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NOC Agents in the CIA

Explore articles examining the roles and operations of Non-Official Cover (NOC) agents within the CIA. Discover insights into their missions, challenges, and impact on intelligence gathering.

The Next Steps in Reshaping Intelligence
Gregory F. Treverton et al. – RAND Corporation, 2005
RAND paper assesses post-9/11 intelligence reforms and recommends expanding and better supporting NOC officers, highlighting training, legal issues, and oversight.
How to Prevent the Next Edward Snowden: Intelligence Re-Reform
Sue Mi Terry – Foreign Affairs, 17 Jun 2013
Foreign Affairs essay calls for stronger non-official cover programs and mid-career recruiting to bolster HUMINT, arguing that high-risk NOCs are crucial for penetrating terrorist networks despite cost and danger.
CIA's Secret Fear: High-Tech Border Checks Will Blow Spies' Cover
Jeff Stein – Wired, 12 Apr 2012
Wired investigates how biometric passports and iris scanners threaten travel under false identities, forcing the CIA to adapt NOC tradecraft and recruit assets inside foreign border agencies.
The Counterterrorist Myth
Reuel Marc Gerecht – The Atlantic, Jul/Aug 2001
Former CIA case officer Reuel Marc Gerecht argues that risk-averse culture and scarce Arabic-speaking NOCs hampered pre-9/11 counterterrorism, providing insider detail on recruitment, training and field limits.
Expanding the Covert Agent Secrecy Law Threatens to Chill Reporting
Linda Moon – Just Security, 25 Jul 2019
Legal analysis of proposed Intelligence Identities Protection Act expansion explains why NOCs are most vulnerable, outlining historical context, safeguards, and potential press-freedom ramifications.
The 'Fragile Mosaic' of Establishing CIA Covers
Greg Miller & Liane Hansen – NPR, 17 Jul 2005
NPR interview with reporter Greg Miller on the complex deception needed to shield covert officers such as NOCs, using the Valerie Plame affair to examine cover creation, compromise and impact.
A Curtain Lifts on the Life of Spies
Dana Priest – Washington Post, 14 Nov 2003
Dana Priest explores how CIA officers transition from years under non-official cover, how covers are built, maintained and rolled back, and why NOCs like Valerie Plame face unique exposure dangers.
The CIA Sent Him Deep Undercover to Spy on Islamic Radicals. It Cost Him Everything
Zach Dorfman – Rolling Stone, 11 Aug 2024
Investigative feature chronicles the post-9/11 expansion of the CIA’s NOC program through one officer’s mission, detailing recruitment, tradecraft, risks and bureaucratic battles.