Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin

by Roland W. Haas

While at Purdue University on an NROTC scholarship in 1971, Roland Haas was recruited to become a CIA deep clandestine operative. He underwent intensive training to prepare for insertion into hostile areas, including High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachuting and weapons instruction. In the course of his first mission (to East and West Germany, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Romania, and Austria), he assassinated several international drug dealers. On his return, he was thrown into an Iranian prison, where he was physically and psychologically tortured. Over the next thirty years, he served the agency on an as-needed basis, engaging in such activities as hunting down and eliminating members of the Red Army Faction and extracting Soviet Spetsnaz officers from East Germany. His cover jobs included being a part owner of an Oakland health club, which brought him into close contact with steroid abuse in professional athletics, drug abuse in general, and the Hell’s Angels, whom he believes tried to have him killed. He also served in Germany as site commander for the Conventional Forces in Europe weapons treaty. His most recent cover was as the deputy director of intelligence in the U.S. Army Reserve Command, which involved him with the Guantanamo detention facility.A true story that pulls no punches, Enter the Past Tense also chronicles Haas’s descent into, and recovery from, alcoholism that resulted from the stress of this extraordinary life. It is an eye-opening look at the dark, but many would argue necessary, side of intelligence work―and one that readers won’t soon forget.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Espionage

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2007

Reviews

[Brian Vo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read was Enter The Past Tense. This was a very unique book but interesting at the same time. At one point in the book Roland Haas was getting bullied and was called out. He ended up getting the bully when it was unexpected. This was a hook right when I read it because I was like wow this guy is crazy. At the end he pulled out a switch blade and pulled down the bully’s pants and threatens to do something. If this was me getting beat up and threatened I would be scared out of my brains. Hoping that this would never happened to me or anybody I know because they way they described it was a horrid thing.
When he was traveling to his destination in India. He pulled out this playboy magazine and the guy for him ask if he can have it because these such items are not common in our country and to have it is like being a king. This part shocked me because I thought there were things like that everywhere in the world. And for it to be such on common means that there are actually some places in the world that does not submit to those kind of things for pleasure. Which is weird because here that is what people talk about a lot.

[Robert Enzenauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally wouldn't wriote a review , knowing the author is dead. But this guy's story is hard to put down. I am a year younger, but also graduated high school 1971, and remember the time and places that Roland W. Haas describes in his memoir, even through his duty when I was finishing my active duty 1990-1994 when author was working as Acting Director of Intelligence for the USAREC. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Roland Haas, the Newnan man who accidentally shot and killed himself Saturday, described himself as a former CIA assassin. He wrote a book about it. He detailed his execution of an Afghanistan heroin dealer and the man's two bodyguards, and cited his own torture in an Iranian jail. People hailed it as a gritty, realistic account of Cold War spying.". However, the CIA denies that Haas was ever associated with the CIA. "This individual was never a CIA employee," said Paula Weiss, CIA spokeswoman. Specifically, the national intelligence agency said Haas wasn't a contractor, freelancer or hired in any capacity. " Nothing to see here. Trust the government... kinda of liek trust the science.

[Corine H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enter the Past Tense: My Life as an Assassin is a challenging and thought-provoking memoir. It will resonate most with readers interested in Cold War history, intelligence work, and the psychological aftermath of lives lived in secrecy. Rather than offering easy answers, Haas leaves the reader with enduring questions about loyalty, conscience, and the cost of crossing lines that cannot be uncrossed.

[James Phipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was a good representation of a kid in college who is selected to be a CIA spy. Throughout his career he learned how to improve his craft, his capture and tortured during his time in the Middle East and his ability to survive and overcome what he went through. A decent read into the world of spies and terrorist and coming out on the other side.

