staggering expense and improbable engineering feats" that culminated in the August 1974 mission.<ref>[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hD0j1n9y2nnSpFzypCq5Feb2nfdAD9DRBEL80] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217044543/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hD0j1n9y2nnSpFzypCq5Feb2nfdAD9DRBEL80|date=February 17, 2010}}</ref>

===Nicaragua===
In 1979, the U.S.-backed [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle]] dictatorship in Nicaragua fell to the socialist [[Sandinistas]]. Once in power, the Sandinistas disbanded the [[Nicaraguan National Guard]], who had committed many human rights abuses, and arrested and executed some of its members. Other former National Guard members helped to form the backbone of the Nicaraguan Counterrevolution or [[Contras|Contra]]. CIA paramilitary teams from Special Activities Division were deployed to train and lead these rebel forces against the Sandinista government. These paramilitary activities were based in Honduras and Costa Rica. Direct military aid by the United States was eventually forbidden by the [[Boland Amendment]] of the Defense Appropriations Act of 1983. The Boland Amendment was extended in October 1984 to forbid action by not only the Defense Department but also to include the Central Intelligence Agency.<ref>{{cite book |first=Theodore |last=Draper |title=A Very Thin Line: The Iran-Contra Affair |location=New York |publisher=Hill and Wang |year=1991 |isbn=978-0809096138 |url=https://archive.org/details/verythinlineiran00drap }}</ref><ref name='Woodward 1987'>{{cite book |first=Bob |last=Woodward |year=1987 |title=Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981–1987 |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0671601171 |url=https://archive.org/details/veilsecretwarsof0000wood |url-access=registration }}</ref>

The Boland Amendment was a compromise because the [[U.S. Democratic Party]] did not have enough votes for a comprehensive ban on military aid. It covered only appropriated funds spent by intelligence agencies. Some of Reagan's national security officials used non-appropriated money of the National Security Council (NSC) to circumvent the Amendment. NSC officials sought to arrange funding by third parties. These efforts resulted in the [[Iran-Contra Affair]] of 1987, which concerned Contra funding through the proceeds of arms sales to the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]]. No court ever made a determination whether Boland covered the NSC, and on the grounds that it was a prohibition rather than a criminal statute, no one was indicted for violating it. Congress later resumed aid to the Contras, totaling over $300&nbsp;million. The Contra war ended when the Sandinistas were voted out of power by a war-weary populace in 1990.<ref name='Woodward 1987'/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Riesenfeld |first=Stefan A. |year=1987 |title=The Powers of Congress and the President in International Relations: Revisited |journal=[[California Law Review]] |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=405–414 |jstor=3480586 |doi=10.2307/3480586 |url=http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1975&context=californialawreview |access-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427220228/https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1975&context=californialawreview |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Sandinista]] leader [[Daniel Ortega]] was re-elected as President of [[Nicaragua]] in 2006 and took office again on January 10, 2007.

===El Salvador===
CIA personnel were also involved in the [[Salvadoran civil war]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXCpB-D0LLEC&q=cia+el+salvador&pg=PA47|title=Killer Elite|first=Michael|last=Smith|page=52|publisher=Macmillan|year=2007 | isbn=978-0312362720}}</ref>  Some allege that the techniques used to interrogate prisoners in El Salvador foreshadowed those later used in Iraq and Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB122/|title=Prisoner Abuse: Patterns from the Past|first1=Thomas|last1=Blanton|first2=Peter|last2=Kornbluh|name-list-style=amp|publisher=The National Security Archive|date=December 5, 2004|access-date=March 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061124020135/http://www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB122/|archive-date=November 24, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> In fact, when a similar counter-insurgency program was proposed in Iraq, it was referred to as "the Salvador Option". Agency officers had strict instructions not to participate in interrogations of prisoners, and to avoid the area where prisoners were held.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4209595.stm|title=Salvador Option Mooted for Iraq|first=Tom|last=Gibb|work=BBC News|date=January 27, 2005|access-date=March 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110040427/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4209595.stm|archive-date=January 10, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Somalia===
[[File:LocationSomalia.svg|thumb|Location of Somalia]]

CIA sent in teams of Paramilitary Operations Officers into Somalia prior to the [[Unified Task Force|U.S. intervention]] in 1992. On December 23, 1992, Paramilitary Operations Officer [[Intelligence Star#Larry N. Freedman|Larry Freedman]] became the first casualty of the conflict in Somalia. Freedman was a former Army [[Delta Force]] operator who had served in every conflict that the U.S. was involved in, both officially and unofficially, since Vietnam. Freedman was killed while conducting special reconnaissance in advance of the entry of U.S. military forces. His mission was completely voluntary, but it required entry into a very hostile area without any support. Freedman was posthumously awarded the [[Intelligence Star]] on January 5, 1993, for his "extraordinary heroism."<ref>Gup, Ted (2000). ''The Book of Honor: Cover Lives and Classified Deaths at the CIA''.  Doubleday. pp. 2, 286. {{ISBN|978-0385492935}}.</ref>

SAD/SOG teams were key in working with JSOC and tracking [[high-value target]]s (HVT), known as "Tier One Personalities". Their efforts, working under extremely dangerous conditions with little to no support, led to several very successful joint JSOC/CIA operations.<ref name="specialoperations.com">{{cite news |title=The CIA in Somalia |first=Vernon |last=Loeb |author-link=Vernon Loeb |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/50337504.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=After-Action Report (column) |page=W.06 |date=February 27, 2000 |access-date=July 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110112009/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/doc/408590545.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=&author=&pub=&edition=&startpage=&desc= |archive-date=November 10, 2014 }} [http://www.somaliawatch.org/archivejuly/000927601.htm Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040921232439/http://somaliawatch.org/archivejuly/000927601.htm |date=September 21, 2004 }} (Subscription required for the original.)</ref>  In one specific operation, a CIA case officer, Michael Shanklin<ref>{{cite news |title=Confessions of a Hero |first=Vernon |last=Loeb |author-link=Vernon Loeb |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/71934587.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 29, 2001 |page=F.01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110111211/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/doc/409096284.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=&author=&pub=&edition=&startpage=&desc= |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |access-date=July 5, 2013}} [http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/msg66395.html Alt URL] (Subscription required for the original.)</ref> and codenamed "Condor", working with a CIA Technical Operations Officer from the Directorate of Science and Technology, managed to get a cane with a beacon in it to Osman Ato, a wealthy businessman, arms importer, and Mohammed Aideed, a money man whose name was right below [[Mohamed Farrah Aidid]]'s on the Tier One list.

Once Condor confirmed that Ato was in a vehicle, [[JSOC]]'s [[Delta Force]] launched a capture operation.

<blockquote>a [[MH-6 Little Bird|Little Bird]] helicopter dropped out of the sky, and a sniper leaned out and fired three shots into the car's engine block. The car ground to a halt as commandos roped down from hovering [[UH-60 Black Hawk|Blackhawks]] {{sic}}, surrounded the car, and handcuffed Ato. It was the first known helicopter takedown of suspects in a moving car. The next time Jones saw the magic cane, an hour later, Garrison had it in his hand. "I like this cane," Jones remembers the general exclaiming, a big grin on his face. "Let's use this again." Finally, a tier-one personality was in custody.<ref name="specialoperations.com" /></blockquote>

President Bill Clinton withdrew U.S. forces on May 4, 1994.<ref>Patman, R.G. (2001). "Beyond 'the Mogadishu Line': Some Australian Lessons for Managing Intra-State Conflicts," ''Small Wars and Insurgencies'', Vol, 12, No. 1, p. 69</ref>

In June 2006, the [[Islamic Courts Union]] seized control of southern Somalia, including the country's capital [[Mogadishu]], prompting the [[Ethiopian government]] to send in troops to try to protect the transitional government. In December, the Islamic Courts warned Ethiopia they would declare war if Ethiopia did not remove all its troops from Somalia. [[Sheikh Sharif Ahmed]], leader of the Islamic Courts, called for a [[jihad]], or holy war, against Ethiopia and encouraged foreign Muslim fighters to come to Somalia. At that time, the United States accused the group of being controlled by [[al-Qaeda]], but the Islamic Courts denied that charge.<ref name="pbs.org">{{cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june07/somalia_1-10.html |title=NewsHour Extra: U.S. Goes After al-Qaida Suspects in Somalia |website=[[PBS NewsHour]] |publisher=[[PBS]] |date=January 10, 2007 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320054251/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june07/somalia_1-10.html |archive-date=March 20, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, [[PBS]] reported that al-Qaeda had been training terrorists in Somalia for years. Until December 2006, Somalia's government had no power outside of the town of [[Baidoa]], {{convert|150|mi|km}} from the capital. The countryside and the capital were run by warlords and militia groups who could be paid to protect terrorist groups.<ref name="pbs.org" />

CIA officers kept close tabs on the country and paid a group of Somali warlords to help hunt down members of al-Qaeda according to ''[[The New York Times]]''.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} Meanwhile, [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], the deputy to al-Qaeda leader [[Osama bin Laden]], issued a message calling for all Muslims to go to Somalia.<ref name="pbs.org" /> On January 9, 2007, a U.S. official said that ten militants were killed in one airstrike.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-strikes-in-somalia-reportedly-kill-31/|title=U.S. Strikes In Somalia Reportedly Kill 31|date=January 8, 2007|access-date=March 7, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106130616/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/08/world/main2335451.shtml|archive-date=November 6, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

On September 14, 2009, [[Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan]], a senior al-Qaeda leader in East Africa as well as a senior leader in Shabaab, al Qaeda's surrogate in Somalia, was killed by elements of U.S. Special Operations. According to a witness, at least two AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters strafed a two-car convoy. [[Navy SEALs]] then seized the body of Nabhan and took two other wounded fighters captive.<ref name="longwarjournal.org">{{cite web |first=Bill|last=Roggio|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/09/commando_raid_in_som.php |title=Commando raid in Somalia is latest in covert operations across the globe |website=The Long War Journal |date=September 15, 2009 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906084122/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/09/commando_raid_in_som.php |archive-date=September 6, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Bill|last=Roggio|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/09/senior_al_qaeda_lead_7.php |title=Senior al Qaeda leader killed in Somalia |website=The Long War Journal |date=September 14, 2009 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831174807/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/09/senior_al_qaeda_lead_7.php |archive-date=August 31, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> JSOC and the CIA had been trying to kill Nabhan for some time including back in January 2007, when an [[AC-130]] Gunship was called in on one attempt. A U.S. intelligence source stated that CIA paramilitary teams are directly embedded with Ethiopian forces in Somalia, allowing for the tactical intelligence to launch these operations.<ref>{{cite web |first=Bill|last=Roggio|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/01/us_gunship_fires_on.php |title=U.S. Gunship fires on al Qaeda Leader and Operative in Somalia |website=The Long War Journal |date=January 8, 2007 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507173700/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/01/us_gunship_fires_on.php |archive-date=May 7, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nabhan was wanted for his involvement in the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]], as well as leading the cell behind the [[2002 Mombasa attacks]].<ref name="longwarjournal.org" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5AqLm5UW1w |title=Operation Celestial Balance |date=April 9, 2014 |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=September 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526001941/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5AqLm5UW1w |archive-date=May 26, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nabhan's remains were given a [[burial at sea]] following the operation. On September 11, 2020, Admiral [[William H. McRaven|William McRaven]] revealed in an interview with the [[Michael V. Hayden Center|Michael Hayden Center]] that the decision to use burial at sea for the disposition of Osama Bin Laden's body following [[Killing of Osama bin Laden|Operation Neptune Spear]] was a direct result of his experiences in the killing of Nabhan, citing a belief that the chances of operational success were greater if decisions and procedures were made "as routine as possible."<ref>{{Citation|title=The Road to Abbottabad: Ten Years After| date=September 11, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7LbMfyZOZg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211113/d7LbMfyZOZg| archive-date=2021-11-13 | url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-04-12}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

From 2010 to 2013, the CIA set up the Somalia [[National Intelligence and Security Agency]] (NISA) by providing training, funding, and diplomatic access. In the same time period, the EU and UN have spent millions of dollars on the military training of the Somali National Army (SNA). NISA is considered a professional Somali security force that can be relied upon to neutralize the terrorist threat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=27468&tirsan=3|title=Somalia's NISA and CIA: An Effective Partnership Against AlQaeda|access-date=September 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116115916/http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?sid=27468&tirsan=3|archive-date=January 16, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> This force responded to the complex al-Shabaab attack on the Banadir Regional Courthouse in Mogadishu that killed 25 civilians. NISA's response, however, saved hundreds of people and resulted in the death of all the al-Shabaab guerrillas involved.<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/201304160177.html Somalia: Over 25 Dead and 40 Injured in Mogadishu Courthouse Siege] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910214352/http://allafrica.com/stories/201304160177.html |date=September 10, 2013 }}. allAfrica.com (April 15, 2013). Retrieved on 2014-05-24.</ref>

Significant events during this time frame included the targeted drone strikes against British al-Qaida operative [[Bilal el-Berjawi]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/22/british-al-qaida-suspect-drone-somalia|title=British 'al-Qaida member' killed in US drone attack in Somalia|first=Ian|last=Cobain|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=January 22, 2012|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224104954/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/22/british-al-qaida-suspect-drone-somalia|archive-date=December 24, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and Moroccan al-Qaida operative Abu Ibrahim.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/02/moroccan_jihadist.php|title=Moroccan jihadist killed in Somalia airstrike|date=February 24, 2012|access-date=September 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902001143/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/02/moroccan_jihadist.php|archive-date=September 2, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> It also included the rescue of U.S. citizen Jessica Buchanan by U.S. Navy SEALs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-forces-rescue-kidnapped-aid-workers-jessica-buchanan-and-poul-hagen-thisted-in-somalia/2012/01/25/gIQA7WopPQ_story.html|title=Navy SEALs rescue kidnapped aid workers Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted in Somalia|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113030943/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-01-25/world/35441348_1_jessica-buchanan-somalia-report-captors|archive-date=November 13, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> All likely aided by intelligence collection efforts in Somalia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/01/26/US-Somalia-raid-is-shape-of-war-to-come/UPI-27601327601657/|title=U.S. Somalia raid is shape of war to come|work=UPI|access-date=September 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116093729/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/01/26/US-Somalia-raid-is-shape-of-war-to-come/UPI-27601327601657/|archive-date=January 16, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2020, Michael Goodboe, a senior CIA paramilitary officer, was killed in a terrorist attack in [[Mogadishu]], Somalia. Goodboe was a member of [[SEAL Team 6]] prior to serving with the Special Activities Center. He is the most recent star added to the memorial wall at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. At the time of the attack, the U.S. had around 700 troops in Somalia, assisting local forces to defeat [[Al-Shabaab (militant group)|al-Shabaab]], the burgeoning al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group with an estimated 9,000 fighters throughout the region. The terrorist organization has vowed to overthrow the Somali government, which is supported by some 20,000 troops from the African Union.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/us/politics/cia-officer-somalia-death.html|title = C.I.A. Officer is Killed in Somalia|newspaper = The New York Times|date = November 25, 2020|last1 = Barnes|first1 = Julian E.|last2 = Schmitt|first2 = Eric|last3 = Goldman|first3 = Adam}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sofrep.com/news/senior-cia-officer-killed-during-combat-in-somalia/|title=Senior CIA Officer Killed During Combat in Somalia|date=November 28, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://theintercept.com/2020/11/26/somalia-cia-michael-goodboe/ |title = CIA Contractor Dies in Secret U.S. War in Somalia|date = November 26, 2020}}</ref>

