Enemies: "The book deals with “rumors about the FBI and its dirty tricks [that] have been circulating for years” and suggests Weiner “seeks to set the record straight on everything" - review of Enemies by Weiner, Tim (2012). Enemies: A History of the FBI. New York: Random House
- Get link
- Other Apps
Posted: February 23, 2016
Reviewed by Hayden Peake.[1]
Pulitzer prize winner, Tim Weiner, has written several books about American intelligence. Betrayal was about the counterespionage failure in the Aldrich Ames case.[2] Then came Legacy of Ashes, which alleged serial blundering at the CIA.[3] In Enemies he has applied the same scrutiny to the FBI. All three of his books have been frequently, in most cases favorably, reviewed. In her review of Enemies, NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston writes that the book deals with “rumors about the FBI and its dirty tricks [that] have been circulating for years” and suggests Weiner “seeks to set the record straight on everything from providing Sen. Joseph McCarthy with secret reports to … surveillance of Martin Luther King, Jr.”[4]
In fact, the book provides even wider coverage, focusing on civil liberties violations from the Palmer raids in the 1920s, to the Weathermen, Watergate, Iran-Contra, and the Bureau’s growing role combating terrorism. The emphasis on each of these topics is on, bureaucratic infighting and various political, legal, and moral issues. But aside from Mr. Weiner’s gloomy views of Mr. Hoover’s performance, there is little new in the book, and there are some discrepancies and , omissions worth noting.
Enemies by fredslibrary
Title: Enemies
Author: Tim Weiner
Weiner, Tim (2012). Enemies: A History of the FBI. New York: Random House
LCCN: 2011005353
Subjects
- Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972.
- United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation–History–20th century.
- Espionage–United States–History–20th century.
Date Posted: February 23, 2016
Reviewed by Hayden Peake.[1]
Pulitzer prize winner, Tim Weiner, has written several books about American intelligence. Betrayalwas about the counterespionage failure in the Aldrich Ames case.[2] Then came Legacy of Ashes, which alleged serial blundering at the CIA.[3] In Enemies he has applied the same scrutiny to the FBI. All three of his books have been frequently, in most cases favorably, reviewed. In her review ofEnemies, NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston writes that the book deals with “rumors about the FBI and its dirty tricks [that] have been circulating for years” and suggests Weiner “seeks to set the record straight on everything from providing Sen. Joseph McCarthy with secret reports to … surveillance of Martin Luther King, Jr.”[4]
In fact, the book provides even wider coverage, focusing on civil liberties violations from the Palmer raids in the 1920s, to the Weathermen, Watergate, Iran-Contra, and the Bureau’s growing role combating terrorism. The emphasis on each of these topics is on, bureaucratic infighting and various political, legal, and moral issues. But aside from Mr. Weiner’s gloomy views of Mr. Hoover’s performance, there is little new in the book, and there are some discrepancies and , omissions worth noting.
Examples of the former include the story of the 1944 black-bag job in which “the FBI broke into Amtorg’s New York office and stole reams of Russian-language messages and their enciphered equivalents” that were delivered to FBI special agent Bob Lamphere (pp. 155-56) as part the VENONA operation. That story was a cover. The messages were actually collected from commercial telegraph companies.[5] Then there is the assertion that NKVD agent William Weisband’s penetration of VENONA “paralyzed progress.” (p. 168) Not so, future decryptions were impossible since the Soviets had already stopped using duplicate pages for their one-time-pads. The statement that Allen Dulles had been “commissioned by the Pentagon to conduct a top secret study of the shoddy state of American spying” (p. 169) raises an eyebrow since the study is not identified or sourced. Perhaps Mr. Weiner meant the so-called Correa Report prepared by the Intelligence Survey Group established by the National Security Council, to which Dulles contributed.[6] Two other examples indicate the scope of the errors. First, the KGB agent FAREWELL never defected as claimed, (p. 353) and the Czech agent, Karl Koecher, did not work for the CIA for 10 years. (p. 354)
The omissions include many familiar and important cases. For example, there is no mention of Yuri Nosenko or Anatoli Golitsyn and the conflict that resulted from differing judgments about them at the CIA and FBI.
Similarly, Jonathan Pollard, Ronald Pelton, George Trofimoff, William Bell, and James Hall escape attention.
Most curious of all, the Felix Bloch case is ignored though it figured prominently in the handling of the Robert Hanssen fiasco, which is otherwise well summarized. Lastly, the successful FBI investigation of the 11 Russian illegals—Operation GHOST STORIES—is not included.
