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Better Together
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Johnson, a former assistant to Defense Secretary Les Aspin and now a university professor, defends the U.S. intelligence networks from the charges of ineptitude that have followed embarrassments like the Aldrich Ames case and the rout of the CIA-backed Kurds in Iraq. He argues that the successes of the CIA and the intelligence community far outweigh such setbacks, and that even the failures are often laid at the wrong door: good intelligence has often been ignored by the upper (political) levels of the bureaucracy. He cites the analysis of Gorbachev's perestroika as an example, detailing the fight by the agency's Soviet experts to get the Director to accept that a significant change was underway.
From Publishers Weekly
It is doubtful if any intelligence agency can ever be totally "clean." By their nature, they attract adventurers and renegades. Some are sincere patriots, others merely self-serving and potential defectors. Johnson ably mixes an overview of the purpose and philosophy of clandestine operations with a chronicle of the activities and relationships of current U.S. agencies. There is even George Washington's secret code number (711), as well as "Rebel Rose" O'Neil's contribution to Confederate victory at the battle of Bull Run. Johnson, a University of Georgia political science professor, is evenhanded in describing U.S. intelligence's successes, as well as its dirty-pool black marks?the Allende affair, internal surveillance of Vietnam protesters, Iran-Contra and others less well-known. He also describes clearly the attempts at control of this "secret government," its operations and, especially, its finances. Not all intelligence efforts have been successful, and many have enraged both the executive and legislative branches. At one point, Senator Daniel Moynihan even advocated total abolition of the CIA. The author assesses the future of both overt and covert operations, mentioning the downgrading of hi-tech intelligence since the end of the Cold War and reemergence of the old cloak-and-dagger techniques. The primary sources are impressive, and the text, though dense, is highly readable. Illustrations.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
Johnson, a former assistant to Defense Secretary Les Aspin and now a university professor, defends the U.S. intelligence networks from the charges of ineptitude that have followed embarrassments like the Aldrich Ames case and the rout of the CIA-backed Kurds in Iraq. He argues that the successes of the CIA and the intelligence community far outweigh such setbacks, and that even the failures are often laid at the wrong door: good intelligence has often been ignored by the upper (political) levels of the bureaucracy. He cites the analysis of Gorbachev's perestroika as an example, detailing the fight by the agency's Soviet experts to get the Director to accept that a significant change was underway.
From Publishers Weekly
It is doubtful if any intelligence agency can ever be totally "clean." By their nature, they attract adventurers and renegades. Some are sincere patriots, others merely self-serving and potential defectors. Johnson ably mixes an overview of the purpose and philosophy of clandestine operations with a chronicle of the activities and relationships of current U.S. agencies. There is even George Washington's secret code number (711), as well as "Rebel Rose" O'Neil's contribution to Confederate victory at the battle of Bull Run. Johnson, a University of Georgia political science professor, is evenhanded in describing U.S. intelligence's successes, as well as its dirty-pool black marks?the Allende affair, internal surveillance of Vietnam protesters, Iran-Contra and others less well-known. He also describes clearly the attempts at control of this "secret government," its operations and, especially, its finances. Not all intelligence efforts have been successful, and many have enraged both the executive and legislative branches. At one point, Senator Daniel Moynihan even advocated total abolition of the CIA. The author assesses the future of both overt and covert operations, mentioning the downgrading of hi-tech intelligence since the end of the Cold War and reemergence of the old cloak-and-dagger techniques. The primary sources are impressive, and the text, though dense, is highly readable. Illustrations.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
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