===Afghanistan===
[[File:Hamid Karzai and US Special Forces.jpg|thumb|right| [[Hamid Karzai]] with Special Forces and CIA Paramilitary in late 2001.]]
During the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] in the 1980s, Paramilitary Operations Officers were instrumental in equipping [[Mujaheddin]] forces against the [[Soviet Army]]. Although the CIA in general, and a Texas congressman named [[Charles Wilson (Texas politician)|Charlie Wilson]] in particular, have received most of the attention, the key architect of this strategy was [[Michael G. Vickers]]. Vickers was a young Paramilitary Operations Officer from SAD/SOG. The CIA's efforts have been given credit for assisting in ending the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] involvement in [[Afghanistan]].<ref name="Crile 2003">{{cite book |first=George |last=Crile |title=Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0871138545 |url=https://archive.org/details/charliewilsonswa00cril |access-date=August 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103024535/https://archive.org/details/charliewilsonswa00cril |archive-date=January 3, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

SAD paramilitary teams were active in Afghanistan in the 1990s in clandestine operations to locate and kill or capture [[Osama bin Laden]]. These teams planned several operations but did not receive the order to execute from President [[Bill Clinton]] because the available intelligence did not guarantee a successful outcome weighed against the extraordinary risk to the SAD/SOG teams that would execute the mission.<ref name='Coll 2004' /> These efforts did, however, build many of the relationships that would prove essential in 2001 [[U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan]].<ref name='Coll 2004' />

On September 26, 2001, a CIA team code-named "Jawbreaker" led by [[Gary Schroen]], a case officer, with several members from Special Activities Division including Schroen's deputy Philip Reilly, a paramilitary officer, were the first U.S. forces inserted into Afghanistan. The team entered Uzbekistan nine days after the 9/11 attack<ref name="army.mil">{{cite web|url=http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/go0610.pdf|date=October 1, 2006|access-date=January 15, 2018|title=(title not available)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001031543/http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/go0610.pdf|archive-date=October 1, 2006|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore|first1=J. Daniel|title=First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no4/War_on_Terror_9.htm|access-date=September 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115022318/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol49no4/War_on_Terror_9.htm|archive-date=January 15, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and linked up with the [[Northern Alliance]] in its safe haven of the Panjshir Valley as part of Task Force Dagger.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jawbreaker – CIA Special Activities Division|url=http://www.americanspecialops.com/cia-special-operations/jawbreaker/|access-date=September 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108000045/http://www.americanspecialops.com/cia-special-operations/jawbreaker/|archive-date=January 8, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 17, 2001, the eight members of the CIA's Team Alpha<ref>Harnden, Toby, "First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11''. Little, Brown, 2021. pp. 78–79</ref> were inserted into the Darya Suf Valley in two Black Hawk helicopters. Four members of Team Alpha<ref>Harnden, ''First Casualty.'' pp. 60–62{{ISBN?}}</ref> were paramilitary officers from SAD: Alex Hernandez, Scott Spellmeyer, [[Johnny Micheal Spann]], and Andy Hartsog. A fifth, [[Mark Rausenberger]], later became a paramilitary officer; he died on CIA duty in the Philippines in 2016.

The CIA teams  provided the Northern Alliance with resources including millions of dollars in cash to buy weapons and pay local fighters and prepared for the arrival of [[United States Special Operations Command|USSOCOM]] forces. The plan for the invasion of Afghanistan was developed by the CIA, the first time in United States history that such a large-scale military operation was planned by the CIA.<ref name="channel.nationalgeographic.com">{{cite web|url=http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/cia-confidential/4199/Overview |title=CIA Confidential: Hunt for Bin Laden |publisher=National Geographic Channel |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213021137/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/cia-confidential/4199/Overview |archive-date=February 13, 2010 }}</ref> SAD, U.S. Army Special Forces, and the [[Northern Alliance]] combined to overthrow the [[Taliban]] in Afghanistan with minimal loss of U.S. lives. They did this without the use of conventional U.S. military ground forces.<ref name='Coll 2004' /><ref>{{cite book |title=First In: An insiders account of how the CIA spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan |first=Gary |last=Schroen |year=2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A personal account by the CIA's field Commander |first1=Gary |last1=Berntsen |first2=Ralph |last2=Pezzulla |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0307237408 |year=2005 |url=https://archive.org/details/jawbreakerattack00bern }}</ref><ref>Woodward, Bob (2002) ''Bush at War'', Simon & Schuster, Inc.{{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref>

''[[The Washington Post]]'' stated in an editorial by [[John Lehman]] in 2006:

{{quote|What made the Afghan campaign a landmark in the U.S. Military's history is that it was prosecuted by Special Operations forces from all the services, along with Navy and Air Force tactical power, operations by the Afghan Northern Alliance and the CIA were equally important and fully integrated. No large Army or Marine force was employed.<ref>''Washington Post'' editorial, John Lehman former Secretary of the Navy, October 2008</ref>}}

In a 2008 ''New York Times'' book review of ''Horse Soldiers'', a book by [[Doug Stanton]] about the invasion of Afghanistan, [[Bruce Barcott]] wrote:

{{quote|The valor exhibited by Afghan and American soldiers, fighting to free Afghanistan from a horribly cruel regime, will inspire even the most jaded reader. The stunning victory of the horse soldiers – 350 Special Forces soldiers, 100 C.I.A. officers, and 15,000 Northern Alliance fighters routing a Taliban army 50,000 strong – deserves a hallowed place in American military history.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/books/review/Barcott-t.html?pagewanted=2 |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Special Forces |first=Bruce |last=Barcott |date=May 17, 2009 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509053150/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/books/review/Barcott-t.html?pagewanted=2 |archive-date=May 9, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Small and highly agile paramilitary mobile teams spread out over the countryside to meet with locals and gather information about the Taliban and al-Qa'ida. During that time, one of the teams was approached in a village and asked by a young man for help in retrieving his teenage sister. He explained that a senior Taliban official had taken her as a wife and had sharply restricted the time she could spend with her family. The team gave the man a small hand-held tracking device to pass along to his sister, with instructions for her to activate it when the Taliban leader returned home. As a result, the team captured the senior Taliban official and rescued the sister.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/additional-publications/devotion-to-duty/national-clandestine-service-ncs.html National Clandestine Service (NCS) – Central Intelligence Agency] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002041209/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/additional-publications/devotion-to-duty/national-clandestine-service-ncs.html |date=October 2, 2013 }}. Cia.gov. Retrieved on May 24, 2014.</ref>

====Tora Bora====
{{See also|Battle of Tora Bora}}
In December 2001, Special Activities Division and the Army's [[Delta Force]] tracked down [[Osama bin Laden]] in the rugged mountains near the [[Khyber Pass]] in Afghanistan.<ref> Berntsen, Gary (2006). ''The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda'', Three Rivers Press {{ISBN|0307351068}}{{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref>  Former CIA station chief [[Gary Berntsen]], as well as a subsequent Senate investigation, claimed that the combined American special operations task force was largely outnumbered by al-Qaeda forces and that they were denied additional U.S. troops by higher command.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/world/asia/29torabora.html|title=Senate Report Explores 2001 Escape by bin Laden From Afghan Mountains|first=Scott|last=Shane|date=November 28, 2009|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816154436/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/world/asia/29torabora.html|archive-date=August 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>  The task force also requested munitions to block the avenues of egress of bin Laden, but that request was also denied.<ref>Fury, Dalton (2008), ''Kill Bin Laden'', p. 233,{{ISBN?}}</ref>  The SAC team was unsuccessful, and "Bin Laden and bodyguards walked uncontested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area."<ref name="article">{{cite news|last1=Moore|first1=Tina|title=Bush administration could've captured terrorist Osama Bin Laden in December 2001: Senate report|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bush-adminstration-captured-terrorist-osama-bin-laden-december-2001-senate-report-article-1.413991|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York |date=November 29, 2009|access-date=December 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222131541/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bush-adminstration-captured-terrorist-osama-bin-laden-december-2001-senate-report-article-1.413991|archive-date=December 22, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> At Bin Laden's abandoned encampment, the team uncovered evidence that bin Laden's ultimate aim was to obtain and detonate a nuclear device in the United States.<ref name="channel.nationalgeographic.com" />

====Surge====
In September 2009, the CIA planned on "deploying teams of spies, analysts and paramilitary operatives to Afghanistan, part of a broad intelligence 'surge' ordered by President Obama. This will make its station there among the largest in the agency's history."<ref name="greg_miller_surge_p1" /> This presence was expected to surpass the size of the stations in Iraq and Vietnam at the height of those wars.<ref name="greg_miller_surge_p1">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-intel20-2009sep20,0,1183243.story |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=CIA expanding presence in Afghanistan |first=Greg |last=Miller |date=September 20, 2009 |access-date=May 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001192214/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-intel20-2009sep20,0,1183243.story |archive-date=October 1, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> The station was located at the U.S. Embassy in [[Kabul]] and was led "by a veteran with an extensive background in paramilitary operations".<ref name="latimes.com" /> The majority of the CIA's workforce was located among secret bases and military special operations posts throughout the country.<ref name="latimes.com">{{cite news |url=https://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/20/world/fg-afghan-intel20/2 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=CIA expanding presence in Afghanistan |access-date=May 23, 2010 |first=Greg |last=Miller |date=September 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111123352/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/20/world/fg-afghan-intel20/2 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/world/asia/01khost.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=C.I.A. Takes On Bigger and Riskier Role on Front Lines |first=Mark |last=Mazzetti |date=January 1, 2010 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323231316/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/world/asia/01khost.html |archive-date=March 23, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Also, in 2009, General [[Stanley McChrystal]], the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, planned to request an increase in teams of CIA operatives, including their elite paramilitary officers, to join with U.S. military special operations forces. This combination worked well in Iraq and was largely credited with the success of that surge.<ref name="latimes.com" /><ref name="foreignpolicy.com">{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/02/this_week_at_war_send_in_the_spies |title=This Week at War: Send in the Spies |work=Foreign Policy |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429190210/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/02/this_week_at_war_send_in_the_spies |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> There were basically three options described in the media: McChrystal's increased counterinsurgency campaign; a counter-terror campaign using special operations raids and [[unmanned combat air vehicle|drone strikes]]; and withdrawal. The most successful combination in both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq was the linking up of SAD and military special forces to fight alongside highly trained indigenous units. One thing all of these options had in common was a requirement for greater CIA participation.<ref name="foreignpolicy.com" />

====The End Game====
{{update section|date=April 2022}}
According to existing and former intelligence officials, General McChrystal had his own preferred candidate for the Chief of Station (COS) job, a good friend and decorated CIA paramilitary officer.<ref name="cole">{{cite web |last=Cole |first=Matthew |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/hed-cias-influence-wanes-afghanistan-war-intelligence-officials/story?id=9879696 |title=CIA'S Influence Wanes in Afghanistan War, Say Intelligence Officials |publisher=ABC News |date=February 19, 2010 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604101246/http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/hed-cias-influence-wanes-afghanistan-war-intelligence-officials/story?id=9879696 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/karzai-vogel-cia-afghanistan-officer-intelligence-langley-667320|title=The CIA honored the officer who saved Hamid Karzai's life|date=September 18, 2017|work=Newsweek|access-date=April 17, 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417105708/http://www.newsweek.com/karzai-vogel-cia-afghanistan-officer-intelligence-langley-667320|archive-date=April 17, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The officer had extensive experience in war zones, including two previous tours in Afghanistan with one as the Chief of Station, as well as tours in the Balkans, Baghdad and Yemen. He was well known in CIA lore as "the man who saved [[Hamid Karzai]]'s life when the CIA led the effort to oust the Taliban from power in 2001". President Karzai was said to be greatly indebted to this officer and was pleased when the officer was named chief of station again. According to interviews with several senior officials, this officer "was uniformly well-liked and admired. A career paramilitary officer, he came to the CIA after several years in an elite Marine unit".<ref name="cole" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/07/23/ST2010072306082.html?sid=ST2010072306082 |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Greg |last=Jaffe |title=Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's retirement ceremony marked by laughter and regret |date=July 24, 2010 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019042030/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/07/23/ST2010072306082.html?sid=ST2010072306082 |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

General McChrystal's strategy included the lash up of special operations forces from the U.S. Military and from SAC/SOG to duplicate the initial success and the defeat of the Taliban in 2001<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20100625-OPINION-6250362 |title=McChrystal exit must be followed by new strategy |publisher=SeacoastOnline.com |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926125725/http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20100625-OPINION-6250362 |archive-date=September 26, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the success of the "Surge" in Iraq in 2007.<ref>Woodward, Bob. (2008) ''The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006–2008'' Simon and Schuster{{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref>  This strategy proved highly successful and worked very well in Afghanistan with SAC/SOG and JSOC forces conducting raids nearly every night having "superb results" against the enemy.<ref>''Obama's Wars'', Bob Woodward, Simon and Schuster, 2010 p. 355.{{ISBN?}}</ref>

In 2001, the CIA's SAD/SOG began creating what would come to be called Counter-terrorism Pursuit Teams (CTPT).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012971667_wars23.html |work=The Seattle Times |first=Craig |last=Whitlock |title=Book tells of secret CIA teams staging raids into Pakistan |date=September 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222071111/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012971667_wars23.html |archive-date=February 22, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref><ref name="Whitlock2010">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/22/AR2010092206141.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |first1=Craig |last1=Whitlock |first2=Greg |last2=Miller |title=Paramilitary force is key for CIA |date=September 23, 2010 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019042351/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/22/AR2010092206141.html |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>  These units grew to include over 3,000 operatives by 2010 and were involved in sustained heavy fighting against the enemy. It was considered the "best Afghan fighting force."