Overall then, it is fair to say that Enemies is first a review of Hoover and FBI intelligence operations-although some criminal investigations are mentioned-from the organization’s inception to the present-with intense emphasis on what Weiner deems the Bureau’s persistent disregard for legality during Hoover’s tenure. This is followed by the troubled times in the post-Hoover era and the transition to counterterrorist operations under Director Mueller. Only a few successful operations are noted, and many known successes are overlooked entirely. Given Weiner’s selectivity, one can’t help but wonder if his next book were to be about the history of flight, whether it would deal primarily with crashes. Enemies is well written, however, with good documentation and a definite point of view.
[1] Hayden Peake is a frequent reviewer of books on intelligence and this review appeared in The Intelligencer: Journal of U. S. Intelligence Studies (19, 1, Winter/Spring, 2013, pp. 114-115). Hayden Peake is the Curator of the CIA’s Historical Intelligence Collection. He has served in the Directorate of Science and Technology and the Di recto rate of Operations. Most of these reviews appeared in recent unclassified editions of CIA’s Studies in Intelligence. These and many other reviews and articles may be found on line at http://www.cia.gov.
[2] Weiner, Tim (1995). David Johnston, and Neil A. Lewis. Betrayal: The Story of Aldrich Ames, An American Spy. New York: Random House, Inc.
[3] Weiner, Tim (2007). Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. New York: Anchor Books. It was reviewed unfavorably in Studies in Intelligence 51, 3 (September 2007).
[4] Dina Temple-Raston, “Enemies: A History of the FBI by Tim Weiner,” The Washington Post(March23, 2012).
[5] Benson, Robert Louis (1996) and Michael Warner. VENONA: Soviet Espionage and the American Response 1939-1957. Washington, DC: National Security Agency: Central Intelligence Agency, p. xiii.
[6] Darling, Arthur B. (1989). The Central Intelligence Agency: An Instrument of Government, to 1950. Washington, DC: Historical Staff, Central Intelligence Agency, pp. 301-302.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
Turkish authorities on Tuesday confirmed the identity of the suicide bomber who killed 29 people in last week's suicide car bomb attack in Ankara as a Turkish man, the state-run agency reported.
Title: Central Intelligence Agency An Instrument of Government
Author: Arthur B. Darling
Darling, Arthur B. (1989). The Central Intelligence Agency: An Instrument of Government, to 1950.Washington, DC: Historical Staff, Central Intelligence Agency
LCCN: 90123577
Contents
- ch. 1. Origins in war — ch. 2. Plans in peace time — ch. 3. The Central Intelligence Group, beginnings under Souers — ch. 4 The Central Intelligence Group, Vandenberg’s regime — ch. 5. Action by Congress, 1947-1949 — ch. 6. Hillenkoetter’s administration, intelligence — ch. 7. Hillenkoetter’s administration, covert operations — ch. 8. Investigation, 1948-1949 — ch. 9. Change, 1949-1950 — ch. 10. Decision, 1950 — Index.
Subjects
Date Posted: February 23, 2016
This history offers a detailed and well documented account of the early years of the CIA. It reveals the political and bureaucratic struggles that accompanied the creation of the modern U. S. intelligence community. In addition, it proposes a theory of effective intelligence organization, applied both to the movement to create the CIA and to the form it eventually took.
The period covered by this study was crucially important because it was during this time that the main battles over the establishment, responsibilities, and turf of the agency were fought. Many of these disputes framed the forty years, such as the relationship of the CIA to other government agency intelligence operations, the role of covert action, and Congressional oversight of the intelligence community.
The sources upon which Darling drew for this study include the files of the National Security Council, the wartime files of the OSS, and interviews and correspondence with many of the principal players.
Read the whole story
· ·
Harper Lee, whose first novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” about racial injustice in a small Alabama town, sold more than 40 million copies, died at the age of 89.
Grab the embed code for this video at Times Video:
http://nyti.ms/1mVyrXV
http://nyti.ms/1mVyrXV
Produced by: JOHN WOO, NEIL COLLIER AND MONA EL-NAGGAR
Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/1LEwOnH
Subscribe to the Times Video newsletter for free and get a handpicked selection of the best videos from The New York Times every week: http://bit.ly/timesvideonewsletter
Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/U8Ys7n
Watch more videos at: http://nytimes.com/video
---------------------------------------------------------------
Want more from The New York Times?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nytvideo
Instagram: http://instagram.com/nytvideo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nytvideo
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+nytimes
Whether it's reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, New York Times video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world. It's all the news that's fit to watch. On YouTube.
