Inside the CIA
Authors: Ronald Kessler
INSIDE THE CIA
Revealing the Secrets of the World’s Most Powerful Spy Agency
“This tour is never dull, especially since it features so much 007 gadgetry, from water-spraying silent drills to eavesdropping devices that work by zapping laser beams through windows.”—
Los Angeles Times
Ronald Kessler’s explosive bestseller,
The FBI,
brought down FBI Director William S. Sessions. Now, in this unparalleled work of investigative journalism, Kessler reveals the inner world of the CIA. Based on extensive research and hundreds of interviews, including two with active Directors of Central Intelligence, William H. Webster and Robert M. Gates, and with three former DCI’s INSIDE THE CIA is the first in-depth, unbiased account of the Agency’s core operations, its abject failures, and its resounding successes. Kessler reveals how:
•
CIA analysts botched the job of foreseeing the Soviet economy’s collapse
•
the Agency spies on every country in the world except Great Britain, Australia, and Canada
•
the CIA undertakes covert action to influence or overthrow foreign governments or political parties
•
the Agency trains its officers to break the laws of other countries
INSIDE THE CIA is an extraordinary guide to the world’s most successful house of spies.
“Mr. Kessler has written an overview that my spook friends say is an accurate account of the way the Agency does its business.”—Joseph C. Goulden,
Washington Times
“...definitely one of the most important books on the U.S. intelligence community in some
years.”—Booklist
Expanded and updated: Includes details of the CIA’s colossal incompetence that allowed Aldrich Ames to spy for eight years
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LOOK FOR THESE OTHER EYE-OPENING EXPOSÉS FROM
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLING AUTHOR RONALD KESSLER
INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE
THE FBI
INSIDE THE CIA
ESCAPE FROM THE CIA
THE SPY IN THE RUSSIAN CLUB
MOSCOW STATION
SPY VS. SPY
All available from Pocket Books
PRAISE FOR
RONALD KESSLER
and
INSIDE THE
CIA
Revealing the Secrets
of the World’s
Most Powerful Spy Agency
“Writing with the cooperation of active and retired personnel, Kessler offers a working portrait of the contemporary CIA. His background in journalistic study of intelligence, augmented by an unusual array of other resources, enables him to provide an account unique for balance, perspective, clarity of writing, and the large amount of factual material.”
—Booklist
“An appraisal of the Central Intelligence Agency in as much detail as the organization and the law will allow. . . . Kessler is quite clear that the Agency violated its charter in times past, and suspects it might do so again, given the proper circumstances. . . . INSIDE THE CIA . . . does lift the veil of secrecy just a tad, and that is all for the better.”
—Salem Press
(Pasadena, CA)
“The main value of INSIDE THE CIA lies in its exploration of the CIA’s organization and its difficulties in trying to function in a democratic and open society. . . . The American public may not like the CIA, but as Kessler shows, it is an agency that, despite its errors and excesses, the United States cannot do without.”
—
Virginian-Pilot-Ledger-Star
(Norfolk)
“Ronald Kessler’s INSIDE THE CIA probes the entire Agency and gives the reader a balanced look at how the Agency operates by detailing the four chief directorates: operations, intelligence, administration, and science and technology. Kessler’s account of the CIA bureaucracy is sprinkled with previously unpublished operations that keep the pages turning quickly. His extensive interviews with CIA employees give the reader a better understanding of the people who work for the Agency and how they view their mission.”
—
Bangor Daily News
“Ronald Kessler aims in these pages to offer a realistic, evenhanded overview of the Agency. . . . Mr. Kessler is generally successful, concisely summarizing the Agency’s short history. ...”
—Los Angeles Times
“One cannot but admire the depth and breadth of Kessler’s knowledge of spy operations.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Mr. Kessler’s book is important because it apparently marks the first time that the agency cooperated with an author on a book about the CIA. He has authoritative, sober accounts of the workings of the CIA’s main directorates.”
—
Washington Times
“Kessler, who is the first journalist to be accorded the full cooperation of the CIA, here reveals more about the Agency’s structure, policies, and key personnel than any previous writer has. ... A largely objective, evenhanded, highly informative survey.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Mr. Kessler is a first-rate ferret and an industrious interviewer. He knows the teritory. . . .”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A veteran espionage writer, Mr. Kessler is sharp on the fine points of spying. ...”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Ron Kessler (is) a reporter of keen instincts and rare investigative skills.”
—Nicholas Gage, author of
Eleni
Books by Ronald Kessler
Inside Congress
*
The Sins of the Father
Inside the White House
*
The FBI
*
Inside the CIA
*
Escape from the CIA
*
The Spy in the Russian Club
*
Moscow Station
*
Spy vs. Spy
*
The Richest Man in the World
The Life Insurance Game
*
Published by POCKET BOOKS
For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or [email protected]
 | POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 www.SimonandSchuster.com |
Copyright © 1992 by Ronald Kessler
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN 13 : 978-0-671-73458-9
eISBN: 978-1-4391-4077-2
ISBN 10 : 0-671-73458-X
First Pocket Books paperback printing February 1994
POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Cover art by Tom Cushwa
For Pam, Rachel, and Greg Kessler
P
ART
I
The Directorate of Operations
P
ART
II
The Directorate of Science and Technology
Chapter 9: Seeing Through Clouds
P
ART
III
The Directorate of Intelligence
Chapter 13: Trying to Cook the Books
Chapter 14: Too Little, Too Late
P
ART
IV
The Directorate of Administration
Chapter 19: Getting the Bugs Out
P
ART
V
The Office of the Director of Central Intelligence
Chapter 25: Selling the Agency
Directors of Central Intelligence
My editor, Paul D. McCarthy of Pocket Books, came up with the idea for this book, provided strong encouragement throughout the project, guided me through difficult decisions about organization, and brilliantly edited the manuscript. An editor with his range of talents is rare. I owe him a tremendous debt.
In the early stages, people who were particularly helpful were Col. Russell J. Bowen, Dr. Lee S. Houchins, David D. Whipple, the late John A. Bross, and several others who cannot be named.