Located at {{convert|7800|ft|m}} above sea level, Firebase Lilley in [[Shkin, Paktika|Shkin]] served as a "nerve center for the covert war."<ref name="Whitlock2010" /> This covert war included being a hub for these CTPT operations, with Firebase Lilley being just one in a constellation of CIA bases across Afghanistan.<ref name="Whitlock2010" /> These units were not only highly effective in combat operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces but were also used to engage with the tribes in areas with no other official government presence.<ref>''Obama's Wars'', Bob Woodward, Simon and Schuster, 2010 p. 8</ref>

This covert war also included a large SOG/CTPT expansion into Pakistan to target senior al-Qaeda and Taliban leadership in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA).<ref>''Obama's Wars'', Bob Woodward, Simon and Schuster, 2010 p. 367</ref> CTPT units are the main effort in both the "Counter-terrorism plus" and the full "Counterinsurgency" options being discussed by the Obama administration in the December 2010 review.<ref>''Obama's Wars'', Bob Woodward, Simon and Schuster, 2010 p. 160</ref> SOG/CTPT are also key to any exit strategy for the U.S. government to leave Afghanistan, while still being able to deny al-Qaeda and other trans-national extremists groups a safe haven both in Afghanistan and in the FATA of Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704201604575373253893718806.html |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |first=Jack |last=Devine |title=The CIA Solution for Afghanistan |date=July 29, 2010 |access-date=March 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509023957/http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704201604575373253893718806.html |archive-date=May 9, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2013, a CIA drone strike killed Mullah Nazir, a senior Taliban commander in the South Waziristan area of Pakistan believed responsible for carrying out the insurgent effort against the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Nazir's death degraded the Taliban.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/01/good_taliban_leader_1.php|title='Good Taliban' leader Mullah Nazir killed in US drone strike|date=January 3, 2013|access-date=September 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901231115/http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/01/good_taliban_leader_1.php|archive-date=September 1, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

The U.S. decided to lean heavily on CIA in general, and SAC specifically in their efforts to withdraw from Afghanistan as it did in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-digs-in-as-americans-withdraw-from-iraq-afghanistan/2012/02/07/gIQAFNJTxQ_story.html |title=CIA digs in as Americans withdraw from Iraq, Afghanistan|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019042353/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-digs-in-as-americans-withdraw-from-iraq-afghanistan/2012/02/07/gIQAFNJTxQ_story.html|archive-date=October 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> There are plans being considered to have several U.S. Military special operations elements assigned to CIA after the withdrawal. If so, there would still be a chance to rebuild and assist and coordinate (with Afghan ANSF commandos) and continue to keep a small footprint while allowing free elections and pushing back the Taliban/AQ forces that have failed but continue to attempt their taking back parts of the country, as they have had between 2015 through 2016.<ref>[http://www.armytimes.com/article/20120303/NEWS/203030304/CIA-could-control-forces-in-Stan-after-2014 CIA could control forces in 'Stan after 2014 | Army Times]. armytimes.com. Retrieved on May 24, 2014.</ref>

The Trump administration doubled down on the covert war in Afghanistan by increasing the number of paramilitary officers from SAD fighting alongside and leading the Afghan ''CTPT's'', supported by ''Omega Teams'' from JSOC. Combined they are considered the most effective units in Afghanistan and the linchpin of the counter insurgency and counter-terrorism effort. The war has been largely turned over to SAC.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/world/asia/cia-expanding-taliban-fight-afghanistan.html |title=A Newly Assertive C.I.A. Expands Its Taliban Hunt in Afghanistan |first1=Thomas |last1=Gibbons-Neff |first2=Eric |last2=Schmitt |first3=Adam |last3=Goldman |date=October 22, 2017 |access-date=January 15, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115124733/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/world/asia/cia-expanding-taliban-fight-afghanistan.html |archive-date=January 15, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> On October 21, 2016, two senior paramilitary officers, ''[[Brian Hoke]]'' and ''Nate Delemarre'', were killed during a CTPT operation in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The two longtime friends were killed fighting side-by-side against the Taliban and buried next to each other at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/asia/cia-afghanistan-war.html|title=A Funeral of 2 Friends: C.I.A. Deaths Rise in Secret Afghan War|first1=Adam|last1=Goldman|first2=Matthew|last2=Rosenberg|date=September 6, 2017|access-date=January 15, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107175023/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/world/asia/cia-afghanistan-war.html|archive-date=January 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' reported in March 2020 that during the Trump administration's negotiations with the Taliban on the peace agreement, several advocated for an increase in CIA paramilitary capability as the U.S. Military reduced its capability to compensate for that reduction.
The shift to a bigger role by the CIA was adamantly opposed by the [[Taliban]], who threatened to withdraw from the talks. As a result, the idea was shelved. Many existing and former officials believed finding a way for the CIA and its paramilitary forces to continue to work with a new Afghan government was critical to the long-term survival of the deal and the counter-terrorism efforts in the region.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/world/asia/afghanistan-war-troops-cia.html|title = Afghanistan War Enters New Stage as U.S. Military Prepares to Exit|newspaper = The New York Times|date = March 2020|last1 = Barnes|first1 = Julian E.|last2 = Gibbons-Neff|first2 = Thomas|last3 = Schmitt|first3 = Eric}}</ref>

===Yemen===
On November 5, 2002, a missile launched from a CIA-controlled [[General Atomics MQ-1 Predator|Predator]] drone killed [[al-Qaeda]] members traveling in a remote area in Yemen. SAD/SOG paramilitary teams had been on the ground tracking their movements for months and called in this air strike.<ref name="timesonline.co.uk">{{cite news|last1=Rufford|first1=Nicholas|last2=Allen-Mills|first2=Tony|last3=Ben Hirsi|first3=Bader|date=November 10, 2002|title=Al-Qaeda stalked by the Predator|newspaper=[[The Times]]|location=London|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/al-qaeda-stalked-by-the-predator-cj3xd7k7pg3|url-access=subscription|access-date=March 27, 2010}}</ref>  One of those in the car was Ali Qaed Senyan al-Harthi, al-Qaeda's chief operative in Yemen and a suspect in the October 2000 bombing of the destroyer {{USS|Cole|DDG-67|6}}. Five other people, believed to be low-level al-Qaeda members, were also killed including an American named [[Kamal Derwish]].<ref name="usatoday.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002-11-04-yemen-explosion_x.htm |title=U.S. kills al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen |work=USA Today |date=November 5, 2002 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191737/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002-11-04-yemen-explosion_x.htm |archive-date=August 12, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012604239_2.html?sid=ST2010012700394 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=March 30, 2010 |title=U.S. military teams, intelligence deeply involved in aiding Yemen on strikes |first=Dana |last=Priest |date=January 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604152031/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012604239_2.html?sid=ST2010012700394 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>  Former Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary [[Paul Wolfowitz]] called it "a very successful tactical operation" and said "such strikes are useful not only in killing terrorists but in forcing al-Qaeda to change its tactics".<ref name="usatoday.com"/>

"It's an important step that has been taken in that it has eliminated another level of experienced leadership from al-Qaeda," said [[Vince Cannistraro]], former head of counter-terrorism for the CIA and current [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] consultant. "It will help weaken the organization and make it much less effective."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=755961 |title=Exclusive: CIA Aircraft Kills Terrorist |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=May 13, 2005 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401063558/http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=755961 |archive-date=April 1, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-predator/ | work=CBS News | title=The Predator | date=January 7, 2003 | access-date=March 29, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228212527/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/07/60II/main535569.shtml | archive-date=February 28, 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref>  Harithi was on the run, pursued by several security forces who were looking for him and Muhammad Hamdi al-Ahdal, another suspect in the [[USS Cole bombing|USS ''Cole'' bombing]] case.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2402479.stm |title=CIA 'killed al-Qaeda suspects' in Yemen |work=BBC News |date=November 5, 2002 |access-date=January 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222081433/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2402479.stm |archive-date=December 22, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2009, the Obama administration authorized continued lethal operations in Yemen by the CIA.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012604239.html |newspaper=The Washington Post | access-date=March 30, 2010 | title=U.S. military teams, intelligence deeply involved in aiding Yemen on strikes | first=Dana | last=Priest | date=January 27, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820231758/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012604239.html | archive-date=August 20, 2010 | url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, the SAD/SOG and JSOC joined together to aggressively target al-Qaeda operatives in that country, both through leading Yemenese special forces and intelligence-driven drone strikes.<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/>  A major target of these operations was [[Imam]] [[Anwar al-Aulaqi|Anwar al-Awlaki]], an American citizen with ties to both [[Nidal Hasan]], the convicted Fort Hood attacker, and [[Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab]], the Christmas 2009 attempted bomber of Northwest Airline flight 253.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/dec/30/abdulmutallab-plane-bomber-awlaki | newspaper=The Guardian | title=Al-Awlaki, a new public enemy | date=December 30, 2009 | access-date=March 27, 2010 | first=Zahed | last=Amanullah | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908183216/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/dec/30/abdulmutallab-plane-bomber-awlaki | archive-date=September 8, 2013 | url-status=live }}</ref> Imam al-Awlaki was killed on September 30, 2011, by an air attack carried out by the Joint Special Operations Command.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8799295/Same-US-military-unit-that-got-Osama-bin-laden-killed-Anwar-al-Awlaki.html|title=Same US military unit that got Osama bin laden killed Anwar al-Awlaki|date=September 30, 2011|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=April 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216215839/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8799295/Same-US-military-unit-that-got-Osama-bin-laden-killed-Anwar-al-Awlaki.html|archive-date=February 16, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 31, 2020, ''The New York Times'' reported that three U.S. officials "expressed confidence" that [[Qasim al-Raymi]], the emir of [[Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula|AQAP]] was killed by the CIA on January 25,<ref name="Katz">{{cite tweet |user=Rita_Katz |last=Katz |first=Rita |number=1222992762120949760 |date=January 30, 2020 |title=Breaking: It appears that Qasim al-Rimi, leader of the Yemen-based #AQAP, was the individual targeted & killed in a U.S. drone strike on Saturday, January 25 in Wadi Ubaidah, east of #Sanaa – a longtime stronghold for the group. AQAP has yet to officially confirm his death. }}</ref> in [[Al Abdiyah District]], [[Ma'rib Governorate]], Yemen. For more than five years, al-Raymi eluded U.S. forces as he led what experts referred to as al-Qaida's "most dangerous franchise." Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense [[Mick Mulroy]] said, if confirmed, his death would be "very significant." Al-Raymi was the target of the January 29, 2017, special operations raid in which [[Navy SEAL]] [[William Owens (Navy SEAL)|Ryan Owens]] was killed. "The U.S. never forgets," Mulroy said.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/world/middleeast/qaeda-yemen-alrimi.html|title=U.S. Strikes at Leader of Qaeda in Yemen|last1=Callimachi|first1=Rukmini|date=January 31, 2020|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 31, 2020|last2=Schmitt|first2=Eric|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|last3=Barnes|first3=Julian E.}}</ref> ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' also reported al-Raymi attempted to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day 2009. U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] appeared to confirm reports that the U.S. had killed al-Raymi, by retweeting reports claiming that the CIA had conducted the strike.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/01/trump-qassim-al-rimi-al-qaeda-yemen-110172|title=Trump appears to confirm killing of al Qaeda leader in Yemen via retweet|first=Evan|last=Semones|website=Politico|date=February 2020 }}</ref> Experts considered him a possible successor to [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], the leader of al-Qaeda overall.<ref name="auto5"/>

===Iraq===
{{See also|Operation Viking Hammer}}
[[File:Biyara.jpg|thumb|The village of Biyara and Base of Ansar al-Islam 2001–2003]]
SAD paramilitary teams entered Northern Iraq before the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 invasion]]. Once on the ground, they prepared the battlespace for the subsequent arrival of U.S. military forces. SAD teams then combined with U.S. Army special forces (on a team called the Northern Iraq Liaison Element or NILE).<ref name='Woodward 2004' /> This team organized the [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] [[Peshmerga]] for the subsequent U.S.-led invasion. This joint team combined in [[Operation Viking Hammer]] to defeat [[Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan|Ansar al-Islam]], an [[Islamist]] group allied to al-Qaeda, which several battle-hardened fighters from Afghanistan had joined after the fall of the Taliban, in a battle for control over the northeast of Iraq—a battle that turned out being one of the "most intense battles of Special Forces since Vietnam."<ref name="usnews.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/041018/18excerpt.htm |title=A firefight in the mountains: Operation Viking Hammer was one for the record books |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113021059/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/041018/18excerpt.htm |archive-date=November 13, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> This battle was for an entire territory that was completely occupied by Ansar al-Islam and was executed prior to the invasion in February 2003. If this battle had not been as successful as it was, there would have been a considerable hostile force in the rear of the U.S./secular Kurdish force in the subsequent assault on the Iraqi Army to the south. The U.S. side was represented by paramilitary operations officers from SAD/SOG and the Army's [[10th Special Forces Group (United States)|10th Special Forces Group]] (10th SFG). 10th SFG soldiers were awarded three Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars with V for valor for this battle alone<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/041018/18excerpt_3.htm |title=A firefight in the mountains: Operation Viking Hammer was one for the record books |work=U.S. News & World Report |date=March 28, 2004 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113031808/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/041018/18excerpt_3.htm |archive-date=November 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and several paramilitary officers were awarded the [[Intelligence Star]] for valor in combat.<ref name="Cia.gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-54-no.-2/operation-hotel-california-the-clandestine-war.html |title=Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq |publisher=Cia.gov |date=July 2, 2010 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223225611/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-54-no.-2/operation-hotel-california-the-clandestine-war.html |archive-date=December 23, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This battle was a significant direct attack and victory on a key U.S. opponent. It resulted in the deaths of a substantial number of militants and the uncovering of a crude laboratory that had traces of poisons and information on [[chemical weapons]] at Sargat.<ref name='Woodward 2004' /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/bal-war-alqaida0427,0,6905417,full.story |title=Militants' crude camp casts doubt on U.S. claims |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |first=Jeffrey |last=Fleishman |date=April 27, 2003 |access-date=July 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605181730/http://www.latimes.com/news/bal-war-alqaida0427,0,6905417,full.story |archive-date=June 5, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The team found foreign identity cards, visas, and passports on the enemy bodies. They had come from a wide variety of Middle Eastern and North African countries, including Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Tunisia, Morocco, and Iran.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Sargat was also the only facility that had traces of chemical weapons discovered in the Iraq war.<ref name='Tucker 2008' /><ref name="Cia.gov" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wamu.org/audio/dr/08/10/r2081007-22101.asx |title=An interview on public radio with the author |publisher=WAMU radio |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930081326/http://wamu.org/audio/dr/08/10/r2081007-22101.asx |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref>

In a 2004 ''U.S. News & World Report'' article, "A firefight in the mountains," the author states:

<blockquote>Viking Hammer would go down in the annals of Special Forces history&nbsp;– a battle fought on foot, under sustained fire from an enemy lodged in the mountains, and with minimal artillery and air support.<ref name="ReferenceB" /></blockquote>

SAD/SOG teams also conducted high-risk special reconnaissance missions behind Iraqi lines to identify senior leadership targets. These missions led to the initial assassination attempts against [[Iraqi President]] [[Saddam Hussein]] and his key generals. Although the initial [[air strike]] against Hussein was unsuccessful in killing the dictator, it was successful in effectively ending his ability to command and control his forces. Other strikes against key generals were successful and significantly degraded the command's ability to react to and maneuver against the U.S.-led invasion force.<ref name='Woodward 2004' /><ref>"Behind lines, an unseen war," Faye Bowers, ''Christian Science Monitor'', April 2003.</ref> SAD operations officers were also successful in convincing key Iraqi Army officers to surrender their units once the fighting started and/or not to oppose the invasion force.<ref name='Tucker 2008' />

NATO member Turkey refused to allow its territory to be used by the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division for the invasion. As a result, the SAD/SOG, U.S. Army special forces joint teams, the Kurdish Peshmerga, and the [[173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team|173d Airborne Brigade]] were the entire northern force against the Iraqi Army during the invasion. Their efforts kept the 13 divisions of the Iraqi Army in place to defend against the Kurds rather than allowing them to contest the coalition force coming from the south.<ref name="usnews.com" /> This combined U.S. special operations and Kurdish force defeated the Iraqi Army.<ref name='Woodward 2004' /> Four members of the SAD/SOG team received CIA's rare [[Intelligence Star]] for "extraordinary heroism".<ref name='Tucker 2008' />

