See no evil.
Matthew X
profrv at nex.net.au
Sat May 8 02:09:22 PDT 1999
Counterintelligence Book Review.(Counter intelligence could be the
opeRATive words here,pr)
By CI Centre Professor Hayden B. Peake
A Street-Mans Story
See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism
By Robert BAER
(New York: Crown, 2002), 284 pp., glossary, photos, index. $25.95
Edward SHIRLEYs acidic Know Thine Enemy is a recent contribution to the
intelligence literature of discontent. At first glance Robert BAERs book
might appear to fall in the same category, but that judgment would be
wrong. See No Evil is better characterized as a memoir of disillusionment
written in a positive style, not the bitter tone of those who wrote because
they could not cope with the demands of the clandestine life. While at
times critical, BAER clearly is proud of the CIA and his service during his
twenty-four year career. The book tells of his unusual upbringing and his
recruitment by the Agency that saw in him the makings of a promising case
officer. With restrained modesty, BAER provides a first hand view of a
successful case officer in the field as an operational street man.
A central theme of the book is the over-reliance on technical collection at
the expense of human intelligence. Fluent in Arabic, BAER served in the
Middle East and at times worked against those directly involved with
terrorism. He argues that finding and listening to people who know what is
going on, despite their often less than savory pedigrees, should be routine
not the exception. His examples supporting this truth include comments on
Osama bin LADENs operations, his experiences in the Biqa Valley, the
governments failure to support a military coup designed to overthrow
Saddam HUSSEIN, and the neglect of fundamentalist activities in Afghanistan
and Saudi Arabia in the 1990s. He also stresses the problem of language
skills that has long plagued the Agency. It was his command of Arabic that
allowed him to learn of the intent to kidnap Americans in Lebanon, though
his out-of-channel warnings did not prevent them.
In the mid 1980s, while assigned to CIA Headquarters, BAER observed the
initial activities of the newly formed National Counterintelligence Center
led by the FBI. This little known tale of an attempt to solve an
operational problem with an organizational fix is disturbing at best. Back
at Headquarters in the 1990s, after an assignment in post Gulf-war Iraq, he
got involved with CLINTON White House politics; a bizarre story that does
not reflect well on National Security Council political stars and their
sycophantic subordinates. On the CIA side, he tells of the environment of
political correctness that prevailed during the CLINTON administration and
the long term consequences that this could have on the Agency if it is
allowed to continue.
This is a timely book, documented with intriguing, often awesome, stories
written with a sense of humor. BAERs comments on the tradecraft of
espionage as practiced on the groundthe successes and the failureswill
enlighten historians and layman interested in the profession. See No Evil
should be mandatory reading for all candidates for the clandestine service
and the analystsgeographic, functional and technicalwho benefit from the
collectors hard work.
This is a fine memoir, one of the very best ever written.
END
http://www.cicentre.com/BK/BOOKS_Peake_Baer.html
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