Harper Lee, 1926- 2016 | Obituary | The New York Times
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNewYor...
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNewYor...
Read the whole story
· ·
Daily Times |
Italy summons US envoy over reports Berlusconi was spied on
Washington Post ROME — The Italian foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned the American ambassador in Rome for “clarifications” after Italian media reported a U.S. intelligence agency intercepted phone calls involving then-Premier Silvio Berlusconi and some of his aides ... Italy summons US ambassador amid NSA eavesdropping allegationsWashington Times Italy summons US envoy over reports former premier was spied onFox News Italy summons U.S. ambassador after reports U.S. spied on BerlusconiGlobalPost all 152 US surveillance of Merkel wider than thought: WikiLeaksYahoo News Italy Summons U.S. Ambassador on Reports Berlusconi Was Spied OnBloomberg eNews Park Forest-Democracy Now!-Breitbart News all 116 news articles » |
The Independent |
'Major incident' declared after collapse at UK power plant
Tulsa World LONDON (AP) — British emergency services say they are responding to a "major incident" at a disused power station in southern England. Photographs of the Didcot plant, 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of London, showed that part of a building appears to ... Reports: Several casualties in major British power station explosionFox News Didcot power station collapse: Several casualties and 'one death' at Oxfordshire site - liveTelegraph.co.uk Major incident after 'explosion' at power station in EnglandMashable Newsweek-BBC News-STLtoday.com all 79 news articles » |
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 2
GOP Senators: No Hearing, No Vote for Obama Court Pick
ABC News Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday ruled out any hearing for President Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, insisting that the choice rests with the president's successor. "Because our decision is based on constitutional ... and more » |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that the amount of cash Iran will receive due to the implementation of the nuclear agreement is below the $50 billion level.
WARSAW (Reuters) - President Andrzej Duda, an ally of Poland's new euroskeptic government, accused Lech Walesa on Tuesday of collaborating with the communist-era secret services, further stoking a revived debate about the former pro-democracy leader's past.
ANKARA (Reuters) - A DNA report from a suicide bombing that killed 29 people in the Turkish capital Ankara last week suggests the main perpetrator was Turkish-born, not Syrian as initially stated by the government, a senior Turkish security official said on Tuesday.
Canada's Justin Trudeau is to become one of the first world leaders to take part in a gay pride march, say organisers of the Toronto event.
The Afghan army is setting up a protective ring around the capital of Helmand province to defend it from possible Taliban attacks after losing control of more remote districts.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 3
The Italian foreign ministry has summoned the American ambassador in Rome for “clarifications” after Italian media reported a U.S. intelligence agency intercepted phone calls by then-Premier Silvio Berlusconi and some of his aides in 2011.
It remains unclear which Taliban factions will travel to Pakistan for the talks, which stalled last summer.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Another week, another round of stories about the Nazi leader's genitals.
Read the whole story
· · · · · ·
Prosecutors say a court in Estonia has sentenced three cigarette smugglers to prison for spying for Russia in a rare low-level espionage case.
Vienna, Austria is the city with the highest overall quality of life in the world, according to a surveyreleased on Tuesday.
Mercer’s 18th annual Quality of Living survey evaluates living conditions based on a location’s political, social and economic environment; educational opportunities; public safety; and public services, among other things. Vienna maintained the top spot from the 2015 list, while Baghdad, Iraq ranked lowest.
Zurich came in second, followed by Auckland. At 28th on the list, San Francisco is the highest ranking city in the United States, followed by Boston in 34th place. New York City comes in at 44.
Vienna, the capital of Austria, is home to more than 1.8 million people.
Mercer, a consulting firm, conducts the annual survey to help companies place employees on global assignments. In its list dedicated specifically to personal safety rankings, Luxembourg took the lead. Paris fell in the rankings following the November attacks in the city, and Baghdad was placed at the bottom of the personal safety list.
14 New Cases of Sexually Transmitted Zika in U.S., CDC Reports by Maggie Fox / NBC News
Fourteen more people have caught the Zika virus in the U.S. without traveling to affected zones, federal health officials said Tuesday — strong evidence that the virus is sexually transmitted fairly often.
Some of those infected sexually have been pregnant women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
“CDC and state public health departments are now investigating 14 new reports of possible sexual transmission of Zika virus, including several involving pregnant women,” the CDC said in a statement.