The mission that captured Saddam Hussein was called "[[Operation Red Dawn]]." It was planned and carried out by JSOC's Delta Force and SAD/SOG teams (together called [[Task Force 121]]). The operation eventually included around 600 soldiers from the 1st Brigade of the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th Infantry Division]].<ref name="Iraq War 2004">'Black ops' shine in Iraq War, ''VFW'' Magazine, Feb 2004, Tim Dyhouse.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/14/sprj.irq.saddam.operation/index.html?iref=newssearch|title=Saddam 'caught like a rat' in a hole|date=December 15, 2003|publisher=CNN.com|access-date=March 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423075224/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/14/sprj.irq.saddam.operation/index.html?iref=newssearch|archive-date=April 23, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Special operations troops probably numbered around 40. Much of the publicity and credit for the capture went to the 4th Infantry Division soldiers, but CIA and JSOC were the driving force. "Task Force 121 were actually the ones who pulled Saddam out of the hole" said Robert Andrews, former deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict. "They can't be denied a role anymore."<ref name="Iraq War 2004" />

CIA paramilitary teams continued to assist JSOC in Iraq, and in 2007, the combination created a lethal force many credit with having a major impact in the success of "[[Iraq War troop surge of 2007|the Surge]]". They did this by killing or capturing many of the key al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq.<ref name='Woodward 2008'>Woodward, Bob. (2008) ''The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006–2008''. Simon and Schuster</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://us.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/09/iraq.secret/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=March 30, 2010 |title=Secret killing program is key in Iraq, Woodward says |date=September 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818191322/http://us.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/09/09/iraq.secret/index.html |archive-date=August 18, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> In a [[CBS]] ''[[60 Minutes]]'' interview, [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning journalist [[Bob Woodward]] described a new special operations capability that allowed for this success. This capability was developed by the joint teams of CIA and JSOC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns_3VpOEkzM |title=Bob Woodward "60 Minutes" Highlights |publisher=YouTube |date=September 7, 2008 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201145452/http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=ns_3VpOEkzM |archive-date=February 1, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Several senior U.S. officials stated that the "joint efforts of JSOC and CIA paramilitary units was the most significant contributor to the defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq".<ref name='Woodward 2008' /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104561441 |title=New U.S. Commander In Afghanistan To Be Tested |newspaper=NPR.org |publisher=NPR |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628214428/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104561441 |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Zembiec-fallujah.jpg|thumb|Douglas A. Zembiec, also known as the "Lion of Fallujah"]]
In May 2007, Marine Major [[Douglas A. Zembiec]] was serving in SAD/SOG Ground Branch in Iraq when he was killed by small arms fire while leading a raid with Iraq Special Forces.<ref name="ciaaffiliation">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iconic-marine-maj-zembiec-the-lion-of-fallujah-died-in-the-service-of-the-cia/2014/07/15/71501d2c-0b77-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html |title=Legendary Marine Maj. Zembiec, the 'Lion of Fallujah,' died in the service of the CIA |first=Thomas |last=Gibbons-Neff |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 15, 2014 |access-date=July 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716151708/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iconic-marine-maj-zembiec-the-lion-of-fallujah-died-in-the-service-of-the-cia/2014/07/15/71501d2c-0b77-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html |archive-date=July 16, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=StarsandStripes_Warden_20080202>{{cite news|url=http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59579&archive=true|work=Stars and Stripes|title=Helipad renamed to honor Marine|first=James|last=Warden|date=February 2, 2008|access-date=September 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011213154/https://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59579&archive=true|archive-date=October 11, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Reports from fellow paramilitary officers stated that the flash radio report sent was "five wounded and one martyred".<ref name=NYT_Rubin_20080201>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast&oref=slogin|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Alissa J.|last=Rubin|author-link=Alissa J. Rubin|date=February 1, 2008|title=Comrades Speak of Fallen Marine and Ties That Bind|access-date=February 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811034318/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast&oref=slogin|archive-date=August 11, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Major Zembiec was killed while trying to protect his soldiers, who were members of the Iraqi Army. He was honored with an Intelligence Star for his valor in combat.<ref name="ciaaffiliation" />

On October 26, 2008, SAD/SOG and [[JSOC]] conducted an operation in Syria targeting the "foreign fighter [[logistics]] network" bringing al-Qaeda operatives into Iraq (See [[2008 Abu Kamal raid]]).<ref>{{cite news|title=US choppers attack Syrian village near Iraq border |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/26/africa/26syria-fw.php |work=International Herald Tribune |date=October 26, 2008 |access-date=October 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029044500/http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/26/africa/26syria-fw.php |archive-date=October 29, 2008 }}</ref> A U.S. source told [[CBS News]] that "the leader of the foreign fighters, an [[al-Qaeda]] officer, was the target of Sunday's cross-border raid." He said the attack was successful, but did not say whether the al-Qaeda officer was killed.<ref name=cbs>{{cite news|title=Syria: U.S. Attack Kills 8 In Border Area: Helicopters Raid Farm In Syrian Village; Al Qaeda Officer Was Target Of Rare Cross-Border attack|url= https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/26/world/main4546279.shtml?tag=topStory;topStoryHeadline|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120731181647/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/26/world/main4546279.shtml?tag=topStory;topStoryHeadline|url-status= dead|archive-date= July 31, 2012|publisher=CBS News|date=October 26, 2008|access-date=October 26, 2008}}</ref> [[Fox News]] later reported that Abu Ghadiya, "al-Qa'ida's senior coordinator operating in Syria", was killed in the attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,444199,00.html|title=U.S. Official: Unclear If Al Qaeda Coordinator Killed in Syria Raid|work=Fox News|access-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081028161019/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C444199%2C00.html|archive-date=October 28, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' reported that, during the raid, U.S. forces killed several armed males who "posed a threat".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/world/middleeast/28syria.html|title=Officials Say U.S. Killed an Iraqi in Raid in Syria|first1=Eric|last1=Schmitt|first2=Thom|last2=Shanker|date=October 27, 2008|access-date=January 15, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116081249/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/world/middleeast/28syria.html|archive-date=January 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2014, with the rise of the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]], the U.S. government began aggressive military operations against them in both Iraq and Syria. SAD Ground Branch was placed in charge of the ground war.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-us-boots-are-already-on-the-ground-in-iraq-and-syria/2014/09/16/4fd35ace-3de5-11e4-b0ea-8141703bbf6f_story.html|title=David Ignatius: U.S. boots are already on the ground against the Islamic State|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019070751/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-us-boots-are-already-on-the-ground-in-iraq-and-syria/2014/09/16/4fd35ace-3de5-11e4-b0ea-8141703bbf6f_story.html|archive-date=October 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> This is a testament to SAD being the preeminent force for unconventional warfare and their long-standing relationship with the most effective fighting force in the region, the Kurdish [[Peshmerga]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-giving-aid-to-iraqi-kurds-battling-islamic-state-or-isis-1407777223|title=U.S. Giving Aid to Iraqi Kurds Battling Islamic State, or ISIS|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|author=Dion Nissenbaumm, Joe Parkinson|date=August 11, 2014|access-date=March 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027125605/http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-giving-aid-to-iraqi-kurds-battling-islamic-state-or-isis-1407777223|archive-date=October 27, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Pakistan===
{{See also|CIA activities in Pakistan|Drone attacks in Pakistan}}
[[File:MQ-9 Reaper in flight (2007).jpg|right|thumb|[[MQ-9 Reaper]]]]
SAD/SOG has been very active "on the ground" inside Pakistan targeting al-Qaeda operatives for [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle]] (UAV) [[Predator UAV|Predator]] strikes and along with USSOCOM elements they have been training Pakistani paramilitary troops and regular Army troops, they have also done HVT target missions alongside Pakistani special forces.<ref>"Secret U.S. Unit Trains Commandos in Pakistan," Eric Schmit and Jane Perlez, ''The New York Times'', February 22, 2009</ref> Before leaving office, President [[George W. Bush]] authorized SAD's successful killing of eight senior al-Qaeda operatives via targeted air strikes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2009/01/unleashed-cia-zapped-8-qaeda-l.html |location=New York |work=Daily News |title=Unleashed CIA Zapped 8 Qaeda Lieutenants Since July |date=January 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531173541/http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2009/01/unleashed-cia-zapped-8-qaeda-l.html |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref> Among those killed were the mastermind of a 2006 plot to detonate explosives aboard planes flying across the Atlantic [[Rashid Rauf]] and the man thought to have planned the [[Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing]] on September 20, 2008, that killed 53 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3500341/British-terror-mastermind-Rashid-Rauf-killed-in-US-missile-strike.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=British terror mastermind Rashid Rauf 'killed in US missile strike' |first=Andrew |last=Alderson |date=November 22, 2008 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126004001/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3500341/British-terror-mastermind-Rashid-Rauf-killed-in-US-missile-strike.html |archive-date=November 26, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Washington |first=The |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/16/us-strikes-home-in-on-al-qaeda-kill-8-leaders/ |title=U.S. strikes more precise on al Qaeda |work=Washington Times |date=January 16, 2009 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427034249/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/16/us-strikes-home-in-on-al-qaeda-kill-8-leaders/ |archive-date=April 27, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The CIA Director authorized the continuation of these operations and on January 23, SAD/SOG performed killings of 20 individuals in northwestern Pakistan that were terrorists. Some experts assess that the CIA Director – at that time [[Leon Panetta]] – has been more aggressive in conducting paramilitary operations in Pakistan than his predecessor.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704130904574644132628157104?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |title=The Meaning of al Qaeda's Double Agent |date=January 7, 2010 |access-date=August 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011213154/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704130904574644132628157104?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular |archive-date=October 11, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> A Pakistani security official stated that other strikes killed at least 10 insurgents, including five foreign nationals and possibly "a high-value target" such as a senior al-Qaeda or Taliban official.<ref>"U.S. missile strikes signal Obama tone: Attacks in Pakistan kill 20 at suspected terror hideouts," by R. Jeffrey Smith, Candace Rondeaux, Joby Warrick, ''Washington Post'', January 24, 2009</ref> On February 14, the CIA drone killed 27 taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in a missile strike in south [[Waziristan]], a militant stronghold near the Afghan border where al-Qaeda leaders [[Osama bin Laden]] and [[Ayman al-Zawahri]] were believed to be hiding.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,492944,00.html|title=Pakistan: Suspected U.S. Missile Strike Kills 27|work=Fox News|access-date=February 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215193156/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,492944,00.html|archive-date=February 15, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

According to the documentary film ''Drone'', by Tonje Schei, since 2002 the [[U.S. Air Force]] [[17th Reconnaissance Squadron]] has been working for the CIA as "customer", carrying out at least some of the armed missions in Pakistan.<ref name=guardian-20140414>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/14/cia-drones-pakistan-us-air-force-documentary |title=CIA's Pakistan drone strikes carried out by regular US air force personnel |first=Chris |last=Woods |newspaper=The Guardian |date=April 14, 2014 |access-date=April 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217182529/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/14/cia-drones-pakistan-us-air-force-documentary |archive-date=February 17, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a [[NPR|National Public Radio]] (NPR) report dated February 3, 2008, a senior official stated that al-Qaeda has been "decimated" by SAD/SOG's air and ground operations. This senior U.S. counter-terrorism official goes on to say, "The enemy is really, really struggling. These attacks have produced the broadest, deepest, and most rapid reduction in al-Qaida senior leadership that we've seen in several years."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100160836|title=U.S. Officials: Al-Qaida Leadership Cadre 'Decimated'|website=npr.org|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116081413/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100160836|archive-date=January 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>  President Obama's CIA Director [[Leon Panetta]] stated that SAD/SOG's efforts in Pakistan have been "the most effective weapon" against senior al-Qaeda leadership.<ref>CIA Pakistan Campaign is Working Director Say, [[Mark Mazzetti]] and Helene Cooper, The New York Times, February 26, 2009, p. A15.</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Gerstein |first=Josh |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/us_world/Panetta_warns_against_politicization.html?extpar=polit |title=CIA Director Panetta Warns Against Politicization |publisher=NBC New York |access-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref>

These covert attacks have increased significantly under President Obama, with as many at 50 al-Qaeda militants being killed in the month of May 2009 alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090516/ts_nm/us_pakistan_missile|title=(title not available)|access-date=May 23, 2009 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/world/asia/17pstan.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=25 Militants Are Killed in Attack in Pakistan |date=May 17, 2009 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609011951/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/world/asia/17pstan.html |archive-date=June 9, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/23/AR2010042303346.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Leon Panetta gets the CIA back on its feet |first=David |last=Ignatius |date=April 25, 2010 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019071923/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/23/AR2010042303346.html |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2009, sixty Taliban fighters were killed while at a funeral to bury fighters that had been killed in previous CIA attacks.<ref>"Airstrikes Kill Dozens of Insurgents," Joby Warrick, ''Washington Post'', June 24, 2009</ref>  On July 22, 2009, [[National Public Radio]] reported that U.S. officials believe [[Saad bin Laden]], a son of Osama bin Laden, was killed by a CIA strike in Pakistan. Saad bin Laden spent years under house arrest in Iran before traveling last year to [[Pakistan]], according to former National Intelligence Director [[John Michael McConnell|Mike McConnell]]. It's believed he was killed sometime in 2009. A senior U.S. counter-terrorism said U.S. intelligence agencies are "80 to 85 percent" certain that Saad bin Laden is dead.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bin Laden Son Reported Killed In Pakistan |first=Mary Louise |last=Kelly |publisher=NPR.org |date=July 22, 2009 |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106903109 |access-date=April 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727212245/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106903109 |archive-date=July 27, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On August 6, 2009, the CIA announced that [[Baitullah Mehsud]] was killed by a SAD/SOG drone strike in Pakistan.<ref name=Mazzetti-Schmitt>{{cite news|author=[[Mark Mazzetti]], [[Eric P. Schmitt]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/world/asia/07pstan.html|title=C.I.A. Missile Strike May Have Killed Pakistan's Taliban Leader, Officials Say|date=August 6, 2009|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414011954/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/world/asia/07pstan.html|archive-date=April 14, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' said, "Although [[Barack Obama|President Obama]] has distanced himself from many of the Bush administration's counter-terrorism policies, he has embraced and even expanded the C.I.A.'s covert campaign in Pakistan using Predator and Reaper drones."<ref name=Mazzetti-Schmitt />  The biggest loss may be to "Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida." For the past eight years, al-Qaeda had depended on Mehsud for protection after Mullah [[Mullah Omar|Mohammed Omar]] fled Afghanistan in late 2001. "Mehsud's death means the tent sheltering Al Qaeda has collapsed," an Afghan Taliban intelligence officer who had met Mehsud many times told [[Newsweek]]. "Without a doubt he was Al Qaeda's No. 1 guy in Pakistan," adds Mahmood Shah, a retired Pakistani Army brigadier and a former chief of the Federally Administered Tribal Area, or [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas|FATA]], Mehsud's base.<ref>{{cite web |title=The End of Al Qaeda? |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/210970 |author1=Moreau, Ron |author2=Yousafzai, Sami |name-list-style=amp |work=Newsweek |date=August 7, 2009 |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809150929/http://www.newsweek.com/id/210970 |archive-date=August 9, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Airstrikes from CIA drones struck targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan on September 8, 2009. Reports stated that seven to ten militants were killed to include one top al-Qaida leader. He was Mustafa al-Jaziri, an Algerian national described as an "important and effective" leader and senior military commander for al-Qaida. The success of these operations is believed to have caused senior Taliban leaders to significantly alter their operations and cancel key planning meetings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/09/09/Airstrike-forces-Taliban-to-cancel-meeting/UPI-23481252514927/ |title=Airstrike forces Taliban to cancel meeting |publisher=UPI.com |date=September 9, 2009 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021025553/http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/09/09/Airstrike-forces-Taliban-to-cancel-meeting/UPI-23481252514927/ |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>"Suspected US drone killed up to 10 in Pakistan", Haji Mujtaba, Reuters.com, September 8.<!-- year? --></ref>

