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The CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World
This book provides insight into the paradigmatic approaches evolved by CIA decades ago in Vietnam which remain operational practices today in Afghanistan, El Salvador, Iraq, Syria, Yemen andelsewhere.Valentine’s research into CIA activities began when CIA Director William Colby gave him free accessto interview CIA officials who had been involved in various aspects of the Phoenix program in South Vietnam. The CIA would rescind it, making every effort to impede publication of The Phoenix Program, which documented the CIA’s elaborate system of population surveillance, control, entrapment,imprisonment, torture and assassination in Vietnam.While researching Phoenix, Valentine learned that the CIA allowed opium and heroin to flow from its secret bases in Laos, to generals and politicians on its payroll in South Vietnam. His investigations into thisillegal activity focused on the CIA’s relationship with the federal drugs agencies mandated by Congress to stop illegal drugs from entering the United States. Based on interviews with senior officials, Valentinewrote two subsequent books, The Strength of the Wolf and The Strength of the Pack, showing how the CIA infiltrated federal drug lawenforcement agencies and commandeered their executivemanagement, intelligence and foreign operations staffs in order toensure that the flow of drugs continues unimpeded to traffickers andforeign officials in its employ.Ultimately, portions of his research materials would be archived at theNational Security Archive, Texas Tech University’s Vietnam Center,and John Jay College.This book includes excerpts from the above titles along withupdated articles and transcripts of interviews on a range of currenttopics, with a view to shedding light on the systemic dimensions of theCIA’s ongoing illegal and extra-legal activities. These terrorism anddrug law enforcement articles and interviews illustrate how the CIA’sactivities impact social and political movements abroad and in theUnited States.A common theme is the CIA’s ability to deceive and propagandize theAmerican public through its impenetrable government-sanctionedshield of official secrecy and plausible deniability.Though investigated by the Church Committee in 1975, CIA praxis thencontinues to inform CIA praxis now. Valentine tracks its steadyinfiltration into practices targeting the last population to be subjected tothe exigencies of the American the American people.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2016
183 people are currently reading
1857 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Valentine
18 books114 followersDouglas Valentine is the author of four books of historical nonfiction: The Hotel Tacloban, The Phoenix Program, The Strength of the Wolf: The Secret History of America's War on Drugs, and The Strength of the Pack: The Personalities, Politics and Espionage Intrigues that Shaped the DEA. He is the author of the novel TDY, and a book of poems, A Crow's Dream. He is also the editor of the poetry anthology With Our Eyes Wide Open: Poems of the New American Century (West End Press, 2014). He lives with his wife, Alice, in Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
June 22, 2018
I think most of what Valentine presents here is true, but he writes with obvious bias and agenda. It was hard at times not to cringe when reading his more opinion-driven passages. Instead of presenting clear facts, positing theories and then backing them up with more facts, he writes like a conspiracy theorist. And like such, he intersperses real hard information with unsubstantiated claims or great leaps in logic. So when he tries to make a profound point it makes it very difficult for the reader to know if the conclusion came more from the facts of from his own opinions.
With a topic like this, and with his indisputably fine research, i expected more. I believe the CIA has acted as a criminal organization and committed uncountable heinous crimes. This deserves to be written about with a laser-like prosecutorial edge. Instead Valentine leans on cliche and buzz words like "Madison Avenue" calling all writing he disagrees with "Propaganda" and self-aggrandizes his own efforts at every turn. The amount of time he spends telling us how other writers/journalists are purposefully misleading us is a sure sign of someone himself trying to mislead us.
He will drop in names of people (like Hillary Clinton) in odd places to illicit a reaction without showing relevance to that chapter's topic. And too often he writes something like this:
“engaging in war crimes, it seems, is as American as apple pie and compulsory Nuremburg-style celebrations of militant nationalism at football games.”
How did flag-waving football fans (or Nuremberg for that matter) get into a discussion on the similarities between the Phoenix program in Vietnam and CIA involvement in Afghanistan? By dropping those two things randomly into his argument we are supposed to flock to his side because..."yeah, yeah, i see what you mean?" It's just cheap, manipulative writing.
By the end, he completely lost me. Which is sad, because this topic is too important. If all Valentine wanted to do was write a book for his followers on a topic that they all already agreed with...job well done, i guess. However, he completely undermined a great opportunity to bring this important topic to a wider audience.
With a topic like this, and with his indisputably fine research, i expected more. I believe the CIA has acted as a criminal organization and committed uncountable heinous crimes. This deserves to be written about with a laser-like prosecutorial edge. Instead Valentine leans on cliche and buzz words like "Madison Avenue" calling all writing he disagrees with "Propaganda" and self-aggrandizes his own efforts at every turn. The amount of time he spends telling us how other writers/journalists are purposefully misleading us is a sure sign of someone himself trying to mislead us.
He will drop in names of people (like Hillary Clinton) in odd places to illicit a reaction without showing relevance to that chapter's topic. And too often he writes something like this:
“engaging in war crimes, it seems, is as American as apple pie and compulsory Nuremburg-style celebrations of militant nationalism at football games.”
How did flag-waving football fans (or Nuremberg for that matter) get into a discussion on the similarities between the Phoenix program in Vietnam and CIA involvement in Afghanistan? By dropping those two things randomly into his argument we are supposed to flock to his side because..."yeah, yeah, i see what you mean?" It's just cheap, manipulative writing.
By the end, he completely lost me. Which is sad, because this topic is too important. If all Valentine wanted to do was write a book for his followers on a topic that they all already agreed with...job well done, i guess. However, he completely undermined a great opportunity to bring this important topic to a wider audience.
August 28, 2024
❝ I didn’t ask them their secrets, so they told me their secrets ❞
This sentence was enough to hook me up!
It was a truly eye-opening experience . Valentine offers a wealth of knowledge and insights that made me eager to dive deeper into the book. I’m already looking forward to his next work!
I would’ve given it a solid 5 stars, but there were a few sections that made me feel a bit lost. Some parts felt like a dense whirlwind of names, organizations, and programs, and it became challenging to keep track of how everything fit together. A revised edition could really benefit from adding an appendix that summarizes key points or even includes flow charts to help connect the dots. A couple of well-placed maps would’ve been a great touch, too.
Overall, it’s a book that leaves you thinking long after you’ve finished reading it!
This sentence was enough to hook me up!
It was a truly eye-opening experience . Valentine offers a wealth of knowledge and insights that made me eager to dive deeper into the book. I’m already looking forward to his next work!
I would’ve given it a solid 5 stars, but there were a few sections that made me feel a bit lost. Some parts felt like a dense whirlwind of names, organizations, and programs, and it became challenging to keep track of how everything fit together. A revised edition could really benefit from adding an appendix that summarizes key points or even includes flow charts to help connect the dots. A couple of well-placed maps would’ve been a great touch, too.
Overall, it’s a book that leaves you thinking long after you’ve finished reading it!
February 19, 2018
This book should be standard reading for all conscientious students of US History. By that I mean people who have come to understand that the narrative of this nation told in the public schools is a complete fairy tale. The book is very dense with information, making it a slow but fulfilling read. The material is organized to give enough context for even the most novice researcher to understand. The author's case, that the CIA is essentially the world's most powerful criminal gang, would be pretty much impossible to dispute given the verifiable facts outlined in this book. Valentine does a superb job of conveying the 'Who', 'What', 'Where', 'When', and the 'How' of the CIA's extra-legal activities. My one complaint would be that there are times when I thought he stretched the limits of plausibility to establish the 'Why'. There are some statements that read like conjecture, assuming things that couldn't possibly be known, like a person's reasoning or motivation for doing something. As a reader I would prefer an author admit that they are not sure about the 'Why', rather than make an assumption. Overall I highly recommend the book because of the well-sourced information it provides, and the way it clearly identifies the CIA's use of the mass media to "control the narrative". Though I could have done without certain assessments and opinions from the author which felt 'tacked on', it was still a fascinating read. It certainly provides a much needed context for a lot of historical events from 1947-present.
