CovertAction Quarterly
CovertAction Quarterly (formerly CovertAction Information Bulletin) was an American journal in publication from 1978 to 2005, focused primarily on watching and reporting global covert operations. It is generally critical of the Central Intelligence Agency. CovertAction relaunched in May 2018 as CovertAction Magazine.[1]
History and profile
The magazine was founded by former CIA officer turned agency critic Philip Agee, William Schaap, James and Elsie Wilcott, Ellen Ray, William Kunstler, Michael Ratner, and Lou Wolf in 1978.[2][3][lower-alpha 1][6] It was created in order to carry on the work of the preceding publication CounterSpy magazine, which had been shut down as a result of CIA harassment.[7] Contributors included critics of US foreign policy such as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn and Michael Parenti.[3]
By the printing of the second issue, it was carried in eleven bookstores.[8]
The publication became of interest to Congress in 1982 with the passage of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, which made the practice of revealing the name of an undercover officer illegal under U.S. law.[9] The magazine was based in Washington DC.[3][10]
In 1992, with the issue #43, the magazine was renamed as CovertAction Quarterly.[3] In 1998, the magazine won an award from Project Censored for a story by Lawrence Soley in the Spring 1997 issue titled "Phi Beta Capitalism", about corporate influence on universities.[11][12]
Publication of CovertAction Quarterly ceased in 2005 with issue #78, only to be resurrected as CovertAction Magazine in 2018.[13]
Several articles from CovertAction Quarterly were collected in two anthologies, CovertAction: The Roots of Terrorism and Bioterror: Manufacturing Wars The American Way, both published by Ocean Press in 2003.
Publications
Anthologies
- CovertAction: The Roots of Terrorism. (Edited by Ellen Ray & William H. Schaap) Ocean Press, 2003. ISBN 978-1876175849. 310 pages.
- Excerpts available online.
- Bioterror: Manufacturing Wars The American Way. (Edited by Ellen Ray & William H. Schaap) Ocean Press, 2003. ISBN 978-1876175641. 80 pages.
Magazines
- CovertAction Information Bulletin, 1978-1992. (#1-42)
- CovertAction Quarterly, 1992-2005. (#43-78)
- CovertAction Magazine, 2018–present.
References
Notes
- According to Christopher Andrew (who joined the British intelligence service MI5 in order to create its official history),[4] documents in the Mitrokhin Archive indicate that the magazine was established "on the initiative of the KGB" and that the group responsible for producing it was "put together" by Soviet counterintelligence. Andrew writes that there is "no evidence" that anybody associated with the magazine, apart from Agee, was aware of the KGB's role.[5]
Footnotes
- “History”. CovertActionMagazine.com
- https://covertactionmagazine.com/index.php/about-us/
- Peter Knight (2003). Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-57607-812-9. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
- David Walker (February 18, 2003). "Just How Intelligent?". The Guardian. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- Andrew, Christopher; Mitrokhin, Vasili (2001) [1999]. The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB. New York: Basic Books. pp. 232–233. ISBN 978-0-465-00312-9.
- "Lou Wolf of CovertActionMagazine.com & Covert Action Information Bulletin". Internet Archive (Interview). Our Hidden History. May 31, 2018.
- "Covert Action Information Bulletin Premier Issue". archive.org.
- ”Bookstores”. CovertAction Information Bulletin, No. 2, October 1976. (p. 2) Full issue available.
- Blum, Bill (November 3, 2010). "Anti-Empire Report". Z Space. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- "Everyone who has supported CAQ". May 14, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- "Big Business Seeks to Control and Influence U.S. Universities". Project Censored. 1998. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
- Yee, Angie; Sims, Katie (April 30, 2010). Hurtado, Sally (ed.). "Big Business Seeks to Control and Influence U.S. Universities". Project Censored.
- "CovertAction Quarterly: Back Issues". Redacted News. Archived from the original on September 7, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
External links
- Official Website
- Official Archives (All issues)
- CIA Archive Collection of CovertAction Information Bulletin (1978-1987)
- Interview with Lou Wolf. Our Hidden History, May 31, 2018.