| Foreword | |
| Members of the Task Force | |
| Report of the Task Force | 1 |
| Background Paper | 25 |
| Introduction | 27 |
| 1 | Covert Action Defined | 29 |
| 2 | The Evolution of Covert Action | 35 |
| 3 | Arguments for Covert Action | 41 |
| 4 | Arguments Against Covert Action | 45 |
| 5 | The Propriety of Covert Action | 49 |
| 6 | Planning and Approving Covert Action Operations | 53 |
| 7 | The Oversight of Covert Action | 61 |
| 8 | Covert Action in the 1990s | 75 |
| Appendix A: Overview of U.S. Covert Action Since World War II | 81 |
| Appendix B: National Security Decision Directive 286 | 87 |
| Appendix C: Sample Presidential Finding | 95 |
| Appendix D: Excerpt from Public Law 102-88 | 97 |
| Appendix E: Excerpt from the Conference Committee Report | 107 |
| Notes | 117 |
| Selected Bibliography | 127 |
| Index | 143 |