Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11 (Nation Books) [Hardcover]

Melissa Boyle Mahle (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nation Books | Publication Date: November 30, 2004

The recent resignation of CIA boss George Tenet has only highlighted what is for many the greatest political scandal of a generation: the failure of the U.S. intelligence community to combat the threat poised by Islamic fundamentalists and prevent the 9/11 attacks. Melissa Boyle Mahle risked her life working as an undercover CIA field operative in the Middle East until her departure in 2002. She therefore has a unique vantage point from which to view the political and operational culture of the agency in the post–Cold War climate. From Reagan to Bush Jr., Mahle provides a vivid personal and historical narrative on how the CIA became an anorexic organization, lost in the post–Cold War world. Afraid to take risks that might offend Washington politicos and European allies, gutted of the clandestine operators who knew how to run secret wars, exhausted from reform whiplash, and demoralized by demonization and poor performance, the CIA simply became unable and unwilling “to get down and dirty to do the hard part to fight a real war on terrorism.” Denial and Deception describes the last generation of the CIA and is a unique contribution to our understanding of the secret world of intelligence.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A former clandestine agent specializing in the Middle East, Mahle begins with September 11th (she was doing intake on prospective applicants), but the bulk of her work recounts the CIA's involvement in such low watermarks of American intelligence as the Iran-Contra and the Ames affairs, and what she says have been their the devastating internal consequences. This is not just a memoir; Mahle joined the agency in 1988, and she pings back and forth in time, covering events and periods with which she was not directly involved. She decries what she characterizes as indiscriminate Congressional investigations, as well as political pressures to tailor conclusions to the biases of superiors. Both have led, she says, to demoralization and to a serious reduction in the CIA's overall capabilities-with the effects being fully felt now, as the U.S. finds itself in dire need of HUMINT (or human intelligence) from the Middle East and elsewhere. Reading the book is like talking to one of Seymour Hersh's sources, but with the relevance filter off; there's tons of information here-with a good deal on pre- and post-September 11th al-Qaeda-but very few readers will find all of it engaging. Nevertheless, as a major debriefing from an insider, one who writes clearly and often wryly, it succeeds.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A former clandestine agent of the CIA's Directorate of Operations (DO), the author was posted in the Middle East in the 1990s. In this memoir, Mahle includes autobiographical anecdotes as well as analyses of the CIA's organizational and leadership problems in that decade. According to Mahle, the CIA's biggest problem was figuring out what to do after the cold war. Mahle details reforms proposed by successive directors from Robert Gates to George Tenet, and the extent to which these filtered down the line to the DO. She also imparts the flavor of her career--its operational excitement and sense of participating in history (one startling example: her proposal, eventually denied, to snatch a future 9/11 terrorist, Khalid Shaykh Muhammad). Although Mahle is generally supportive of the CIA, she delivers criticism bound to be pertinent to her core audience--potential CIA applicants--concerning an internal-security system she regards as unaccountable. She ran afoul of that system, which terminated her career. She also criticizes the conditions facing women in the male-dominated DO. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (November 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560256494
• ISBN-13: 978-1560256496
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,006,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a former US intelligence officer and expert on the Middle East and terrorism. My professional experience involved me in US intelligence operations throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.

I was one of a handful of female operations officers fluent in Arabic at the CIA. In a male-dominated culture of the CIA, I carved out a career as a successful operations officer, demonstrating by deed that women can make important contributions. I also sought to balance my professional life with a family life, a particularly difficult challenge for a working mother in the intelligence field.

After leaving the clandestine world in 2002, I embarked on a new career as an author, commentator and movie consultant. My first book, Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11, was published in 2005. Part history, part memoir, Denial and Deception answers the question of just what was going on inside the intelligence community in the run up to the 9/11 tragedy. Well received by Washington insiders and lay readers alike, the paperback version was released in 2006. The best part of marketing this book was the opportunity to appear on the Daily Show. Yes, John Stewart is as funny in person.

I also appear in the national electronic and print media as a commentator on intelligence and national security issues and contributes to scholarly journals. On the lighter side, I have a great time participating in youth programs at the International Spy Museum in Washington DC and providing technical advice to Hollywood film makers, with film credits for SALT (staring Angelina Jolie) and Hanna (staring Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan).

My current creative efforts are focused on writing children stories geared for middle grade readers who like adventure and spy thriller novels. My writing partner is Kathryn Dennis, a lifelong friend and fellow adventurer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Useful Single-Person Account Focused on CIA, January 30, 2005

By 

Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11 (Nation Books) (Hardcover)

Edit of 20 Dec 07 to add links.

This is a very personal story by a female case officer who served overseas, did some very hard time over the course of at least fifteen years with the Directorate of Operations, and has produced a very rare book, one that provides some useful documentation of the ups and downs of clandestine operations under five Directors of Central Intelligence (this would be even more impressive if the five had not all been appointed in the space of six years).