November 16, 2022
English back story: William the Conqueror led a pacification of England (many eyes plucked out, castrations, or hands and feet cut off) that killed 300,000 followed by a brutal occupation. “Anglo-Saxon nobility was exterminated” and their property was given to the Norman upper class. The difference from the US is William openly bragged about it, while “America cloaks its barbarism and plunder under a veil of good intentions and self-defense.” “Both spread terror inflicting death and cruelty on non-combatants as well.” It should be said that back then William and Kings fought face to face, axe to axe, sword to sword, taking real risks and so had severe skin-in-the-game, while Obama in utter personal safety ordered the execution of a 16-year-old boy for only future crimes and -bingo - he and his innocent high-school friends and Yemeni restaurant staff were brutally killed by drone from a command post thousands of miles away. High risk face-to-face murder of old vs. zero risk long distance joystick murder of today.
US Back History: During Prohibition, “a lot of booze was coming into the country in police vans”. Prohibition “allowed crime to become organized under the direction of law enforcement in the United States” i.e., “Making sure the police chief got the best bottle of scotch.”
The CIA: Did you notice that terrorism is considered only lawful when the US does it? The CIA’s job (comically called counter-terrorism) is to “conduct its terrorism secretly and you never know about it.” We are told secrecy is critical to “preserve national security” but not how “often officials use secrecy to conceal their corruption and crimes.” The CIA is the most corrupting influence in the United States (p. 52).” “Its job is to make sure “none of its illegal operations are exposed.” “The CIA doesn’t do anything it can’t deny.” “The CIA is not a law enforcement agency. It’s our (own personal) mafia operating in foreign nations.” “The CIA’s job is making foreign nations abide by American policy.” The FBI resisted the creation of the CIA because “it has no authority over the CIA.” “The job of CIA officers is to follow illegal orders to provoke a crisis.” “The War on Terror is the greatest covert operation ever.”
Look at this: US Congress has actually “exempted CIA officers engaged in terrorism from federal laws aimed at terrorists.” Look at a known CIA training exercise that involved “planting plastic explosives in a Virginia school bus.” If that really happened not as an exercise, and was false flag blamed on someone else -voila – instant permanent Animal Farm fascism for America where terrorism means ANYONE “deemed dangerous to the Public Order.” Vote red or blue; you know none of this crazy shit will change.
It takes mass psychosis to perpetuate the capitalist system. Eternally fund clearly abusive governments like Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt and not one liberal will object. Because of mass psychosis, the average American is now very concerned about terrorism from abroad, yet brain dead about the obvious terrorism daily committed by its own government. Yet government’s policy is terrorism, and it has placed itself above the law. Who can’t see that US surveillance by design “suppresses people from expressing their true feelings”? Millions of US taxpayer dollars are spent just to glorify the US military in football stadiums. You have to be carefully taught. TV also taught us well that the key to criminal enterprise is to keep your “crimes and corruption secret.”
Ads or Billboards I’d like to see - The US Military: “gobbling up the nation’s tax dollars in order to maintain a global protection racket.” The CIA: Proudly provoking conflicts so our military has a pretext to intervene. The Department of Homeland Security: Suppressing dissent in America since 9/11. Hillary Clinton: Slaying the demons she creates for you. Another Hillary ad: Your Austerity is her Prosperity. The Pentagon: Illegally Invading and Destroying Foreign Nations so our Corporations Can Steal What They Want. When the US goes down the toilet, the uber rich will but everything at 10% market value just as they have done around the globe when other countries went down the toilet.
CIA in Vietnam: The CIA’s Phoenix Program in Vietnam “deliberately blurred the lines between subversives and innocent civilians, and killed anyone who got in the way, including children, like it did at My Lai and a thousand other places.” The CIA had “the unstated job of terrifying the entire civilian population into submission.” “A member of the VCI was anyone who didn’t actively support the government.” “People had to watch every word they said.” Family members were released when families paid big enough bribes to “the local Security Committee members.” One CIA officer said Phoenix was, “The greatest blackmail scheme ever invented: if you don’t do what I want, you’re VC.” If the CIA couldn’t get the VCI leadership, it used pure terror to remove grassroots support. If you merely bought rice from a smuggler, you chanced being called a VC collaborator. If you merely visited a family member in a VC controlled area, you became a suspected collaborator.
Phoenix didn’t bring peace or security; everyone was too afraid of being falsely accused. One Phoenix agent said he knew a “female suspect who was raped and tortured because she refused to sleep with an agent.” The same agent said this all went on because of the assumption that nothing was worse than communism. Call me crazy, but all the above sadistic criminal behavior sounds worse than communism. “Communists (in Vietnam) represented the interests of the people and for this reason, the people sided with them.” US Media broadcasting of Vietnam era carnage led the CIA and military to later start embedding journalists to keep unfortunate things like truth and war crimes from being broadcast again.
US Antics in Vietnam: John McCain told his North Vietnamese guards, “I’ll give you military information if you take me to the hospital.” McCain conveniently sealed from the public documents on details of collaboration with his captors. Many civilians in Vietnam were killed or tortured for the crime of believing in agrarian reform or resisting foreign domination. One army intelligence officer said, “I never knew of an individual detained as a VC suspect who ever lived through an interrogation.” Valentine refers to the Vietnam War as “the genocide of 2 million people who never threatened the US.”
Did you know Bob Kerrey “led a team of Navy SEALs into a Vietnamese village and murdered its men, women and children”? “Kerrey gave the order.” When an “old man resisted, Kerrey kneeled on him so Klann could slit his throat. So, they finished off the survivors, including a baby.” Maybe Toby Keith will turn that into a flag waving hit song, “That Baby was Asking for It.” Kerrey was actually given a (Bronze Star) medal as a reward. Kerrey said, “I never felt more free than when I wore the uniform of our country.” Yeah, meaning free to murder. Kerrey could have been sentenced to death under 18 USC sec. 2441, if anyone cared.
“Con Son with its tiger cages was the model for Gitmo.” One CIA officer told a Senator “that CIA teams committed atrocities and made them look like the work of the VC.” You’d wipe out a family and make it look like the VC did it (Anthony Herbert book, Soldier). Neil Sheehan wrote that in 1966, “he saw American GI’s slaughter as many as 600 Vietnamese civilians in five fishing villages.” In 2016, Obama chided Hanoi for human rights violations; I’ll bet the 3 million Vietnamese injured or killed just by US deployed Agent Orange had a good laugh over that one. Saturating lovely Vietnam with dioxin, what a noble goal. Mainstream media will tell you other people are fighting for extreme religious reasons but never nationalist reasons, or that they simply don’t like being invaded.
The threat of a global Phoenix program is that one day it could be used on US citizens. Yum. “When the Phoenix first arrived in America in the form of Homeland Security, it was advertised as ‘protecting the people from terrorism’, just as it was in Vietnam.” Do you want to see “the fascistic merging of government and corporate forces against the public interest”? If so, stay quiet publicly about your concerns, until you no more choice. Isn’t it fun when the government intentionally terrorizes “the public into consenting to greater restrictions on civil liberties and more wars overseas”? Thanks to 2012’s NDAA, the US military now has the right to “detain and assassinate US citizens without due process”.
