Intelligence and Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11 and Misguided Reform

摘要

This fine book is a kind of cri de coeur by a distinguished intelligence analyst who yet labels himself a political scientist at Georgetown, which he now is, after a long CIA career that included stints as deputy chief of the CIA's Counter Terrorist Center (CTC) prior to 9/11 and as National Intelligence Officer (NIO) for the Middle East as the Bush administration moved toward war in Iraq. The cri is sometimes perhaps a shade too loud, much of it is familiar from Pillar's published journal articles, and sometimes there is more detail than many readers will seek. But it is generally on the mark, in my view - I say that as one who worked with him for several years when he was at CTC and I was at the National Intelligence Council (NIC) and am an admirer. Throughout, the book is enriched by insights from Pillar's own experience, which give parts of the book a pleasantly autobiographical flavor.