and a German article on Bob Baer, former CIA agent...
Kulturweltspiegel vom 24. Februar 2002 - Der ehemalige CIA-Agent ... - [ Translate this page ]
21 Jahre lang stand Robert Baer in den Diensten der CIA - als Experte für den Nahen
Osten und Spezialist für die Terrorismusbekämpfung. Nun packt er aus. ...
www.wdr.de/tv/kulturweltspiegel/20020224/5.html - 22k - Cached - Similar pages
The cowboy in the desert:
A former CIA agent over the failure of the secret services
Author: Joachim gardner
Robert bear
Homepage of the CIA
ABC News over the book (English)
Review with "salon.com" (English)
Review in the "Washington Times" (English)
Buchcover
Interview with Robert bear with "ABC News" (Transkript of a Chats, English)
The century of the wars: Secret service and espionage (mirror, 22,2,1999)
Ahmed Rashid over the Mudschahidin and the CIA (mirror, 15,10,2001)
NZZ over the criticism at CIA and FBI (18.9.2001)
Seymour M. Hersh: Why the CIA had to fail (world week, 7/2002)
Homepage of the "New Yorker one"
Attack on the CIA (mirror, 22,10,2001)
The "P.A.T.R.I.O.T act" (Telepolis, 26,10,2001)
Not only since 11 September the American secret service CIA stands in the line of fire of the criticism. But the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington course-sharpened the reproaches. How is it possible that the CIA, with their approximately 20,000 coworkers of one of the most powerful foreign clearing-up services of the world, possessed as well as no usable realizations over the plans for the attacks on the World trade center and the pentagon? Why did succeed not already long, the place of residence Osama is shop, which nevertheless applies since center of the 90's as public enemy number 1 to seek out? Was the danger of the Islamic terrorism and in particular the aluminium-Quaida-network for many years underestimated? Those are the questions, which the American public places itself. A commission of inquiry of the senate starts a series from hearings starting from April to the relentless clearing-up of the failure of the CIA.
A book with the title "lake NO Evil, just published by the USA: The True Story OF A Ground Soldier into the CIA's was on Terrorism ", the memoirs of the ex-Geheimdienstlers Robert bear, brings explosive into the current discussion around the moral CIA more ler and its boss Geroge Tenet standing under bombardment. Since their publication bear memories provide for substantial eddy. Although the author was contractually to the collecting main of the manuscript obligated with its former superiors and some places of the censorship fell to the victim, the book contains still sufficient material, in order to feed the doubts about the function of the CIA. Also the film industry already found favours at the material. OSCAR winners steven Soderbergh ("Traffic") and Hollywood star George Cloony want to film bear life history.
The book
Robert bear knows, about which he speaks. 21 years long it stood in the services of the CIA, until it 1997 - frustrates and embitters - its parting took. Up to then the presenting feeler gauge, who calls itself as a "cowboy", was considered as an expert to the Near East and specialist for the Bekaemfung of the international terrorism. It was in Lebanon, in the Iraq and in Tadschikistan in use and could by its exzellenten sprachkenntnisse - bear speaks perfectly Arab and Persian, in addition still some dialects - entrance to circles find, which remain normally locked for foreigners. Here also its criticism sets: "1994 was I in Tadschikistan, at the Afghan border. From there a quantity of refugees came. Thousands. And I said: Hey, sends one, which speaks Pashtun or Dari - the host languages of Afghanistan to me, so that we can enlist and then to Afghanistan send back the refugees as agents. The answer was: We do not have, which speaks Dari or Pashtun, and which us already Afghanistan cares?"
Bear criticism however continues to aim. The CIA made "in the nineties" , says it and deplores the official mentality and indifference of the responsible persons in headquarters. Instead of setting on human know-how, one trusted erroneous trends, which kulminierten its opinion after in the disaster from 11 September 2001 blindly in the new Hightech possibilities of the satellite clearing-up -. "the CIA became the contrast its, which embodies James bond: Bureaucracy instead of risk. These people sit in Washington, read newspaper and rely on the satellite clearing-up not to make around itself in the middle east the hands dirty." Most with difficulty however weighs the reproach, which it makes for the American government - it is democratic or republican -: It would concern to the dominant politicians alone power and oil business. Their interest in humans in the Arab world expired long. No miracle thus that one underestimated the threat by the terrorism years long.
The failure of the American secret services
The criticism at the American secret services CIA, FBI and NSA is not new. It came again and again to serious breakdowns, which and coworkers of the clearing-up services brought bosses in disrepute. Above all the close co-operation of the CIA with the Mudschahidin in the Afghanistan of the 80's is considered as violently disputed. In addition, the role, which played the CIA with the clearing-up of the aircraft crash over Lockerbie, is not completely clarified until today.
One of the profundesten connoisseurs of the scene is Seymour M. Hersh. The star reporter of the renowned magazine "New Yorker one", who wrote also the preface to Robert of bear memoirs, analyzed the omissions and the weaknesses of the secret services. Its destroying judgement: "at the moment the CIA of their task did not grow." Also he sees reasons for the failure in the unconditional Technikglaeubigkeit and the Buerokratisierung, those the CIA since the end of the cold war laehme. Thus that remained 1986 after a wave by bomb attacks, plane hi-jackings and takings of hostages again created "Counter Terrorism center" despite high-flying ambitions an authority, which leads headquarters at the Gaengelband. More consequence-fraught however Hersh considers the errors in the decisions, with which the governing in Washington determine the direction of attack of the secret service activities. Thus wrong consideration for political friends led to the fact that important operations were broken off prematurely or were not even tackled.
That it cannot continue as before, in it are itself all critics united. Which consequences are to be pulled however, over it the opinions go far apart. While after 11 September the secret services in the upswing see the one - in such a way the prohibitionprohibition prohibition for agents was waived - and the restrictions of the citizen rights as simplification of the clearing-up work, made possible by the "P.A.T.R.I.O.T act", to welcome, remain Robert bear and Seymour Hersh sceptically. Bear judges of the new generation of terrorists: "those are professionals. These people are simply condemned good." And it knows that one cannot destroy a group of terror in the caves of Afghanistan with High Tech. Much speaks for the fact that one is against terrorists such as Osama shop with purposeful secret service work more cause could than by wars. But that the CIA is in addition able, it appears after what experienced Robert bear hautnah at breakdowns, very doubtfuly.
Robert bear
Robert bear studied politics at the university of Georgetown and came 1976 to the CIA. It was among other things in the Iraq, in the Sudan, in Lebanon, assigned in Tadschikistan, Morocco and India. After its parting 1997 it was distinguished for its work with a medal. Today it lives in Washington D. C. and France.
Book-tap
Richard bear: Lake NO Evil: The True Story OF A Ground Soldier into the CIA's was on Terrorism
Crown Publishing, New York, 2002
The German expenditure presumably appears in June 2002 with Bertelsmann under the title: "the fall of the CIA". |