“In 2013, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that President Obama now ‘has authority to use drone strikes to kill Americans on US soil’.” The punchline is that not ONE liberal has complained about it on their Facebook page since; give me a progressive any day. It’s only a matter of time, Valentine says, before Phoenix turns on the American people. Info from the last US census, and social media platforms will make it really easy for political control. Things for US citizens to look forward to that was used by the US in Vietnam during its Phoenix: “rape, gang rape, rape using eels, snakes or hard objects, rape followed by murder, waterboarding” and don’t forget the joys of US employees attaching wires to your scrotum, or beating you while your arms are tied behind your back and you are hoisted in the air.
Afghanistan: General Stanley McCrystal said of Afghanistan, “we should have never been there in the first place.” The CIA chose Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and allowed “his clique to traffic opium without fear of arrest of prosecution.” Opium production then soared; more business for the DEA to pretend to handle to keep its funding. Our leaders wanted Afghanistan to serve as a “colony in a strategic location near Russia and China.” Picture trillions of dollars of Afghanistan gas, iron, copper, cobalt, gold, and don’t forget it’s known as the Saudi Arabia of Lithium. All ripe for the picking. In 2009, a former British Ambassador said the US motive was a pipeline that would “bring out Uzbek and Turkmen gas which together is valued at 10 trillion.” Now how much would you pay for that muffler? Afghan anger about occupation means more resistance which ensures “eternal military occupation”. “The US has never been ‘against’ al Qaeda. The CIA created al Qaeda in Afghanistan to use against the Soviets.” “Al Qaeda and ISIS provide America with a pretext to intervene in every Muslim country in the world.” Sweet! And they both provide the US with mercenaries when needed.
“The (US) military is socialism in its purest form. People in the military lead a life of privilege in which the state meets each and every one of their needs.” NPR is called National Pentagon Radio because of its “cozy relationship with the military and its penchant to spew pro-military propaganda.” Have you noticed how our government historically makes ZERO distinction between nationalists fighting for their own country, and terrorists? That is by design. God forbid people merely defending their country against blatant US military occupation be seen as “honorable”. In 2009, the Times of London did an article about how US commandos were accused “of dragging innocent children from their beds and shooting them.” Assuming you like your own children, I’ll bet that went over really well with those children’s parents. Some of those kids were first handcuffed before killed. Pause to listen to Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.
Historian Arnold Toynbee eloquently said near his death, “Today America has become the world’s nightmare.” Protecting your own: Following the terrible events of 9/11 President Bush jumped into action, and had the FBI round up Saudi royalty to safely fly them out of the US. “Cops enforce the law, they do not obey it.”
Ukraine and Syria: In Vietnam, “the CIA bought prime property at ten percent of its value” to have places to pull off shady deals and to give to captive NGO’s. That’s what is happening now in Ukraine. Pierre Omidyar’s Centre UA’s “stated purpose was to pull Ukraine out of the Russian orbit and deliver it to Western corporations.” This wasn’t to help the average Joe in Ukraine, but to help US elites financially backing it. Vice-President Joe Biden’s son Hunter thus joined the board of directors of Ukraine’s largest gas producer. Do this shady stuff for us and you’ll “get $100,000 in a Swiss bank account and your life will be rosy.” You infiltrate political parties with funds and use them for your own purposes. The Russians can’t compete with the US largely because they don’t have the money. Of course, this is illegal, but the CIA has its deniability.
“It’s standard to classify the names of CIA officers in the Ukraine, what their cover positions are, who they’ve bribed and suborned. But now, thanks to Directive 304, you can’t even know what is unclassified about CIA operations.” Directive 304 you could once find online but now it’s classified. “They don’t want you to know anything.” “Phil Agee called the CIA ‘Capitalism’s Invisible Army’.” “They want to suck the life out of Ukrainians. The first thing they want is property, and the best way to drive prices down is to start a war.” Putin’s crimes mean much $ for US weapons manufacturers. If Putin was responsible for the crimes at Abu Ghraib Prison or renditions and not the US, US liberals would still be talking about it. Invading Iraq was an obvious war crime (as British legal advisors reminded Britain in 2003) yet our liberals only wake up for Putin’s war crimes. The Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004 was also started “to thwart the Russians.” The CIA uses many NGO’s as middlemen to do these shady deals. Without CIA deniability such crimes won’t happen. America: Turning Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Syria into example shitholes for countries who might not know to kowtow to us. The US is in Syria to weaken Russia. Modern France is a land of Islamophobia, wants its colonies back, and never gave up control of the Algerian army.
CIA Techniques: We keep exiles in storage (like Ngo Dinh Diem and Fethullah Gulen) and activate them when needed. In Cuba, “the CIA hired out Meyer Lansky and the Mafia to do its dirty work.” “The Mafia was a huge problem in 1950, equivalent to terrorism today. But was also a protected branch of the CIA (p.229).” The Ukraine government hired out “a bunch of neo-Nazis.” The CIA in Ukraine “has grandchildren of Nazis on its payroll.” “The American public has no clue. They think the crisis began today because of the way the news is presented.” Imagine the US press daring to say Palestine is under occupation; it will never happen. “Putin recently said the Internet was a CIA project and he was right. If they wanted to, they could shut it down in a minute. They control it and they monitor every aspect of it. We are just mosquitos.” 90% of Americans didn’t want us to bail out the banks, but it happened. The US caused more death and destruction than Saddam Hussein ever in Iraq did but good luck being reminded of that.
US torture academy, the School of the Americas, had its name (and nothing else) changed in 2000 to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. It’s like Bill Cosby changing his name to Gandhi. US foreign policy reduced is “waging systematic war crimes for profit.” “War crimes for profit cannot exist without the complicity of the mainstream media.” It will show ISIS beheading people but never torture by the US. Every unit in the US Special Commandos has a CIA advisor. “Every top Iraqi politician and ministry official has a CIA case officer too.” Fareed Zakaria is a CIA stooge. “America’s ruling National Security Establishment has expanded covert paramilitary operations from 60 nations in 2008, to 120 in 2013.” 60 doubled to 120? Double your pleasure, double your fun. You can’t get a job at the CIA if you think they should obey the law and you can’t get a job at CNN “if you sympathize with the Palestinians or report how Israel has been stealing their land for 67 years.” “Science for the CIA means better ways to kill or control people.”
Did you know that Oliver North had a plan to suspend the Constitution “in the event of a national crisis” and round-up domestic dissidents “in camps such as the one in Oakdale, Louisiana.” In foreign nations, the CIA “militarizes police forces so it can control that country’s political, economic and social movements.” “Over the past 40 years, dissent has come to equal terrorism.” How interesting to historically re-see the Boston Tea Party also as clear terrorism instead of just patriotism.
CIA and Drugs: “The CIA’s control of international drug trafficking is America’s darkest secret.” An FBN agent said, “I used to think we were fighting the drug business, but after they formed the BNDD, I realized we were feeding it.” Nancy Reagan never told us that the CIA apparently can’t “just say no.” “CIA people were smuggling drugs into the US. The CIA sees “the Bill of Rights as an obstacle to national security.” “Veterans returned to America with their habits, and the CIA was underwriting the whole thing.” Law enforcement protected “CIA drug trafficking assets from exposure and prosecution.” “The CIA decided to test LSD on unsuspecting American citizens” in CIA safe houses. The DEA found that the CIA shipped a ton of cocaine from “its bulging warehouse in Venezuela.” The US backed Chiang Kai-shek in the 1920’s through allowing the opium trade. Harry Anslinger “clearly knew about the ties between Chiang and the opium trade.” US Congressmen and Senators in the China Lobby got kickbacks “in the form of campaign funds” from Anslinger. Anyone mentioning this was branded a communist sympathizer. “The United States has been engaged in an unstated policy since the 1920’s of supporting political allies by allowing leadership to make fortunes dealing drugs.”
