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[By Michael V. Hayden ] The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies (Hardcover)【2018】 by Michael V. Hayden (Author)
It is a sobering vision. The American intelligence community is more at risk than is commonly understood, for every good reason. Civil war or societal collapse is not necessarily imminent or inevitable, but our democracy's core structures, processes, and attitudes are under great stress. Many of the premises on which we have based our understanding of governance are now challenged, eroded, or simply gone. And we have a President in office who responds to overwhelming evidence from the intelligence community that the Russians are, by all acceptable standards of cyber conflict, in a state of outright war against us, not by leading a strong response, but by shooting the messenger. There are fundamental changes afoot in the world and in this country. The Assault on Intelligence shows us what they are, reveals how crippled we've become in our capacity to address them, and points toward a series of effective responses. Because when we lose our intelligence, literally and figuratively, democracy dies.
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First published May 1, 2018
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November 19, 2019
Hayden recaps Trump’s outrageous behavior, vindictiveness, divisiveness, bald-faced lies, and baseless accusations from the campaign, transition and the first year in office. He also gives examples of how Trump uses and compromises the people around him, even those with reputations for integrity. His review serves as a reminder of the consistency and frequency of Trump’s vitriol and the damage that has been done to U.S. institutions. As one Trumpism replaces the next, prior ones are forgotten. For those that think Trump’s behavior is getting worse Hayden’s book reminds us just how bad it has always been.
While eschewing party affiliation Hayden comes across as a conservative who cares about facts. Trump would consider him a member of the “deep state.” He is a retired four star U.S. Air Force general, former director of the CIA and NSA, and an avowed internationalist who values alliances. He writes in a modulated even tone, but he is clearly upset by Trump’s isolationist, transactional and protectionist foreign policy that he believes is weakening America and other democracies while emboldening authoritarian governments. He is dismayed by Trump’s disparagement of the American intelligence community and fears its unraveling if such attacks are sustained. Something we are witnessing in the State Department as this is being written.
Perhaps Hayden is most upset at the demise of truth, the creation of “alternate facts” that proliferate through social media. These are spread through media personalities like Sean Hannity and other Trump toadies or by Russian cyber manipulation. This amplification of alternate realities makes the real truth seem just like one of many and it gets lost in the shuffle. Hayden quotes conservative “never-Trumper” talk show host Charlie Sykes “The essence of propaganda is…to overwhelm your critical sensibilities. It’s to make you doubt the existence of a knowable truth.”
Hayden’s book is also relevant for what it says about our current situation almost two years after its publication. A major change has taken place in the people around Trump. Hayden felt that with General Mattis as Secretary of Defense, Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence, General McMaster as National Security Advisor, Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, and General Kelly as Trump’s chief of staff that Trump’s worst impulses could be contained. Trump diminished these people then fired them or forced their resignation making Hayden’s discussion of their importance moot. Their replacements and other hires such as Attorney General Barr have changed their attempts at containment into enablement. In part I think this is why Trump’s behavior seems more egregious than before. Not only is there no deflection from those surrounding Trump, his worst behavior is embraced and endorsed.
Hayden references some beliefs that underpin Trumps behavior. One is the idea that we are in a civilizational conflict, the Judeo-Christian word against the Muslim world. This is the Manichean view of Trump’s former campaign manager, Steve Bannon, and that of many in Trump’s base of which the most fervent supporters belong to the white Protestant evangelical community. The idea translated into racial terms is that America once was and should again be a white nation, making America “great again”. A second underpinning I believe is Putin envy. Hayden describes Russia as a colony administered by its oligarchs who mine it to support their mega fortunes, a model that fits Trump to a T. Hayden does not see Trump as a Russian agent but describes him as a “useful idiot”. I’m more inclined to see him as a Putin wannabe. Trump simply wants to take over America and rule it as Putin does Russia.
Hayden ends focusing on the demise of truth. He quotes Roger McNamee, mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, saying that Facebook serves up to users “an unending stream of posts that confirm each user’s existing beliefs….[E]veryone sees a different version of the internet tailored to create the illusion that everyone else agrees with them…while also making them more extreme and resistant to contrary facts.” McNamee goes on to note that the algorithms that deliver these posts are designed to maximize attention thus they focus on the negative and sensational at the expense of substance. Companies that make money by the click try to create an addictive experience. I highly recommend the September 2019 issue of Scientific American which focuses on “Truth, Lies & Uncertainty: Searching for reality in unreal times”. The last two articles in that issue offer excellent explanations for what we are seeing. These are “Radical Change: Uncertainty in the world threatens our sense of self. To cope, people embrace populism” and “A New World Disorder: Our willingness to share content without thinking is exploited to spread disinformation”.
As Hayden points out people become numb to Trump’s vicious attacks. The president’s behavior becomes normalized. For example, a few days ago on Nov 15, 2019 he tweeted an attack on former U.S. ambassador to the Ukraine, Yovanovitch while she testified before the House Intelligence Committee as part of the impeachment inquiry. Asked about it later that day by a reporter from ABC News Trump called the proceedings a witch hunt saying that Republicans were not allowed to question her or have their own lawyer. When the reporter pointed out that Republicans on the committee had their own lawyer and they had been questioning her all day, Trump just moved on. Trump is so brazen he will tell us all we didn’t see what we just saw and he won’t back down. But no one is surprised or shocked because we have come to expect this from Trump. This is where we are at.
Sadly I read that Hayden had a stroke in November 2018. It took a toll on his physical abilities and speech but mentally he stayed sharp. In January 2019 he and former acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post calling for Trump’s impeachment. While many former senior military leaders are reported to be upset with Trump’s policies, Hayden is one of a handful to publicly speak out. He is seeing his worst fears being realized.
While eschewing party affiliation Hayden comes across as a conservative who cares about facts. Trump would consider him a member of the “deep state.” He is a retired four star U.S. Air Force general, former director of the CIA and NSA, and an avowed internationalist who values alliances. He writes in a modulated even tone, but he is clearly upset by Trump’s isolationist, transactional and protectionist foreign policy that he believes is weakening America and other democracies while emboldening authoritarian governments. He is dismayed by Trump’s disparagement of the American intelligence community and fears its unraveling if such attacks are sustained. Something we are witnessing in the State Department as this is being written.
Perhaps Hayden is most upset at the demise of truth, the creation of “alternate facts” that proliferate through social media. These are spread through media personalities like Sean Hannity and other Trump toadies or by Russian cyber manipulation. This amplification of alternate realities makes the real truth seem just like one of many and it gets lost in the shuffle. Hayden quotes conservative “never-Trumper” talk show host Charlie Sykes “The essence of propaganda is…to overwhelm your critical sensibilities. It’s to make you doubt the existence of a knowable truth.”
