Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
by Tim Weiner
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Book Reviews of Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Book Review: A Valuable Piece Of Scholarship.
Summary: 5 Stars
Tim Weiner's "Legacy Of Ashes" is a valuable work of scholarship that dives into the complex history of the CIA and in the process also gives us a valuable set of histories of our country and its role in the world. Some have accused Weiner of being "biased" or promoting some sort of "liberal agenda," this is far from the truth, Weiner is simply processing and creating a narrative culled from thousands of declassified documents and known facts. This is not the latest work from Al Franken or Keith Olbermann, this is a historical document. The reactions a few right-wing reviewers have posted on this page says more about them than about Weiner's work.
Weiner starts from the top, from the early days following World War II when President Truman replaced the OSS with the CIA which he at the time considered to be a more efficient, precise, official form of "newspaper" for the commander and chief to consult to be aware of the state of the world. However it didn't turn out this way, as the history progresses we see how the agency turned more into some sort of militant force that was eventually used more for the purpose of influencing or altering history instead of recording it. In clear, fluid detail, Weiner documents the first laboratories for covert operations that the CIA used, mainly Iran and Guatemala. In Iran the CIA helped the British overthrow the elected government of Mohammed Mossadegh because his nationalization of the country's oil was seen as a grave nationalist threat, the Shah was then re-installed and given military aid for decades. Latin America followed with a coup against the elected government Jacobo Arbenz, who challenged foreign corporate dominance of his country and paid for it with his presidency which was replaced by a brutal military junta. This was only the beginning however, of a longer, sadder story that would extend into countries like Vietnam, Chile and Greece.
"Legacy Of Ashes" has supposedly made headlines with some stunning revelations found in the new documents, but some the histories explored here are already well-known, such as the CIA-backed coup against the elected Allende government in Chile or the botched Bay Of Pigs invasion. What Weiner does so well is put these and lesser-known events in a greater context, he details how ignorance and arrogance have created an intelligence community that puts our security at greater risk. He provides a record of lying and plotting that is a peek into the dark corners of government. Consider the sections on Iran where we learn the CIA had a four-man, FOUR-MAN team in Tehran at the time of the Islamic Revolution, with none of them even speaking Farsi. It turns out CIA operatives failed to foresee the revolution because they were too busy dining with the Shah, the same as in Cuba where CIA agents miscalculated Fidel Castro's popularity because they spent more time indulging in the Batista regime's decadence than actually gathering solid intel on Cuban life, the status of the country and what led to the rise of Castro. This of course then led to lying and deception that guided the U.S. into the disastrous idea of launching an invasion on Cuba at the Bay Of Pigs.
Other revelations in the book are more insideous and intriguing such as the possible connection between the Kennedy White House and the assassination of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, the assassination of president Diem in Vietnam and the many unanswered questions surrounding JFK's own murder, the investigation becoming a further mess because director Richard Helms wanted to keep CIA covert ops in areas such as Cuba away from the public eye. There are also fascinating, disturbing moments of lesser-known history like Richard Nixon receiving thank you funds from the fascist Greek junta the U.S. helped install in 1967.
Weiner goes on the cover some of the CIA's most notorious scandals like Iran-Contra and more importantly, recent intelligence failures that could have contributed to 9/11. "Legacy Of Ashes" covers all this and more in an accessible, very readable and clear style where Weiner compiles a massive amount of information, facts, figures, events, names and dates but never confuses the reader and never muddles the presentation. This is one of the best recent works on the workings of American government and the best book available on the workings of the CIA. Weiner never takes a sensationalist tone and is very professional and objective, he is simply presenting the information as it is and draws conclusions and observations from hard facts, there is never a sense of Weiner theorizing or jumping into unknown territories. Anyone who takes the time to process the information can see clearly why Weiner comes to certain conclusions as to the status of American intelligence services.
"Legacy Of Ashes" is a great record of some 50 years of American history, this is the kind of book Americans should be looking into to understand our past and to better understand where we are now. And Weiner presents it in a way where the average reader can indulge and come away better informed and aware. Reading this you realize the works of authors like Newt Gingrich are just political junk food, here is a vital, important resource.