This is, without question, one of the best books available on the intimate subject of the clandestine culture, and it offers some lovely gems and personality assessments that intelligence professionals will appreciate more than the general public. I have taken one star off for lack of detail and context, but strongly recommend the book to anyone who has served in the clandestine service and wishes to be reminded of the dark years, and to anyone who has not served in the clandestine service, and wishes to have a small glimmering of the down side of it all.

Although the book does a good job of weaving a somewhat superficial (that is to say, the highlights, not the irrelevant) history of counter-terrorism with a history of bureaucratic mis-steps by a series of DCIs, and the book does a superb job of shredding both CIA lawyers and CIA security officers and CIA's complete lack of counterintelligence, this is primarily a book about the failure of the Directorate of Operations as a tribe, not about the failure of the US Government in the global war on terrorism.

In retrospect, 1983-1985 are the years when the USG and the IC should have gone to "General Quarters," and 1992 was the year when Congress should have risen to its role and passed the Boren-McCurdy National Security Act of 1992. No one comes out of this book looking better than Senator Dave Boren (today the President of the University of Oklahoma) and Congressman Dave McCurdy, both from Oklahoma, both in charge of the respective committees on intelligence, and both bright men with good hearts who were unable to prevail against their less enlightened colleagues.

The author does an excellent job of capturing some of the really low moments in CIA's clandestine history (such as in the 1990's when case officers were advised to take out legal liability insurance, both to protect themselves from CIA witch-hunts and to protect themselves from witch hunts mounted by others against which CIA would not be helpful to them).

The author, who got into trouble over some Palestinian relations that led to her being fired, has *not* written a bitter or a revenge book. This is an excellent and useful book, and for those who wish to study the CIA's clandestine service and its ups and downs in the 1980-2005 timeframe, this is destined to be a core reference. It captures nuances and insights that are not available to outsiders in any other source.

I do, however, want to highlight the author's brief discussion of CIA Security and the shortcomings of CIA security, the excessive reliance by CIA Security on the polygraph (which both Ames and the Cuban agents that blew two of my classmates passed), and the "room from hell" that is created by CIA Security and CIA management for those who are "suspect," more often than not without cause. I was stunned to learn that in the post-Ames environment 400 case officers (400--that is, by some accounts, at least 10% and perhaps as much as 30% of the entire case officer corps!) failed the polygraph as roughly administered by CIA Security, and were referred to the FBI for full field investigations. I cannot articulate the depth of my disdain for any CIA manager that would allow that to happen.

There is a great deal wrong at CIA, and I give the author top marks on her discussion of CIA's over-all attitude of denial and deception across two decades; and her helpful discussion of the culture of deceit and self-service that has prevented the clandestine service from adjusting to reality and being more effective in protecting America. However, as the author is careful to point out, CIA's failure take place in the context of the failures of the FBI, of the White House, and of other governments.

This is not a book I recommend for applicants to the clandestine service, mostly because I do not want to see them dissuaded from applying. The clandestine service is the last great adventure left in the U.S. government, outside of special operations, and no matter how screwed up it might yet be, there is no greater honor and no greater life-affirming engagement, than to be a case officer in the service of your country. Miles Copeland, Without Cloak or Dagger : The truth about the new espionage-- remains my single best suggested work for applicants to the clandestine service.

See also, for the good in CIA:
First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan
Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB

And also the bad:
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
None So Blind: A Personal Account of the Intelligence Failure in Vietnam
Who the Hell Are We Fighting?: The Story of Sam Adams and the Vietnam Intelligence Wars

One last comment: over the next ten years I want to reduce the secret intelligence budget by 80%, down to $12 billion, and redirect the savings into national education and global connectivity for the five billion poor. You can learn more by seeking out information on collective intelligence, peace intelligence, commercial intelligence, gift intelligence, cultural intelligence, and Earth Intelligence. My first book, On Intelligence: Spies and Secrecy in an Open World remains the standard work on why this needs to be done.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just an Okay Book, November 9, 2006

By 

poorard - See all my reviews

This review is from: Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11 (Nation Books) (Hardcover)

It frustrates me to read books lately that have many grammar and spelling mistakes. This book is full of misspelled words, improper grammar and sentences that have no meaning at all. I'm not sure if it is the editor's fault or the writer's fault. But, a simple proof-read would have caught most of these errors.

As far as the book goes, it's just okay. If I had to read it all over again-I wouldn't.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent history of the CIA, November 6, 2005

By 

S. Bowman (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11 (Nation Books) (Hardcover)

The book does not cover Melissa's career much, but instead focuses on the CIA and its history from Iran-Contra until the build-up of the Iraq war. It is a bit dry, but informative. If you're interested in the Clandestine Service and its actions, do NOT read this book. There are better books on that part of the CIA, including Robert Baer's "See No Evil" and Lindsay Moran's "Blowing my Cover" (although I'd wager Mr. Baer would hate to be placed in the same group as Ms. Moran except as "good officer vs. bad one.")