US Led Regime Change via Covert Operation—The Arcane 5th Function

Throughout its history the United States has used regime change, employing military and covert operations to overthrow or prop up governments as part of an integral tool of US foreign policy for over a hundred years. Beginning with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, the Spanish-American War in 1898, continuing through to the Cold War and into the present day, the United States has remained steadfast in its zeal to overthrow governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals. No other nation in modern history has carried out regime change so often, and done so, in so many locations away from its own shores. Various US administrations have honed statecraft to depose foreign governments and America’s unique policy of regime-change can be classified into three main eras according to author Stephen Kinzer—The imperial era; The cold war era; And the invasion era. Although the invasion of Iraq is the most recent example of direct military force used by the United States, to exert its power and alter another country's leadership, it certainly is not the first. Iraq (2003) was the culmination of a 110-year period during which the United States overthrew fourteen governments, that drew the ire of America’s top politicians, all in the name of preserving US strategic and business interests. Iraq was arguably the most blatant form of American military intervention but was not isolated, because previously the United States attempted to change governments in other countries 72 times during the Cold War. US policy makers have used a variety of means to address perceived problems within the foreign policy arena to achieve strategic, economic and political goals. Regime change is a valuable instrument in the American foreign policy toolkit, because it eliminates core threats, supports friendly governments and promotes free trade regimes advantageous to the United States. One of the most contested areas of regime change missions, is the use of covert or secret operations as a policy tool, compared to more overt choices such as full scale military theatre. This two-part episode will focus on the covert element of American public policy, where the United States has played an active role in destabilizing foreign governments, deposing foreign leaders, and launching military regime change. In Part 1, I will begin with a brief primer on covert activity before examining the reasons why covert action has been used as a policy tool by the US government. I will then address the next issue; Whether covert action serves its purpose as a useful mechanism to achieve US foreign policy goals. The examples and analysis provided will offer an insight, into high level US government activity, and the manipulative statecraft employed by the most powerful economy and military force in the world, as part of its ongoing efforts to influence geo-political discourse and maintain its global hegemony.