[Sam Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Enter Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin by Roland W. Haas is a true, very intriguing, book with action bursting at the seams with every flip of a page, but this is not to say the book is without its blemishes and flaws. However I did enjoy reading this book very much and it gave an insightful look into a man’s entire life from his child hood to retirement and the twists and turns and ups and downs that happen throughout the book’s 23 chapters.
Our adventure starts out as a young boy being born in a hospital in Buffalo, New York in 1952 to his parents almost fresh off the boat from Germany who hardly knew the first thing about America and the English language, which would heavily factor into his childhood. He had a very tedious and painful as childhood with many instances of being beat up as his parents moved around the eastern states trying to find jobs to make ends meet and provide for their family. Roland was very shy and not very big in stature or frame which made him a prime target for the neighborhood children, the extent of this was even being thrown into a sewer and left to die “I was tied up and dragged into a large overgrown field that had a manhole which was slightly ajar”(12). But what he lacked in brawn he quickly made up for in brains, almost being valedictorian of his high school which allows him to get a NROTC scholarship into Purdue University where he meets Phil Underwood.
At Purdue he excelled in accounting and “anything that had to do with numbers” (32) which he could see himself doing for the rest of his life, this quickly changed when Phil shows up. This is where the book really starts to get interesting and the plot as you say: thickens, the author really did a good job here describing what his college life was like and all the things he did leading up to being recruited for the Navy. I think he did this because he really wanted to emphasize that he was planning on being a normal person with dreams and his family and not just a ruthless cold blooded killer he was later in the book. After he gets recruited by the navy he spends the rest of the time trying with Phil and finding ways to finish his semester and pass the time, this is where he experiments with all kinds of drugs and alcohol and the begin to pose problematic to him.
The next few chapter Roland spends aboard a Navy ship nicknamed the USS Stoner “It seemed the crew members were more interested in smoking weed than doing any actual work” (67). This part of the book is where it gets kind of confusing and dull because the author just describes the daily life of him, not being very exciting but I think he wanted to get across the dull and lackluster life of a US midshipman. A few months into “service” he was called up by Phil for his first assignment, his objective was to assassinate a Russian mafia lord as discreetly as possible. He trained for months on this assignment including brushing up on his Russian culture and dialogue and when he arrived in Russia he becomes very nervous and I think that he doesn't want to go through with his mission because of the fact that he would have to kill another human being as he says “There a butterflies in my stomach, no, the whole zoo. How can I kill this man he has a family and friends, why should I be the one who makes them mourn him, why me?” he proceeds to kill the kingpin after which he is disgusted with himself and what he just did, but he is a soldier now and it’s time to nut-up-or-shut-up.
The rest of the book he goes through many different missions with Phil and other people in the CIA, with some under the table assignments mixed in there. A wide multitude of events takes place throughout the rest of his missions and I think that the author does an extremely good job of describing these missions in detail with many great details and actual facts about these people places and things. Throughout the course of the next 30 years he chronicles his amazing life and serves the CIA on a regular basis all while living in Peachtree City, GA with his wife and children and trying to recover from his alcohol and drug addiction he developed in college, with the help of his wife. I think that this part of the book was by far the most touching and down to earth part of the book and also shows the human side of his life and he wasn’t an invincible assassin, he was extremely human which is why the author wrote this entire book: to tell the stories of his life both good and bad ones.
So in the end I did enjoy this book to some degree, in fact I did really enjoy it because it wasn’t just an action packed Adeline rush of a story, it was a true biography of a man who goes through more than the average man should and has many rough patches but also many fun and more interesting than the average man’s life so in the end I would call it a story about triumph of spirit of a man always wanting to try new things and never give up. I did end up enjoying this book and the adventures it brought to me.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't mess with him.

[adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of his son, Damien Haas, & discovered this book by accident while doing crazy fan exploring on Google. I can see some of Roland in Damien. Roland has lead a crazy life & definitely wanted to make sure that his children had better life than he did. It’s interesting to hear stories from Damien’s childhood then to read this book.

[Hava · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin by Roland W Haas was a disappointment, to me at least. I spied the book while checking it out to a patron at the library, and had thought it looked like a very interesting book. After all, who wouldn’t enjoy a tell-all book from a CIA assassin?... Click here to continue

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alarmingly matter of fact.Haas learns skills,gets orders and kills people.The descriptions of covert opertions are so unlike James Bond as to appear banal.
I kept wanting more like how was Haas identified by the CIA??.
An easy read for an uneasy subject.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

truly interesting book, really give you a different perspective on the clandestine things that happened during the cold war. It also makes you wonder if there is a file on you somewhere in the world.

[Pamela Pritchert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how much of this book was fact and how much was elaborated on. I did enjoy it thoroughly, just some of it I found too over the top. Plus I had a few concerns towards the end...anyway, decent read.

[Colleen Coffin]

I love these kind of books. His stories are so extreme that one is left to wonder whether half of it is made up. But that's the beauty of his situation, you have almost zero chances of getting to the bottom of everything. One can only sit and take it all in.

[June Mccarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roland W.Haas lived in a townhouse my niece was Manager of at the time if his untimely death. This book is as truthful as they come. Enjoyed his story believe his story and he is truly missed. He signed her book April 24,2009

[Kiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read--although it is a fairly dark and heavy book.

[Nick Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, mostly because I hope it is all true. I also like to believe that there are some bad asses out there protecting us.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I heard about this book on a podcast and it sounded really interesting, but the book, not so great. Not very well written either. Disappointing.

[Steven]

Great story. Read like good fiction.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Purdue University Boilermaker like myself. I'm glad he signed it for me before he died.

[Arnpoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

True or not, this was an interesting book to read.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 might be a little low on the rating. It was easy and interesting reading. Fascinating to think that some people are programmed to be able to this type of activity. Interesting life path

[Corine Hardman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing. He was found dead of an "apparent" suicide just like he predicted. Don't ya just love all these govt. assisted suicides.