CNN Editor's note: Charles S. Faddis is a retired CIA operations officer and the former head of the CIA's unit focused on fighting terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction. The author of a recently published book about the CIA, “Beyond Repair,” Faddis is also president of Orion Strategic Services, a Maryland-based consulting firm.
Phi Beta Iota: We know and admire Charles Faddis. Below the fold are other references on the implosion of CIA, which is no longer fit for duty. Panetta means well, but he does not know what he does not know, and the stuffed shirts surrounding him are not about to tell him what he really does need to know, in part because they don't know, they've made a career out of pushing paper, inflating success, and avoiding accountability. The difference between the earlier set of anti-CIA retirees and our set are two: 1) we're not breaking rules and cannot credibly be labeled as traitors; and 2) we know vastly more about the real world of all-source intelligence than the incompetent insiders and we cannot be silenced. Eventually an honest political leadership will hear us.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- We owe it to 7 fallen CIA agents (sic) to examine the state of the CIA, says Charles Faddis [PBI: US citizens are officers, the recruited foreigners are agents]
- A retired CIA officer, Faddis says the agency is hobbled by bureaucracy
- He says the CIA's leaders lack the experience to run counter-terror operations
- CIA needs stronger training, better leadership and higher standards, he says
Earlier Relevant Journal Entries:
Rolling Book: INTELLIGENCE FOR EARTH–Chapter 15 Loaded
Rolling Worth a Look: Recovering Spy Seeks Work
Coming Event: 16 Jan 10 DC Demonstration Against CIA Drone Deaths with Cynthia McKinney and Cindy Sheehan
10 Jan Journal: CIA as Poster Child For Dull US Intelligence
09 Jan Journal: CIA’s Poor Tradecraft AND Poor Management
09 Jan O’s ‘Fixes’ Will Fail:Feeding more fat to obese US intelligence (Ralph Peters)
09 Jan Reference: WH CT Summary, POTUS Directive, DNI Blurb
08 Jan Search: QDR OSINT
07 Jan Journal: Intelligence World Close to a Paradigm Shift?
07 Jan Journal: USG, IC, and Especially CT in a Shambles
05 Jan Journal: National Intelligence or National Goat-F…?
05 Jan Journal: The Plot Thickens–Who Benefits?
05 Jan Reference: Fixing Intel–A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan
04 Jan Journal: Evidence of Nigerian Terrorist Being Staged
04 Jan Journal: Scheuer on C-SPAN, Blows Off Key Question
04 Jan Journal: Death of CIA Personnel in Afghanistan
04 Jan Journal: WIRED to IC–You’re Tired, Get Wired….
03 Jan Journal: Michael Scheuer Slams Brennan, Tenet, Berger on CNN
02 Jan Reference: Jack Devine on Tomorrow’s Spygames
02 Jan Reference: 73 Rules of Tradecraft (Dulles via Srodes)
01 Jan Journal: Heads Will Roll (Deckchairs Will Be Re-Arranged)
01 Jan Journal: What Is Your Organization’s Mission? (Peggy Noonan)
31 Dec Journal: Walking Into Al Qaeda’s Trap in Yemen
31 Dec Journal: Underpants Bomber Shines Light on Naked USG–Without Four Reforms, USA Locked in Place
28 Dec Journal: The Demise of US Intelligence Qua Brains
19 Dec Journal: Director of National Intelligence Alleges….
08 Nov Journal: DNI Describes Losing Hand
Links to Reviews of Many Books on CIA Over Time:
2000 IJIC 13/4 Possible Presidential Initiatives (Before 9-11)
2000 ON INTELLIGENCE: Spies and Secrecy in an Open World
2009 Homeland Security Today: Vet with a Vision
Review: Real-World Intelligence
Review: Informing Statecraft–Intelligence for a New Century
2006 IJIC 19/1 Intelligence Affairs: Evolution, Revolution, or Reactionary Collapse?”
2008 IJIC 21/3 The Open Source Program: Missing in Action
2007 IJIC 20/1 Foreign Liaison and Intelligence Reform: Still in Denial
Review: Flawed by Design–The Evolution of the CIA, JCS, and NSC
Review: INSIDE THE COMPANY–CIA DIARY
Review: Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
Review: See No Evil–The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism
Review: Beyond Repair: The Decline and Fall of the CIA
Review: Secrecy and Democracy–The CIA in Transition
Review: The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence
Review: Without Cloak or Dagger –The truth about the new espionage
Review: The Very Best Men–Four Who Dared–The Early Years of the CIA
Review: The Human Factor–Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture
Review: Blowback–The First Full Account of America’s Recruitment of Nazis and Its Disastrous Effect on The cold war, Our Domestic and Foreign Policy.