Book Review: The Unofficial Version of Official CIA History, told Unofficially
Summary: 3 Stars
For those of us who have followed the 60 years of CIA missteps, errors and failures, serially, this heavy-handed tome of a book offered up unofficially as "official CIA defense of its failures" has to be a big disappointment. For although it admits to failures at every turn, it does so in a clinically neat and minimalist way that glosses over every single caper, and in a way that guarantees that this, the details of the CIA's official admissions of guilt, have already been uncovered and better told elsewhere. In short, this is not the "Come to Jesus" version of CIA history that we were all looking for but the "forced admission" version that has actually come about only after everyone of the Agency failed capers have consistently been exposed elsewhere.
This is the sanctioned, authorized and official version of guilt, "told minimally and unofficially."
In this sense, it is more akin to the reporting of football scores when the visitors have beaten the home team by a very wide margin: The winner is given credit for being the better team; the reasons for losing are glossed over; and the overall implications of the lost to the team's future mission and to the morale of the fans are either ignored completely, or, are just buried deeply on the inside pages of the report. In other words, this is the "officially sanctioned propaganda," "hangout defense" version of the CIA'S sordid history.
That it took so many pages to give this minimalist rendition is very unfortunate indeed since the "cat has long since been out of the bag." To admit guilt without showing the taxpayers where the skeletons are buried is not contrition, but hope that the rules of the game will still be altered in ones favor so that the game can continue at a later time under more favorable conditions. And equally important, it also means that evidence uncovered elsewhere, by other more novel means, will continue unchallenged by the official version and will thus remain the standard of reliability and proof about what actually goes on inside the agency's walls.
Wisner's Story
The agency came into being as a political fluke at the prodding and instigation of a handful of Eastern establishment elitist cowboys and ex-soldiers of fortune. It began several steps behind the best intelligence agencies in the world and had to rely on two of them: the British, and by default of circumstances, the German Abwehr (through Reinhart Gelen) to get fully into the post WW-II game. Because it was forced to evolve through trial and error, the CIA was destined to never quite catch up to its competition. This was true in part because it was poorly served by all of its directors, and because it never completely embraced what was its only important mission: to be able to see over the horizon and give the President information on what was happening in the World. On this most important of missions the agency failed miserably and repeatedly throughout its history: It missed all of the seminal events of our era: Castro's take over of Cuba, the fall of Communism, the 911 terror threat, and Saddam's WMD, just to name the most spectacular of a very long list. Somehow, the CIA maintained a great reputation even though it continued to have a terrible record of repeated failures.
But it was also true because, even in the face of its repeated failures, in order to close the "appearance gap," the agency had learned to promote itself: Early on it had learned how to be a "political player" before it had learned how to become a "spy agency." "Kow-towing" to its political authorities by giving them "shaded intelligence" because that was what they wanted to hear, rather than what was true, became a part of the agency's professional signature. In addition to "kow-towing," it also learned a slew of other bad habits: such as how to cover-up its shortcomings through lies and exaggeration, how to play by its own rules, and most importantly, how to remain accountable to no one.
The Agency was eventually saved from itself by the advent of electronic and technological intelligence, which have made the old spy games anarchic if not completely obsolete. Sixty years on, and when we needed a finally airing of the CIA dirty laundry, all we get here are carefully "vetted" cover stories. I am very disappointed.
Three Stars.
Book Review: A great starting point for further reading
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a very comprehensive and excellently supported history. Because it's so thorough, at times it left me exhausted with detail and wanted to skip ahead, but this is probably a result of my own personal interests. For example, Weiner spends a long time on the formation of the agency and its turbulent early years after WWII. This is definitely necessary for any history of the CIA, but I was eager to hear about some of the more recent events.
Some reviewers have noted that this book can be overwhelming or encyclopedic in its scope, which can often leave the reader with a sense of being rushed from mishap to mishap. I too was often waiting for follow-up on the "blowback" that inevitably resulted from many CIA operations--Afghanistan and Iran being two prominent ones. Having read about the fall-out from these operations in other books in greater detail, it sometimes seemed that Weiner moved on too quickly to the next CIA drama without looking at the failures in greater context.
