Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Beyond Repair

The Decline and Fall of the CIA

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
NOW IN PAPERBACK—with a new preface by the author An insider's account of why the CIA is ill-prepared to protect America, and why it must be replaced without delay

*

"A devastating portrait of the agency's culture—with details that only an insider would know."
—David Ignatius, Washington Post columnist and author of Body of Lies

"Faddis, a career CIA operations officer, pulls no punches in this provocative critique of the iconic and dysfunctional spy agency. . . . In a world where threats are multiplying and becoming more complex, [his] bleak assessment of the CIA should be required reading."

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In Beyond Repair, one of the Central Intelligence Agency's most respected former operatives mounts a scathing cri­tique of the preparedness of today's CIA—and, spe­cifically, the Directorate of Operations at its core—to defend America against the dizzying dangers of the twenty-first century. In a compelling blend of analy­sis and fascinating true-life stories, Charles S. Faddis argues that the CIA has devolved into a low-risk or, often, no-risk bureaucracy of careerists whose mantra might be summed up thus: "Don't fall." He discusses the birth of the CIA, how the agency works from the inside out, why things have gone awry—and how to build a new entity that will maintain the midnight watch, so Americans can sleep well at night.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from September 21, 2009
      Faddis (Operation Hotel California
      ), a career CIA operations officer, pulls no punches in this provocative critique of the iconic—and dysfunctional—spy agency. Noting that the CIA was created to protect the U.S. from another Pearl Harbor, the author points to 9/11 as proof that the agency can no longer perform that task and is so beyond reform that it must be replaced. In his portrayal of the CIA, “risk-taking, daring and creativity” are discouraged, bureaucratic concerns are given precedence, senior leadership is lacking and morale has been sapped by “crippling purges and witch hunts.” The author concludes that the agency “is dying a death of a thousand cuts” and offers “a blueprint for a new OSS,” modeled on the legendary Office of Strategic Services, FDR's WWII spy agency that spawned the CIA. Keep this new organization, like its wartime predecessor, small, flat and elite, he cautions, and use it sparingly. In a world where threats “are multiplying and becoming more complex,” Faddis's bleak assessment of the CIA should be required reading.

    • Library Journal

      October 1, 2009
      Faddis, an angry retired covert operations officer, has written a slim attack on what he sees as a dysfunctional, chaotic, and dangerously ineffective intelligence agency, especially when compared with its earlier history. He thinks that it has calcified into a paper-processing, risk-avoidance business that does not value the importance of capable individuals and human intelligence. Instead of strengthening the agency, the U.S. government has let more organizations try to play the Great Game of intelligence, which has led to a dispersal of resources, turf wars, less success, and global antagonism. Faddis recommends a smaller, more independent agency with fewer domestic competitors, but readers may doubt that this will ever happen, given our political structure. John Diamond's "The CIA and the Culture of Failure: U.S. Intelligence from the End of the Cold War to the Invasion of Iraq" covers much of the same ground. VERDICT This book is similarly critical of the White House's handling of strategy and resources as Faddis's previous "Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq", which he coauthored with Mike Tucker. This new effort is suitable for all interested in current events.Daniel K. Blewett, Coll. of DuPage Lib., Glen Ellyn, IL

      Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading