---
aliases:
- CHAOS Program
category: Intelligence Operation
created: 2026-05-17
location: Washington, D.C.
summary: The CHAOS Program was a CIA domestic surveillance operation that purchased
  Washington D.C. real estate as cover for monitoring domestic political activities,
  distinct from but related to Operation CHAOS (MHCHAOS).
tags:
- Program
- CIA
- Intelligence
title: CHAOS Program
updated: 2026-05-17
---

The CHAOS Program was a highly secret [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) operation. It involved the Agency's purchase of a [Washington, D.C.](/places/washington-dc/) trash collection company, which had contracts to pick up garbage at various Third World embassies, including the Israeli embassy. The trash was systematically sorted and analyzed for any possible intelligence. [James Jesus Angleton](/people/james-jesus-angleton/) was a sponsor of this program.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 11.