Hayden’s book is also relevant for what it says about our current situation almost two years after its publication. A major change has taken place in the people around Trump. Hayden felt that with General Mattis as Secretary of Defense, Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence, General McMaster as National Security Advisor, Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, and General Kelly as Trump’s chief of staff that Trump’s worst impulses could be contained. Trump diminished these people then fired them or forced their resignation making Hayden’s discussion of their importance moot. Their replacements and other hires such as Attorney General Barr have changed their attempts at containment into enablement. In part I think this is why Trump’s behavior seems more egregious than before. Not only is there no deflection from those surrounding Trump, his worst behavior is embraced and endorsed.
Hayden references some beliefs that underpin Trumps behavior. One is the idea that we are in a civilizational conflict, the Judeo-Christian word against the Muslim world. This is the Manichean view of Trump’s former campaign manager, Steve Bannon, and that of many in Trump’s base of which the most fervent supporters belong to the white Protestant evangelical community. The idea translated into racial terms is that America once was and should again be a white nation, making America “great again”. A second underpinning I believe is Putin envy. Hayden describes Russia as a colony administered by its oligarchs who mine it to support their mega fortunes, a model that fits Trump to a T. Hayden does not see Trump as a Russian agent but describes him as a “useful idiot”. I’m more inclined to see him as a Putin wannabe. Trump simply wants to take over America and rule it as Putin does Russia.
Hayden ends focusing on the demise of truth. He quotes Roger McNamee, mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, saying that Facebook serves up to users “an unending stream of posts that confirm each user’s existing beliefs….[E]veryone sees a different version of the internet tailored to create the illusion that everyone else agrees with them…while also making them more extreme and resistant to contrary facts.” McNamee goes on to note that the algorithms that deliver these posts are designed to maximize attention thus they focus on the negative and sensational at the expense of substance. Companies that make money by the click try to create an addictive experience. I highly recommend the September 2019 issue of Scientific American which focuses on “Truth, Lies & Uncertainty: Searching for reality in unreal times”. The last two articles in that issue offer excellent explanations for what we are seeing. These are “Radical Change: Uncertainty in the world threatens our sense of self. To cope, people embrace populism” and “A New World Disorder: Our willingness to share content without thinking is exploited to spread disinformation”.
As Hayden points out people become numb to Trump’s vicious attacks. The president’s behavior becomes normalized. For example, a few days ago on Nov 15, 2019 he tweeted an attack on former U.S. ambassador to the Ukraine, Yovanovitch while she testified before the House Intelligence Committee as part of the impeachment inquiry. Asked about it later that day by a reporter from ABC News Trump called the proceedings a witch hunt saying that Republicans were not allowed to question her or have their own lawyer. When the reporter pointed out that Republicans on the committee had their own lawyer and they had been questioning her all day, Trump just moved on. Trump is so brazen he will tell us all we didn’t see what we just saw and he won’t back down. But no one is surprised or shocked because we have come to expect this from Trump. This is where we are at.
Sadly I read that Hayden had a stroke in November 2018. It took a toll on his physical abilities and speech but mentally he stayed sharp. In January 2019 he and former acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post calling for Trump’s impeachment. While many former senior military leaders are reported to be upset with Trump’s policies, Hayden is one of a handful to publicly speak out. He is seeing his worst fears being realized.
July 13, 2018
I found this book most interesting and scary. I chose to read this particular book on the subject of intelligence problems in this country because it was written by General Michael V. Hayden. Hayden was the highest-ranking intelligence officer in the military. Like General Colin Powell, General Hayden went to college on the ROTC program. He got his degree in history and went into the Air Force. Hayden was the first commander of the Air Force Cyberwarfare Command. He has also been Deputy Director of the National Intelligence and Director of the National Security Agency as well as Director of the CIA. He is a visiting professor at George Mason University. He has served under four presidents and lists his political affiliation as Independent, but I feel he trends toward the conservative. I recently read James Comey’s book “A Higher Loyalty” and noted that Comey said he had high regards for Hayden.
Hayden’s book is an analysis from his professional perspective of what Trump and Trumpism means for the intelligence community. I don’t believe it covers new material, but I found the big picture he paints of our world most scary. Hayden did provide pros and cons of George W. Bush, Obama and Trump’s actions. He states that Trump does not trust or feel a need for the intelligence community. Hayden says the intelligence community has a big problem of speaking the truth to a power that does not want to listen. I found the section about how Russia decided to use information as a method of warfare extremely interesting. Hayden explains how they first used it on their own people and then the world. The author explains how Russia and other enemies take advantage of the social and cultural divide between the average American. Hayden demonstrates how they use social media and plant stories that are lies and repeat them until people believe them in spite of knowing they are lies. After reading this book I decided I needed to know more about informational warfare and the intelligence service. I will look for more books on the topic.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is eight and a half hours. General Hayden does an excellent job narrating his own book.
Hayden’s book is an analysis from his professional perspective of what Trump and Trumpism means for the intelligence community. I don’t believe it covers new material, but I found the big picture he paints of our world most scary. Hayden did provide pros and cons of George W. Bush, Obama and Trump’s actions. He states that Trump does not trust or feel a need for the intelligence community. Hayden says the intelligence community has a big problem of speaking the truth to a power that does not want to listen. I found the section about how Russia decided to use information as a method of warfare extremely interesting. Hayden explains how they first used it on their own people and then the world. The author explains how Russia and other enemies take advantage of the social and cultural divide between the average American. Hayden demonstrates how they use social media and plant stories that are lies and repeat them until people believe them in spite of knowing they are lies. After reading this book I decided I needed to know more about informational warfare and the intelligence service. I will look for more books on the topic.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is eight and a half hours. General Hayden does an excellent job narrating his own book.
May 20, 2018
Two recent books have very well-framed the greatest issues facing US foreign policy today and this latest work from 4-Star General and former Director of both the CIA and NSA, Michael Hayden, is one of them. Where a previous book, "War on Peace," by Ronan Farrow documented the gradual shift away from genuine diplomacy being run by trained diplomats from the State Department to being managed entirely out of the Pentagon under the shadow of genuinely idiotic "tweets" by the so-called leader of the free world; Hayden's book documents the more recent trend of genuine stupidity and conspiracy-mongering about our intelligence agencies currently being undertaken by the Executive Branch.
