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| Bound by Rules, Facing Ruthless Foes: CIA Limits Put American Safety at Risk |
When it comes to keeping Americans safe, the CIA’s hands are tied. Every mission, every move, every whispered word has to pass through a maze of rules and oversight. U.S. laws, international agreements, layers of red tape—CIA operatives are bound to play by the book. Accountability, human rights, democratic values? They’re not just buzzwords; they’re the ground rules the CIA has to follow, no exceptions.
Meanwhile, Russia’s FSB and GRU are in a
whole different ballgame. Cyberattacks that black out power grids? Standard
practice. Disinformation campaigns that twist the truth and spark chaos? Part
of the playbook. Silencing enemies with a swift, brutal hit? Just another day
at the office. No red tape, no oversight, no rules to hold them back.
This isn’t just some bureaucratic
headache—it’s a threat to American safety. While the CIA is reined in by laws
and ethics, Russian intelligence is off the leash, undermining U.S. interests
wherever they see fit, at home and abroad. Those rules that keep the CIA in
check may protect American values, but in a world where Russia’s operatives
break every convention, sometimes playing fair can come at a dangerously high
price.
Take ‘Operation Merlin’—a textbook example
of how red tape can choke a mission. Back in the late '90s and early 2000s, the
CIA hatched a plan to throw a wrench in Iran’s nuclear program. The idea? Hand
over nuclear blueprints with a few crucial “errors” baked in, just enough to
send Iranian scientists down the wrong path and slow them down.
But here’s where it gets tangled. Every
detail had to pass through layers of legal checks, ethical guidelines, and
oversight procedures. The CIA couldn’t make the blueprints as flawed as they
wanted, all because of concerns over violating arms control agreements and
causing international blowback. So, the operation went forward cautiously, with
hands tied.
As you might guess, the operation didn’t
go as planned. Instead of slowing Iran down, it actually helped them identify
weaknesses in their own research, ironically boosting their progress. The
mission backfired—all because the CIA had to play by the rules. Meanwhile,
Russia’s FSB and GRU would’ve handled it without hesitation, using any means
necessary, with no oversight or legal red tape to hold them back.
Then there’s the matter of targeted
killings—a shadowy tool in the intelligence game, and one that’s bound up in
red tape for the CIA. Assassinations? That’s a serious line the agency can’t
just cross on a whim. Thanks to ‘Executive Order 12333’, signed back in 1981,
political assassinations are flat-out banned. Sure, the CIA can still use
lethal force, but only after wading through a swamp of protocols and approvals.
Each drone strike, every single targeted
operation—it’s all debated, reviewed, scrutinized to the letter. The goal is to
minimize collateral damage and stay firmly within U.S. law.
Back in the late ’90s, the CIA came close
to taking out Osama bin Laden. They’d tracked him to a camp in Kandahar, and a
cruise missile strike was on the table. But red tape killed the plan. Concerns
over collateral damage and Executive Order 12333—banning political
assassinations—meant the CIA had to clear every detail. When officials learned
dignitaries from the UAE were at the camp, the strike was scrapped. The mission
fizzled, and bin Laden got away, showing just how much the CIA’s hands are tied
by legal limits, even with high-stakes targets in sight.
Russia’s FSB and GRU, on the other hand,
don’t play by any rulebook. Their methods are ruthless. Take Alexander
Litvinenko, a former FSB agent poisoned in 2006 with radioactive polonium
slipped into his tea. Or Sergei Skripal, a Russian defector attacked in 2018
with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, on British soil. These were cold,
brutal messages from the Kremlin, no matter the fallout or civilian casualties.
In my Mission
of Vengeance thriller, the CIA sidesteps the usual red tape when
things heat up by activating a concept I call ‘Obscure Transgression’ (OT)
level. It’s a black-funded, shadow operation, no paper trail, no breadcrumbs
for Congress to track. It’s still overseen, but only by the President and the
CIA director. As soon as the mission wraps up, the President shuts down OT
level, and everyone goes back to standard protocol.
In Mission
of Vengeance, CIA spymaster Corey Pearson tells his team they’re in
OT level mode. It’s full cloak-and-dagger, operating off the grid and outside
the law, with one objective: find who murdered an innocent American family
vacationing at a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic. No politicians to
answer to, no law enforcement breathing down their necks, just the mission.
Corey knows the CIA isn’t what it used to
be. After 9/11, most of the “cowboys” are gone. But at OT level, they’re back
to being cowboys until the President calls it off. No FBI, no State Department
poking around. Not even the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic is clued
in. They’re off the radar, working until the job is done.
My spy thriller brings out the difference.
The CIA’s hands are tied to democratic principles—every mission, every strike
is scrutinized down to the last detail, weighed against laws, ethics, and
accountability. Meanwhile, Russia’s FSB and GRU do whatever it takes, leaving a
radioactive death trail if they must, with no concern for rules or innocent
bystanders. In the shadow world of espionage, they’re playing an entirely
different game.
And while this dedication to principles is
what makes America what it is, it comes with a cost. By playing fair, we’re up
against adversaries who’ll stop at nothing, knowing our limits let them push
further.
Maybe it's time to consider an Obscure
Transgression (OT) level—a temporary measure allowing the CIA to operate
without the usual restrictions, just for those rare, high-stakes missions where
American lives hang in the balance. With OT level, the CIA could work in the
shadows, moving quickly and decisively, free from the web of oversight. But it
would be strictly temporary, ending the moment the mission is accomplished.
Then, everything reverts back to the standard protocols.
Because in the end, it’s not just the agency that’s on the line—it’s the American public. The truth is, as long as Russia’s spies operate without rules while our intelligence sticks to the playbook, we’ll always be one step behind. And that’s a risk we can’t afford.
Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and the author of the Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster spy thriller series. Check out his latest spy thriller, Misson of Vengeance
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