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1 of 1 copy available
For General Michael Hayden, playing to the edge means playing so close to the line that you get chalk dust on your cleats. Otherwise, by playing back, you may protect yourself, but you will be less successful in protecting America. "Play to the edge" was Hayden's guiding principle when he ran the National Security Agency, and it remained so when he ran CIA. In his view, many shortsighted and uninformed people are quick to criticize, and this book will give them much to chew on but little easy comfort; it is an unapologetic insider's look told from the perspective of the people who faced awesome responsibilities head on, in the moment.
How did American intelligence respond to terrorism, a major war and the most sweeping technological revolution in the last 500 years? What was NSA before 9/11 and how did it change in its aftermath? Why did NSA begin the controversial terrorist surveillance program that included the acquisition of domestic phone records? What else was set in motion during this period that formed the backdrop for the infamous Snowden revelations in 2013?
As Director of CIA in the last three years of the Bush administration, Hayden had to deal with the rendition, detention and interrogation program as bequeathed to him by his predecessors. He also had to ramp up the agency to support its role in the targeted killing program that began to dramatically increase in July 2008. This was a time of great crisis at CIA, and some agency veterans have credited Hayden with actually saving the agency. He himself won't go that far, but he freely acknowledges that CIA helped turn the American security establishment into the most effective killing machine in the history of armed conflict.
For 10 years, then, General Michael Hayden was a participant in some of the most telling events in the annals of American national security. General Hayden's goals are in writing this book are simple and unwavering: No apologies. No excuses. Just what happened. And why. As he writes, "There is a story here that deserves to be told, without varnish and without spin. My view is my view, and others will certainly have different perspectives, but this view deserves to be told to create as complete a history as possible of these turbulent times. I bear no grudges, or at least not many, but I do want this to be a straightforward and readable history for that slice of the American population who depend on and appreciate intelligence, but who do not have the time to master its many obscure characteristics."
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 23, 2016 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780698196131
- File size: 856 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780698196131
- File size: 1095 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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The former director of the National Security Agency and the CIA unsurprisingly defends espionage as vital to American safety in a violent world, but he spices the conversation with sharp portraits of politicians, military commanders, rulers of other nations, and sometimes himself.Hayden's combination of memoir and long-form debate tract rests on the foundation of his oft-stated belief in personal privacy for American citizens and why government spying in the name of national security must sometimes trump that privacy. Occasionally, the author, a retired Air Force four-star general, is a shrill debater, but more often his argument is nuanced and educational. Given the magnitude of the tragedy of 9/11, the role of espionage to combat terrorist attacks dominates the narrative. But espionage in a broader context enters the story as well, especially in relation to Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Pakistan, and other global hot spots. Hayden's characterizations of American politicians, including presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and vice presidents Dick Cheney and Joe Biden, are grounded not so much in partisanship as in how those men treated the NSA and the CIA as gatherers of intelligence. Without subtlety, the author excoriates dozens of journalists, senators, House of Representatives members, and international leaders of nations hostile to the United States; nobody viewed by Hayden as an enemy of responsibly conducted espionage is spared his barbs. Naturally, such high-level gossip makes for intriguing reading. When the chapters turn to policy and away from score-settling, Hayden provides interesting discussions of the lethal use of drones against alleged terrorists, and he relates the vital and all-too-rare nature of foreign language skills among American spies. He humanizes the daily work of spies while illuminating the impacts on their family members, and he makes distinctions about various interrogation methods, including waterboarding. For readers of all political and ideological persuasions with even slightly open minds, Hayden is a worthy guide to a secretive realm. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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September 15, 2015
Hayden, a retired U.S. Air Force four-star general who served as director of the National Security Agency (NSA) from 1999 to 2005 and director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2006 to 2009, covers thorny ground (e.g., Why did the NSA launch its controversial terrorist surveillance program?) as he explains the state of American intelligence.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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