For those of the tin-foil-hat brigade this is a book by the "Deep State," what a wonderfully unlettered appellation for professionals doing the job for which they were trained, bound by the rule of law. The notion that there are knowable facts, that despite the politics of those in charge those facts remain, that these facts should be communicated to whoever is leading the country so they can make informed decisions, that - despite previous errors these agencies have made - our leadership has access to the most modern and well-informed network of Intelligence in the world, that our current president has decided to have a mostly antagonistic/ambivalent relationship with these agencies purely because there are several uncomfortable facts about foreign powers' interference in our elections, and that this is a dangerous scenario given that he was elected knowing that he had no knowledge of international affairs (a state of ignorance under which he gleefully continues to operate) while at the same time our primary geopolitical adversary is headed by a former intelligence/counter-intelligence operative with a clear ambition to thwart our trust in several foundational and necessary elements of our democracy...(ahem) are all very well-discussed in this book which I recommend to all.
For those of the tin-foil-hat brigade this is a book by the "Deep State," what a wonderfully unlettered appellation for professionals doing the job for which they were trained, bound by the rule of law. The notion that there are knowable facts, that despite the politics of those in charge those facts remain, that these facts should be communicated to whoever is leading the country so they can make informed decisions, that - despite previous errors these agencies have made - our leadership has access to the most modern and well-informed network of Intelligence in the world, that our current president has decided to have a mostly antagonistic/ambivalent relationship with these agencies purely because there are several uncomfortable facts about foreign powers' interference in our elections, and that this is a dangerous scenario given that he was elected knowing that he had no knowledge of international affairs (a state of ignorance under which he gleefully continues to operate) while at the same time our primary geopolitical adversary is headed by a former intelligence/counter-intelligence operative with a clear ambition to thwart our trust in several foundational and necessary elements of our democracy...(ahem) are all very well-discussed in this book which I recommend to all.
July 5, 2021
There are two definitions of "intelligence":
1. The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
2. The collection of information of military or political value.
Both those definitions apply in this book.
To listen to a summary of the Trump presidency by an intelligence (def 2) expert shows how little intelligence (def 1) Donald Trump had and how incredibly little he knew about intelligence (def 2). And yet he received 75 million votes even after four years of his presidency. Why?
Highly recommended not only to get a solid view of Trump but of what the future holds. His followers are still out there and as strong as ever.
This book is called The Assault on Intelligence. It details an assault on intelligence in both definition 1 and definition 2.
Ignorance and its enablers have power now in a way I never thought was possible. And they continue to make sure that power becomes solidified. In a future election, I can see a dutifully elected Democratic president being deposed on the whims of a Republican state legislature with the help of Russia and other bad actors whose desire it is to destroy democracy.
1. The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
2. The collection of information of military or political value.
Both those definitions apply in this book.
To listen to a summary of the Trump presidency by an intelligence (def 2) expert shows how little intelligence (def 1) Donald Trump had and how incredibly little he knew about intelligence (def 2). And yet he received 75 million votes even after four years of his presidency. Why?
Highly recommended not only to get a solid view of Trump but of what the future holds. His followers are still out there and as strong as ever.
This book is called The Assault on Intelligence. It details an assault on intelligence in both definition 1 and definition 2.
Ignorance and its enablers have power now in a way I never thought was possible. And they continue to make sure that power becomes solidified. In a future election, I can see a dutifully elected Democratic president being deposed on the whims of a Republican state legislature with the help of Russia and other bad actors whose desire it is to destroy democracy.
May 12, 2018
The lamenting of the death of truth
An eye-opening insider's view of the death of truth and analytical fact-based thinking in America in general and the Trump White house in particular. The extent to which Russian exploit of social media impacted the 2016 election is frightening and incontrovertible. The only thing scarier is the ignorance of the President and those duped by their own shallow or willful ignorance. The world is a complicated place where we need the expertise of the best and the brightest. Hayden shines as one of America's most intelligent, most genuinely patriotic citizens. Unlike our current commander in chief who treats truth and facts as inconvenient irritants. Highly recommended.
An eye-opening insider's view of the death of truth and analytical fact-based thinking in America in general and the Trump White house in particular. The extent to which Russian exploit of social media impacted the 2016 election is frightening and incontrovertible. The only thing scarier is the ignorance of the President and those duped by their own shallow or willful ignorance. The world is a complicated place where we need the expertise of the best and the brightest. Hayden shines as one of America's most intelligent, most genuinely patriotic citizens. Unlike our current commander in chief who treats truth and facts as inconvenient irritants. Highly recommended.
August 1, 2018
Mike Hayden is the former Director of the NSA and the CIA and a retired four-star US Air Force general. He is a Republican. Under normal circumstances, you'd expect such a man to support any Republican President. But these aren't normal times. They haven't been for the past three years or so. And one of the most unfortunate signs of just how unusual things are these days is that the President of the United States has declared war on the American intelligence community. Hayden's new book, The Assault on Intelligence, is a powerful rebuttal to the belligerent and off-the-wall accusations that President Donald Trump has issued against the men and women of the CIA, NSA, FBI, and other agencies in the US government's sprawling intelligence establishment. In a word, this book presents the case against Donald Trump from the intelligence community.
An utter lack of respect for the truth
Hayden is not unreservedly negative about the Trump Administration. He has good things to say from time to time that reflect his background in the military and the intelligence community. He is critical of some policies of the Obama White House. He supports now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and (with reservations) National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster. Like other intelligence professionals, he appears to be thrilled about the appointment of Gina Haspel as CIA Director. However, he has nothing good to say about Donald Trump himself. Like so many of Trump's critics on the Left, Hayden sees the President's greatest sin as his utter lack of respect for the truth. As an intelligence professional who spent decades pursuing hard information to inform policy-making, he abhors the "post-truth" world the President has done so much to promote. And Hayden's book is subtitled American National Security in an Age of Lies.
Trump's tweets are "a gold mine for foreign services"
Hayden is concerned that Trump's obsessive use of Twitter makes him vulnerable to pressure from other nations—not just Russia, but any country that seeks to gain advantage over the United States. "The president's twitter tsunami must have been a gold mine for foreign services," he points out. "Pressable buttons, loyalties, exposed nerves, responses to pressure, sleep habits, even his unfiltered id were pretty much on full display. And surely the contents of some tweets would tempt some foreign services to conclude that the president bluffs and bends the truth to meet the needs of the moment. You can almost anticipate the language in the report: 'Mr. Prime Minister, you need to know that President Trump appears to be what the Americans call a bullshitter.' Good stuff for adversaries to know in upcoming sessions with POTUS and hardly designed to maximize the president's leverage." From an intelligence perspective, it's hard to imagine a stronger case against Donald Trump.
