Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins
By Annie Jacobsen
Published by Little, Brown and Company in 2019
English, 560 pages
When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special Activities Division, a highly-classified branch of the CIA and the most effective, black operations force in the world.
Originally known as the president's guerrilla warfare corps, SAD conducts risky and ruthless operations that have evolved over time to defend America from its enemies. Almost every American president since World War II has asked the CIA to conduct sabotage, subversion and, yes, assassination