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University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Agency without an adversary: The Cia and covert actions in the nineteen-eighties and beyond

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The CIA and its covert actions have been oft criticized. After serious Congressional oversight was established in 1976-77 (The Year of Intelligence) covert actions by the Agency tapered off. Did this mean the loss of a powerful tool because of Congressional meddling in foreign affairs or simply the retiring of outmoded practices? Have covert actions conducted in the 1980s including Afghanistan and Nicaragua been successful and will they need to continue now that the United States has become the sole superpower? Proposals to drastically restructure the CIA such as those of Daniel Patrick Moynihan are examined. The methodology will include a definition of covert actions and an examination of the definition of success in covert actions. The success of covert actions will be looked at from several perspectives including short, medium, and long term time frames.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts (MA)
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Political Science
Grantor dc:publisher
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Year
1995

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Gibbs, Edward Alexander

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language dc:language
English

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-1529

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Nevada - Las Vegas
Base URL
oasis.library.unlv.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Gibbs, Edward Alexander. Agency without an adversary: The Cia and covert actions in the nineteen-eighties and beyond. Thesis thesis, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1995. https://doi.org/10.25669/0qwu-4pwu