There is no "deep state" in America
The Right-Wing obsession with the "deep state" is at the heart of the conflict between the Trump Administration and the intelligence community, in Hayden's view. "I know what antidemocratic forces look like," he writes. "I have seen them in multiple foreign countries. There is no 'deep state' in the American Republic. There is merely 'the state,' or, as I characterize it, career professionals doing their best within the rule of law." The Assault on Intelligence is crammed with examples of honest men and women doing just that.
The case against Donald Trump
As you might imagine, Hayden is exceedingly well connected within the senior ranks of the intelligence community. He maintains personal relationships with many of the men and women he's worked with in the past and with some who remain in the Trump Administration. Throughout The Assault on Intelligence, he quotes others to convey some of the most powerful sentiments about the President. For example, a "just-retired veteran case officer volunteered the harsh judgment that while he would have recruited someone like Donald Trump as an agent of influence . . . he would never have recruited someone like him as a source: you could never believe what he told you, he said, and if presented with a threat or an opportunity, he would have rolled on you and your network in an instant." There must be scores of Republican Congressmen who would render a similar judgment. If so, they're not speaking up. But somewhere within the House Republican caucus there is a powerful case against Donald Trump that must someday come to light.
Two intertwining issues
In a final chapter, "Afterward," Hayden steps back from the fray to analyze these deplorable circumstances from a strategic perspective. There are "really two issues," he writes, "although they are intimately intertwined: the declining relevance of truth as traditionally understood (i.e., the evidence-based patterns developed during the Enlightenment), and Russia both exploiting and exacerbating that phenomenon." The President disingenuously refuses to acknowledge either issue. That, in the end, is the case against Donald Trump.
An utter lack of respect for the truth
Hayden is not unreservedly negative about the Trump Administration. He has good things to say from time to time that reflect his background in the military and the intelligence community. He is critical of some policies of the Obama White House. He supports now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, and (with reservations) National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster. Like other intelligence professionals, he appears to be thrilled about the appointment of Gina Haspel as CIA Director. However, he has nothing good to say about Donald Trump himself. Like so many of Trump's critics on the Left, Hayden sees the President's greatest sin as his utter lack of respect for the truth. As an intelligence professional who spent decades pursuing hard information to inform policy-making, he abhors the "post-truth" world the President has done so much to promote. And Hayden's book is subtitled American National Security in an Age of Lies.
Trump's tweets are "a gold mine for foreign services"
Hayden is concerned that Trump's obsessive use of Twitter makes him vulnerable to pressure from other nations—not just Russia, but any country that seeks to gain advantage over the United States. "The president's twitter tsunami must have been a gold mine for foreign services," he points out. "Pressable buttons, loyalties, exposed nerves, responses to pressure, sleep habits, even his unfiltered id were pretty much on full display. And surely the contents of some tweets would tempt some foreign services to conclude that the president bluffs and bends the truth to meet the needs of the moment. You can almost anticipate the language in the report: 'Mr. Prime Minister, you need to know that President Trump appears to be what the Americans call a bullshitter.' Good stuff for adversaries to know in upcoming sessions with POTUS and hardly designed to maximize the president's leverage." From an intelligence perspective, it's hard to imagine a stronger case against Donald Trump.
There is no "deep state" in America
The Right-Wing obsession with the "deep state" is at the heart of the conflict between the Trump Administration and the intelligence community, in Hayden's view. "I know what antidemocratic forces look like," he writes. "I have seen them in multiple foreign countries. There is no 'deep state' in the American Republic. There is merely 'the state,' or, as I characterize it, career professionals doing their best within the rule of law." The Assault on Intelligence is crammed with examples of honest men and women doing just that.
The case against Donald Trump
As you might imagine, Hayden is exceedingly well connected within the senior ranks of the intelligence community. He maintains personal relationships with many of the men and women he's worked with in the past and with some who remain in the Trump Administration. Throughout The Assault on Intelligence, he quotes others to convey some of the most powerful sentiments about the President. For example, a "just-retired veteran case officer volunteered the harsh judgment that while he would have recruited someone like Donald Trump as an agent of influence . . . he would never have recruited someone like him as a source: you could never believe what he told you, he said, and if presented with a threat or an opportunity, he would have rolled on you and your network in an instant." There must be scores of Republican Congressmen who would render a similar judgment. If so, they're not speaking up. But somewhere within the House Republican caucus there is a powerful case against Donald Trump that must someday come to light.
Two intertwining issues
In a final chapter, "Afterward," Hayden steps back from the fray to analyze these deplorable circumstances from a strategic perspective. There are "really two issues," he writes, "although they are intimately intertwined: the declining relevance of truth as traditionally understood (i.e., the evidence-based patterns developed during the Enlightenment), and Russia both exploiting and exacerbating that phenomenon." The President disingenuously refuses to acknowledge either issue. That, in the end, is the case against Donald Trump.
August 12, 2019
Hayden is once again writing a book to justify the Intelligence Community. Last time in Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror he was explaining their collection techniques. In this book, he's back in the dugout explaining why you need Intelligence agencies and their dedication to fact-based truth. And what Trump's free-wheeling style and mouth have done to their relationship with him and with the truth.
Why I started this book: My hold arrived, because there are lots of people waiting behind me, I started it immediately.
Why I finished it: Sobering conclusions, depressing antidotes and a reminder of the importance of truth. I also appreciated Hayden's carefulness in pointing out Obama and Trump's policy choices that Hayden disagreed with and not personality attacks. The Intelligence Community serves the President, their reports have to be objective and true, but this book reminds the reader that good reports ignored are the same as no reports. They need a relationship with the President and that relationship has been rocky with Trump.
Why I started this book: My hold arrived, because there are lots of people waiting behind me, I started it immediately.
Why I finished it: Sobering conclusions, depressing antidotes and a reminder of the importance of truth. I also appreciated Hayden's carefulness in pointing out Obama and Trump's policy choices that Hayden disagreed with and not personality attacks. The Intelligence Community serves the President, their reports have to be objective and true, but this book reminds the reader that good reports ignored are the same as no reports. They need a relationship with the President and that relationship has been rocky with Trump.
May 20, 2018
Michael Vincent Hayden, former director of the CIA as well as being a retired U.S. Air Force four-star general, Director Hayden in his newest book, "The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies" takes us on a journey of the start of his career towards the progress of his life from general to director of the CIA and other top positions. General Hayden worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations and put as his mission and legacy as being one of the most well accomplished public servants that we have had that has been a vital and key part of keeping us safe and secure both morally and with security. Morally, because he is the breed of an "intellectual warrior" and presents to us how the threats that we face today in the name of Donald Trump, presents unique serious challenges and problems not only to our country, but to our intelligence community and to the independence of our institutions and the norms that have governed it tidied up since the founding of our great nation.
