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In Search of Enemies: Central Intelligence Agency Story

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Please read this book. It tells all, that you didn't know about the direction and practices of your own country. I attended a lecture by John Stockwell and he pleads for you to not purchase this book but pirate it from your local library. The US government sued him and won the rights to this book so all proceeds go to the CIA or the Federal government. Also read "The Grand Chessboard" This is the blue print for the United States foreign policy. You will be blown away.

In the last decade, a lot of CIA exposés have been published, with the declassification of many previously unavailable documents. What distinguishes this one is that it was originally published in 1976, which makes it one of the first, and it is written by an extraordinary man who could not have been more personally involved in the subject of his book.

If you are looking for a James Bond genre spy novel, you will be disappointed. If you want to understand, in detail, the actual structure and dynamics of a covert CIA operation, this book is the jackpot. In the early 1970's Mr. Stockwell was in charge of the Angola Task Force. He knows what he is talking about. This book is very direct and hits hard. For the most part Stockwell just presents the facts and allows the reader to decide, but of course the book is written after he experienced a moral rectification and left the CIA. The book is intended as an insider's exposé, and it does a fantastic job. He makes no attempt to justify his own role in the drama, referring to himself as a "villain".

Personally, I found the author to be a fascinating man. He grew up in the heart of the Belgium Congo, where he learned French and Tshiluba, one of the many native languages of the country. Obviously, he got a first hand glimpse of an African nation colonized by a European power. I assume he learned English from his parents, his vocabulary is slightly more extensive than my own.

Later he joined the Marines, and as a reconnaissance officer on a Navy cruise he engaged in covert hydrographic surveys off the western African coast. Afterwards, as a CIA officer, he did a tour of duty in Vietnam, but has apparently had many CIA experiences in many African countries as well. I hope this man writes a biography someday, it would be fascinating.

As the author himself recommends, buy a used copy of this book already in circulation, not a new copy. The CIA sued Stockwell over publication of this book, and all new sales proceeds go to the agency, not to him. That by itself is a strong recommendation to read his story.

I first read this book 27 years ago as a senior in college. The author spent several days on campus lecturing to a small group of seniors who took part in this particualr seminar course. It was absolutely fascinating. I will read this book again.

Later that year I formally applied to the CIA's training program. I attended a large group orientation meeting - maybe 60 people. In the course of the meeting a list of suggested reading material was passed out to all. During Q & A time I asked the CIA presenter why Stockwell's book was conspicuously absent from the reading list. "Oh, you must be the guy from Vassar." was his only comment. He correctly identified me out of an otherwise anonymous group of applicants just from the question I asked. He knew Stockwell was on campus. He knew I must have attended his class. These guys do their homework. I'll never forget it.

Well written book on the operations of the CIA in Angola by a well-respected authority who was once on the inside.

Good title expressing the CIA and US military-industrial complex' need to find enemies since WWII down to our day.

By the former Chief of the Angola Task Force at CIA, this book is a classic on the Keystone Kops aspects of paramilitary operations as run by the CIA"s Special Operations Group within the Directorate of Operations, as well as the lack of contextual judgment that accompanies the CIA's decisions to "get into" local conflicts that are none of our business. Ammunition from the warehouses that doesn't fit the weapons in the field is just the beginning.

Not to put too fine a point on it but this book is DRY - almost like a text book. There is very little action and/or suspense brought forth about involvement in the Angola operation and what could have been was quickly blunted with operational and bureaucratic detail. And that's how the book drags on, with excruciating detail. In one part, Mr. Stockwell describes what he did to finally get a desk to work from at Langley by sitting in the hall in everyone's way and stacking his papers up beside him. What took him pages to describe should've been done in a simple paragraph. To be fair, the book is written from the viewpoint of an intelligence staffer not a cloak and dagger operative. Yes, there might be some interest in how inefficient the CIA was operating back in the mid-1970s but that's true for most large government organizations. He also describes some of the "political" machinations between officials within the CIA. Again, mildly interesting but nothing notable. Some of the descriptions of dialog and reactions of persons seems contrived, almost as if he (or some ghost writer) added these things for effect. It almost "reads" like a fiction novel in that respect. Rather than writing a solid, crisp account with thoughtful and concise opinions about CIA policy and inner workings the book devolves often times into monotonous detail. However, in the latter chapters the account does get more interesting as he discusses "plausible deniability" and the deception of the CIA to "hide" their involvement. One of the more interesting parts is the organizational background and resources needed to run an operation of this type including the shipping of weapons and ammo, the propaganda strategy, the political workings thru committees, the State Department and the President to gain support, etc. The book does makes one wonder what other rebellions or conflicts the CIA was involved in over the last 30-40 years and is an eye opener about our nations espionage policies. On this level, the book succeeds. But, in the end the book was almost a grind to finish. I'd only recommend this one for the hard core 'spook' fan.

It is most interesting to read Mr. Stockwell in light of the fall of the Soviet Union. Before it fell, he was preaching the dread of nuclear annihilation and the common brotherhood of American and Soviet peoples. Ronald Reagan of course, was a apocalyptic fanatic. All well and good - except we won the Cold War and the people behind the Iron Curtain celebrated their liberation for all the world to see. The Soviet horror was worse than we had imagined.

One can not but honor John Stockwell for his service and listen to him carefully for his experience. Especially the bloody mistakes we have made, which he exposes. But in the end, he leaves us with no other plan than for shame and national passivity. What can we do, if all that we do leads to the suffering of innocent peoples caught in the middle?

I make this judgement only from having read John Stockwell and heard his speeches - but he seems like the character who sees too much of the horror of the world - and is utterly cynicized about any good - especially that of his own country. He alone knows the truth.

His first-hand experience makes him a powerful voice. But that does not mean his voice speaks true.