Review: Spying Blind–The CIA, the FBI, and the Origins of 9/11
Review: In Search of Enemies–A CIA Story
Review: Spymaster–My Life in the CIA
Review: A SPY FOR ALL SEASONS–My Life In The CIA
Review: Blind Into Baghdad–America’s War in Iraq
Review: Dark Alliance–The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion
Review: Prelude to Terror–the Rogue CIA, The Legacy of America’s Private Intelligence Network the Compromising of American Intelligence (Hardcover)
Review: Killing Hope–U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since World War II-Updated Through 2003
Review: Web of Deceit: The History of Western Complicity in Iraq, from Churchill to Kennedy to George W. Bush
Review: Devil’s Game–How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam (American Empire Project)
Review: Betraying Our Troops–The Destructive Results of Privatizing War
Review: Who the Hell Are We Fighting?–The Story of Sam Adams and the Vietnam Intelligence Wars (Hardcover)
Review: Spies for Hire–The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing
Review: Legacy of Ashes–The History of the CIA
Review: Imperial Secrets–Remapping the Mind of Empire
Review: Denial and Deception–An Insider’s View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11
Review: The Sword of the Prophet
2002 THE NEW CRAFT OF INTELLIGENCE: Personal, Public, & Political
2006 INFORMATION OPERATIONS: All Information, All Languages, All the Time
2006 THE SMART NATION ACT: Public Intelligence in the Public Interest
2008 COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace
2010 INTELLIGENCE FOR EARTH–Chapter 15 Loaded
Review: Bombs, Bugs, Drugs, and Thugs–Intelligence and America’s Quest for Security
Review: Secret Agencies–U.S. Intelligence in a Hostile World
2008 Open Source Intelligence (Strategic)
2008 Open Source Intelligence (Operational)
Review: None So Blind–A Personal Account of the Intelligence Failure in Vietnam
Review: A Pretext for War–9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America’s Intelligence Agencies
Review: Slow Burn–The Rise and Bitter Fall of American Intelligence in Vietnam
Review: Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy
Review: A Season of Inquiry–The Senate Intelligence Investigation
Review: Piercing the Veil of Secrecy–Litigation Against U.S. Intelligence
Review: Burn Before Reading–Presidents, CIA Directors, and Secret Intelligence (Hardcover)
Review: The Agency And The Hill–The CIA’s Relationship With Congress, 1946-2004
Review: Analyzing Intelligence: Origins, Obstacles, and Innovations
Review: JFK and the Unspeakable–Why He Died & Why It Matters
Review: Edward Lansdale’s Cold War (Culture, Politics, and the Cold War) (Paperback)
Review: Cash on Delivery–CIA Special Operations During the Secret War in Laos
Review: Secrets and Lies–Operation “Iraqi Freedom” and After: A Prelude to the Fall of U.S. Power in the Middle East?
Review: State of War–The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration (Hardcover)
Review: First In–An Insider’s Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan
Review: Charlie Wilson’s War–The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
Review: From the Shadows–The Ultimate Insider’s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War
Review: A Look over My Shoulder–A Life in the Central Intelligence Agency
Review: The Main Enemy–The Inside Story of the CIA’s Final Showdown with the KGB
Review: Creating the Secret State–The Origins of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1943-1947
Review: Allen Dulles–Master of Spies
Review: Casey–The Lives and Secrets of William J. Casey: From the OSS to the CIA
Review: Wedge–The Secret War Between the FBI and CIA
Review: A World of Secrets–The Uses and Limits of Intelligence
Review: The Craft of Intelligence
