Burn Before Reading: Presidents, CIA Directors, and Secret Intelligence

by Stansfield Turner

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Description

Hyperion, 2005-10-01. 1st. Hardcover. Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark.

Book summary

Admiral Stansfield Turner was Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) during the Clinton administration. In BURN BEFORE READING, he applies his experience to a review of the relationship between presidents and their DCIs from Harry S. Truman through George W. Bush. Each case study takes into account the individual personalities and the dynamics of the relationship, as well as the key intelligence issues that dominated each administration. Along the way, Turner provides insight into how the CIA works, and recounts the sometimes destabilizing (to "the Company") reforms that resulted from several violations of its charter. He explores whether and how a DCI can provide raw intelligence within what is often a politicized environment, one made more strained by Congressional scrutiny and media exposure. Importantly, he weighs whether intelligence failures were a factor in 9/11 and considers the role of the CIA in the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Through his case studies, Turner presents in some detail an argument for substantial reform in national intelligence.