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===Laws===
Under U.S.US law, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) must lead covert operations unless the president finds that another agency should do so and properly informs Congress. Normally, the CIA is the U.S. government agency legally allowed to carry out covert action.<ref name="Executive Secrets 2004, page 25">''Executive Secrets: Covert Action and the Presidency'', William J. Daugherty, University of Kentucky Press, 2004, page 25.</ref> The CIA's authority to conduct covert action comes from the [[National Security Act of 1947]].<ref name="Executive Secrets 2004">William J. Daugherty, ''Executive Secrets: Covert Action and the Presidency'', University of Kentucky Press, 2004.</ref> President [[Ronald Reagan]] issued [[Executive Order 12333]] titled ''United States Intelligence Activities'' in 1984. This order defined covert action as "special activities", both political and military, that the US Government could legally deny. The CIA was also designated as the sole authority under the 1991 [[Intelligence Authorization Act]] and in [[Title 50 of the United States Code]] Section 413(e).<ref name="Executive Secrets 2004"/><ref>''All Necessary Means: Employing CIA operatives in a Warfighting Role Alongside Special Operations Forces'', Colonel Kathryn Stone, Professor Anthony R. Williams (Project Advisor), United States Army War College (USAWC), 7 April 2003, page 7</ref> The CIA must have a "Presidential Finding" issued by the President of the United States in order to conduct these activities under the [[Hughes-Ryan Amendment|Hughes-Ryan amendment]] to the 1991 Intelligence Authorization Act.<ref name="Executive Secrets 2004, page 25"/> These findings are then monitored by the oversight committees in both the U.S.US Senate and the House of Representatives.<ref>Daugherty, 2004, page 28.</ref> As a result of this framework, William J. Daugherty writes that the CIA "receives more oversight from the Congress than any other agency in the federal government", according to one author.<ref>Daugherty, 2004, page 29.</ref> The [[Special Activities Division]] (SAD) is a division of the CIA's [[Directorate of Operations (CIA)|Directorate of Operations]], responsible for Covert Action and "Special Activities". These special activities include covert political influence and paramilitary operations.
===Covert vs. clandestine operations===
{{See also|Active measures}}
Covert operations and [[clandestine operation]]s are distinct but may overlap. A clandestine operation and its effects may go completely unnoticed. The [[United States Department of Defense]] definition has been used by the United States and [[NATO]] since [[World War II]]. In a covert operation, the identity of the sponsor is concealed, while in a clandestine operation the operation itself is concealed. Put differently, ''clandestine'' means "hidden", while ''covert'' means "[[Plausible deniability|deniable]]". The term ''[[stealth technology|stealth]]'' refers both to a broad set of [[military tactics|tactics]] aimed at providing and preserving the element of surprise and reducing enemy resistance and to a set of [[Technology|technologies]] ([[stealth technology]]) to aid in those tactics. While secrecy and stealthiness are often desired in clandestine and covert operations, the terms ''"secret''" and ''"stealthy''" are not used to formally describe types of missions.
===Impact===
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