The CIA also increased its campaign using Predator missile strikes on [[al-Qaeda]] in Pakistan. The number of strikes in 2009 exceeded the 2008 total, according to data compiled by the Long War Journal, which tracks strikes in Pakistan.<ref name="latimes.com" /> In December 2009, ''The New York Times'' reported that President Obama ordered an expansion of the drone program with senior officials describing the program as "a resounding success, eliminating key terrorists and throwing their operations into disarray".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/world/asia/04drones.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=C.I.A. to Expand Use of Drones in Pakistan |first=Scott |last=Shane |date=December 4, 2009 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228010913/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/world/asia/04drones.html |archive-date=February 28, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>  The article also cites a Pakistani official who stated that about 80 missile attacks in less than two years have killed "more than 400" enemy fighters, a number lower than most estimates but in the same range. His account of collateral damage was strikingly lower than many unofficial counts: "We believe the number of civilian casualties is just over 20, and those were people who were either at the side of major terrorists or were at facilities used by terrorists."<ref name="ReferenceA" />

On December 6, 2009, a senior [[al-Qaeda]] operative, Saleh al-Somali, was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan. He was responsible for their operations outside of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and formed part of the senior leadership. Al-Somali was engaged in plotting terrorist acts around the world and "given his central role, this probably included plotting attacks against the United States and Europe".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/Terrorism/al-qaeda-operations-planner-saleh-al-somali-believed/story?id=9314585 |title=Al Qaeda Operations Planner Saleh Al-Somali Believed Dead in Drone Strike |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=December 11, 2009 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201181349/http://abcnews.go.com/International/Terrorism/al-qaeda-operations-planner-saleh-al-somali-believed/story?id=9314585 |archive-date=February 1, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/10/senior-al-qaida-member-ki_n_387699.html |title=Saleh al-Somali, Senior al-Qaida Member, Reportedly Killed In Drone Attack |website=[[The Huffington Post]] |date=February 8, 2009 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |first=Nick |last=Sabloff |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108054209/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/10/senior-al-qaida-member-ki_n_387699.html |archive-date=November 8, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> On December 31, 2009, senior Taliban leader and strong Haqqani ally Haji Omar Khan, brother of [[Arif Khan (warlord)|Arif Khan]], was killed in the strike along with the son of local tribal leader Karim Khan.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/31/pakistan.drone.strike/ Suspected drone attack kills 3 in Pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019163430/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/31/pakistan.drone.strike/ |date=October 19, 2012 }}, [[CNN]], December 31, 2009</ref>

In January 2010, al-Qaeda in Pakistan announced that [[Lashkar al-Zil]] leader Abdullah Said al Libi was killed in a drone missile strike. Neither al-Qaeda nor the U.S. has revealed the date of the attack that killed Libi.<ref>Roggio, Bill, ''Long War Journal'', January 7, 2010.</ref> On January 14, 2010, subsequent to the suicide attack at [[Camp Chapman]], the CIA located and killed the senior Taliban leader in Pakistan, [[Hakimullah Mehsud]]. Mehsud had claimed responsibility in a video he made with the suicide bomber [[Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi]].<ref name="Mehsud">{{cite news |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/hakimullah_mehsud/index.html |title=Hakimullah Mehsud |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 1, 2010 |first=Carlotta |last=Gall |access-date=May 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213024114/http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/hakimullah_mehsud/index.html |archive-date=February 13, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On February 5, 2010, the Pakistani [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI) and CIA's SAD/SOG conducted a joint raid and apprehended [[Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar]]. Baradar was the most significant Taliban figure to be detained since the beginning of the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghan War]] more than eight years ago until that date. He ranked second to [[Mullah Omar|Mullah Muhammad Omar]], the Taliban's founder and was known to be a close associate of [[Osama bin Laden]]. Mullah Baradar was interrogated by CIA and ISI officers for several days before news of his capture was released.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/world/asia/16intel.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Secret Joint Raid Captures Taliban's Top Commander |first1=Mark |last1=Mazzetti |first2=Dexter |last2=Filkins |date=February 16, 2010 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325060614/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/world/asia/16intel.html |archive-date=March 25, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>  This capture sent the message that the Taliban leadership is not safe in Afghanistan or Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123781567 |title=Capture A Coup For U.S.-Pakistani Spy Agencies |publisher=NPR |date=February 16, 2010 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220004942/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123781567 |archive-date=February 20, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>  "The seizure of the Afghan Taliban's top military leader in Pakistan represents a turning point in the U.S.-led war against the militants", U.S. officials and analysts said.<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/16/taliban.commander.captured/index.html?hpt=T2 |publisher=CNN |title=Capture may be turning point in Taliban fight |access-date=March 30, 2010 |date=February 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328214710/http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/16/taliban.commander.captured/index.html?hpt=T2 |archive-date=March 28, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Per Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, several raids in [[Karachi]] in early February netted dozens of suspected Afghan militants.<ref name="cnn.com" />  In other joint raids that occurred around the same time, Afghan officials said that the Taliban "shadow governors" for two provinces in northern Afghanistan had also been detained. Mullah Abdul Salam, the Taliban's leader in [[Kunduz]], and Mullah Mir Mohammed of Baghlan were captured in Akora Khattack.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/world/asia/19taliban.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=In Blow to Taliban, 2 More Leaders Are Arrested |first=Dexter |last=Filkins |date=February 18, 2010 |access-date=March 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325060609/http://www.nytimes.com//2010//02//19//world//asia//19taliban.html |archive-date=March 25, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On February 20, Muhammad Haqqani, son of [[Jalaluddin Haqqani]], was one of four people killed in the drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region in North [[Waziristan]], according to two Pakistani intelligence sources.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/19/pakistan.drone.attack/index.html?hpt=Sbin |publisher=CNN |title=Drone strike kills son of militant linked to Taliban, al Qaeda |access-date=March 30, 2010 |date=February 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326005745/http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/19/pakistan.drone.attack/index.html?hpt=Sbin |archive-date=March 26, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 31, 2010, ''The New York Times'' reported that Mustafa Abu al Yazid (AKA Saeed al Masri), a senior operational leader for Al Qaeda, was killed in an American missile strike in Pakistan's tribal areas.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/world/asia/01qaeda.html?_r=1&src=me |newspaper=The New York Times |title=American Strike Is Said to Kill a Top Qaeda Leader |first=Eric |last=Schmitt |date=May 31, 2010 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412101934/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/world/asia/01qaeda.html?_r=1&src=me |archive-date=April 12, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

From July to December 2010, predator strikes killed 535 suspected militants in the [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas|FATA]] to include Sheikh Fateh Al Misri, Al-Qaeda's new third in command on September 25.<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/07-drone-strike-in-south-waziristan-kills-three-militants-ha-11] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024170011/http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/07-drone-strike-in-south-waziristan-kills-three-militants-ha-11|date=October 24, 2010}}</ref> Al Misri was planning a major terrorist attack in Europe by recruiting British Muslims who would then go on a shooting rampage similar to what transpired in Mumbai in November 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8031570/Terror-plot-against-Britain-thwarted-by-drone-strike.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Duncan |last=Gardham |title=Terror plot against Britain thwarted by drone strike |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=April 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409095011/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8031570/Terror-plot-against-Britain-thwarted-by-drone-strike.html |archive-date=April 9, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Operation Neptune Spear====
{{See also|Death of Osama bin Laden}}
[[File:President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden no watermark.webm|thumb|President [[Barack Obama]]'s address [[s:Remarks by the President on Osama bin Laden|(Text)]]]]

On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that [[Osama bin Laden]] had been [[Death of Osama bin Laden|killed earlier that day]] in [[Abbottabad]], Pakistan by "a small team of Americans" acting under his direct orders during a CIA operation under Director [[Leon Panetta]].<ref name="washingtonpost1" /><ref name="Dilanian">{{cite news |last=Dilanian |first=Ken |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-osama-bin-laden-cia-20110502,0,6466214.story?track=rss |title=CIA led U.S. special forces mission against Osama bin Laden |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524113202/http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-osama-bin-laden-cia-20110502,0,6466214.story?track=rss |archive-date=May 24, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/la-pn-osama-bin-laden-cia-20110502|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121203023424/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/la-pn-osama-bin-laden-cia-20110502|url-status=dead|title=Chicago Tribune: Chicago breaking news, sports, business, entertainme…|date=December 3, 2012|archive-date=December 3, 2012|website=chicagotribune.com|access-date=January 15, 2018}}</ref> The helicopter raid was executed from a CIA forward operating base in Afghanistan by the elements of the U.S. [[Naval Special Warfare Development Group]] (assigned to the CIA) and CIA paramilitary operatives.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42852700 |title=US forces kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan – World news – Death of bin Laden |publisher=NBC News |date=February 5, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208015747/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42852700 |archive-date=February 8, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42852700|title=US forces kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan|work=msnbc.com|date=May 2, 2011|access-date=December 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092301/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42852700/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden#.VnMjDhUrLIU|archive-date=December 22, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gaffney |first=Frank J. |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/2/bin-laden-creates-opportunity-for-fresh-start-on-c |title=Gaffney: Bin Laden's welcome demise |work=Washington Times |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506162532/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/2/bin-laden-creates-opportunity-for-fresh-start-on-c/ |archive-date=May 6, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The operation in the [[Bilal Town|Bilal]] military cantonment area in the city of [[Abbottabad]] resulted in the acquisition of extensive intelligence on the future attack plans of al-Qaeda.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/2/intelligence-break-led-to-bin-ladens-hide-out/ |title=Intelligence break led to bin Laden's hide-out |work=Washington Times |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508141036/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/2/intelligence-break-led-to-bin-ladens-hide-out/ |archive-date=May 8, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Mathew J. |url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/encryption/229402923 |title=Cracking Bin Laden's Hard Drives |magazine=InformationWeek |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813122132/http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/encryption/229402923 |archive-date=August 13, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Bin Laden's body was flown to Afghanistan to be identified and then forwarded to the aircraft carrier {{USS|Carl Vinson|CVN-70|6}} for a burial at sea.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42852954 |title=Osama bin Laden Killed by U.S. Forces |publisher=MSNBC |access-date=May 19, 2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506173012/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42852954|archive-date=May 6, 2011}}</ref> Results from the DNA samples taken in Afghanistan were compared with those of a known relative of bin Laden's and confirmed the identity.

The operation was a result of years of intelligence work that included the [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI), the CIA, the [[Diplomatic Security Service|DSS]], and the [[Delta Force]]'s apprehension and interrogation of [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed|Khalid Sheik Mohammad (KSM)]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42859770 |title=Counterterrorism chief declares al-Qaida 'in the past' |publisher=NBC News |date=February 5, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Tim |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8490886/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-trusted-courier-led-US-special-forces-to-hideout.html |title=Osama bin Laden dead: trusted courier led US special forces to hideout |newspaper=Telegraph |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507120001/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8490886/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-trusted-courier-led-US-special-forces-to-hideout.html |archive-date=May 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Gloria Borger |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/04/borger.torture.debate/index.html?eref=rss_topstories |title=Debate rages about role of torture |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 19, 2011 |date=May 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905225701/http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/04/borger.torture.debate/index.html?eref=rss_topstories |archive-date=September 5, 2011 }}</ref> the discovery of the real name of the courier disclosed by [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed|KSM]], the tracking, via signal intelligence, of the courier to the Abbottobad compound by paramilitary operatives and the establishment of a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] safe house that provided critical advance intelligence for the operation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03intel.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB |newspaper=The New York Times |first1=Mark |last1=Mazzetti |first2=Helene |last2=Cooper |first3=Peter |last3=Baker |title=Clues Gradually Led to the Location of Osama bin Laden |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625040759/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03intel.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB |archive-date=June 25, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20060479-503543.html |title=Pakistan rattled by news of CIA safe house in Abbottabad – World Watch |publisher=CBS News |date=May 6, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009125648/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20060479-503543.html |archive-date=October 9, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost2">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/cia-spied-on-bin-laden-from-safe-house/2011/05/05/AFXbG31F_story.html |title=CIA spied on bin Laden from safe house |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 11, 2001 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |first=Greg |last=Jaffe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510144552/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/cia-spied-on-bin-laden-from-safe-house/2011/05/05/AFXbG31F_story.html |archive-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The material discovered in the raid indicated that [[Osama bin Laden|bin Laden]] was still in charge of his [[Al-Qaeda]] organization and was developing plans and issuing orders at the time of his death. There is considerable controversy over claims that elements of the Pakistani government, particularly the ISI, may have been concealing the presence of [[Osama bin Laden]] in [[Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704810504576307701926133030 |title=Pakistani Spy Chief Under Fire |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 7, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108000045/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704810504576307701926133030 |archive-date=January 8, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Charles S. Faddis |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/03/faddis.pakistan.osama/ |title=Can the U.S. trust Pakistan? |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 19, 2011 |date=May 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508001736/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/03/faddis.pakistan.osama/ |archive-date=May 8, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 6, 2011 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/levin-pakistan-knew-osama-bin-laden-hiding-place-13545629 |title=Levin: Pakistan Knew Osama Bin Laden Hiding Place |publisher=ABC News |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509100637/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/levin-pakistan-knew-osama-bin-laden-hiding-place-13545629 |archive-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref> [[Death of Osama bin Laden|Bin Laden's death]] has been labeled a "game changer" and a fatal blow to [[Al-Qaeda]], by senior U.S. officials.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=David |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-usa-gates-idUSTRE7456ON20110506 |title=Bin Laden death may be Afghan game-changer: Gates |work=Reuters |access-date=May 19, 2011 |date=May 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509054305/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/06/us-binladen-usa-gates-idUSTRE7456ON20110506 |archive-date=May 9, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Iran===
In the early 1950s, the Central Intelligence Agency and Britain's [[Secret Intelligence Service]] were ordered to overthrow the democratically-elected government of Iran, Prime Minister [[Mohammed Mosaddeq]], and re-install deposed [[Shah]] [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.payk.net/politics/cia-docs/published/one-main/main.html |title=Clandestine Service History: Overthrow of Premier Mossadeq of Iran – November 1952 – August 1953 |publisher=WebCite |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702032442/http://web.payk.net/politics/cia-docs/published/one-main/main.html |archive-date=July 2, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref> This event was called [[Operation Ajax]].<ref>O'Reilly, Kevin (2007). ''Decision Making in U.S. History: The Cold War & the 1950s''. Social Studies. p. 108. {{ISBN|1560042931}}.</ref><ref>Mohammed Amjad. ''Iran: From Royal Dictatorship to Theocracy''. Greenwood Press, 1989. p. 62 "the United States had decided to save the 'free world' by overthrowing the democratically elected government of Mossadegh."</ref> The senior CIA officer was [[Kermit Roosevelt, Jr.]], the grandson of American president Theodore Roosevelt. The operation utilized all of SAC's components to include political action, covert influence, and paramilitary operations. The paramilitary component included training anti-Communist guerrillas to fight the [[Tudeh Party]] if ''they'' seized power in the chaos of Operation Ajax.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 1953 Coup D'etat in Iran |url=http://iran.sa.utoronto.ca/coup/web_files/markcoup.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615004457/http://iran.sa.utoronto.ca/coup/web_files/markcoup.html |archive-date=June 15, 2009 |url-status=live |access-date=June 6, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref> Although a significant tactical/operational success, Operation Ajax is considered very controversial with many critics.<ref>Stephen Kinzer, ''All the Shah's Men" An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror'', John Wiley and Sons, 2003, p. 215</ref>

