Beyond Repair: The Decline and Fall of the CIA - Brossura

Faddis, Charles

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0762761237 ISBN 13: 9780762761234

Casa editrice: Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc, 2011

Riassunto

From the author's Introduction: Let me start by saying what this book is not.It is not an attack on the men and women of the Clandestine Service of the Central Intelligence Agency, the overwhelming majority of whom are dedicated, patriotic Americans working hard everyday on behalf of their fellow citizens. God knows that they do not do it for the money nor do they do it for the recognition. They do it because they believe in the work, and because they know, as I do, that there really are monsters in the world, and someone has to protect us from them.It is also not an argument against the existence of a central human intelligence collection organization within the United States Government. We desperately needed a central intelligence agency in 1947 when the CIA was created. We even more desperately need such an entity today. The threats facing us are multiplying and becoming more complex. The time horizons in which threats are emerging are shortening. Technology is evolving at an astonishing rate, and we really are fast approaching the day when there will be dozens of groups and nations on this planet capable of threatening us with biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear weapons. This is not pulp fiction. This is reality.This book is an argument that the existing Central Intelligence Agency is no longer capable of performing the task for which it was designed and must, rapidly, be replaced.

Su questo libro

Informazioni sull?autore

Charles Faddis served 20 years in the Central Intelligence Agency as an Operations Officer,
including Department Chief, Central Intelligence Agency's Counter-Terrorist Center, Washington, DC, and Chief of Station – Middle East.

Dalla quarta di copertina

Once upon a time, the CIA took the risks necessary to protect America. “If you fall,” went its mantra, “fall forward.” In Beyond Repair, one of the agency’s most respected former operatives mounts a scathing cri­tique of the preparedness of today’s CIA—and, spe­cifically, the Directorate of Operations at its core—to defend America against the dizzying dangers of the twenty-first century. In a compelling blend of analy­sis and fascinating true-life stories, Charles S. Faddis argues that the CIA has devolved into a low-risk or, often, no-risk bureaucracy of careerists whose mantra might be summed up thus: “Don’t fall.”

“Every senior officer I know in the CIA carries personal liability insurance,” writes Faddis, “because of the fear of being sued for actions taken in the line of duty.” And, he notes, no operatives who commanded CIA teams in Afghanistan have been promoted to key positions. Why? Because they operate within a system that is no longer built to encourage and reward the risk taking and creativity they excelled at.

Faddis discusses the birth of the CIA—then called the Office of Strategic Services—during World War II under “Wild Bill” Donovan, the twentieth-century American father of spy craft. Donovan’s daring would not get him far in today’s CIA, Faddis observes. Describing how the twenty-first-century CIA works from the inside out, he paints an unsettling picture of an agency that has truly gone awry—recalling, for example, his own experience in a Middle Eastern country as a chief of station without a qualified Arabic linguist on hand.

Faddis concludes by setting forth the main points of a plan for building a new entity. He proposes that this agency draw on the best qualities of the OSS (and readopt its name) while adapting to twenty-first-century needs, and that it be staffed by many of the CIA’s finest men and women. This new agency would maintain the midnight watch, so Americans can sleep well at night.

Dal risvolto di copertina interno

Once upon a time, the CIA took the risks necessary to protect America. “If you fall,” went its mantra, “fall forward.” In Beyond Repair, one of the agency’s most respected former operatives mounts a scathing cri­tique of the preparedness of today’s CIA—and, spe­cifically, the Directorate of Operations at its core—to defend America against the dizzying dangers of the twenty-first century. In a compelling blend of analy­sis and fascinating true-life stories, Charles S. Faddis argues that the CIA has devolved into a low-risk or, often, no-risk bureaucracy of careerists whose mantra might be summed up thus: “Don’t fall.”

“Every senior officer I know in the CIA carries personal liability insurance,” writes Faddis, “because of the fear of being sued for actions taken in the line of duty.” And, he notes, no operatives who commanded CIA teams in Afghanistan have been promoted to key positions. Why? Because they operate within a system that is no longer built to encourage and reward the risk taking and creativity they excelled at.

Faddis discusses the birth of the CIA—then called the Office of Strategic Services—during World War II under “Wild Bill” Donovan, the twentieth-century American father of spy craft. Donovan’s daring would not get him far in today’s CIA, Faddis observes. Describing how the twenty-first-century CIA works from the inside out, he paints an unsettling picture of an agency that has truly gone awry—recalling, for example, his own experience in a Middle Eastern country as a chief of station without a qualified Arabic linguist on hand.

Faddis concludes by setting forth the main points of a plan for building a new entity. He proposes that this agency draw on the best qualities of the OSS (and readopt its name) while adapting to twenty-first-century needs, and that it be staffed by many of the CIA’s finest men and women. This new agency would maintain the midnight watch, so Americans can sleep well at night.

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Once upon a time, the CIA took the risks necessary to protect America. If you fall, went its mantra, fall forward. InBeyond Repair, one of the agency s most respected former operatives mounts a scathing cri­tique of the preparedness of today s CIA and, spe­cifically, the Directorate of Operations at its core to defend America against the dizzying dangers of the twenty-first century. In a compelling blend of analy­sis and fascinating true-life stories, Charles S. Faddis argues that the CIA has devolved into a low-risk or, often, no-risk bureaucracy of careerists whose mantra might be summed up thus: Don t fall.

Every senior officer I know in the CIA carries personal liability insurance, writes Faddis, because of the fear of being sued for actions taken in the line of duty. And, he notes, no operatives who commanded CIA teams in Afghanistan have been promoted to key positions. Why? Because they operate within a system that is no longer built to encourage and reward the risk taking and creativity they excelled at.

Faddis discusses the birth of the CIA then called the Office of Strategic Services during World War II under Wild Bill Donovan, the twentieth-century American father of spy craft. Donovan s daring would not get him far in today s CIA, Faddis observes. Describing how the twenty-first-century CIA works from the inside out, he paints an unsettling picture of an agency that has truly gone awry recalling, for example, his own experience in a Middle Eastern country as a chief of station without a qualified Arabic linguist on hand.

Faddis concludes by setting forth the main points of a plan for building a new entity. He proposes that this agency draw on the best qualities of the OSS (and readopt its name) while adapting to twenty-first-century needs, and that it be staffed by many of the CIA s finest men and women. This new agency would maintain the midnight watch, so Americans can sleep well at night.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc
• Data di pubblicazione: 2011
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0762761237
• ISBN 13: 9780762761234
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 224
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Germania