In an early part of the book, General Hayden takes us back to his time in Sarajevo in 1994 he was there during the ravaged war time and as he states in his book, "What struck me most, though, as I walked about the city was not how much Sarajevans were different from the rest of us, but how much they weren't. This had obviously been a cultured, tolerant, even vibrant city. The veneer of civilization, I sadly concluded then, was quite thin" (Hayden, 2). Moreover, he continues, "Over the years it became clear to me that the structures, processes, and attitudes that protect us from Thomas Hobbe's world of "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" lives are not naturally occurring things. They are inherently fragile and demand careful tending if they are to survive" (Hayden, 2). And he logically explains that "civil war or societal collapse is not necessarily imminent or inevitable here in America" but rather that the "structures, processes, and attitudes we rely on to prevent those kinds of occurrence are under stress, and that many of the premises on which we have based our governance, policy, and security are now challenged, eroded, or simply gone" (Hayden, 2). And quoting his friend A.C. Grayling in which in a personal conversation he told General Hayden that this emerging post-truth world is one "over-valuing opinion and preference at the expense of proof and data" (Hayden, 3). As General Hayden eloquently puts it, "Intelligence gathers, evaluates, and analyzes information and then disseminates its conclusions for use, study, or refutation" (Hayden, 3). In a world in which there is so much mass information out there; and in one in which people are hyper-polarized to only read what they already believe, unique challenges are created. In the case of Donald Trump, a demagogue of the first degree, we face an even greater threat to the very nature of truth and reality.
This book is an absolute must read. I can write an entire report on General Hayden's book and in fact I might just do that in the near future. This book is so vital and important as General Hayden takes us through his own firsthand account of this chaos and the unpredictability of everything that is currently taking place; particularly the war on intelligence and the de facto war that Donald Trump is going to war against the very intelligence agencies that keep us safe.
Another book I will soon review will be "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" in which psychiatrists and mental health professionals of the first degree highlight the case on why they have broken with the Goldwater rule; and have said what is clear: Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist and a sociopathic narcissist with the lack of the human emotion of empathy. I will come back to update more on General Hayden's book in the near future. Read it!
In an early part of the book, General Hayden takes us back to his time in Sarajevo in 1994 he was there during the ravaged war time and as he states in his book, "What struck me most, though, as I walked about the city was not how much Sarajevans were different from the rest of us, but how much they weren't. This had obviously been a cultured, tolerant, even vibrant city. The veneer of civilization, I sadly concluded then, was quite thin" (Hayden, 2). Moreover, he continues, "Over the years it became clear to me that the structures, processes, and attitudes that protect us from Thomas Hobbe's world of "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" lives are not naturally occurring things. They are inherently fragile and demand careful tending if they are to survive" (Hayden, 2). And he logically explains that "civil war or societal collapse is not necessarily imminent or inevitable here in America" but rather that the "structures, processes, and attitudes we rely on to prevent those kinds of occurrence are under stress, and that many of the premises on which we have based our governance, policy, and security are now challenged, eroded, or simply gone" (Hayden, 2). And quoting his friend A.C. Grayling in which in a personal conversation he told General Hayden that this emerging post-truth world is one "over-valuing opinion and preference at the expense of proof and data" (Hayden, 3). As General Hayden eloquently puts it, "Intelligence gathers, evaluates, and analyzes information and then disseminates its conclusions for use, study, or refutation" (Hayden, 3). In a world in which there is so much mass information out there; and in one in which people are hyper-polarized to only read what they already believe, unique challenges are created. In the case of Donald Trump, a demagogue of the first degree, we face an even greater threat to the very nature of truth and reality.
This book is an absolute must read. I can write an entire report on General Hayden's book and in fact I might just do that in the near future. This book is so vital and important as General Hayden takes us through his own firsthand account of this chaos and the unpredictability of everything that is currently taking place; particularly the war on intelligence and the de facto war that Donald Trump is going to war against the very intelligence agencies that keep us safe.
Another book I will soon review will be "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" in which psychiatrists and mental health professionals of the first degree highlight the case on why they have broken with the Goldwater rule; and have said what is clear: Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist and a sociopathic narcissist with the lack of the human emotion of empathy. I will come back to update more on General Hayden's book in the near future. Read it!
January 24, 2020
This book fluctuates between 2.5 and 3 stars for me. This is not a total political screed, as Hayden does offer critiques of both Obama and Trump when he feels they made significant mistakes, and notes when they got things right. Still, Hayden has not, and will not, ever become a fan of Trump. This is not surprising for the unpopular president, but inevitably, Hayden's assessments, whether based in logic and facts, will always have significant detractors. Hayden has made himself a significant target for Trump and his supporters, but given Hayden's record and service, he is also in a unique position to offer perspective.
Still, this work is somewhat weaker than his first memoir, Playing to the Edge. While his first book offers insight from being "in the arena" and having detailed understanding of actions, this work is mainly written from the outside. Hayden now moves from intelligence leader to pundit and outside commentator. While his insights are useful and his analysis is based on a long career in government service, much of what he covers is primarily from outside sources, which, even with all his credentials, doesn't really separate Hayden from any other commentator/outside opinion (including mine and any reader of this review). There is little really new in this work, as opposed to his first work, which offered insights previously unpublished.
Bonus for the author reading his own work (which pushes the audiobook to a higher rating than hard copy). A decent read, but if you have to choose between Hayden's work, go with Playing to the Edge.
Still, this work is somewhat weaker than his first memoir, Playing to the Edge. While his first book offers insight from being "in the arena" and having detailed understanding of actions, this work is mainly written from the outside. Hayden now moves from intelligence leader to pundit and outside commentator. While his insights are useful and his analysis is based on a long career in government service, much of what he covers is primarily from outside sources, which, even with all his credentials, doesn't really separate Hayden from any other commentator/outside opinion (including mine and any reader of this review). There is little really new in this work, as opposed to his first work, which offered insights previously unpublished.
Bonus for the author reading his own work (which pushes the audiobook to a higher rating than hard copy). A decent read, but if you have to choose between Hayden's work, go with Playing to the Edge.
May 7, 2018
This is an excellent book that describes how Trump is actually destroying truth and with it the legitimacy of the Intelligence Community. This is less a personal attack on Trump, but more on how his behavior impacts how we are viewed as a country both inside the country and outside. This is a very sad state of affairs.
August 7, 2019
For us the bottom line was clear, the Oval Office was no place for routine exaggeration, much less for "alternative facts."