In November 1979, a group of [[Islamism|Islamist]] students and militants took over the American embassy in support of the [[Iranian Revolution]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyguy.com/iran-us_hostage_crisis.html|title=Iran-U.S. Hostage Crisis (1979–1981)|publisher=Historyguy.com|access-date=May 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162638/https://www.historyguy.com/iran-us_hostage_crisis.html|archive-date=June 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Operation Eagle Claw]] was the unsuccessful [[Military of the United States|United States military]] [[military operation|operation]] that attempted to rescue the [[Iran hostage crisis|52 hostages]] from the U.S. Embassy in [[Tehran]], Iran on April 24, 1980. Several SAC/SOG teams infiltrated into Tehran to support this operation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/05/the-desert-one-debacle/304803/|title=The Desert One Debacle|first=Mark|last=Bowden|date=May 1, 2006|work=The Atlantic|access-date=December 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301011314/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/05/the-desert-one-debacle/304803/|archive-date=March 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 9, 2007, the alleged CIA officer [[Robert Levinson]] was kidnapped from Iran's [[Kish Island]]. On July 7, 2008, [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning investigative journalist and author [[Seymour Hersh]] wrote an article in the ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'' stating that the Bush administration had signed a [[Presidential Finding]] authorizing the CIA to begin cross border paramilitary operations from Iraq and Afghanistan into Iran. These operations would be against [[Quds Force]], the commando arm of the [[Iranian Revolutionary Guard]], public and private sector strategic targets, and "high-value targets" in the war on terror. Also enrolled to support CIA objectives were the [[Mujahideen-e-Khalq]], known in the West as the M.E.K., and the [[Baluchis]] insurgents. "The Finding was focused on undermining Iran's nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change," a person familiar with its contents said, and involved "working with opposition groups and passing money."<ref name="newyorker.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=all|title=Preparing the Battlefield|date=July 7, 2008|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=June 20, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617211709/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=all|archive-date=June 17, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Any significant effort against Iran by the Obama administration would likely come directly from SAC. and in July 2010, Director Panetta chose a former chief of SAC as the new NCS Director.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/21/AR2010072105578.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Retired CIA veteran will return to head clandestine service|first=Peter|last=Finn|date=July 22, 2010|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916160617/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/21/AR2010072105578.html|archive-date=September 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Levinson reportedly died in 2020 (or before), while in Iranian custody.<ref name="dead">{{Cite news |last=Goldman |first=Adam |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/us/politics/robert-levinson-cia-iran.html |title=Ex-F.B.I. Agent Who Vanished on C.I.A. Mission to Iran Is Likely Dead, U.S. Concludes |date=March 25, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=March 25, 2020 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Libya===
After the [[Arab Spring]] movements overthrew the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt, its neighbors to the west and east respectively, Libya had a major revolt beginning in February 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/17/live-blog-libya |title=Live Blog – Libya |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=February 17, 2011 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223072304/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/17/live-blog-libya |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.libyafeb17.com/category/newsfeed/ |title=News, Libya February 17th |publisher=Libyafeb17.com |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030012821/http://archive.libyafeb17.com/category/newsfeed/ |archive-date=October 30, 2012 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> In response, the Obama administration sent in SAC paramilitary operatives to assess the situation and gather information on the opposition forces.<ref>{{cite web |last=Allen |first=Bennett |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/03/cia-operatives-on-the-ground-in-libya.html |title=C.I.A. Operatives on the Ground in Libya |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528154041/http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/03/cia-operatives-on-the-ground-in-libya.html |archive-date=May 28, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Levinson |first=Charles |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704530204576235170339510798?mod=googlenews_wsj |title=Ragtag Rebels Struggle in Battle |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=April 1, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011213234/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704530204576235170339510798?mod=googlenews_wsj |archive-date=October 11, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Experts speculated that these teams could have been determining the capability of these forces to defeat the [[Muammar Gaddafi]] regime and whether Al-Qaeda had a presence in these rebel elements.

U.S. officials had made it clear that no U.S. troops would be "on the ground", making the use of covert paramilitary operatives the only alternative.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.military.com/news/article/gates-no-ground-troops-in-libya-on-his-watch.html |title=Gates: No Ground Troops in Libya on His Watch |publisher=Military.com |date=March 31, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515034456/http://www.military.com/news/article/gates-no-ground-troops-in-libya-on-his-watch.html |archive-date=May 15, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the early phases of the Libyan offensive of U.S.-led air strikes, paramilitary operatives assisted in the recovery of a U.S. Air Force pilot who had crashed due to mechanical problems.<ref>''Stars and Stripes'' (Europe Edition), April 1, 2011, "Gates: No Troops in Libya on my watch"</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_17742586 |title=Updated: Gates calls for limited role aiding Libyan rebels |newspaper=[[Daily Breeze]] |date=March 9, 2010 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110402071630/http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_17742586 |archive-date=April 2, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> There was speculation that President Obama issued a covert action finding in March 2011 that authorized the CIA to carry out a clandestine effort to provide arms and support to the Libyan opposition.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-libya-cia-is-gathering-intelligence-on-rebels/2011/03/30/AFLyb25B_story.html |title=In Libya, CIA is gathering intelligence on rebels |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 30, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |first=Greg |last=Jaffe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428094354/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-libya-cia-is-gathering-intelligence-on-rebels/2011/03/30/AFLyb25B_story.html |archive-date=April 28, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Syria===
{{Further|CIA activities in Syria}}
The [[2008 Abu Kamal raid]] was a helicopter-borne raid conducted by paramilitary officers from Special Activities Division<ref name=Mcclatchy>{{cite news|first=Jonathan S. |last=Landay |author2=Youssef, Nancy A. |title=CIA led mystery Syria raid that killed terrorist leader |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/255/story/54828.html |publisher=McClatchy |date=2008-10-27 |access-date=2008-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101041758/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/255/story/54828.html |archive-date=1 November 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[United States Special Operations Command]], [[Joint Special Operations Command]]<ref name=AP>{{cite news|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ianwYiLFrnJxFSAgjT1DqydYeinQD942EFR80|title=US special forces launch rare attack inside of Syria|agency=Associated Press|date=2008-10-26|access-date=2008-10-26|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081028232559/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ianwYiLFrnJxFSAgjT1DqydYeinQD942EFR80 |archive-date = October 28, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> inside [[Syria]]n territory on October 26, 2008.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7692153.stm|title='US troops' strike inside Syria|publisher=BBC|date=2008-10-26|access-date=2008-10-26| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081027004109/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7692153.stm| archive-date= 27 October 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> The Syrian government called the event a "criminal and terrorist" attack on its sovereignty, alleging all of the reported eight fatalities were civilians.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7693583.stm|title=Syria hits out at 'terrorist' US|publisher=BBC|date=2008-10-27|access-date=2008-10-27| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081028004117/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7693583.stm| archive-date= 28 October 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> An unnamed U.S. military source, however, alleges that the target was a network of foreign fighters who planned to travel through Syria to join the [[Iraqi insurgency (Iraq War)|Iraqi insurgency]] against the [[United States]]-led [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|Coalition]] in [[Iraq]] and the Iraqi government.<ref name=AP /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://special-ops.org/cia-abu-kamal-raid-2008/|title=The famous CIA raid in Syria near Abu Kamal during 2008|date=June 16, 2014}}</ref>

In early September 2013, President Obama told U.S. senators that the CIA had trained the first 50-man insurgent element and that they had been inserted into Syria.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10283758/First-Syria-rebels-armed-and-trained-by-CIA-on-way-to-battlefield.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Raf |last=Sanchez |title=First Syria rebels armed and trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield' |date=September 3, 2013 |access-date=April 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308190050/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10283758/First-Syria-rebels-armed-and-trained-by-CIA-on-way-to-battlefield.html |archive-date=March 8, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The deployment of this unit and the supplying of weapons may be the first tangible measure of support since the U.S. stated they would begin providing assistance to the opposition.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/obama-first-ciatrained-syrian-rebel-unit-about-to-join-fighting-8796873.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/obama-first-ciatrained-syrian-rebel-unit-about-to-join-fighting-8796873.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |location=London |work=The Independent |first=Adam |last=Withnall |title=Syria crisis: First CIA-trained rebel unit about to join fighting against Assad regime, says President Obama |date=September 3, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/cia-overseeing-supply-of-weapons-to-syria-rebels/story-fnb64oi6-1226713580332 |work=The Australian |title=CIA overseeing supply of weapons to Syria rebels |date=September 7, 2013 |access-date=September 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908090745/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/cia-overseeing-supply-of-weapons-to-syria-rebels/story-fnb64oi6-1226713580332 |archive-date=September 8, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2013, SAC was tasked with supporting moderate Syrian rebels to help engineer a stalemate and political settlement in the Syrian civil war. This program was considered too limited to have the desired outcome.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-ramping-up-covert-training-program-for-moderate-syrian-rebels/2013/10/02/a0bba084-2af6-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html|title=CIA ramping up covert training program for moderate Syrian rebels|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827015952/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-ramping-up-covert-training-program-for-moderate-syrian-rebels/2013/10/02/a0bba084-2af6-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html|archive-date=August 27, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

With the rise of the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]], however, SAC was given the overall command and control of the ground fight against them. This fight crossed borders between Iraq and Syria.<ref name="ReferenceC"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-regional-spymasters-make-tactical-changes-to-bolster-syrian-moderates/2014/02/18/5d69596c-98f0-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html|title=David Ignatius: Regional spymasters make tactical changes to bolster Syrian moderates|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171019075928/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-regional-spymasters-make-tactical-changes-to-bolster-syrian-moderates/2014/02/18/5d69596c-98f0-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html|archive-date=October 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Again in 2015, the combination of the U.S. Military's [[JSOC]] and the CIA's Special Activities Center became the force of choice for fighting this conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/04/is-syria-the-war-we-wanted-and-is-our-almost-invisible-force-structure-there-a-reason-for-perverse-optimism/|title=In Syria, we finally may be fighting the way we should have in Iraq and Afghanistan|website=foreignpolicy.com|date=December 4, 2015 |access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184443/http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/04/is-syria-the-war-we-wanted-and-is-our-almost-invisible-force-structure-there-a-reason-for-perverse-optimism/|archive-date=January 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> SAC stood up and ran a robust covert action program to overthrown the Assad regime. The program was successful, including in 2015 when rebels using tank-destroying missiles routed government forces in northern Syria. But by late 2015, the Russians came to Assad's aid, and their focus was focusing squarely on the C.I.A.-backed fighters battling Syrian government troops. Many of the fighters were killed, and the fortunes of the rebel army reversed.<ref name="ReferenceD">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/world/middleeast/cia-syria-rebel-arm-train-trump.html |title=Behind the Sudden Death of a $1 Billion Secret C.I.A. War in Syria |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=September 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823203731/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/world/middleeast/cia-syria-rebel-arm-train-trump.html |archive-date=August 23, 2019 |url-status=live |last1=Mazzetti |first1=Mark |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |last3=Schmidt |first3=Michael S. }}</ref>  According to the [[Middle East Institute]], the program was never given the level of political support that was necessary for it to succeed – "They never gave it the necessary resources or space to determine the dynamics of the battlefield. They were drip-feeding opposition groups just enough to survive but never enough to become dominant actors."<ref name="ReferenceD"/>

In December 2018, US President [[Donald Trump]] announced that US troops involved in the fight against the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]] (ISIS) in northeast Syria would be withdrawn imminently. Trump's surprise decision overturned Washington's policy in the Middle East. It also fueled the ambitions and anxieties of local and regional actors vying over the future shape of Syria. Many experts proposed that President Trump could mitigate the damage of his withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Syria by using SAC.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.iiss.org/publications/strategic-comments/2019/the-us-withdrawal-from-syria |title=The US withdrawal from Syria |access-date=September 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924030107/https://www.iiss.org/publications/strategic-comments/2019/the-us-withdrawal-from-syria |archive-date=September 24, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Many believed the president chose "to replace U.S. ground forces in Syria with personnel from the CIA's Special Activities Division and that the process has been underway for months. Already experienced in operations in Syria, the CIA has numerous paramilitary officers who have the skills to operate independently in harm's way. And while the CIA lacks the numbers to replace all 2,000 U.S. military personnel currently in Syria" and work alongside the [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] (these CIA personnel are spread across the world), their model is based on fewer enablers and support.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/how-trump-can-salvage-us-interests-in-syria |title=How Trump can withdraw US military forces, and salvage US interests in Syria |date=January 3, 2019 |access-date=September 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730051952/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/how-trump-can-salvage-us-interests-in-syria |archive-date=July 30, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Operation Kayla Mueller====
{{main|Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi}}
On October 26, 2019, U.S. [[Joint Special Operations Command]]'s (JSOC) [[Delta Force]] conducted a raid into the Idlib province of Syria on the border with Turkey that resulted in the death of Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai also known as [[Abū Bakr al-Baghdadi]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/26/politics/white-house-trump-announcement-sunday/index.html |title=ISIS leader al-Baghdadi believed to have been killed in a US military raid, sources say &#124; CNN Politics |website=[[CNN]] |date=October 27, 2019 |access-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027153058/https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/26/politics/white-house-trump-announcement-sunday/index.html |archive-date=October 27, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>  The raid was launched based on a [[CIA]] Special Activities Division's intelligence collection and close target reconnaissance effort that located the leader of ISIS. Launched after midnight local time, the eight helicopters carrying the teams along with support aircraft crossed hundreds of miles of airspace controlled by Iraq, Turkey and Russia. Upon arrival, efforts were made for Baghdadi to surrender, with those efforts unsuccessful. U.S. forces responded by blowing a large hole into the side of the compound. After entering, the compound was cleared, with people either surrendering or being shot and killed. The two-hour raid culminated with Baghdadi fleeing from U.S. forces into a dead-end tunnel and detonating a suicide vest, killing himself and two of his children.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Wesley |last1=Morgan |first2=Nahal |last2=Toosi |author-link2=Nahal Toosi |title=ISIS leader killed in daring U.S. raid in Syria, Trump says |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/27/islamic-statebaghdadi-dead-donald-trump-000300 |access-date=October 29, 2019 |work=Politico |date=October 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029200734/https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/27/islamic-statebaghdadi-dead-donald-trump-000300 |archive-date=October 29, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Dan |last1=Lamothe |first2=Ellen |last2=Nakashima |title=Tip from disaffected militant set in motion operation that killed ISIS leader al-Baghdadi |url=https://www.stripes.com/tip-from-disaffected-militant-set-in-motion-operation-that-killed-isis-leader-al-baghdadi-1.604958 |access-date=October 29, 2019 |newspaper=Stars and Stripes |date=October 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029095504/https://www.stripes.com/tip-from-disaffected-militant-set-in-motion-operation-that-killed-isis-leader-al-baghdadi-1.604958 |archive-date=October 29, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The complex operation was conducted during the withdrawal of U.S. forces from northeast Syria, adding to the complexity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/isis-leader-al-baghdadi-dead-after-us-special-forces-raid-hideout-syria-sources-2854504 |title=Isis Leader al Baghdadi Dead After US Special Forces Raid Hideout in Syria: Sources |website=[[International Business Times]] |date=October 27, 2019 |access-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027121035/https://www.ibtimes.com/isis-leader-al-baghdadi-dead-after-us-special-forces-raid-hideout-syria-sources-2854504 |archive-date=October 27, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-forces-launch-operation-in-syria-targeting-isis-leader-baghdadi-officials-say/2019/10/27/081bc257-adf1-4db6-9a6a-9b820dd9e32d_story.html |title=Trump says Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi blew himself up as U.S. Troops closed in - the Washington Post |access-date=October 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027142956/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-forces-launch-operation-in-syria-targeting-isis-leader-baghdadi-officials-say/2019/10/27/081bc257-adf1-4db6-9a6a-9b820dd9e32d_story.html |archive-date=October 27, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===United States===
In 1967, the SAD was involved with the CIA's domestic espionage operation [[Project MERRIMAC]] in conjunction with the Office of Security. SAD reported approval of the project to the office and reported that the CIA had assets in the area that could be used to monitor and infiltrate Washington-based anti-war groups that might pose potential threats to the CIA. In addition, the SAD Chief provided reports of findings to the SRS. Many documents related to MERRIMAC were destroyed by the CIA in compliance with a recommendation from the [[United States President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States|Rockefeller Commission]] to destroy files, not in compliance with new rules.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/CIA-Project-MERRIMAC/ |title=CIA documents Project MERRIMAC |access-date=December 12, 2020 }}</ref>

