...the most dangerous thing that anyone could do.
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Encyclopedia: Non-official cover
Updated 19 days 5 hours 58 minutes ago.
Other descriptions of Nonofficial cover
Nonofficial cover is a term used in espionage (particularly by the CIA) for an agent or operative who assumes a covert role in an organization without ties to the government he or she is working for. Espionage is the practice of obtaining secrets (spying) from rivals or enemies for military, political, or economic advantage. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is one of the American foreign intelligence agencies, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...
For example, an agent sent to spy on a foreign country might pose as a journalist, a businessperson, a worker for a non-profit organization (such as a humanitarian group), or an academic. Nonofficial cover is contrasted with official cover, where an agent assumes a position at a seemingly benign department of their government, such as the diplomatic service. If caught, agents under nonofficial cover are usually trained to deny any connection with their government, and do not have many of the protections offered to (for example) accredited diplomats who are caught spying. Some countries have regulations regarding the use of nonofficial cover - the CIA, for example, has at times been prohibited from disgusing agents as members of certain aid organizations, or as members of the clergy. This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ...
The degree of sophistication put into nonofficial cover stories can vary considerably. Sometimes, an agent will simply be appointed to a position in a well-established company which can provide the appropriate opportunities. Other times, entire front companies can be established in order to provide false identities for agents. Examples include Brewster Jennings & Associates, set up by the CIA (and made famous as the nominal employer of exposed agent Valerie Plame). The use of front companies can be dangerous, however, as the exposure of a single agent will expose the entire operation. A front organization, also known as a front group (if it is structured to look like a voluntary association) or a front company or simply a front (if it is structured to look like a company), is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization. ... Brewster Jennings & Associates was a company set up by the United States CIA as a front for its operations. ... Valerie Plame (born 1963) is a former American Central Intelligence Agency employee who was identified as a CIA operative in a newspaper column by Robert Novak on 14 July 2003. ...
In the film, The Recruit, starring Al Pacino as a high-ranking CIA official, recruits NOCs (Colin Farrell). The Recruit is a spy thriller movie starring Colin Farrell and Al Pacino. ...
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http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Nonofficial-cover<snip>
July 19, 2005
Treason Most Foul from Within the White House
A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION
by JM Ivler
There are leaks, and then there are leaks. In leaking the identity of the deepest undercover operative that the CIA has, a NOC, someone committed an act of treason and put the United States in grave danger. By leaking the identity of the NOC the person blew the cover off the NOC's CIA created business front, one also used by other NOCs. That put all those people who had any contact with the NOC that was leaked, and all the other NOCs associated to that business front, at risk.
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http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/05/07/con05242.html