To just review the basis here, the president's metric was not appropriateness, not the rule of law, not avoiding conflict of interest. The president's metric was only loyalty, loyalty to him.
A must read.
9/10
To just review the basis here, the president's metric was not appropriateness, not the rule of law, not avoiding conflict of interest. The president's metric was only loyalty, loyalty to him.
A must read.
9/10
June 14, 2018
Hayden offers a good summary and sound analysis of the 2016 election campaign. Unfortunately, his book is largely a summary of events and has little to offer readers who followed the events of the 2016 election, the transition, and the beginning of the Trump Administration.
This book also suffers from some of the same faults as books by authors with similar center-right political leanings on national security. Hayden criticizes the national security decisions of the Obama Administration, particularly the withdrawal of forces from Iraq in 2011 and the decision not to bomb Syria in 2013, but he does not suggest alternative, or what he would consider better, strategies. It was not Obama that set the 2011 deadline in Iraq, but the Bush Administration who also left Obama to ask for immunity for US troops in the wake of Abu Ghraib and Haditha. It was not only Obama that was reluctant to bomb Assad in 2013, but the Republican Congress and America's close allies. Meanwhile, unmentioned is the Obama Administration's decision to send tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan, loosen restrictions on drone strikes on Pakistan and elsewhere, and deport people at a higher rate than previous administrations.
It is also disappointing that Hayden does not examine the strengths and weaknesses of Hilary's candidacy with the level of detail and analysis as the Trump campaign. The general public is familiar with Hilary's weaknesses, but what did Hayden make of her views on national security and the qualities of the advisers on her campaign?
This book would be excellent for a reader who did not closely follow political news since 2015 or would like to see how a sharp, professional intelligence official sees the campaign. Unfortunately, this book offers little new insight for the well-informed reader who follows current political events closely.
This book also suffers from some of the same faults as books by authors with similar center-right political leanings on national security. Hayden criticizes the national security decisions of the Obama Administration, particularly the withdrawal of forces from Iraq in 2011 and the decision not to bomb Syria in 2013, but he does not suggest alternative, or what he would consider better, strategies. It was not Obama that set the 2011 deadline in Iraq, but the Bush Administration who also left Obama to ask for immunity for US troops in the wake of Abu Ghraib and Haditha. It was not only Obama that was reluctant to bomb Assad in 2013, but the Republican Congress and America's close allies. Meanwhile, unmentioned is the Obama Administration's decision to send tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan, loosen restrictions on drone strikes on Pakistan and elsewhere, and deport people at a higher rate than previous administrations.
It is also disappointing that Hayden does not examine the strengths and weaknesses of Hilary's candidacy with the level of detail and analysis as the Trump campaign. The general public is familiar with Hilary's weaknesses, but what did Hayden make of her views on national security and the qualities of the advisers on her campaign?
This book would be excellent for a reader who did not closely follow political news since 2015 or would like to see how a sharp, professional intelligence official sees the campaign. Unfortunately, this book offers little new insight for the well-informed reader who follows current political events closely.
July 11, 2018
This book deserves two ratings... One for itself, and one for me. On its own and for the right audience it is a 4-5. For my purposes however, I give it a 3. Not for lack of quality, but for lack of informing me of anything substantially new.
The first 85% of the book is a fair recounting of the stuff about Trump and his admin that is already more or less known if you have been paying attention at an interested level over this year. If you have not this will be a very good primer of what has been going on. If you have, then you may find, as I did, the book a weary repeat of those things you already know.
I expected a different sort of depth and insight. Certainly, there is a certain sort of authority given who Michael Hayden is...but aside from a few anecdotes from his personal experience the book is fairly routine. It does not have the "lets go behind the scenes" flavor I was expecting.
His conclusions about the incompetence and more, the actual destructive impact Trump is having on America and Democracy are themselves well known and shared by many. They have a certain power coming from a man of his position and stature. But still not enough for me to 'love' this book.
I appreciate it. I can imagine in future times it might stand as a strong indictment of Trump and what he did to systematically attempt, perhaps succeed, in dismantling some of the critical infrastructure of the country. Especially in terms of the Intelligence sector.
The first 85% of the book is a fair recounting of the stuff about Trump and his admin that is already more or less known if you have been paying attention at an interested level over this year. If you have not this will be a very good primer of what has been going on. If you have, then you may find, as I did, the book a weary repeat of those things you already know.
I expected a different sort of depth and insight. Certainly, there is a certain sort of authority given who Michael Hayden is...but aside from a few anecdotes from his personal experience the book is fairly routine. It does not have the "lets go behind the scenes" flavor I was expecting.
His conclusions about the incompetence and more, the actual destructive impact Trump is having on America and Democracy are themselves well known and shared by many. They have a certain power coming from a man of his position and stature. But still not enough for me to 'love' this book.
I appreciate it. I can imagine in future times it might stand as a strong indictment of Trump and what he did to systematically attempt, perhaps succeed, in dismantling some of the critical infrastructure of the country. Especially in terms of the Intelligence sector.
June 25, 2020
Superior book by a very credible "insider" who knows everyone and was the director of both the CIA and NSA. Top quality analysis, quality observations of his and of others who are typically respected. An absolute must in this age of Trump and his wanton destruction of America... I cannot recommend this book more!
July 14, 2018
I liked Hayden’s last book and so read this one as well. This is a book about Trump’s assault on the Intelligence Community. Hayden thinks a Trump has done so much damage to community that officers are starting to ask ‘are we still the good guys?’
According to Hayden, Trump does not like long briefs (more than half page), likes to rely on his gut feeling, and hates background history. He also does not like truths, and had attacked the intelligence community many times:
Comey: nut job
Russian investigation: witch hunt
FBI: deep state
CIA: Nazis
All media: fake news (maybe except Fox)
That is of course on top of his insistence on his Biggest Inauguration, the Obama wiretapping him, and a mole was planted by the FBI in his campaign.
Hayden thinks that Trump’s relentless attack on the Intelligence Community is devastating. He is now advising good people Not to join it, because it is impossible to maintain one’s integrity in this White House.
This is a most scary book I have read recently.
According to Hayden, Trump does not like long briefs (more than half page), likes to rely on his gut feeling, and hates background history. He also does not like truths, and had attacked the intelligence community many times:
Comey: nut job
Russian investigation: witch hunt
FBI: deep state
CIA: Nazis
All media: fake news (maybe except Fox)
That is of course on top of his insistence on his Biggest Inauguration, the Obama wiretapping him, and a mole was planted by the FBI in his campaign.
Hayden thinks that Trump’s relentless attack on the Intelligence Community is devastating. He is now advising good people Not to join it, because it is impossible to maintain one’s integrity in this White House.