==Worldwide mission==
[[File:Khalid Shaikh Mohammed after capture.jpg|thumb|[[Khalid Shaikh Mohammed]] after his capture]]

The [[CIA]] has always had a Special Activities Center, which secretly carries out special operations missions. Since September 11, 2001, however, the U.S. government has relied much more on SAC/SOG because fighting terrorists does not usually involve fighting other armies. Rather, it involves secretly moving in and out of countries like Iran, Somalia, etc., where the American military is not legally allowed to operate. If there are missions in these countries that are [[Denied area|denied]] to U.S. military [[special operations forces]], SAC/SOG units are the primary national special missions units to execute those operations.<ref name="Coll2004">{{cite book|first=Steve|last=Coll|title=Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780141020808|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1594200076|access-date=January 1, 2016}}{{page?|date=September 2022}}</ref>

In the [[War on Terror]], SAC has the lead in the covert war being waged against al Qaeda.<ref name="CIA Secret Program PM"/><ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news |first=Waller |last=Douglas |date=February 3, 2003 |title=The CIA Secret Army |newspaper=TIME |url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030203/ |access-date=November 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030201095351/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030203/ |archive-date=February 1, 2003 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  SAC/SOG paramilitary teams have apprehended many of the senior leaders. These include: [[Abu Zubaydah]],<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html?pagewanted=3 | newspaper=The New York Times | title=Inside a 9/11 Mastermind's Interrogation | first=Scott | last=Shane | date=June 22, 2008 | access-date=March 27, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417094411/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html?pagewanted=3 | archive-date=April 17, 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref> the chief of operations for al-Qaeda; [[Ramzi bin al-Shibh]],<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/17/AR2007121702151.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first1=Dan | last1=Eggen | first2=Walter | last2=Pincus | access-date=March 30, 2010 | title=FBI, CIA Debate Significance of Terror Suspect | date=December 18, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517022728/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/17/AR2007121702151.html | archive-date=May 17, 2008 | url-status=live }}</ref> the so-called "20th hijacker";<ref name="edition.cnn.com">{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/16/alqaeda.pakistan/ | publisher=CNN | title=Bin al-Shibh to go to third country for questioning | date=September 17, 2002 | access-date=March 30, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826063627/http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/09/16/alqaeda.pakistan/ | archive-date=August 26, 2010 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.;<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html | newspaper=The New York Times | title=Inside a 9/11 Mastermind's Interrogation | first=Scott | last=Shane | date=June 22, 2008 | access-date=March 27, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417091407/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/washington/22ksm.html | archive-date=April 17, 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri]], alleged to be the mastermind of the [[USS Cole bombing|USS ''Cole'' bombing]] and leader of al Qaeda operations in the [[Persian Gulf]] prior to his capture in November 2002;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/11/21/alqaeda.capture/index.html |title=Top al Qaeda operative arrested |access-date=May 16, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060826083238/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/11/21/alqaeda.capture/index.html |archive-date=August 26, 2006 |df=mdy }} CNN, November 22, 2002</ref> [[Abu Faraj al-Libi]], al Qaeda's "field general" believed to have taken the role of No. 3 in al Qaeda following the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Pakistan;<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/pakistan.arrest/index.html | publisher=CNN | date=May 5, 2005 | access-date=March 30, 2010 | title=Pakistan seizes 'al Qaeda No. 3' | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027163624/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/05/04/pakistan.arrest/index.html | archive-date=October 27, 2010 | url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar]], the number two Taliban commander and the highest level Taliban commander apprehended in the Afghan War.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/mullah-baradar-afghan-taliban-captured/story?id=9848587 |title=Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar: Afghan Top Taliban Captured, Talking To Authorities |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=February 16, 2010 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125222806/http://abcnews.go.com/International/mullah-baradar-afghan-taliban-captured/story?id=9848587 |archive-date=January 25, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Prior to the beginning of the "War on Terror", SAC/SOG located and captured many notable militants and international criminals, including [[Abimael Guzmán]] and [[Carlos the Jackal]]. These were just two of the over 50 caught by SAC/SOG just between 1983 and 1995.<ref>Daugherty (2004), Preface xix.</ref>

In 2002, the [[George W. Bush administration]] prepared a list of "terrorist leaders" the CIA is authorized to kill in a [[targeted killing]] if capture is impractical and civilian casualties can be kept to an acceptable number. The list included key al-Qaeda leaders like [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] and, formerly, his predecessor [[Osama bin Laden]]. The list also includes principal leaders of groups affiliated with al-Qaeda. This list is called the "high value target list".<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/international/15INTE.html?pagewanted=all | newspaper=The New York Times | title=Bush Has Widened Authority of C.I.A. to Kill Terrorists | first1=James | last1=Risen | first2=David | last2=Johnston | date=December 15, 2002 | access-date=March 27, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719022113/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/international/15INTE.html?pagewanted=all | archive-date=July 19, 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref>  The U.S. president is not legally required to approve each name added to the list, nor is the CIA required to obtain presidential approval for specific attacks, although the president is kept well informed about operations.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

SAC/SOG teams have been dispatched to the country of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], where dozens of al Qaeda fugitives from Afghanistan are believed to have taken refuge with [[Chechen separatists]] and thousands of refugees in the [[Pankisi Gorge]]. Their efforts have already resulted in 15 Arab militants linked to al Qaeda being captured.<ref name="timesonline.co.uk"/>

The SAC/SOG teams have also been active in the Philippines, where 1,200 U.S. military advisers helped to train local soldiers in "counter-terrorist operations" against [[Abu Sayyaf]], a radical Islamist group suspected of ties with al Qaeda. Little is known about this U.S. covert action program, but some analysts believe that "the CIA's paramilitary wing, the Special Activities Division (SAD) [referring to SAC's previous name], has been allowed to pursue terrorist suspects in the Philippines on the basis that its actions will never be acknowledged."<ref name="timesonline.co.uk"/>

On July 14, 2009, several newspapers reported that DCIA [[Leon Panetta]] was briefed on a CIA program that had not been briefed to the oversight committees in Congress. Panetta canceled the initiative and reported its existence to Congress and the President. The program consisted of teams of SAC paramilitary officers organized to execute [[targeted killing]] operations against al Qaeda operatives around the world in any country. According to the ''Los Angeles Times'', DCIA Panetta "has not ruled out reviving the program."<ref name="CIA Secret Program PM"/> There is some question as to whether former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] instructed the CIA not to inform Congress.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/us/14intel.html CIA Had Plan To Assassinate Qaeda Leaders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315210929/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/us/14intel.html |date=March 15, 2017 }}, [[Mark Mazzetti]] and Shane Scott, ''The New York Times'', July 14, 2009, p. A1.</ref> Per senior intelligence officers, this program was an attempt to avoid the civilian casualties that can occur during Predator drone strikes using [[Hellfire missile]]s.<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124752710888335275 "CIA Plan Envisioned Hit Teams Killing al Qaeda Leaders"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313041641/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124752710888335275 |date=March 13, 2017 }}, Siobahn Gorman, ''The Wall Street Journal'', July 14, 2009, A3</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/29/this_week_at_war_company_men |title=This Week at War: Company Men |first=Robert |last=Haddick |work=Foreign Policy |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506100016/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/29/this_week_at_war_company_men |archive-date=May 6, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to many experts, the Obama administration has relied on the CIA and their paramilitary capabilities, even more than they have on U.S. military forces, to maintain the fight against terrorists in the Afghanistan and Pakistan region, as well as places like Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.<ref name="washingtonpost3">{{cite news |last=Stein |first=Jeff |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/12/2010_cia_ramps_way_up.html |title=SpyTalk – 2010: CIA ramps way up |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 30, 2010 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111230200/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/12/2010_cia_ramps_way_up.html |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Tiku |first=Nitasha |url=https://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/04/obamas_national_security_picks.html |title=Obama's National-Security Picks Cross the Line Between Spy and Soldier – Daily Intel |work=New York |date=April 28, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504053929/http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/04/obamas_national_security_picks.html |archive-date=May 4, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>  Ronald Kessler states in his book ''The CIA at War: Inside the Secret War Against Terror'', that although paramilitary operations are a strain on resources, they are winning the war against terrorism.<ref name="washingtonpost3"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Devine |first=Jack |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704201604575373253893718806 |title=The CIA Solution for Afghanistan |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 29, 2010 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706033308/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704201604575373253893718806 |archive-date=July 6, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

SAC/SOG paramilitary officers executed the clandestine evacuation of U.S. citizens and diplomatic personnel in Somalia, Iraq (during the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]]) and Liberia during periods of hostility, as well as the insertion of Paramilitary Operations Officers prior to the entry of U.S. military forces in every conflict since World War II.<ref>Daugherty (2004), p. xix.</ref>  SAC officers have operated covertly since 1947 in places such as North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Libya, Iraq, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Chile, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Pakistan.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

In the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]], SAC has begun deploying small units of paramilitary officers worldwide to track down terrorists, and they have been given the primary lead for CT operations in Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/aramroston/cia-trump-kill-teams-terrorists?bfsplash | title=Trump's CIA Has Set up Teams to Kill Terrorists| website=[[BuzzFeed]]| date=March 16, 2018}}</ref>

In 2019, [[Pulitzer Prize]] finalist Annie Jacobsen's book, ''"Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins"'' was released. The author refers to CIA's Special Activities Division as "a highly-classified branch of the CIA and the most effective, black operations force in the world."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://katu.com/afternoon-live/books-authors/surprise-kill-vanish-the-secret-history-of-cia-paramilitary-armies-operators-and-assa |title=Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assa |date=May 29, 2019 |access-date=July 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706170237/https://katu.com/afternoon-live/books-authors/surprise-kill-vanish-the-secret-history-of-cia-paramilitary-armies-operators-and-assa |archive-date=July 6, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> She further states that every American president since [[World War II]] has asked the CIA to conduct sabotage, subversion and assassination.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/fred-burton-author-annie-jacobsen-book-history-cia-stratfor-podcast |title=Surprise, Kill, Vanish with Fred Burton and Annie Jacobsen |access-date=July 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706170236/https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/fred-burton-author-annie-jacobsen-book-history-cia-stratfor-podcast |archive-date=July 6, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Innovations in special operations==
[[File:Fulton system1.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Fulton surface-to-air recovery system|Fulton system]] in use]]

The [[Fulton surface-to-air recovery system]] (STARS) is a system developed in the early 1950s by CIA paramilitary officers for retrieving persons from the ground with a [[MC-130E Combat Talon I]] aircraft. It uses a harness and a self-inflating balloon that carries an attached lift line. An MC-130E engages the line with its V-shaped yoke, and the individual is reeled on board.<ref name="sevendays">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/iac/seven-days-in-the-arctic.html|title=Seven Days in the Arctic|publisher=CIA|access-date=May 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604184549/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/iac/seven-days-in-the-arctic.html|archive-date=June 4, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Project COLDFEET]] was a very successful mission in 1962 in which two military officers parachuted into a remote abandoned Soviet site in the Arctic. The two were subsequently extracted by the Fulton sky hook. The team gathered evidence of advanced research on acoustical systems to detect under-ice U.S. submarines and efforts to develop Arctic anti-submarine warfare techniques.<ref name="sevendays"/>

[[Sergeant Major#United States|Sergeant Major]] (SgtMaj) [[Billy Waugh]] was a Special Forces soldier attached to the CIA in the 1960s. During his time at [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group|MACV-SOG]] in Vietnam, he developed and conducted the first combat [[HALO jump|High Altitude-Low Opening (HALO) jump]]. A practice combat infiltration was conducted in October 1970 by Recon Team Florida into the North Vietnamese held "War Zone D", in South Vietnam, the first such drop into a combat zone.<ref name=Waugh>{{cite web |url=http://www.specialoperations.com/Stories/MAG_BILLY_WAUGH.pdf |title=IACSP_MAGAZINE_V11N3A_WAUGH.indd |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604072302/http://www.specialoperations.com/Stories/MAG_BILLY_WAUGH.pdf |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> HALO is a method of delivering personnel, equipment, and supplies from a transport aircraft at a high altitude via free-fall parachute insertion. HALO and [[HALO jump|HAHO (High Altitude-High Opening)]] are also known as Military Free Fall (MFF). In the HALO technique, the parachutist opens his parachute at a low altitude after free-falling for a period of time to avoid detection by the enemy. Waugh also led the last combat [[special reconnaissance]] parachute insertion into enemy territory occupied by communist North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops on June 22, 1971.<ref name=Waugh/>

