The CIA's Greatest Hits (The Real Story Series)

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Summary: It's 1997: Do you know where your government is?
Review: A terrific, terrifying little conspiracy cover-up book. The CIA has been responsible for destroying numerous economies and good governments, causing considerable mayhem since its creation. Don't miss the section on Jonestown, which has nothing in common with the recent Rancho Santa Fe cult suicides: it was murder (primarily of blacks, which was news to me). References are included for those who want further facts

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Summary: CIA isn't as bad as you think
Review: Although this books displays some of the CIA's mistakes, keep notice that the CIA isn't allowed to say what it has done that is helpful. The intelligence business means the only publicity you get is negative. When they screw up, you hear about it. When they do good, its secret. I'm sick of you bastards disrespecting the Agency. Come on, you don't know everything they do so just leave them be.

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Summary: So-so book, but many inaccuracies
Review: If you want some casual reading from a very leftist author, this is the book for you. However, if you are a rational thinking American, toss this one in the fire. Mr. Zepezauer is a self-proclaimed liberal, as is evident in ALL of his works, who has a hard time portraying even a little bit of the other side of the story. Yes, the CIA has made mistakes, but it must be acknowledged that over 80% of the CIA's past operations are still classified. As a result, many of the good things the Agency has done are not known or not reported (this is the classic media case of the negative being a better story than the positive; want proof, watch the news and observe how many more murders and crimes receive attention than good acts do). Additionally, many of the facts, such as throwing people out of helicopters in Vietnam, are partly true. In this case, there was a person thrown out of a helicopter, but it was a dummy, set up to look like an enemy soldier. This entire setup, involving a Huey with a dummy and another Huey with the captured enemy soldier, was nothing more than an elaborate interrogation technique. The captured enemy soldier is led to believe that his captors are willing to kill him if he is unwilling to give information (this technique very seldomly failed to achieve it's intended results). There are other falsities, but I don't have enough room to list them. So in conclusion, for a simple, waste-your-time read, get this book from the library, but in no way take it for the absolute authority on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: So-so book, but many inaccuracies
Review: Just a quick overview of 50 CIA operations without much detail, but great anyone who hasn't been informed about what the CIA does. If you want more detailed info check out some of the references or seek the truth yourself, if it hasn't already been buried completely by the powers that be.

Rating:
Summary: A grand summary
Review: Many books attempt to include more detail on whatever historical situation they are attempting to *cover*. I know that disinformation is a large part of any secret circus stunt, and everything that happens at a circus might be more convincing than any of the parts of the world that allegedly existed before and after the momentous events that are summarized on the back cover of this book as times when the C.I.A. "participated in the assassinations of . . . literally millions of ordinary people in Indonesia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Vietnam, East Timor and many other countries." I've been in one of those countries on a U.S. government project that was not quite secret enough to suit some people, and it seemed like the C.I.A. was there long before I was, and even William Colby couldn't convince LBJ that hundreds of thousands of American troops shooting people there might get into the newspapers more often than he would like. I like reading this book on places I have never been, like Germany, whose famous Hitler employed General Reinhard Gehlen as "Hitler's intelligence chief for the Eastern front" (p. 6) before he had the opportunity to help form the C.I.A. pursuant to a "secret treaty, his spy organization--which came to be called the Gehlen Org--would work for, and be funded by, the US until a new German government came to power." (p. 6). I have searched for other information on the web about Reinhard Gehlen, which corresponds so well to the information in this book, that it is possible that the secret treaty also required Gehlen to teach the C.I.A. everything it knows.

Hit number 38: Crooked Banks, on BCCI, which had a London branch that was shut down by British bank examiners in 1991, managed loosely "Roughly $20 billion of BCCI's assets remain unaccouted for," though "Before collapsing, BCCI managed to facilitate a host of CIA covert operations, notably George Bush's efforts to pump weapons to Saddam Hussein's Iraq (see Hit #40) and Edwin Wilson's `unauthorized' arming of Libya (see Hit #30)." (p. 81). Some people might still believe that BCCI was a Pakastani bank, and Mark Zepezauer seems to be dubiously relying on a rumor that it was the work of "Director Richard Helms in particular, actually started the bank, and that it `wasn't a Pakistani bank at all.'" (pp. 80-81)

Rating:
Summary: A grand summary
Review: Many books attempt to include more detail on whatever historical situation they are attempting to *cover*. I know that disinformation is a large part of any secret circus stunt, and everything that happens at a circus might be more convincing than any of the parts of the world that allegedly existed before and after the momentous events that are summarized on the back cover of this book as times when the C.I.A. "participated in the assassinations of . . . literally millions of ordinary people in Indonesia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Vietnam, East Timor and many other countries." I've been in one of those countries on a U.S. government project that was not quite secret enough to suit some people, and it seemed like the C.I.A. was there long before I was, and even William Colby couldn't convince LBJ that hundreds of thousands of American troops shooting people there might get into the newspapers more often than he would like. I like reading this book on places I have never been, like Germany, whose famous Hitler employed General Reinhard Gehlen as "Hitler's intelligence chief for the Eastern front" (p. 6) before he had the opportunity to help form the C.I.A. pursuant to a "secret treaty, his spy organization--which came to be called the Gehlen Org--would work for, and be funded by, the US until a new German government came to power." (p. 6). I have searched for other information on the web about Reinhard Gehlen, which corresponds so well to the information in this book, that it is possible that the secret treaty also required Gehlen to teach the C.I.A. everything it knows.

Hit number 38: Crooked Banks, on BCCI, which had a London branch that was shut down by British bank examiners in 1991, managed loosely "Roughly $20 billion of BCCI's assets remain unaccouted for," though "Before collapsing, BCCI managed to facilitate a host of CIA covert operations, notably George Bush's efforts to pump weapons to Saddam Hussein's Iraq (see Hit #40) and Edwin Wilson's `unauthorized' arming of Libya (see Hit #30)." (p. 81). Some people might still believe that BCCI was a Pakastani bank, and Mark Zepezauer seems to be dubiously relying on a rumor that it was the work of "Director Richard Helms in particular, actually started the bank, and that it `wasn't a Pakistani bank at all.'" (pp. 80-81)

Rating:
Summary: CIA: What Are We Paying For Anyway?
Review: This is another important contribution to the ongoing critic of imperialist culture that many mistaking think ended at the start of the twentieth century. In the vein of Chomsky, Vidal and Jardine, "Real Story Series" pamphlets, Zepezauer gives a quick overview of, perhaps, one of the most dishonorable ongoing chapters of US history. This book is not meant to go into a detailed analysis' of CIA activities, but rather introduce the nefarious activities of this powerful agency to the public. Within this book one will be introduced to the CIA's involvement in the overthrow of democratic governments all over the world. From Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador and the repeted attempts to bring about the downfall of Castro in our hemisphere, to the Phillipines, Vietnam, Greece, and into Africa, the reader introduced to what could be called the most well financed terrorist organization in the world. This book is only an introduction, as I said, and if one is interested in a more in- depth look at the CIA, check out "Killing Hope" by William Blum. All in all this book is a very good place begin in any investigation of the CIA's activities, especially for those not familar with the subject.