This is a most scary book I have read recently.
October 22, 2018
I am wondering why I waited so long and patiently for this one to rise to the top of the "hold" list at my local library's queue; at least I didn't pay to hear this particular sob story. There is little here that might be considered revelatory. I think Hayden inoculates himself against blatant partisanship early in the story by making a couple of almost aside comments about how George W and Obama also had a couple run-ins with their intelligence people, and were not always perfect users of the intelligence product. But by and large this was mostly a defense of "the state" (in his world 'the deep state' is a figment) and much anti-Trump screed. Hayden slides right past a explanation of the likes of Christopher Wray and much of the unmasking debacle, and of course Julian Assange is nothing but a liar and stooge. I still continue to wonder if any NSA head will ever see the inside of a jail cell.
June 6, 2018
All the books I read these days are "sobering." This is no exception.
Hayden is concerned about the threats these days to the American intelligence community (IC) and, not coincidentally, to the belief in objective truth itself. The job of the IC is to tell the truth about the world to the president and other policymakers, as faithfully as possible. It is not to flatter the leader or to abet his political ambitions. Yet Hayden sees, as many of us do, that Trump has no integrity and therefore doesn't particularly value objective truth. Trump has neither acknowledged the threat that Russia poses to American democracy nor directed the IC to combat Russia's aggression.
Hayden is a scathing Trump critic. And for the record, he's a lifelong Republican and no fan of Obama's.
Hayden is concerned about the threats these days to the American intelligence community (IC) and, not coincidentally, to the belief in objective truth itself. The job of the IC is to tell the truth about the world to the president and other policymakers, as faithfully as possible. It is not to flatter the leader or to abet his political ambitions. Yet Hayden sees, as many of us do, that Trump has no integrity and therefore doesn't particularly value objective truth. Trump has neither acknowledged the threat that Russia poses to American democracy nor directed the IC to combat Russia's aggression.
Hayden is a scathing Trump critic. And for the record, he's a lifelong Republican and no fan of Obama's.
June 3, 2018
I enjoyed this second book more than his first. It’s a quick read with his observations on what Trump has done to the Intelligence Community (IC) and ultimately the country by his action or inactions. Lots of interesting observations from his service to Clinton, Bush, and Obama. Very much still connected it seems a pity that his knowledge and expertise can’t be harnessed into more service for our country. He laments the loss of our Enlightenment based rigor of facts which has succumbed to populism, propaganda, lies, and emotion.
August 20, 2018
This is a charming, easy to read book that travels into a scary space, a government that doesn't value truth and honesty but actively seeks to confuse and trap people into lies and ultimately fail to honor their interests and benefits. There is a place for secrecy but only when most information is available and open. The author was a former official in the CIA and alerts readers to the Trump administration and Republican party's use of concealing information and controlling what reality is. How he does it in an easy to comprehend way is quite helpful.
January 10, 2021
Full disclosure. I know Mike Hayden from Air Force experience. First met him at Osan circa 1981. I was at Osan from Kadena and we were both AF majors. Had occasion to see him at work and was impressed with his ability and people skills. Mike invited me to his quarters and his wife, Janine, fed me dinner. Later, circa 1992, Mike was the executive assistant to Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Donald Rice and accompanied Dr. Rice to Poland where I was the Air Attaché. My wife fed Mike at our quarters. So, obviously I am not totally objective.
I liked this book and found it informative and well documented. Much of the first part of the book was not completely new to me, but the information was presented in a well-organized, coherent manner. Mike is a Yinzer and proud Steelers fan. He knows the impact of words and he is not afraid to let his blue collar roots show.
For me, the best part of the book was Chap 7, “Trump, Russia and Truth.” He cites a European study that notes that Russia was undermining U.S. democracy and that the Russian goal was simply “to destroy and undermine confidence in Western media.” He quotes Charles Sykes, who argues:
“The essence of propaganda is … to overwhelm your critical sensibilities. It is to make you doubt
the existence of a knowable truth.” For the Russians Trump was like a gift dropped in their laps. Trump, of course, called the press the “enemy of the American people.” To this end, Trump never really argued facts, just that “... there is no truth, so you should follow your gut & your tribe.” Loyalty, of course, trumps (pun intended) all else.
In effect, right wing news sites became an echo chamber for the Russian Internet Research Agency. Russia’s goal in cyberspace was information dominance. And here I am going to extract what was for me perhaps the most noteworthy paragraph I read:
“… the enabler for all of this was the World Wide web and social media, the ability to “publish” without credentials, without the need to offer proof … or even identify yourself. The demise of a respected media as an arbiter of fact or at least as a curator of data let loose impulses that were at once leveling, coarsening, and misleading … this explosion of information overwhelmed us so quickly that education did not keep up, leaving us … with regularly reading the biggest washroom wall in history.”
To recap and expand a bit, Mike argues that our concept of objective truth has been undermined by several things. A big part of the undermining is caused by social media like Facebook. Facebook algorithms (he and others argue) feed us posts by others of like mind. Thus if I am a flaming godless heathen I will see many posts from other flaming godless heathens. If I am q anon, other q anon-ers will appear in my feed. And if I like a roto rooter post my “brother” makes, other sewer people will find me. If you have ever shopped for anything on Amazon you have probably found your Facebook feed loaded with promos for that product. Also Facebook will suggest groups and friends for you based on what their algorithms tell them.
Zeynep Tufekci (Turkish born writer at the University of North Carolina) is also cited. She succinctly nails the reality of today’s social media. “… like-minded people can now find one another. Good news if you are talking about democratic activists in a totalitarian state. Not so good if you are linking up and empowering white supremacist, racists, and religious fanatics who previously were isolated and weak.”
This book was written in 2018, two years ago. But, if anything the situation has gotten worse. Early indications are that q anon coordinated and planned their attacks on Capitol Hill on the conservative social media site Parlor. And, there is no need for me to elaborate on the way Trump has weaponized Twitter.
This is an important book very much worth reading.
I liked this book and found it informative and well documented. Much of the first part of the book was not completely new to me, but the information was presented in a well-organized, coherent manner. Mike is a Yinzer and proud Steelers fan. He knows the impact of words and he is not afraid to let his blue collar roots show.
For me, the best part of the book was Chap 7, “Trump, Russia and Truth.” He cites a European study that notes that Russia was undermining U.S. democracy and that the Russian goal was simply “to destroy and undermine confidence in Western media.” He quotes Charles Sykes, who argues:
“The essence of propaganda is … to overwhelm your critical sensibilities. It is to make you doubt
the existence of a knowable truth.” For the Russians Trump was like a gift dropped in their laps. Trump, of course, called the press the “enemy of the American people.” To this end, Trump never really argued facts, just that “... there is no truth, so you should follow your gut & your tribe.” Loyalty, of course, trumps (pun intended) all else.