==Notable members==
<!-- Do These WP articles actually say the people are SAC personnel? If not the names should be removed -->
<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
{{Columns-list|colwidth=17em|
* [[Elliot Ackerman]]
* [[George Bacon (CIA)|George Bacon]]
* [[Moe Berg|Morris "Moe" Berg]]
* [[William Francis Buckley]]
* [[William Colby]]
* [[Jerry Daniels]]
* [[John T. Downey|John Downey]]
* [[Richard Fecteau]]
* [[Thomas "Tom" Fosmire]]
* [[Wilbur "Will" Green]]
* [[Dick Holm|Richard (Dick) Holm]]
* [[James William Lair|Bill Lair]]
* [[Lloyd C. "Pat" Landry]]
* [[Grayston Lynch]]
* [[Michael Patrick Mulroy]]
* [[Allen Lawrence Pope]]
* [[Anthony Poshepny]] (a.k.a. Tony Poe)
* [[William "Rip" Robertson]]
* [[Félix Rodríguez (soldier)|Felix Rodriguez]]
* [[Johnny Micheal Spann]]
* [[Gar Thorsrud]]
* [[Ernest "Chick" Tsikerdanos]]
* [[Michael G. Vickers]]
* [[Greg Vogle]]
* [[Billy Waugh]]
* [[William Young (CIA)|William (Bill) Young]]
* [[Douglas A. Zembiec]]
}}
<!-- Please — NO NAMES without Wikipedia articles. See [[WP:WTAF]] -->

==Notable SAD political action officers==
* [[Virginia Hall]] Goillot (1906–1982)
* [[E. Howard Hunt]] (1918–2007)

==CIA Memorial Wall==
{{Main|CIA Memorial Wall}}
The CIA Memorial Wall is located at CIA headquarters in [[Langley, Virginia]]. It honors CIA employees who died in the line of duty.<ref name="CIA">"[https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2008-featured-story-archive/the-stars-on-the-wall.html The Stars on the Wall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727223036/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2008-featured-story-archive/the-stars-on-the-wall.html |date=July 27, 2009 }}." Central Intelligence Agency, April 24, 2008.</ref> There are 140 stars carved into the marble wall, each one representing an officer.<ref>{{cite web |title=CIA Honors Fallen Officers in Annual Memorial Ceremony |url=https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/cia-honors-fallen-officers-in-annual-memorial-ceremony-2/ |access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref> A majority of these were paramilitary officers.<ref name="CIA"/> A black book, called the "Book of Honor", lies beneath the stars and is encased in an inch-thick plate of glass.<ref name="Gup">Gup, Ted. "[http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/ray.washingtonpost.cia91897.html Star Agents: The anonymous stars in the CIA's Book of Honor memorialize covert operatives lost in the field] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429172801/http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/ray.washingtonpost.cia91897.html |date=April 29, 2009 }}." ''Washington Post'' September 7, 1997.</ref> Inside this book are stars, arranged by year of death, and the names of 91 employees who died in CIA service alongside them.<ref name="CIA"/><ref name="Gup"/><ref name=Benson>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/remembering-cias-heroes-nels-benny-benson.html |title=Remembering CIA's Heroes: Nels "Benny" Benson |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |date=June 13, 2017 |access-date=October 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011213704/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/remembering-cias-heroes-nels-benny-benson.html |archive-date=October 11, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The other names remain secret, even in death.<ref name="CIA"/>

Third Option Foundation (TOF) is a national non-profit organization set up to support the families of fallen paramilitary officers. The name refers to the motto of CIA's Special Activities Center: ''Tertia Optio'', the President's third option when military force is inappropriate and diplomacy is inadequate. TOF provides comprehensive family resiliency programs, financial support for the families of paramilitary officers killed in action, and it works behind the scenes to "quietly help those who quietly serve."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thirdoptionfoundation.org/about/#story|title=About|website=Third Option Foundation|access-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115184355/https://www.thirdoptionfoundation.org/about/#story|archive-date=January 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==

{{Div col|colwidth=23em}}
* [[486th Flight Test Squadron]] (USAF)
* [[Action Division]] – part of the French [[DGSE]]
* [[Clandestine HUMINT and covert action]]
* [[Defense Clandestine Service]] (DIA)
* [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] (US)
* [[Extraordinary rendition]]
* [[FBI]]
* [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)]]
* [[Foreign internal defense]]
* [[GRU (Russian Federation)|GRU]] – Russian military intelligence agency
* [[GSG-9]] – German Federal Police
* [[Kopassus]] – Indonesia
* [[Marine Special Operations Command]] (USMC)
* [[Military Intelligence, Section 6]] (MI6)
* [[Special Frontier Force]] – Indian Army
* [[Special Group (India)]]
* [[Special Forces (United States Army)|US Army Special Forces]]
* [[Vympel]] – Russian special forces unit
* [[Wagner Group]] – Russian paramilitary organization
{{div col end}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{Cite book |last=Coll |first=Steve |year=2004 |title=Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September&nbsp;10,&nbsp;2001 |publisher=[[Penguin Group|The Penguin Press]] |isbn=978-1594200076 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ToYxFL5wmBIC}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Conboy |first1=Kenneth J. |first2=James |last2=Morrison |year=1999 |title=Feet to the Fire: CIA Covert Operations in Indonesia, 1957–1958 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute#Publications and products|Naval Institute Press]] |isbn=978-1557501936 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldNPrKp_Q1gC}} The history of CIA/IAD's paramilitary operations in Indonesia in the 1950s, detailing the activities of IAD's Ground Air and Maritime Branches, and highlighting the roles of legendary PMCOs Tom Fosmire, Anthony Posephny ("Tony Poe"), Jim Glerum and others.
* {{Cite book |last=Daugherty |first=William J. |year=2004 |title=Executive Secrets: Covert Action and the Presidency |location=Lexington, KY |publisher=University of Kentucky Press |isbn=9780813123349 |oclc=54778478}}
* {{Cite book |last=Harnden |first=Toby |year=2021 |title=First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 |location=New York |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |isbn=9780316540957 |oclc=1230231021}}
* {{Cite book |last=Jacobsen |first=Annie |year=2019 |title=Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins |location=New York |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |isbn=9780316441438 |oclc=1099524601}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lynch |first=Grayston L. |year=2011 |orig-year=2000 |title=Decision for Disaster: Betrayal at the Bay of Pigs |url= |location=Dulles, VA |publisher=Potomac Books |isbn=9781574882377 |oclc=1058476224}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mahoney |first=Richard D. |year=2004 |title=Getting Away with Murder: The Real Story Behind American Taliban John Walker Lindh and What the U.S. Government Had to Hide |location=New York |publisher=Arcade Publ. |isbn=9781559707145 |oclc=237878938}}
* {{Cite journal |last=P. |first=Matt |date=June 2010 |title=''Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq'' [review&#93; |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-54-no.-2/operation-hotel-california-the-clandestine-war.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707002809/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol.-54-no.-2/operation-hotel-california-the-clandestine-war.html |archive-date=7 July 2010 |url-status=dead |department=Intelligence in Public Literature |journal=Studies in Intelligence  |volume=54 |issue=2}} Unclassified extracts from the journal.
* {{Cite book |last=Prado |first=Ric |year=2021 |title=Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=9781250271846 |oclc=1342065514}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Rodríguez |first1=Félix |last2=Weisman |first2=John |year=1989 |title=Shadow Warrior/the CIA Hero of a Hundred Unknown Battles|location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0671667211 |oclc=20089791}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schroen |first=Gary |year=2005 |title=First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan |location=New York |publisher=Presidio Press/Ballantine Books |isbn=9780891418726 |oclc=978097473}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Southworth |first1=Samuel A. |last2=Tanner |first2=Stephen |year=2002 |title=U.S. Special Forces: A Guide to America's Special Operations Units: The World's Most Elite Fighting Force |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=9780306811654 |oclc=54697682}}
* {{Cite web |last1=Stone |first1=Captain Kathryn |date=7 April 2003 |title='All Necessary Means': Employing CIA Operatives in a Warfighting Role Alongside Special Operations Forces |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA415779 |others=Project Advisor: Professor Anthony R. Williams |series=USAWC Strategy Research Project |location=Carlisle Barracks, PA |publisher=United States Army War College (USAWC) |oclc=834251829 |access-date=30 July 2023}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Tenet |first1=George |author1-link=George Tenet |last2=Harlow |first2=Bill |year=2007 |title=At the Center of the Storm: My Life at the CIA |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780061147784 |oclc=990377270}}
* {{Cite book |last=Triay |first=Victor Andres |year=2001 |title=Bay of Pigs: An Oral History of Brigade 2506 |location= Gainesville, FL |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=9780813020907 |oclc=45505959}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Mike |last2=Faddis |first2=Charles |year=2008 |title=Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq |location=Guilford, Conn. |publisher=The Lyons Press |isbn=9781599213668 |oclc=258096538}}
* {{Cite book |last=Warner |first=Roger |year=1996 |title=Shooting at the Moon: The Story of America's Clandestine War in Laos |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gUJuAAAAMAAJ |location=South Royalton, Vt. |publisher=Steerforth Press |isbn=9781883642365 |oclc=703871664}} The history of CIA/IAD'S 15-year involvement in conducting the secret war in Laos, 1960–1975, and the career of CIA PMCO (paramilitary case officer) Bill Lair.
* {{Cite book |last=Woodward |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Woodward |year=2004 |title=Plan of Attack |title-link=Plan of Attack |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9780743255479 |oclc=1336842313}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wyden |first=Peter |year=1979 |title=Bay of Pigs: The Untold Story |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9780671240066 |oclc=5707118}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last1=Barnes |first1=Scott T. |author2=Melva Libb |year=1987 |title=BOHICA |location=Canton, Ohio |publisher=Bohica Corp. |isbn=9780938936619 |oclc=16129978}}{{Self-published source|date=July 2023}}  In depth revelations of ISA members, Jerry Daniels and CIA operations in Laos.
* {{Cite book |last1=Berntsen |first1=Gary |author2=Ralph Pezzulla |year=2005 |title=Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and AL Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Field Commander |location=New York |publisher=Crown Publishers |isbn=9780307237408 |oclc=1311507767}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bowden |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Bowden |year=1999 |title=Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War |location=New York |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |isbn=0871137380 |oclc=777419175}} About [[Operation Gothic Serpent]].
* {{Cite book |last=Bowden |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Bowden |year=2001 |title=Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw |title-link=Killing Pablo (book) |location=New York |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |isbn=0871137836 |oclc=45086854}} About the hunt for [[Pablo Escobar]].
* {{Cite book |last= Brown |first=Anthony Cave |author-link=Anthony Cave Brown |title=Wild Bill Donovan: The Last Hero |date=1982 |location=New York |publisher=Times Books |isbn=9780812910216 |oclc=123143243}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fury |first=Dalton |year=2008 |title=Kill bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=9780312567408 |oclc=781929964}}
* {{Cite book |last=Haney |first=Eric L. |author-link=Eric L. Haney |year=2002 |title=Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit |location=New York |publisher=Delacorte Press |isbn=9780385336031 |oclc=48649106}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Hersh |first=Seymour M. |author-link=Seymour M. Hersh |date=7 July 2008 |orig-date=July 7 & 14, 2008 issue |title=Preparing the Battlefield |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702024011/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh/ |archive-date=2 July 2008 |url-status=live |department=Annals of National Security |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Holober |first=Frank |year=1999 |title=Raiders of the China Coast: CIA Covert Operations During the Korean War |location=Annapolis Md |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=1557503885 |oclc=40061318}} History of CIA/IAD paramilitary operations in the Taiwan Straits, 1947–1955, with details on such PMCOs as Ernie Tskikerdanos.
* {{Cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=E. Howard |author1-link=E. Howard Hunt |author2=Greg Aunapu |year=2007 |title=American Spy: My Secret History in the CIA, Watergate, and Beyond |others=Foreword by [[William F. Buckley, Jr.]] |location=Hoboken, N.J. |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9780471789826 |oclc=70673172}}
* {{Cite book |last=Knaus |first=John Kenneth |year=1999 |title=Orphans of the Cold War: America and the Tibetan Struggle for Survival |location=New York |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=9781891620188 |oclc=40714203}}
* {{Cite web <!-- Alphabetized under National Geographic --> |title=Classified: CIA Confidential |url=http://www.natgeotv.com/asia/classified-cia-confidential |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618052316/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/cia-confidential/all/Overview |archive-date=18 June 2009 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[National Geographic]]}} Afghanistan and Pakistan.  On the four episode series from 2009: {{IMDb title |id=tt1462726 |title=CIA Confidential}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Naylor |first=Sean |author-link=Sean Naylor |year=2005 |title=Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda |location=New York |publisher=Berkley Books |isbn=9780425196090 |oclc=56592513}} About [[Operation Anaconda]].
* {{Cite book |last=Prados |first=John |year=2006 |title=Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA |location=Chicago |publisher=Ivan R. Dee, Inc. |isbn=9781566635745 |oclc=64591926}}
* {{Cite book |last=Robbins |first=Chris |year=1979 |title=Air America |location=New York |publisher=Putnam |isbn=0399122079 |oclc=4495268}} About the history of the CIA/IAD's war in Laos.
* {{Cite book |last=Robbins |first=Chris |year=1987 |title=The Ravens: The Men Who Flew in America's Secret War in Laos |location=New York |publisher=Crown Publishers |isbn=0517566125 |oclc=15366820}}
* {{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Linda |year=2004 |title=Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the Special Forces |location=New York |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=9781586482497 |oclc=56214553}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schroen |first=Gary C. |year=2005 |title=First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan |location=New York |publisher=Presidio Press/Ballantine Books, New York |isbn=9780891418757 |oclc=57722591}}
* {{Cite book |last=Suskind |first=Ron |year=2006 |title=The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11 |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9780743271097 |oclc=70055568}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stanton |first=Doug |year=2009 |title=Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan |location=New York |publisher=Scribner |isbn=9781416580515 |oclc=323247923}}
* {{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Jeremy |author-link=Jeremy Wilson |year=2004 |title=Seven Pillars of Wisdom – Triumph and Tragedy |url=http://telawrencestudies.org/telawrencestudies/writings_and_criticism/7_pillars_wilson_1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220232917/http://telawrencestudies.org:80/telawrencestudies/writings_and_criticism/7_pillars_wilson_1.htm |archive-date=20 December 2008 |url-status=dead |work=T. E. Lawrence Studies |access-date=July 17, 2008}}
* {{Cite book |last=Woodward |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Woodward |year=2002 |title=Bush at War |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9780743204736 |oclc=51098238}} Detailing the initial invasion of Afghanistan and the role of the SAD.

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.cia.gov/|name=Official Website of the CIA}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150906080048/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-work-of-a-nation/86402%20Factbook-low.pdf Central Intelligence Agency: The Work of a Nation • The Center of Intelliegence]
* [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/mossad-carries-assassinations-180422152144736.html Israel's most lethal unit, Caesarea], [[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]
* [https://www.operationmilitarykids.org/cia-special-activities-division-sad/ SAD for kids]

{{Intelligence agencies of USA}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1947 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Central Intelligence Agency]]
[[Category:Non-military counterterrorist organizations]]
[[Category:Office of Strategic Services|Office of Strategic Services]]
[[Category:Paramilitary organizations based in the United States]]