blowback
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Blowback is an intelligence term for the unintended and harmful consequences of a covert operation or foreign intervention returning against its sponsor or its society. It is used, for example, to describe how support for Afghan mujahideen was followed by the growth of forces associated with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, producing consequences for the former sponsors and their allies.
In depth
Usage and scope
The term does not mean every policy failure or unexpected result. It refers more specifically to the process by which political or military relationships created through undisclosed operations turn back against the sponsor, often obscuring the original cause from the public that acted in the sponsor’s name.
In Afghanistan, US and Pakistani intelligence support for the mujahideen pursued the immediate aim of opposing the Soviet intervention, but the postwar reconfiguration of armed networks and regional power relations intersected with conditions that enabled the rise of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The term summarises that consequence without establishing a single, linear account of how every actor formed or assigning identical responsibility to all participants.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) (defines blowback as unintended, unwanted consequences of covert operations and discusses CIA support to Afghan insurgents and later al-Qaeda connections)
- tandfonline.com (Chalmers Johnson, “The Costs of Letting the Pentagon Dominate Foreign Policy,” identifies blowback as a CIA term for unintended consequences of covert operations)