However, I don't think that this is a flaw in the book so much as a natural limitation in the medium and subject matter. The book is already massive and filled with information (names of CIA operatives, directors, and other officials would sometimes run together for me); providing thorough follow-up and complete context on every CIA operation would have prolonged it for hundreds of pages. After all, this is a history of the CIA itself and not of every place into which the CIA has interfered. I think that "Legacy of Ashes provides" a good, thorough starting point--a bird's eye view--from which the reader can then zoom in on particular operations and historical events in greater detail with other books.
For example, on Iran, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer cannot be beat. It certainly gives you a much more detailed look not only at the CIA personalities and politics involved, but also the historical, political, and cultural context of Iran for decades before and after the 1953 coup against Mossadegh. Weiner is a great writer who manages to keep the detailed history interesting; if anything, Kinzer is an even more gripping story-teller.
For anyone interested in the CIA's involvement in Afghanistan and its serious repercussions, Steve Coll's very thorough history, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 makes a great companion volume to "Legacy of Ashes." You will learn a lot about the personalities involved, the assumptions made, and the detailed CIA maneuvers that created a situation that quickly spun out of control.
For good context and an overview of regime change operations and their blowback (in most of which the CIA had a key role), Stephen Kinzer's Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq does a good job providing great detail along side lots of historical, cultural, and political context. This is a good starting place for someone more interested in the fiascos themselves than the government institutions responsible for them. Kinzer has also written a detailed history of the CIA coup in Guatemala (Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala, Revised and Expanded (David Rockefeller Center Series on Latin American Studies)), but I have yet to read it.
In summary, while it was a long process, I am very happy to have read "Legacy of Ashes," and I feel that it has filled many gaps in my knowledge and assumptions about the CIA. For anyone interested in probing further, seek out in-depth individual studies. Having first read "Legacy of Ashes," you will be able to further appreciate and understand the context of those books and draw new connections. Highly recommended.
Book Review: An amazing history of the CIA.
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a real eye-opener, and I highly recommend it.
I never expected the CIA to have world leaders on their payroll. I was shocked, for example, to find that King Hussein of Jordan was on the CIA's payroll. Some leaders in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and South American countries were also on the CIA's payroll (and some still are). Now that this book is out, how will the people of these nations feel? How do the Jordanians feel, for example, knowing that their former King worked for the CIA? One question with a self-answer goes through my mind: Do leaders govern for the good of their people or for their self-interest and preservation?
Since its creation in 1947, the CIA stood as an elite force representing the power of the United States. But according to the author, this is an illusion. This book will demonstrate that in fact the CIA failed in most of its goals, and did not live up to its mandate. According to the book, the CIA has been incompetent, naïve, chaotic, and a danger to American interests. For example, the CIA was unable to foresee the fall of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Shah of Iran and the coming of the ayatollah Khomeini, and more recently, the Indian nuclear tests, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the events of 9/11. The CIA also gave wrong information to the Bush administration in 2001 and 2002, claiming that Iraq was an imminent threat to the US and that it possessed weapons of mass destruction. This information led to an unjustified and chaotic invasion of Iraq. According to the author, the CIA is a blundering and incapable organization. This will come as a surprise to many.
The author has read over 15,000 declassified materials in order to write this book. His book is factual and very well written. It reads like a Le Care novel. This is one of the most interesting and self-absorbing books I have read in a very long time. If you are interested in world politics and history, read this book!
The book is divided into six parts.
Part one discusses the CIA under Truman, 1945 to 1953. This is the story of the beginning of the CIA when they still knew nothing about espionage. Most missions undertaken by the CIA during those years were suicide missions. All, yes all, undercover CIA agents were either killed or captured during those years. This came as a surprise to me. I never imagined the CIA to have failed so miserably.
Part two discusses the CIA under Eisenhower, 1953 to 1963. Those were the years the CIA suddenly realized that it had no plan. With its agents dead, it suddenly realized that it had traitors in its midst. Those were the years the CIA learnt to topple regimes, and started meddling in the affairs of other countries. In those days, the CIA operated outside the law, and it thought it could continue to do so indefinitely.
