Moby Says CIA Agents Asked Him to Spread the Word About Trump and Russia | Pitchfork

[Thomas Eckhardt]

> It's the CIA's job to seek covert information, which is fine, actually
> needed and important, if done legally.

It is one part of the CIA's job. The other part of their duty is "to 
perform such other functions and duties related to intelligence 
affecting the national security as the National Security Council may 
from time to time direct." (National Security Act, 1947)

These "other functions and duties" were described in more detail in NSC 
10/2:

"The Central Intelligence Agency is charged by the National Security 
Council with conducting espionage and counter-espionage operations 
abroad. It therefore seems desirable, for operational reasons, not to 
create a new agency for covert operations, but in time of peace to place 
the responsibility for them within the structure of the Central 
Intelligence Agency and correlate them with espionage and 
counter-espionage operations under the over-all control of the Director 
of Central Intelligence."

George Kennan saw covert operations as a crucial element of political 
warfare and wanted it to be controlled by the State Department. It 
wasn't to be.

"Plausible deniability" is of the essence:

"As used in this directive, 'covert operations' are understood to be all 
activities (except as noted herein) which are conducted or sponsored by 
this Government against hostile foreign states or groups or in support 
of friendly foreign states or groups but which are so planned and 
executed that any US Government responsibility for them is not evident 
to unauthorized persons and that if uncovered the US Government can 
plausibly disclaim any responsibility for them. Specifically, such 
operations shall include any covert activities related to: propaganda, 
economic warfare; preventive direct action, including sabotage, 
anti-sabotage, demolition and evacuation measures; subversion against 
hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance 
movements, guerrillas and refugee liberation groups, and support of 
indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the free 
world. Such operations shall not include armed conflict by recognized 
military forces, espionage, counter-espionage, and cover and deception 
for military operations."

NSC 10/2, 1948

And here are the Stay-Behind-Armies aka Gladio:

„Develop underground resistance and facilitate covert and guerrilla 
operations in strategic areas to the maximum practicable extent 
consistent with 1–a above, and ensure availability of these forces in 
the event of war for utilization in accordance with principles 
established by the National Security Council, including wherever 
practicable provision of a base upon which the military may expand these 
forces on a military basis in time of war within active theaters of 
operations.“

NSC 10/5, 1951

The rest, as they say, is history. In 1953, the long and sordid history 
of CIA regime changes began. As the NYT article forwarded by Mark Kohut 
shows in well-researched detail, it continues to this day.