Book Review - State of War

I just finished reading a book called State of War - The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration by James Reisen. As the title indicates, it examines the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency both before and after the events of 9/11.

The book looks at a number of areas, but I found the discussion of the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to be particularly interesting. According to Reisen, the Agency was so ideologically committed to Iraq having WMD that it ignored hard evidence to the contrary, evidence which it had risked ordinary Americans' lives to accumulate. (The CIA had convinced dozens of Iraqi Americans to attempt to obtain information from relatives who were scientists living in Iraq.)

Another interesting -- and frightening -- chapter detailed the Agency's operation to provide doctored plans for nuclear weapon firing block to the Iranian government. The theory behind the operation was that if Iran obtained seemingly accurate plans their nuclear weapons development program might be led off track for several years. However, Reisen argues that providing Iran with these doctored plans may have accomplished the opposite and actually allowed the Iranians to fast track their program. Either way, this is one high stakes bluff that I wish had never happened.

I am not a foreign policy expert by any means, but common sense dictates that one must have reliable intelligence before making critical decisions such as whether or not to invade another country. As the Bush administration appears to be saber-rattling with Tehran, one has to wonder if the intelligence is any better this time around.


State of War - The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
James Reisen
Free Press, New York, 2006
ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-7066-3
ISBN-10: 0-7465-7066-8
US $26.00 CAN $36.00