tim weiner

How the Soviet Menace was over-hyped, and what we can learn from this

Summary: Histories of the CIA document its poor performance as an intelligence agency (e.g., Tim Weiner’s 2007 book Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA).  While incompetence certainly plays a role in degrading its performance, obedience to its political superiors probably plays a far more informant role.  Such as the relentless hyping of the …

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A must-read book for any American interested in geopolitics: Legacy of Ashes

Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner While by no means the definitive history of the CIA (which cannot yet be written), or even an objective look at the Agency (probably not yet possible), it is one of the best and most timely accounts of one of the prime instruments in the War on Terror — now …

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The new NIE, another small step in the Decline of the State

Pat Lang perfectly captures the narrative for the release of the new National Intelligence estimate about Iran. The “jungle telegraph” in Washington is booming with news of the Iran NIE.  I am told that the reason the conclusions of the NIE were released is that it was communicated to the White House that “intelligence career …

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