Part three discusses the CIA under Kennedy and Johnson, 1961 to 1968. Those were the years the CIA had more courage than wisdom, and the beginning of its long slide downwards. The chapter on the Cuban missile crisis was extremely interesting, and new information is revealed from newly declassified documents. Who had motives to kill president Kennedy? Read the book to find possible explanations.
Part four discusses the CIA under Nixon and Ford, 1968 to 1977. Those were the years the CIA decided to change the concept of a secret service, and was almost destroyed. Those were also the years the CIA caught a lot of hell. The CIA proved to be very ineffective.
Part five discusses the CIA under Carter, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, 1977 to 1993. The CIA was very distrusted during those years. They were in fact asleep at the helm! They had no idea what to do when the Berlin Wall finally comes down.
Part six discusses the CIA under Clinton and George W. Bush, 1993 to 2007. Those were the years the CIA could not gather ant useful facts. Clinton read the news in newspapers before the CIA had any clue what was going on. The CIA made grave mistakes.
Book Review: This Ain't Yo Majesty's Secret Service!
Summary: 4 Stars
"Legacy of Ashes" is a monumental history of the CIA, a monument representing continued failure and wasted resources. It leaves one with the impression that the U.S. is simply the kind of country that cannot do covert activity very well. "Legacy" describes a record of catastrophic misadventures in the twin missions of intelligence gathering on the one hand, and clandestine operations, on the other, in excruciating detail.
The author also describes an organization corrupted by its own secrecy and lack of accountability. It's amazing that this history could even be assembled, given the secret nature of the organization's work. One wonders what documents are out there that haven't been published, that no one will ever see. Although the author discusses some of these missing links, to his merit he doesn't get bogged down in speculation--the facts he has unearthed speak eloquently enough. These sources are based largely on official documents. The Notes section makes for fascinating reading in detail and speaks to good editing and are also among the most well-written and researched I have seen for quite some time.
What is spectacular too is how even the successes are often failures, decreasing American prestige and security in the long run. See, e.g. the clandestine wing's coup in favor of the Shah in Iran, the Bay of Pigs disaster, and the 'blowback' from funding Islamic fighters in Afghanistan against the Soviets. The title of the book is derived from a lament by President Eisenhower, whose biggest regret was the CIA's bungling of the U2 flyover of the Soviet Union, damaging US prestige and his own reputation for honesty, and deeply impairing negotiations with Khrushchev at a crucial juncture in the Cold War. President Eisenhower remarked "I have suffered an eight-year defeat on this [intelligence]..." and he said he would "leave a legacy of ashes" to his successor, John Kennedy. Unfortunately, CIA successes often seem to get short shrift since they perhaps do not fit within the overall paradigm of failure, so we don't get to hear much about, for example, Libya curtailing its WMD program as an agency success. Also, as is noted in the book, the CIA can become a whipping boy for more powerful actors to blame for defeats, such as the President, and at least in some instances the book piles on an easy target in this regard.
As often as the CIA tries to present an 'objective' picture of the world, so, too, it becomes the victim of Presidential agendas, and concocts from the slimmest evidence or outright fabrications, in support of conflicts which, again, were in retrospect completely contrary to U.S. interests. See, e.g., Johnson's Gulf of Tonkin 'attacks', or George W. Bush's fictional weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, or the agency's spectacular failure to predict the demise of the USSR. In relying on 'normal' intelligence of the world, some presidents have expressed surprise that CIA reporting is about as in depth as reading world newspapers. Clinton famously preferred watching CNN for up to date intelligence information, marking the organization's low tide in this respect, and signalling its drift toward irrelevance.
The electorate seems inured to what at its founding government critics feared would be a 'gestapo' after WWII. As long as the gestapo tactics are left overseas, Americans do not seem to care very much, like Athens in her age--a democracy at home and an empire abroad. Unfortunately, as we've seen from recent events, the people at home are not immune to the consequences of what their agents perpetrate in their name abroad.