The CIA calls its death squads “counterterrorism teams.” When you are into“killing civilians not soldiers” the CIA gets called in. The CIA helped engineer the coup in Chile and from there the CIA “fanned out through Latin America.” “Israeli advisors taught El Salvador’s major landowners how to organize criminals into vigilante death squads.” “Latin America was, for economic reasons, the place the US aimed its aggression after Vietnam.” “Corrupting the leadership of a country in order to keep it in your pocket is integral to maintaining an empire.” “Hillary Clinton staged a coup in Honduras in 2009” (page 215).
Read my last six paragraphs of my book review in the comment section. Great book.
US Back History: During Prohibition, “a lot of booze was coming into the country in police vans”. Prohibition “allowed crime to become organized under the direction of law enforcement in the United States” i.e., “Making sure the police chief got the best bottle of scotch.”
The CIA: Did you notice that terrorism is considered only lawful when the US does it? The CIA’s job (comically called counter-terrorism) is to “conduct its terrorism secretly and you never know about it.” We are told secrecy is critical to “preserve national security” but not how “often officials use secrecy to conceal their corruption and crimes.” The CIA is the most corrupting influence in the United States (p. 52).” “Its job is to make sure “none of its illegal operations are exposed.” “The CIA doesn’t do anything it can’t deny.” “The CIA is not a law enforcement agency. It’s our (own personal) mafia operating in foreign nations.” “The CIA’s job is making foreign nations abide by American policy.” The FBI resisted the creation of the CIA because “it has no authority over the CIA.” “The job of CIA officers is to follow illegal orders to provoke a crisis.” “The War on Terror is the greatest covert operation ever.”
Look at this: US Congress has actually “exempted CIA officers engaged in terrorism from federal laws aimed at terrorists.” Look at a known CIA training exercise that involved “planting plastic explosives in a Virginia school bus.” If that really happened not as an exercise, and was false flag blamed on someone else -voila – instant permanent Animal Farm fascism for America where terrorism means ANYONE “deemed dangerous to the Public Order.” Vote red or blue; you know none of this crazy shit will change.
It takes mass psychosis to perpetuate the capitalist system. Eternally fund clearly abusive governments like Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt and not one liberal will object. Because of mass psychosis, the average American is now very concerned about terrorism from abroad, yet brain dead about the obvious terrorism daily committed by its own government. Yet government’s policy is terrorism, and it has placed itself above the law. Who can’t see that US surveillance by design “suppresses people from expressing their true feelings”? Millions of US taxpayer dollars are spent just to glorify the US military in football stadiums. You have to be carefully taught. TV also taught us well that the key to criminal enterprise is to keep your “crimes and corruption secret.”
Ads or Billboards I’d like to see - The US Military: “gobbling up the nation’s tax dollars in order to maintain a global protection racket.” The CIA: Proudly provoking conflicts so our military has a pretext to intervene. The Department of Homeland Security: Suppressing dissent in America since 9/11. Hillary Clinton: Slaying the demons she creates for you. Another Hillary ad: Your Austerity is her Prosperity. The Pentagon: Illegally Invading and Destroying Foreign Nations so our Corporations Can Steal What They Want. When the US goes down the toilet, the uber rich will but everything at 10% market value just as they have done around the globe when other countries went down the toilet.
CIA in Vietnam: The CIA’s Phoenix Program in Vietnam “deliberately blurred the lines between subversives and innocent civilians, and killed anyone who got in the way, including children, like it did at My Lai and a thousand other places.” The CIA had “the unstated job of terrifying the entire civilian population into submission.” “A member of the VCI was anyone who didn’t actively support the government.” “People had to watch every word they said.” Family members were released when families paid big enough bribes to “the local Security Committee members.” One CIA officer said Phoenix was, “The greatest blackmail scheme ever invented: if you don’t do what I want, you’re VC.” If the CIA couldn’t get the VCI leadership, it used pure terror to remove grassroots support. If you merely bought rice from a smuggler, you chanced being called a VC collaborator. If you merely visited a family member in a VC controlled area, you became a suspected collaborator.
Phoenix didn’t bring peace or security; everyone was too afraid of being falsely accused. One Phoenix agent said he knew a “female suspect who was raped and tortured because she refused to sleep with an agent.” The same agent said this all went on because of the assumption that nothing was worse than communism. Call me crazy, but all the above sadistic criminal behavior sounds worse than communism. “Communists (in Vietnam) represented the interests of the people and for this reason, the people sided with them.” US Media broadcasting of Vietnam era carnage led the CIA and military to later start embedding journalists to keep unfortunate things like truth and war crimes from being broadcast again.
US Antics in Vietnam: John McCain told his North Vietnamese guards, “I’ll give you military information if you take me to the hospital.” McCain conveniently sealed from the public documents on details of collaboration with his captors. Many civilians in Vietnam were killed or tortured for the crime of believing in agrarian reform or resisting foreign domination. One army intelligence officer said, “I never knew of an individual detained as a VC suspect who ever lived through an interrogation.” Valentine refers to the Vietnam War as “the genocide of 2 million people who never threatened the US.”
Did you know Bob Kerrey “led a team of Navy SEALs into a Vietnamese village and murdered its men, women and children”? “Kerrey gave the order.” When an “old man resisted, Kerrey kneeled on him so Klann could slit his throat. So, they finished off the survivors, including a baby.” Maybe Toby Keith will turn that into a flag waving hit song, “That Baby was Asking for It.” Kerrey was actually given a (Bronze Star) medal as a reward. Kerrey said, “I never felt more free than when I wore the uniform of our country.” Yeah, meaning free to murder. Kerrey could have been sentenced to death under 18 USC sec. 2441, if anyone cared.
“Con Son with its tiger cages was the model for Gitmo.” One CIA officer told a Senator “that CIA teams committed atrocities and made them look like the work of the VC.” You’d wipe out a family and make it look like the VC did it (Anthony Herbert book, Soldier). Neil Sheehan wrote that in 1966, “he saw American GI’s slaughter as many as 600 Vietnamese civilians in five fishing villages.” In 2016, Obama chided Hanoi for human rights violations; I’ll bet the 3 million Vietnamese injured or killed just by US deployed Agent Orange had a good laugh over that one. Saturating lovely Vietnam with dioxin, what a noble goal. Mainstream media will tell you other people are fighting for extreme religious reasons but never nationalist reasons, or that they simply don’t like being invaded.
The threat of a global Phoenix program is that one day it could be used on US citizens. Yum. “When the Phoenix first arrived in America in the form of Homeland Security, it was advertised as ‘protecting the people from terrorism’, just as it was in Vietnam.” Do you want to see “the fascistic merging of government and corporate forces against the public interest”? If so, stay quiet publicly about your concerns, until you no more choice. Isn’t it fun when the government intentionally terrorizes “the public into consenting to greater restrictions on civil liberties and more wars overseas”? Thanks to 2012’s NDAA, the US military now has the right to “detain and assassinate US citizens without due process”.
“In 2013, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that President Obama now ‘has authority to use drone strikes to kill Americans on US soil’.” The punchline is that not ONE liberal has complained about it on their Facebook page since; give me a progressive any day. It’s only a matter of time, Valentine says, before Phoenix turns on the American people. Info from the last US census, and social media platforms will make it really easy for political control. Things for US citizens to look forward to that was used by the US in Vietnam during its Phoenix: “rape, gang rape, rape using eels, snakes or hard objects, rape followed by murder, waterboarding” and don’t forget the joys of US employees attaching wires to your scrotum, or beating you while your arms are tied behind your back and you are hoisted in the air.
