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INTELLIGENCE
A collodion of articles on the historical, operational, doctrinal, and theoretical aspects ol intelligence.
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CONFIDENTIAL
Books
C. I. A. By Joachim Joesten. (Munich: Isar. .)
Two distinct and somewhat ill-fitting Parts make up thia book by the German-bom UjS. Journalist Joesten, and the less valuable of the two has imposed its title upon the composite. Partpisodes] from the Duel between the [Sovietlandestines devoted almost entirely to the story of two Soviet spy rings in the United States, the one centered on Jack Soble and the one headed by Colonel Abel These stories the author puts together from public sources, chiefly the indictments against the principals and their own published testimony and statements.
In this Part Joesten adheres, if somewhat loosely, to hissources, employing literary license mainly to endow his characters with personality and play them through his pages with dramatic finesse. The reader feels he has gotacquainted with Martha Dodd Stem, Jack and Myra Soble, George and Jane Foster Zlatowskl, the ignoble hero Boris Morros, Colonel Rudolph Abel, the degenerate Relno Hay-hanen, Sgt Roy Rhodes, and their supporting castsat least he has got acquainted with the Joesten characters representing themand finds himself emotionally involved In theirThere Is probably not another so readable account of these two espionage nets extant.
To these stories of Soviet spying Joesteneak after-balancehapter on Soviet public exposure. spies, and finally he describes, by way of wry comic epilogue, the battle fought among VS. agents over the defectors Barsov and Pirogov at "The Three Musketeers" restaurant in Washington.ogically includes also the book's Vorspiel, staging the scene In which USAF Captain French "lost the biggest gamble of his life" when his flier offering the Soviet Embassy nuclear weapons data found its way to the FBI
Part I, which gives the book its title, purports likewise to rest on open documentary sources, or'at least publicon, In Its description of CIA's organization and activities; but here Joesten has cither used his sources too uncritically oron them too freely. Interwovenenerally sound synthesis of what Is publicly known about the Agency arc extravagances and misinformation like the following:
CONI
Recenf floods
The most minor CIA officialalRry which would lookolden dream come true to th* beat paid of freelance
CIAanguage school at IUwhere!of young men and womeneamingSoviet languages likeeginner* learn In all to eight weeks to road pravda fluently and monitor Radioompulsory tor all (new CIA employees) li the Russian language and la addition one other Soviet
It can be staled without exaggeration that any personn anyhe public eye In any country today Is underll bis acUvtUca, UM good and bad aspects of his character, his financial Involvements, tbehe keeps, his tax life, his naMta (especially drink and- everything is down In his
By andhe dally CIA report to the President Is based chiefly on information from secret agents in theterritory, while tha much more comprehensive weekly and monthly reports containfrom newspapers, periodicals, books, radio broadcasts,The Office of NaUonal Estimateseekly review of the vs. International polities] andherem the development of American nuclear might la weighed against the country's
Within the CIA Operations Branchpecialalled by tbe Initiated the "Department of Dirty Trick.'In the usual abbreviation of this name. DDT. lies an unintentional but nevertheless neat
s the chief is called orally and tn writing by biss not easily upset and almost neverublice calledf his main supervisors and declared, "Anyone who gives McCarthy any Information win be dismissed on the
IA employee has an accident, no ordinary doctor can be called, nor can the Injured man be putospital to which tbe general pubbc baaf beoexamination can be made, no death certmceU can be Issued, and oo burial tn aa ordinary cemetery can take
Joestcn's book was criticised'for Oerman readers onay of this year by another Journalist, the Washingtonof the Hamburg Die Welt, Herbert von Borch, as "arnateurlah" and writtencheaphich misrepresented the facts about CIA operations. Ton Borcheavy-handed attack was apparently Inspired, however, not so
recent Books
by misrepresentations like those cited above as by the central theme which serves to Integrate Joes ten's two dissimilar Partsnamely, that the necessary secrecy of Intelligence operations creates an unchecked center of power in the US. Government whichotential threat to Western democracy.
Joesten bolsters this warning with authoritiesSenator Mansfield's "If secrecy becomes inviolate, it will lead tohe new york times' "As things stand now, CIA is In practice above theo one in Congress knowst is in the process ofureaucratichether it perhaps arrogates to itself theof US. foreignenator Morse's declaration that the organisation In its present form is incompatible with. constitution; Senator Mansfield's tear that "the whole[of checks and balances) may break down and the door be opened wide to tyranny."1
Joesten himself realizes that his warning may be He writesostscript:
One should not conclude from la* fact that American clandesUne services now show an ominous aUnUarttv with the Russian ones that thea lei and the Soviet Union are *plrltuslmrii'i remains. Id spite of It* all too frequenUv trident blemishountry Id which the freedom and dignity et the Individual Is guaranteed by Its
ha ihowdown with the East must be held In the Ideologicalare Indicated lo what extent the Unitedaa taken up UM weapons of the cold war. Thean see bow dangr rou* theseould become If ever Use essence of Use context tortdeologicalvery warhins of evil. Including tbe "cold"raft which may easily get out of
Philip K. Edwards
)
Original document.
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