“In two of the new suspected sexual transmission events, Zika virus infection has been confirmed in women whose only known risk factor…”
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 4
Pilot Alistair Llewelyn, 41, captured on camera shouting at and pushing a female police officer for apparently failing to control a crowd around a helicopter he was using to fly the country's deputy president to a political rally
Read the whole story
· ·
The European Union says it is making plans to deal with a possible humanitarian crisis as new border restrictions are halting migrants traveling across the Balkans.
European Court Rules Russia Responsible For Violations In Transdniester by support@pangea-cms.com (RFE/RL)
The Strasbourg-based court ruled on February 23 that Russia had violated various rights of a Moldovan man arrested in Transdniester in 2008 and that he was subject to inhuman or degrading treatment.
The U.S. special envoy to the coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants says the group's ranks of foreign fighters have dropped to about 25,000 from a peak of 35,000.
The head of the United States delegation, David E. Lindwall, left, with Salahuddin Rabbani, Afghanistan’s foreign minister, during the fourth round of four-way peace talks at the presidential palace in Kabul on Tuesday.
PLAINWELL, Mich. (AP) -- A gun shop owner says the man charged in the Kalamazoo shootings came into his store hours before the rampage and bought a jacket with an inside pocket designed for a handgun....
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 5
GOP Senators: No hearing, no vote for Obama Court pickby By ANDREW TAYLOR and MARY CLARE JALONICK
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court won't get a hearing or a vote from the Republican-led Senate, GOP members of the Judiciary Committee said Tuesday as they insisted only the next president must fill the vacancy....
New figures show more migrants reached Europe in the first six weeks of 2016 than the first six months of last year.
Read the whole story
· ·
Стратегия России в Европе by golosamerikius
Новая установка Кремля в отношении Запада: «или мы играем по новым правилам, или мы играем без правил»
Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/russia-strategy-in-europe/3203362.html
Originally published at - http://www.golos-ameriki.ru/media/video/russia-strategy-in-europe/3203362.html
A partial truce in Syria capped something of a foreign policy trifecta for President Vladimir V. Putin, but his goals are uncertain for all three.
New York Times |
Bill Gates Weighs In on Apple's Clash With the FBI
New York Times The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James B. Comey Jr., made the case in a public statement on Sunday. “We simply want the chance, with a search warrant, to try to guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self ... Apple moves to shift battle over unlocking iPhone to Capitol HillTimes of India Tim Cook: Apple Has 'No Sympathy for Terrorists' But Unlocking iPhone Sets 'Dangerous Precedent'Mediaite iPhone Unlocking Case About Setting A Precedent, Despite What The FBI SaysTom's Hardware all 872 news articles » |
A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner was reportedly among four individuals arrested Tuesday by authorities in Spain and Morocco for alleged ties to terror group ISIS.
The Associated Press reported:
Three people were arrested in Spain’s North African enclave city of Ceuta while a Moroccan was arrested in the Moroccan border town of Farkhana, next to Melilla, Spain’s other North African enclave, statements from the two nations’ interior ministries said. One of those detained in Ceuta was the former Guantanamo detainee who was not named by Spanish authorities but described as “a leader who was trained in handling weapons, explosives, and in military tactics.” After being captured in 2002 and held in Guantanamo, he was returned to Spain in 2004, said Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz.
The four individuals are believed to be members of a jihadi cell trying to recruit fighters to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria, according to the Spanish interior ministry. The terrorist suspects were attempting to obtain weapons and materials to construct bombs and were planning “to carry out terrorist acts in Spanish territory,” a statement from the ministry said.
The arrests coincided with President Obama’s announcement of a plan to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay despite opposition from Republicans in Congress.
“It’s been clear that the detention center at Guantanamo Bay does not advance our national security,” the president said during remarks at the White House Tuesday. “It undermines it.”
The plan would involve transferring dozens of suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo to U.S. prisons.
Some detainees released from Guantanamo have been found to resume terrorist activities. The Obama administration cleared Ibrahim al-Qosi for release in 2012, and he has gone on to become a senior operative for the al Qaeda branch in Yemen.
The post Former Gitmo Detainee Among 4 Arrested for ISIS Connections appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 6
News Analysis: Russian Buildup Focuses Concerns Around The Black Sea by support@pangea-cms.com (Robert Coalson)
- Get link
- Other Apps
Comments
Post a Comment