In effect, right wing news sites became an echo chamber for the Russian Internet Research Agency. Russia’s goal in cyberspace was information dominance. And here I am going to extract what was for me perhaps the most noteworthy paragraph I read:
“… the enabler for all of this was the World Wide web and social media, the ability to “publish” without credentials, without the need to offer proof … or even identify yourself. The demise of a respected media as an arbiter of fact or at least as a curator of data let loose impulses that were at once leveling, coarsening, and misleading … this explosion of information overwhelmed us so quickly that education did not keep up, leaving us … with regularly reading the biggest washroom wall in history.”
To recap and expand a bit, Mike argues that our concept of objective truth has been undermined by several things. A big part of the undermining is caused by social media like Facebook. Facebook algorithms (he and others argue) feed us posts by others of like mind. Thus if I am a flaming godless heathen I will see many posts from other flaming godless heathens. If I am q anon, other q anon-ers will appear in my feed. And if I like a roto rooter post my “brother” makes, other sewer people will find me. If you have ever shopped for anything on Amazon you have probably found your Facebook feed loaded with promos for that product. Also Facebook will suggest groups and friends for you based on what their algorithms tell them.
Zeynep Tufekci (Turkish born writer at the University of North Carolina) is also cited. She succinctly nails the reality of today’s social media. “… like-minded people can now find one another. Good news if you are talking about democratic activists in a totalitarian state. Not so good if you are linking up and empowering white supremacist, racists, and religious fanatics who previously were isolated and weak.”
This book was written in 2018, two years ago. But, if anything the situation has gotten worse. Early indications are that q anon coordinated and planned their attacks on Capitol Hill on the conservative social media site Parlor. And, there is no need for me to elaborate on the way Trump has weaponized Twitter.
This is an important book very much worth reading.
August 9, 2024
Michael V. Hayden’s “The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies” offers a profound exploration of the challenges facing the intelligence community in contemporary America. As a former director of both the CIA and NSA, Hayden draws on his extensive experience to present a compelling narrative that underscores the integral role of intelligence in safeguarding national security. Hayden’s 2018-published book’s central thesis revolves around the erosion of trust in intelligence institutions, exacerbated by a political landscape rife with misinformation and populism. He articulates how this degradation not only undermines public confidence but also impairs the ability of intelligence agencies to effectively operate. The book is notable for its candid examination of the complexities of intelligence work, particularly in a world where facts are often overshadowed by alternative narratives. The structure of the book is well-organized, blending personal anecdotes with historical context to provide a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of American intelligence. Hayden skillfully navigates through significant events, such as the 9/11 attacks and the rise of cyber threats, illustrating how these incidents have shaped current policies and practices. Moreover, Hayden does not shy away from critiquing current administrations’ approaches to intelligence and national security. His insights into the implications of political interference and the weaponization of intelligence for partisan gain are particularly poignant. “The Assault on Intelligence” is both an urgent call to action and a reflective commentary on the importance of truth in governance. Hayden’s writing is accessible yet intellectually stimulating, making it suitable for both casual readers and those deeply invested in national security issues. Ultimately, this book serves as a vital reminder of the necessity for integrity and accountability in intelligence, especially in an era marked by pervasive deception.
July 31, 2018
Hayden offers a clear explanation of why facts don't seem to sway opinions or guide policy in the current political climate. What's missing from “The Assault on Intelligence” is the definition of a clear path toward countering a "post-truth" narrative. Since the (very recent) publication of this book, even more significant concerns regarding North Korea, Russia, and Iran have come to light, which demonstrate the volatility and speed with which the national security landscape is changing. While the book views world affairs through the lens of national security, it’s really a book about the communication (or lack thereof) between U.S. governmental institutions and the Trump administration, and a pessimist would predict no happy outcome. Hayden quotes Timothy Snyder as writing, “To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis to do so. Post-truth is pre-fascism.”
Now, what do we do about it?
Now, what do we do about it?
September 27, 2019
Four-star general Michael Hayden (DIRNSA 1999-2005, DNI 2006-2006, and D/CIA 2006-2009) wrote a 300-page rant on the Trump presidency and Russia's divisive influence campaigns. The latter half of the book focuses on the implications of our post-truth generation, and how that's being exploited. Hayden writes:
"the state of truth and the state of Russian meddling -- actually intersected in a July 2017 NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll that found that 73 percent of Democrats thought Russia was a major threat to U.S. elections, while only 17 percent of Republicans thought so. . . . Which meant that a unanimous, high-confidence judgment of the American intelligence community was more of a national Rorschach test than a warning of danger, a guide to policy, or a stimulus to action."
4.5 stars
"the state of truth and the state of Russian meddling -- actually intersected in a July 2017 NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll that found that 73 percent of Democrats thought Russia was a major threat to U.S. elections, while only 17 percent of Republicans thought so. . . . Which meant that a unanimous, high-confidence judgment of the American intelligence community was more of a national Rorschach test than a warning of danger, a guide to policy, or a stimulus to action."
4.5 stars
March 10, 2021
the book highlights and discussion two issues that are “intimately intertwined: the declining relevance of trust and traditionally understood and Russia both exploiting and exacerbating that phenomenon”
really interesting discussion about the effect Trump had on the way truth is viewed in the US - “to abandon facts is to abandon freedom... post-trust is pre-fascism”
really interesting discussion about the effect Trump had on the way truth is viewed in the US - “to abandon facts is to abandon freedom... post-trust is pre-fascism”
July 4, 2018
I appreciate Hayden’s brisk pace and clear, concise writing. He gives you the facts and his expert opinion, making sure you know the distinction between the two. A smart book that I highly recommend (especially after reading Timothy Snyder’s “Tyranny” and/or “The Road To Unfreedom”).
September 26, 2019
If you want to learn more about intelligence & geopolitics then it's not the best one. But if you want to learn what a wrecking ball Trump is and how he distorts the whole world, then it's a good read.
August 25, 2019
Insider view based on evidence and 40 years experience serving the intelligence community. There's some self-promotion of his other book and ideas but it's not intolerable. Articulates well why actions of the current administration threaten foundational institutions and processes in place to protect the American republic; serves as a stark warning.
April 4, 2021
An excellent book on the state of the intelligence community and its relationship to the Trump administration with interesting personal insights from the author and his named (and sometimes unnamed) colleagues.
July 9, 2019
Learned couple of new words : posttruth, truthiness.
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