The CIA at war : inside the secret campaign against terror / Ronald Kessler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kessler, Ronald, 1943-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

United States.

Terrorism--Prevention.

Terrorism.

War on Terrorism, 2001-2009.

Physical Description:

362 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : St. Martin's Press, 2003.

Summary:

A former "Washington Post and "Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, and the "New York Times bestselling author of "Inside the White House, Ronald Kessler presents the definitive history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Based on exclusive interviews, including the first with Robert Mueller since his nomination as director, "The Bureau reveals startling new information about the bureau--from J. Edgar Hoover's blackmailing of Congress to the investigation of the September 11 attacks. With the FBI at the epicenter of the war on terrorism, few institutions are as crucial to America's security. And, after the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court, no institution is as powerful. Yet until now, no book has presented the full story of the FBI from its beginnings in 1908 to the present. Kessler focuses on the agents who have made its cases and the directors who have run the bureau, from Hoover through Louis Freeh and Robert Mueller. In doing so, he probes the relationship between the FBI and American presidents, and the tension that exists between a free society and what amounts to a national police force. Based on exclusive interviews, "The Bureau reveals for the first time the dramatic inside story of the FBI's response to the attacks of September 11, including its investigation of the anthrax mailings. The book answers questions about the bureau's role and performance: Why did the FBI know nothing useful about al-Qaeda's plans before the attacks? What is really behind the FBI's more aggressive investigative approaches that have raised civil liberties concerns? What does the FBI think of improvements in airline security? How safe does the FBI think Americareally is?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references [pages [345]-350) and index.

ISBN:

0312319320

OCLC:

52706222