The following is a book report I wrote for my class: Studies in Intelligence I. It was a pleasure to read and provided meaningful insite into the Intelligence Community (IC).
-Joel
In Robert “Bob” Baer book, “See No Evil,” he describes his colorful career as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent. He relayed his account of dodging Russian KGB counterintelligence agents in a high-speed car chase while stationed in New Delhi, India. The book also presents life on the front lines of Dushanbe, Tajikistan in 1992 while involved in counter-terrorism intelligence; tanks and machine gunfire chattering away on the streets directly below his room. His career is halted, though, as he falls under investigation for a crime never committed. Soon he gets a taste of Washington D.C. and underlying motives atop Capital Hill and with policymakers. Let us see how Bob could have been a more productive agent had the CIA not existed!
Bob had a few notable findings. He managed to uncover the Mughniyah terrorist network. He noted, “My makeshift charts [of peoples relationship to the network] started to look like the wiring diagram for a Boeing-747 cockpit” (Robert Baer, p. 114). After much research and struggle gathering information, Bob attempted to hold Mughniyan hostage (Executive Order 12333 prohibits the CIA from conducting flat out assassinations). Nobody, however, would take on the task, even the most temerarious. Many were willing to kill him, indeed many offers were made, but the CIA would not let Bob operate under these terms. Bob was left with a foot in the door, everything mapped out, but a muzzle figuratively harnessed over his snout; He knew “everything” but was able to do “nothing”.
This, however, would not be his only disappointment with the CIA. In 1995 Bob undertook a covert operation with Iraqi-turned-not-so-Iraqi troops. It was a coup d’état against Saddam Hussein of Iraq. First proposed in January, Bob allied with Zakhu, a major general in the Iraqi army. Soon Zakhu unloaded his plans to Bob requesting US support. In the end, Bob was issued a wire shortly before the attack:
“The action you have planned for this weekend has been totally compromised. We believe there is a high risk of failure. Any decision to proceed will be on your own” (Robert Baer, p. 173).
Despite two months of planning and communication, Bob was not informed of negative affects until now – hours before the raid. Bob was left with a decision: follow through with his agreement with Zakhu and risk failure; or pull out, betraying Zakhu, and communicating an American desire for Saddam Hussein’s continued reign. Bob decided to uphold his moral convictions regardless of headquarters cooperation and continue the operation being reminded, “ ‘[headquarters] could not have picked a worse time to pull out… I’m just afraid that at the end of the day, it’s going to be our blood on the floor rather than Saddam’s’ ” (Robert Baer, p. 201). Despite his efforts, Bob was soon ordered back to headquarters. After explaining the situation and the infeasibility of such an action at this point, he was told, “You didn’t hear what I said. You’re being pulled out. End of story.” Bob was essentially left with everyone at headquarters opposing the coup only after the negotiation was settled with Zakhu.
Bob was put under criminal investigation; FBI agents awaited his return to Washington D.C. Despite being found not guilty, Bob had a smudge on his record and worked behind a desk at headquarters while awaiting redeployment oversees. Bob soon realized his in-apt knowledge of the Capital Hill’s proceedings and quickly engaged himself in developing an understanding of the government. Here the story, relating to the CIA, gets shady.
Bob soon became acquainted with Roger Tamraz, an entrepreneur in the oil industry with a slick reputation. Bob soon saw scandalous qualities in Roger’s character. Unfortunately Mr. Tamraz had already gained affluence with former President Bill Clinton (known as just “Bill” by Tamraz); Senator Kennedy’s wife, Victoria, was actually on his payroll and former Vice President Al Gore dined with him. Despite being on the “Secret Service blacklist” (Robert Baer, p. 246), Tamraz wiggled his way to “Bill” by donating to his campaign. Everyone seemed to be supporting Tamraz; during a CIA meeting discussion argued that our best interest lied in defending Tamraz’s oil fields from enemy opposition. It was proposed to give the Georgian president advanced military technology; this would be done at the CIA’s expense. Bob, seeing the gullible audience interrupted, “‘It can’t be done…’ There was a big, gaping hole where [Dr. Blacker’s] mouth had been” (Rober Baer, p. 243). Bob continued,
‘The head of the Georgian KGB – the head of [the president’s] security, the same man who is supposed to be operating the… system – is a murderer. We have a video of him shooting six handcuffed prisoners in the back of the head….’(ibid).
