Pickleloaf.com : Books : The CIA at War: Inside the Secret Campaign Against Terror

With the CIA at the core of the war on terror, no agency is as important to preserving America's freedom. Yet the CIA is a closed and secretive world-impenetrable to generations of journalists-and few Americans know what really goes on among the spy masters who plot America's worldwide campaign against terrorists.

Only Ronald Kessler, an award-winning former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, could have gained the unprecedented access to tell the story. Kessler interviewed fifty current CIA officers, including all the agency's top officials, and toured areas of the CIA the media has never seen. The agency actively encouraged retired CIA officers and officials to talk with him as well. In six years as director, George J. Tenet has never appeared on TV shows and has given only a handful of print interviews, all before 9/11, but Tenet agreed to be interviewed by Kessler for this book. He spoke candidly and passionately about the events of 9/11, the war on terror, the agency's intelligence on Iraq, and the controversies surrounding the agency.

The CIA at War tells the inside story of how Tenet, a son of Greek immigrants, turned around the CIA from a pathetic, risk averse outfit to one that has rolled up 3,000 terrorists since 9/11, was critically important to winning in Afghanistan and Iraq, and now kills terrorists with its Predator drone aircraft.

The book portrays Tenet as a true American hero, one who overcame every kind of Washington obstacle and the destructive actions of previous director John Deutch to make the agency a success. As Tenet said in a recent speech, "Nowhere in the world could the son of an immigrant stand before you as the director of Central Intelligence. This is simply the greatest country on the face of the earth."

The CIA at War discloses highly sensitive information about the CIA's unorthodox methods and its stunning successes and shocking failures. The book explores whether the CIA can be trusted, whether its intelligence is politicized, and whether it is capable of winning the war on terror. In doing so, the book weaves in the history of the CIA and how it really works. It is the definitive account of the agency.

From the CIA's intelligence failure of 9/11 to its critical role in preventing further attacks, The CIA at War tells a riveting, unique story about a secretive, powerful agency and its confrontation with global terrorism.


Books : The CIA at War: Inside the Secret Campaign Against Terror In association with Amazon.com by: Ronald Kessler List Price: $27.95 Price: $7.82 You Save: $20.13 (72%) Prices subject to change. Collectible Price: $27.95 Third Party New Price: $7.82 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Binding: Hardcover Format: Bargain Price Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 496 Publication Date: October 01, 2003 Sales Rank: 1447256 Related Items: Inside the CIA: Revealing the Secrets of the World's Most Powerful Spy Agency The American Agent: My Life in the CIA The Craft of Intelligence: America's Legendary Spy Master on the Fundamentals of Intelligence Gathering for a Free World Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan see more Editorial Review: Product Description: With the CIA at the core of the war on terror, no agency is as important to preserving America's freedom. Yet the CIA is a closed and secretive world-impenetrable to generations of journalists-and few Americans know what really goes on among the spy masters who plot America's worldwide campaign against terrorists. Only Ronald Kessler, an award-winning former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, could have gained the unprecedented access to tell the story. Kessler interviewed fifty current CIA officers, including all the agency's top officials, and toured areas of the CIA the media has never seen. The agency actively encouraged retired CIA officers and officials to talk with him as well. In six years as director, George J. Tenet has never appeared on TV shows and has given only a handful of print interviews, all before 9/11, but Tenet agreed to be interviewed by Kessler for this book. He spoke candidly and passionately about the events of 9/11, the war on terror, the agency's intelligence on Iraq, and the controversies surrounding the agency. The CIA at War tells the inside story of how Tenet, a son of Greek immigrants, turned around the CIA from a pathetic, risk averse outfit to one that has rolled up 3,000 terrorists since 9/11, was critically important to winning in Afghanistan and Iraq, and now kills terrorists with its Predator drone aircraft. The book portrays Tenet as a true American hero, one who overcame every kind of Washington obstacle and the destructive actions of previous director John Deutch to make the agency a success. As Tenet said in a recent speech, "Nowhere in the world could the son of an immigrant stand before you as the director of Central Intelligence. This is simply the greatest country on the face of the earth." The CIA at War discloses highly sensitive information about the CIA's unorthodox methods and its stunning successes and shocking failures. The book explores whether the CIA can be trusted, whether its intelligence is politicized, and whether it is capable of winning the war on terror. In doing so, the book weaves in the history of the CIA and how it really works. It is the definitive account of the agency. From the CIA's intelligence failure of 9/11 to its critical role in preventing further attacks, The CIA at War tells a riveting, unique story about a secretive, powerful agency and its confrontation with global terrorism. Customer Reviews Average Rating: Rating: - So-So You can tell this is written from an outsider. No matter how much access he had to "secrets" he doesn't understand what he is talking about like someone who has done it as their career and written about it from the inside. The beginning of the book is very hard to follow and repeats information, often in random order. Names are thrown in so fast it is hard to keep track of who he is talking about or what the person's job is/was. It does settle out toward the middle and becomes pleasantly readable ... Read More Rating: - CIA at War Detailed look at the workings of the Agency and the influence of its Directors on work and morale; however, the author presented an uncritically positive characterization of Tenet and an equally rosy portrayal of President Bush's handling of foreign affairs. The author ignores lingering questions and concerns (e.g. where are the weapons of mass destruction, statements by the Administration linking Hussein and al Qaeda), frequently uses partisan language and soundbites to describe President Clinton, and, ... Read More Rating: - Tantalising but unsatisfying Ronald Kessler, a New York Times journalist and best-selling author, gained impressive access to the CIA and recorded interviews with many of its highest officers, past and present. The result is the CIA at War, a tantalising journey into the organization, its history, secrets, travails, and successes. From a Cold War operation run by Ivy League East Coast insiders to an enormous apparatus of human and technological counterterrorism headed by a son of immigrants, the CIA has chalked up remarkable ... Read More Rating: - Best Reasoning Yet for Iraq War I've read other books by Ronald Kessler, and I like his style enough to have bought this one. I'm glad I did. I wanted to learn more about intelligence and it's application in government and military decision making, and this book takes an inside look at just that. The most striking element of the book is the well-reasoned and compelling justification for the war in Iraq. I've been military for over a quarter of a century, but didn't understand the argument for attacking Iraq until after reading ... Read More Rating: - boomer sooner Instead of providing great insight into the "secret campaign against terror", the author decides to give a very pro-republican view of american leadership with respect to intelligence. The author keeps his train of thougt for about one page, then gives a page of background or set-up, then another page of his original thought, then another of background...you get the picture. While the book contains some interesting facts there are definitely much better books available about the CIA. see more Browse for similar items by category: Subjects Refinements - Books - Hardcover Refinements - Books - Printed Books