Afghanistan: General Stanley McCrystal said of Afghanistan, “we should have never been there in the first place.” The CIA chose Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and allowed “his clique to traffic opium without fear of arrest of prosecution.” Opium production then soared; more business for the DEA to pretend to handle to keep its funding. Our leaders wanted Afghanistan to serve as a “colony in a strategic location near Russia and China.” Picture trillions of dollars of Afghanistan gas, iron, copper, cobalt, gold, and don’t forget it’s known as the Saudi Arabia of Lithium. All ripe for the picking. In 2009, a former British Ambassador said the US motive was a pipeline that would “bring out Uzbek and Turkmen gas which together is valued at 10 trillion.” Now how much would you pay for that muffler? Afghan anger about occupation means more resistance which ensures “eternal military occupation”. “The US has never been ‘against’ al Qaeda. The CIA created al Qaeda in Afghanistan to use against the Soviets.” “Al Qaeda and ISIS provide America with a pretext to intervene in every Muslim country in the world.” Sweet! And they both provide the US with mercenaries when needed.
“The (US) military is socialism in its purest form. People in the military lead a life of privilege in which the state meets each and every one of their needs.” NPR is called National Pentagon Radio because of its “cozy relationship with the military and its penchant to spew pro-military propaganda.” Have you noticed how our government historically makes ZERO distinction between nationalists fighting for their own country, and terrorists? That is by design. God forbid people merely defending their country against blatant US military occupation be seen as “honorable”. In 2009, the Times of London did an article about how US commandos were accused “of dragging innocent children from their beds and shooting them.” Assuming you like your own children, I’ll bet that went over really well with those children’s parents. Some of those kids were first handcuffed before killed. Pause to listen to Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.
Historian Arnold Toynbee eloquently said near his death, “Today America has become the world’s nightmare.” Protecting your own: Following the terrible events of 9/11 President Bush jumped into action, and had the FBI round up Saudi royalty to safely fly them out of the US. “Cops enforce the law, they do not obey it.”
Ukraine and Syria: In Vietnam, “the CIA bought prime property at ten percent of its value” to have places to pull off shady deals and to give to captive NGO’s. That’s what is happening now in Ukraine. Pierre Omidyar’s Centre UA’s “stated purpose was to pull Ukraine out of the Russian orbit and deliver it to Western corporations.” This wasn’t to help the average Joe in Ukraine, but to help US elites financially backing it. Vice-President Joe Biden’s son Hunter thus joined the board of directors of Ukraine’s largest gas producer. Do this shady stuff for us and you’ll “get $100,000 in a Swiss bank account and your life will be rosy.” You infiltrate political parties with funds and use them for your own purposes. The Russians can’t compete with the US largely because they don’t have the money. Of course, this is illegal, but the CIA has its deniability.
“It’s standard to classify the names of CIA officers in the Ukraine, what their cover positions are, who they’ve bribed and suborned. But now, thanks to Directive 304, you can’t even know what is unclassified about CIA operations.” Directive 304 you could once find online but now it’s classified. “They don’t want you to know anything.” “Phil Agee called the CIA ‘Capitalism’s Invisible Army’.” “They want to suck the life out of Ukrainians. The first thing they want is property, and the best way to drive prices down is to start a war.” Putin’s crimes mean much $ for US weapons manufacturers. If Putin was responsible for the crimes at Abu Ghraib Prison or renditions and not the US, US liberals would still be talking about it. Invading Iraq was an obvious war crime (as British legal advisors reminded Britain in 2003) yet our liberals only wake up for Putin’s war crimes. The Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004 was also started “to thwart the Russians.” The CIA uses many NGO’s as middlemen to do these shady deals. Without CIA deniability such crimes won’t happen. America: Turning Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Syria into example shitholes for countries who might not know to kowtow to us. The US is in Syria to weaken Russia. Modern France is a land of Islamophobia, wants its colonies back, and never gave up control of the Algerian army.
CIA Techniques: We keep exiles in storage (like Ngo Dinh Diem and Fethullah Gulen) and activate them when needed. In Cuba, “the CIA hired out Meyer Lansky and the Mafia to do its dirty work.” “The Mafia was a huge problem in 1950, equivalent to terrorism today. But was also a protected branch of the CIA (p.229).” The Ukraine government hired out “a bunch of neo-Nazis.” The CIA in Ukraine “has grandchildren of Nazis on its payroll.” “The American public has no clue. They think the crisis began today because of the way the news is presented.” Imagine the US press daring to say Palestine is under occupation; it will never happen. “Putin recently said the Internet was a CIA project and he was right. If they wanted to, they could shut it down in a minute. They control it and they monitor every aspect of it. We are just mosquitos.” 90% of Americans didn’t want us to bail out the banks, but it happened. The US caused more death and destruction than Saddam Hussein ever in Iraq did but good luck being reminded of that.
US torture academy, the School of the Americas, had its name (and nothing else) changed in 2000 to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. It’s like Bill Cosby changing his name to Gandhi. US foreign policy reduced is “waging systematic war crimes for profit.” “War crimes for profit cannot exist without the complicity of the mainstream media.” It will show ISIS beheading people but never torture by the US. Every unit in the US Special Commandos has a CIA advisor. “Every top Iraqi politician and ministry official has a CIA case officer too.” Fareed Zakaria is a CIA stooge. “America’s ruling National Security Establishment has expanded covert paramilitary operations from 60 nations in 2008, to 120 in 2013.” 60 doubled to 120? Double your pleasure, double your fun. You can’t get a job at the CIA if you think they should obey the law and you can’t get a job at CNN “if you sympathize with the Palestinians or report how Israel has been stealing their land for 67 years.” “Science for the CIA means better ways to kill or control people.”
Did you know that Oliver North had a plan to suspend the Constitution “in the event of a national crisis” and round-up domestic dissidents “in camps such as the one in Oakdale, Louisiana.” In foreign nations, the CIA “militarizes police forces so it can control that country’s political, economic and social movements.” “Over the past 40 years, dissent has come to equal terrorism.” How interesting to historically re-see the Boston Tea Party also as clear terrorism instead of just patriotism.
CIA and Drugs: “The CIA’s control of international drug trafficking is America’s darkest secret.” An FBN agent said, “I used to think we were fighting the drug business, but after they formed the BNDD, I realized we were feeding it.” Nancy Reagan never told us that the CIA apparently can’t “just say no.” “CIA people were smuggling drugs into the US. The CIA sees “the Bill of Rights as an obstacle to national security.” “Veterans returned to America with their habits, and the CIA was underwriting the whole thing.” Law enforcement protected “CIA drug trafficking assets from exposure and prosecution.” “The CIA decided to test LSD on unsuspecting American citizens” in CIA safe houses. The DEA found that the CIA shipped a ton of cocaine from “its bulging warehouse in Venezuela.” The US backed Chiang Kai-shek in the 1920’s through allowing the opium trade. Harry Anslinger “clearly knew about the ties between Chiang and the opium trade.” US Congressmen and Senators in the China Lobby got kickbacks “in the form of campaign funds” from Anslinger. Anyone mentioning this was branded a communist sympathizer. “The United States has been engaged in an unstated policy since the 1920’s of supporting political allies by allowing leadership to make fortunes dealing drugs.”
The CIA calls its death squads “counterterrorism teams.” When you are into“killing civilians not soldiers” the CIA gets called in. The CIA helped engineer the coup in Chile and from there the CIA “fanned out through Latin America.” “Israeli advisors taught El Salvador’s major landowners how to organize criminals into vigilante death squads.” “Latin America was, for economic reasons, the place the US aimed its aggression after Vietnam.” “Corrupting the leadership of a country in order to keep it in your pocket is integral to maintaining an empire.” “Hillary Clinton staged a coup in Honduras in 2009” (page 215).
Read my last six paragraphs of my book review in the comment section. Great book.
December 27, 2024
A solid collection of articles tracing the spread of the ideology and methods of state terrorism developed for the Phoenix Program in Vietnam into every aspect of the state. I do wish there was more thorough and detailed sourcing, but again.as a collection of essays that's to be expected.
Less of a reference piece than Valentine's earlier key work on the program itself, this still provides a good overview of the programs of rendition, the control of the drug and arms trades, and black propaganda used by the CIA to shape our world and how we view it.
Less of a reference piece than Valentine's earlier key work on the program itself, this still provides a good overview of the programs of rendition, the control of the drug and arms trades, and black propaganda used by the CIA to shape our world and how we view it.
January 5, 2022
Country invented and run by lunatics
June 22, 2019
I heard about Doug Valentine from some podcasters I listen to every now and then (Myth of the 20th Century and Ryan Dawson); most of Valentine's work revolves around the numerous illicit terrorist operations the CIA has been involved in, and particularly their role in the global drug/ arms trade
This is a collection of transcribed interviews and articles from over the years. The articles are generally good, some of the interviews are hit or miss. Overall, a fine introduction for those who know and 'normies' alike, as the writing is fairly straightforward, not especially dense, divided up into 10-45 minute long chapters, and not overly graphic. Here, he mostly covers the Phoenix Program (Vietnam), aspects of the global drug trade, and the War on Terror.
One thing I would have liked to have seen was a greater amount of footnotes/ references; at least a few times I noticed he would provide some dates, some factual information, or a quote, but no reference; I get that he got a lot of this information from personal interviews with ex-CIA agents, but some additional references would be nice, as I find myself wanting to go into the primary sources sooner or later myself.
This is a collection of transcribed interviews and articles from over the years. The articles are generally good, some of the interviews are hit or miss. Overall, a fine introduction for those who know and 'normies' alike, as the writing is fairly straightforward, not especially dense, divided up into 10-45 minute long chapters, and not overly graphic. Here, he mostly covers the Phoenix Program (Vietnam), aspects of the global drug trade, and the War on Terror.
One thing I would have liked to have seen was a greater amount of footnotes/ references; at least a few times I noticed he would provide some dates, some factual information, or a quote, but no reference; I get that he got a lot of this information from personal interviews with ex-CIA agents, but some additional references would be nice, as I find myself wanting to go into the primary sources sooner or later myself.
May 5, 2022
American exceptionalism is a farce. Read this book and keep an open mind on whatever is said about America for you to understand what really is going.
December 12, 2019
Valentine's presentation of the CIA is very good, but he only covers from the early 60s to the present (2016, when book published), with just a smattering of information about the CIA's illegal operations in the 50s. He doesn't understand what capitalism is, and mistakenly thinks the interlocking of corporate heads and government officials is capitalism. He is right to criticize how corporations work with the CIA and government to invade and overthrow other countries in order to steal their wealth, but that is NOT capitalism. Valentine also swallows the idea that racism is endemic to America, and conveniently ignores the fact that blacks disproportionately commit violent crimes (and no, I'm not talking about dealing drugs - I totally agree that the "Drug War" is a scam).
July 29, 2020
I'm really scratching my head over The CIA etc book...I was expecting great stuff but I just didn't care for it...through a 100 pages you get no specifics on what the Phoenix Program is about other than it's mentioned every other sentence...the writing is poor, a lot of interview with the author that really added up to very little....I ended up speed reading the second half of the book...idk, I don't get the high praise for this book -? Personally I thought it needed an edit and maybe a rewrite...
March 3, 2020
A great read for people who are already radical, but I think the language used would tune out a lot of less informed people who need to hear this message.
Ultimately, well-researched and passionately argued.
Ultimately, well-researched and passionately argued.
April 4, 2019
This book isn't even deserved one star!
April 8, 2020
I'm no expert on the CIA but I recently read Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control , and Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties and I feel like I've got a passing understanding of what we know about an organization that is designed to be secretive and institutionally opaque.
In broad strokes, the CIA exists to promote American empire and hegemony around the world. Their task remains unchanged from administration to administration and they have no respect for democracy, American or otherwise. They also have no respect for human life, and literally anything you can imagine is permissible if it can justified by even the vaguest appeal to national intelligence and security interests. Black mail, media manipulation and propaganda, human experimentation, torture, and murder are all important tools in the Agency’s arsenal.
What sets Valentine's book apart is his willingness to break what appears to be an unstated rule in CIA scholarship: you do not report on or even speculate about contemporary CIA operations and organizational mandates. Everything I've read up to this point happens to conclude in the 70's or 80's or wind down into bureaucratic critique of the 90's up to the present. We are left to believe that the CIA, a product of the Cold War, has been reigned in and that the most horrific excesses (Operation Phoenix, MK-ULTRA, Gladio, spreading Wahabism in the Middle East to combat regional nationalist and leftist movements, Iran-Contra, etc.) ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Valentine argues that the War on Terror era CIA is a direct continuation of its Cold War predecessor. In particular, he argues that the Phoenix program established in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, serves as the blue print of all contemporary CIA operations. The Phoenix program consisted of targeted assassination, torture, terrorism, corruption of local public institutions, and the management of local drug cartels and criminal underworlds. According to Valentine, Phoenix-style operations have been and are currently being conducted in Afghanistan and Iraq. The “snatch and snuff” method of capturing, interrogating, torturing, and sometimes murdering civilians suspected of collaboration with forces hostile to American occupation, first implemented in Vietnam, is used in Afghanistan and Iraq. A series of black sites, often run by foreign nationals not subject to American legal constraints, are operated by the CIA to interrogate and torture suspects. The reality of the war on the ground is misrepresented to the American public in the same way it was in Vietnam by conflating nationalist resistance movements with ideological enemies (the VC in Vietnam; terrorists in the Middle East).
Valentine claims that the CIA has had a hand in the international drug market and cartels since its inception. More than that, as the title suggests, the CIA is best understood as an organized criminal syndicate, one created by and in the service of the American ruling class. The CIA facilitates and profits off of drug cartels in Central and South America, the poppy fields held by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, etc. In fact, many of the cartels are direct descendants of the death squads that the CIA trained and funded in our bloody coups in Latin America during the Cold War. According to Valentine, the CIA ran the drug trade coming out of the “golden triangle” of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar during the Vietnam war, both as a way of controlling regional powers and funding off the books operations unsanctioned by the US government.
Perhaps most disturbing. Valentine argues, similar to Gary Webb, that the CIA is directly responsible for importing and distributing drugs within the United States. They have infiltrated and compromised local and federal drug enforcement, and they use the War on Drugs as a way of waging racial and class warfare on the American underclass. The full-scale criminalization of communities of color, now occupied by militarized police forces, ensures domestic stability for the American white, capitalist ruling elite.
Valentine walks the line between a theory of a conspiracy and a conspiracy theory, but it is heavily researched and seems consistent with everything we publicly know about the CIA, as long as we accept the idea that the CIA would be willing and able to bring what it practices abroad home. The existence of operations Chaos and COINTELPRO (and the Church Committee hearings in general) have proven that the CIA has no problem operating domestically, even if that involves torturing, experimenting on, and murdering American citizens. The speculative leap that Valentine’s work (with a lot of circumstantial evidence) requires is this: it is plausible that a settler colonial nation founded on genocide and slavery, with a history of legalized racial apartheid up to the 1960’s, would be capable of this kind of racialized domestic oppression? It seems very plausible to me.
In broad strokes, the CIA exists to promote American empire and hegemony around the world. Their task remains unchanged from administration to administration and they have no respect for democracy, American or otherwise. They also have no respect for human life, and literally anything you can imagine is permissible if it can justified by even the vaguest appeal to national intelligence and security interests. Black mail, media manipulation and propaganda, human experimentation, torture, and murder are all important tools in the Agency’s arsenal.
What sets Valentine's book apart is his willingness to break what appears to be an unstated rule in CIA scholarship: you do not report on or even speculate about contemporary CIA operations and organizational mandates. Everything I've read up to this point happens to conclude in the 70's or 80's or wind down into bureaucratic critique of the 90's up to the present. We are left to believe that the CIA, a product of the Cold War, has been reigned in and that the most horrific excesses (Operation Phoenix, MK-ULTRA, Gladio, spreading Wahabism in the Middle East to combat regional nationalist and leftist movements, Iran-Contra, etc.) ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Valentine argues that the War on Terror era CIA is a direct continuation of its Cold War predecessor. In particular, he argues that the Phoenix program established in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, serves as the blue print of all contemporary CIA operations. The Phoenix program consisted of targeted assassination, torture, terrorism, corruption of local public institutions, and the management of local drug cartels and criminal underworlds. According to Valentine, Phoenix-style operations have been and are currently being conducted in Afghanistan and Iraq. The “snatch and snuff” method of capturing, interrogating, torturing, and sometimes murdering civilians suspected of collaboration with forces hostile to American occupation, first implemented in Vietnam, is used in Afghanistan and Iraq. A series of black sites, often run by foreign nationals not subject to American legal constraints, are operated by the CIA to interrogate and torture suspects. The reality of the war on the ground is misrepresented to the American public in the same way it was in Vietnam by conflating nationalist resistance movements with ideological enemies (the VC in Vietnam; terrorists in the Middle East).
Valentine claims that the CIA has had a hand in the international drug market and cartels since its inception. More than that, as the title suggests, the CIA is best understood as an organized criminal syndicate, one created by and in the service of the American ruling class. The CIA facilitates and profits off of drug cartels in Central and South America, the poppy fields held by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, etc. In fact, many of the cartels are direct descendants of the death squads that the CIA trained and funded in our bloody coups in Latin America during the Cold War. According to Valentine, the CIA ran the drug trade coming out of the “golden triangle” of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar during the Vietnam war, both as a way of controlling regional powers and funding off the books operations unsanctioned by the US government.
Perhaps most disturbing. Valentine argues, similar to Gary Webb, that the CIA is directly responsible for importing and distributing drugs within the United States. They have infiltrated and compromised local and federal drug enforcement, and they use the War on Drugs as a way of waging racial and class warfare on the American underclass. The full-scale criminalization of communities of color, now occupied by militarized police forces, ensures domestic stability for the American white, capitalist ruling elite.
Valentine walks the line between a theory of a conspiracy and a conspiracy theory, but it is heavily researched and seems consistent with everything we publicly know about the CIA, as long as we accept the idea that the CIA would be willing and able to bring what it practices abroad home. The existence of operations Chaos and COINTELPRO (and the Church Committee hearings in general) have proven that the CIA has no problem operating domestically, even if that involves torturing, experimenting on, and murdering American citizens. The speculative leap that Valentine’s work (with a lot of circumstantial evidence) requires is this: it is plausible that a settler colonial nation founded on genocide and slavery, with a history of legalized racial apartheid up to the 1960’s, would be capable of this kind of racialized domestic oppression? It seems very plausible to me.
August 31, 2024
i need to kill myself after that one
December 19, 2024
Thorough account of the CIA programs in Vietnam that have grown and were used in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now domestically
June 21, 2017
The most important fiction of all is the need for secrecy to preserve our national security. From time to time that is true, but far more often officials use secrecy to conceal their corruption and their crimes.
This is one of the most revealing books that I've read and the stuff described should be mandatory reading for everyone. The author has inside information by interviewing various members of the CIA. He's very knowledgeable on the subject and is, I dare say, one of the true heroes of our time.
The book mostly describes the involvement of CIA in the Vietnam war, in the recent coup in Ukraine and the war on terror that started after 9/11.
The drug trafficking, the killings of civilians, torture chambers, information retrieval and psychological warfare are just some of the war crimes made by the CIA and the American Government after World War 2. Meanwhile, Hollywood and mass media make sure the CIA and US Army are seen as the good guys, while Russia, China, Mexican people and Muslims are portrayed as being the bad guys.
I'm being very unfair for giving this book only 3 stars. But I abide after my personal rule of rating books by how much I'm enjoying them and not how good they are. Unfortunately, this book is not very well structured and is sometimes too detailed and hard to follow. I would also have enjoyed some solutions: what can people do against the atrocities made by the CIA, how can they fight back against the corrupt system. I'm only hoping this is the first of a series of books on the subject that will further cement the political maturity of the population.
September 24, 2017
Wow
The title of this book was so promising, but this was just about the driest book ever. Everything ties back to Vietnam and his first book about the CIA. Plus he makes it abundantly clear that he loves typing away no matter how much he repeats himself. Uncovering the Phoenix Program is his claim to fame and everything comes back to it.
The title of this book was so promising, but this was just about the driest book ever. Everything ties back to Vietnam and his first book about the CIA. Plus he makes it abundantly clear that he loves typing away no matter how much he repeats himself. Uncovering the Phoenix Program is his claim to fame and everything comes back to it.
September 21, 2019
This book is great whether you’re on the right or left in America.
Having gotten into learning more about organized crime as well as large scale drug traffickers over the last year, the author makes a very good argument for who the true kingpin is. Hint-CIA.
The author definitely leans left, but I feel it’s easy to look past.
Well worth your time. Must read.
Having gotten into learning more about organized crime as well as large scale drug traffickers over the last year, the author makes a very good argument for who the true kingpin is. Hint-CIA.
The author definitely leans left, but I feel it’s easy to look past.
Well worth your time. Must read.
March 12, 2024
I really wanted to like this book but it goes too often between the well researched chapters with proof, to chapters that are complete conspiracy nonsense. Some beliefs of the author come across as very naive. I am all in for a good conspiracy, but at least have a plausible proof.
September 16, 2019
Read this after reading so many other writers and authors quote his work. Makes me wish I knew about his work when it first came out. Ironically, he warned me , too late, about “authoritative “ writers not to trust and “independent “ media to be wary of, after a decade of reading and watching all he warned about. Daniel Ellsberg & Sy Hersh comes to mind.
As a child of the 60’s, in my 60’s, Many of my preconceived ideas have been corroborated . Calmer, Not as confused as I thought I was, but even more inquisitive , reading as much as possible.
As a child of the 60’s, in my 60’s, Many of my preconceived ideas have been corroborated . Calmer, Not as confused as I thought I was, but even more inquisitive , reading as much as possible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2019
The revelations within this book are mind-blowing. My biggest gripe about this book, though factual, is loaded with opinions and rely less on factual information than I would have expected. It felt like Valentine would go on tangential rants, and I'd lose interest.
Wasted potential. Instead of something factually insightful like Chomsky, at times it felt like I was listening to a liberal Alex Jones.
Wasted potential. Instead of something factually insightful like Chomsky, at times it felt like I was listening to a liberal Alex Jones.
May 25, 2018
Some good info on Cia operations during Vietnam, but more the contemporary he gets the more histrionic and less factual. This is never more clear than when he promotes Jade Helm (2015), an Alex Jones pushed conspiracy and repeats Kremlin propaganda on Ukraine. As someone looking for a serious book detailing 20th century CIA operation that wasn't sanctioned by CIA I am disappointed.
April 1, 2019
You can take all the scandals of an organization and make a story that is a criminal organization. Ok in Vietnam the Americans they went "high" with heroin and I think is like a junkies story the whole war. Should an agency control drug cartels before a global legalization initiative? i say yes.
July 10, 2017
Not nearly as informative as I was hoping
July 8, 2020
Eye opening
Author provides much political bias
Author provides much political bias
April 11, 2021
80% of the information is great, some of what he said near the end doesn't look as good with time but the premise is there.
January 3, 2024
Douglas Valentine's "The CIA as Organized Crime" is an eye-opening and provocative examination of the covert operations carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, unraveling the complex web of power, corruption, and global influence. Valentine's meticulous research and fearless approach provide readers with a gripping narrative that challenges conventional perspectives on the agency.
One of the book's strengths is its meticulous documentation of historical events, revealing a pattern of illegal and morally questionable activities conducted by the CIA. Valentine delves into the agency's involvement in drug trafficking, political assassinations, and the manipulation of foreign governments. The depth of research and the presentation of declassified documents make the narrative both compelling and disturbing, urging readers to question the role of intelligence agencies in shaping world events.
Valentine argues convincingly that the CIA, far from being a straightforward intelligence-gathering organization, operates as a shadowy force with its own agenda, often at odds with democratic principles. His critical analysis of the agency's actions serves as a call to arms, encouraging readers to scrutinize the unchecked power wielded by intelligence agencies and the potential ramifications for global democracy.
The book also sheds light on the moral and ethical implications of the CIA's activities, prompting readers to confront uncomfortable truths about the abuse of power in the pursuit of geopolitical objectives. Valentine's perspective invites readers to question the ethical boundaries of national security apparatus, fostering a deeper understanding of the consequences of unchecked authority.
However, it's important to note that Valentine's narrative is unapologetically critical, and some readers may find it polarizing. While the evidence presented is compelling, the book could benefit from a more balanced exploration of alternative perspectives. Additionally, the extensive detail and complex narrative may be overwhelming for readers unfamiliar with the intricacies of intelligence operations.
In conclusion, "The CIA as Organized Crime" is a thought-provoking and well-researched exposé that challenges readers to reevaluate their perceptions of intelligence agencies and their impact on global affairs. Valentine's work is an essential read for those interested in understanding the darker facets of geopolitical power and the intricate relationship between intelligence operations and the world at large.
One of the book's strengths is its meticulous documentation of historical events, revealing a pattern of illegal and morally questionable activities conducted by the CIA. Valentine delves into the agency's involvement in drug trafficking, political assassinations, and the manipulation of foreign governments. The depth of research and the presentation of declassified documents make the narrative both compelling and disturbing, urging readers to question the role of intelligence agencies in shaping world events.
Valentine argues convincingly that the CIA, far from being a straightforward intelligence-gathering organization, operates as a shadowy force with its own agenda, often at odds with democratic principles. His critical analysis of the agency's actions serves as a call to arms, encouraging readers to scrutinize the unchecked power wielded by intelligence agencies and the potential ramifications for global democracy.
The book also sheds light on the moral and ethical implications of the CIA's activities, prompting readers to confront uncomfortable truths about the abuse of power in the pursuit of geopolitical objectives. Valentine's perspective invites readers to question the ethical boundaries of national security apparatus, fostering a deeper understanding of the consequences of unchecked authority.
However, it's important to note that Valentine's narrative is unapologetically critical, and some readers may find it polarizing. While the evidence presented is compelling, the book could benefit from a more balanced exploration of alternative perspectives. Additionally, the extensive detail and complex narrative may be overwhelming for readers unfamiliar with the intricacies of intelligence operations.
In conclusion, "The CIA as Organized Crime" is a thought-provoking and well-researched exposé that challenges readers to reevaluate their perceptions of intelligence agencies and their impact on global affairs. Valentine's work is an essential read for those interested in understanding the darker facets of geopolitical power and the intricate relationship between intelligence operations and the world at large.
March 27, 2023
Douglas Valentine exposes American imperialism with powerful insights.
The National Security Enterprise, centered around the Central Intelligence Agency, exists to expand the power of a shrinking elite class. Shrouded in secrecy, the establishment is unaccountable to the public and abetted by media. Everyone from the Compatible Left to the ultra-conservative right is committed to selling certain myths as truth.
The CIA in particular is instrumental in expanding this domination and control at home and abroad. The leaders are corrupted through bribery, blackmail, and extortion. The populace is terrorized by targeting both reformers and revolutionaries with illegal capture, interrogation, torture, defection, and assassination. Public understanding is controlled through a variety of propaganda measures.
Worldwide, the CIA trains secret police and death squads, and conducts mass surveillance, drug smuggling, and arms trade to destabilize nations and provoke wars, both secret and overt. The goal is to advance US capitalist hegemony, pillage resources, and continue war-profiting and related businesses.
It is truly eye opening. I look forward to reading his next book, Pisces Moon: The Dark Arts of Empire, which I pre-ordered.
I would give this book 5 stars except that some sections were a confusing barrage of names, organizations, and programs. It was difficult to keep track of their distinctions and connections. A revised edition would benefit from an additional appendix, perhaps a summary of each with flow charts. A couple maps would have been useful, too. I will definitely read this again in the future and will take better notes to help me follow along in those sections.
The National Security Enterprise, centered around the Central Intelligence Agency, exists to expand the power of a shrinking elite class. Shrouded in secrecy, the establishment is unaccountable to the public and abetted by media. Everyone from the Compatible Left to the ultra-conservative right is committed to selling certain myths as truth.
The CIA in particular is instrumental in expanding this domination and control at home and abroad. The leaders are corrupted through bribery, blackmail, and extortion. The populace is terrorized by targeting both reformers and revolutionaries with illegal capture, interrogation, torture, defection, and assassination. Public understanding is controlled through a variety of propaganda measures.
Worldwide, the CIA trains secret police and death squads, and conducts mass surveillance, drug smuggling, and arms trade to destabilize nations and provoke wars, both secret and overt. The goal is to advance US capitalist hegemony, pillage resources, and continue war-profiting and related businesses.
It is truly eye opening. I look forward to reading his next book, Pisces Moon: The Dark Arts of Empire, which I pre-ordered.
I would give this book 5 stars except that some sections were a confusing barrage of names, organizations, and programs. It was difficult to keep track of their distinctions and connections. A revised edition would benefit from an additional appendix, perhaps a summary of each with flow charts. A couple maps would have been useful, too. I will definitely read this again in the future and will take better notes to help me follow along in those sections.
June 9, 2022
Groundbreaking investigative journalist Douglas Valentine (The Phoenix Program, The Hotel Tacloban, etcetera.) befriends CIA officers and reveals his findings in The CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World. Starting with William Colby, his contact, Valentine worked his way up the chain of operations of the CIA, posing himself as part of the "Tolerant Left" media that have a silent agreement with the CIA. From Vietnam to Afghanistan, the same motif, drug trade, dirty deals, bounties, with the CIA at the center of it all. It becomes disgustingly repetitive hearing the same deals go down again and again with anyone trying to stand in the way of being "dealt with" in one way or another. Having only recently started my endeavor of finding the truth behind certain things in this country, I started with Smoke And Mirrors, which seemed like the deepest depths of US crimes, but Valentine's novel delves deeper—painting a picture of the deliberately placed weaknesses of the War on Drugs. This cross-section of some of the darkest layers of the CIA is a monumental achievement on Valentine's part, with it being genuinely eye-opening and a must-read for all seekers of the harsh truth.
November 28, 2020
Mr. Valentine's years of experience covering the methodologies used in the Phoenix Program in Vietnam and his dogged investigatory skill carries through to 9/11 and beyond. The book loops from the escalation of the US War in Vietnam to the present and back again driving home the deeds of population manipulation and control. Of course, Phoenix was unsuccessful in its use of covert CIA terror against average villagers in Vietnam, yet these devices are ever-present today, completely destabilizing American society in the early 21st century. This book combined with other sources creates a truly terrifying image of the power of the CIA in the post-9/11 era, as it has coopted the might of the Department of Defense and a largely, purposely unconscious US Congress. The Faustian bargain has made a master of this servant agency, while the American public is completely ignorant of what has happened, why it has happened, and what it means for their assumed freedoms. The next chapter is more likely written by Kafka, in his book, "The Trial."
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