Furthermore, there was a threat later on of halting counter-terrorist operations to support Amoco’s best interest! Herein lies the issue; Bob opted to take a non-popular approach and blow the whistle, but he was unable to blow it to anyone. Essentially everyone supported the scandal.
Overall, what is the problem with the CIA; what is the perpetuating theme what eventually lead to Bob’s resignation? Internally, the CIA is not operating in the best interest of the country. The influential people appear to be interested in career development and popularity among the political audience; to them, intelligence is not an end to justify the means, but it is the means justifying the end. The intelligence has been skewed for a political agenda. In our initial story about the terrorist network, ought the CIA have authority to assassinate? Bob implicitly argues September 11th terrorist attacks would have been rendered impossible had the leader not survived. Secondly, why had headquarters foiled the Iraqi coup – at the expense of many Iraqi lives; was the Iraqi propaganda accurate that the Americans wanted Saddam Hussein in office? Would September 11th terrorist attacks had happen without him? Lastly, why had policy makers jeopardized their integrity by supporting a shady entrepreneur at the expense of counter-terrorist operations?
To begin trouble-shooting this problem, let us explore the role of the CIA. Firstly, the CIA Mission is self-proclaimed:
We are the nation’s first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go. We carry out our mission by:
• Collecting information that reveals the plans, intentions and capabilities of our adversaries and provides the basis for decision and action.
• Producing timely analysis that provides insight, warning and opportunity to the President and [decision makers] charged with protecting and advancing America’s interests.
• Conducting covert action at the direction of the President to preempt threats or achieve US policy objectives. (CIA)
Summarizing, their interest is in gaining and analyzing intelligence and advising policymakers. According to their mission, they are interested in the interest of America as a whole – not their own careers and popularity. My rhetorical question, though, is whether the CIA is even necessary, or if another agency already is taking such responsibility without bias intelligence reports. Details found in Mr. Baer’s book include FBI investigations of CIA personal, so I proceeded to investigate the FBI’s role. My search stopped short when I found their mission:
The mission of the FBI is to uphold the law through the investigation of violations of federal criminal law; to protect the United States from foreign intelligence and terrorist activities; to provide leadership and law enforcement assistance to federal, state, local, and international agencies; and to perform these responsibilities in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the public and is faithful to the Constitution of the United States” (FBI emphasis added).Here with the FBI, I see an interest in domestic conflicts, but there is also an interest internationally through counterintelligence, counter-terrorism, leadership, and law enforcement operations. The only detail lacking for continuity between the CIA and the FBI is a policymaker’s interest in the FBI’s findings. The FBI appears to be doubling efforts with the CIA in many areas. In looking at the departmental structure, the FBI focuses rather exclusively with law enforcement given their affiliation with the Department of Justice (DOJ). Where would their best interest lie? Intuition reveals a lack of political pressure for bias reporting, and an emphases on judicial proceedings. By disbanding the CIA, could our solution be found?
If Bob had been working with the FBI how could the operations against Mughniyah’s terrorist network fared? Gathering intelligence on the terrorist network would still fall under his jurisdiction (as a FBI agent): “The mission of the FBI is to… protect the United States from… terrorist activities”. Particularity in our post-9/11 world, the presents of a terrorist cell is a threat to the safety of the US. Bob, through is intelligence gathering abilities would still develop “makeshift charts [of peoples relationship to the network] started to look like the wiring diagram for a Boeing-747 cockpit” (Robert Baer, p. 114). In the end, however, Bob’s story changes as he gathers legal and extraterritorial jurisdiction to arrest (including deadly force if necessary to avoid “imminent danger of death or serious physical injury” [FBI]). Bob could have arguably foiled the whole September 11th terrorist plot had policymakers not intervened.
Robert Baer, in his book “See no Evil,” shares a life of action while working undercover for the CIA. At the end, though, Mr. Baer takes a twist, sharing out of apparent frustration the fallacies of the prestigious employer. We see how politics can invade the policies of today through shifting the best interest from the US to personal careers. The accountability issue can be solved by gathering intelligence solely through the FBI, whose interest lied in judicial accountability, eliminating the CIA’s bias and separating intelligence from politics.
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CIA (2007). Retrieved March 7, 2007 from http://www.cia.gov/cia/information/mission.html
FBI Frequently Asked Questions (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2007 from www.fbi.gov/aboutus/faqs/faqsone.htm
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