Secret and Sanctioned
Covert Operations and the American Presidency
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9826689 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eliot A Cohen (corresponding author), Stephen Knott (0000-0001-7200-5757), Stephen F Knott |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 75 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 141 |
| Publication date | 1996-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Foreign Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0015-7120 • E-ISSN: 2327-7793 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/20047767 |
| OpenAlex | W2029649350 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
This groundbreaking new book challenges the notion that covert operations are a twentieth-century phenomenon, recounting a wide array of operations sanctioned by America's Founding Fathers. These include George Washington's plan to kidnap King George III's son; Thomas Jefferson's proposal to burn down St Paul's Cathedral in London; James Madison's procuring of a prostitute for a prominent foreign visitor; and Daniel Webster's use of British secret service money to influence American public opinion. In describing these operations and more, Stephen F. Knott challenges the conclusions of the Church and the Iran-Contra Committees that America's Cold War presidents broke faith with the Founding Fathers. While Knott acknowledges the rise of a large clandestine bureaucracy such as the CIA as a twentieth-century innovation, he nonetheless argues that the type of operations conducted by the Founders were remarkably similar to those of their Cold War successors such as Truman and Bush
Covert · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Presidency · Intelligence, Security, War Strategy · Law · Philosophy · Public Administration
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U.S. covert action
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Norms and Security
Accountability and America's Secret Foreign Policy
The Origins and Development of Executive Branch Czars
The Contemporary Presidency
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,27 |
| Citation span | 1996 - 2020 (25) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |