Sorry, but here comes another war story

"There are more foreign spies on U.S. soil now than at the peak of the Cold War, according to Hank Crumpton, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency's National Resources Division, a highly sensitive operation charged with collecting foreign intelligence here in the U.S. Crumpton also led the covert response to 9/11 in Afghanistan, where the CIA helped topple the Taliban." Those were the words a CBS spokesperson used on the May 13 edition of its news program, "Sixty Minutes." Crumpton has written a book, "The Art of Intelligence, Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestne Service," just published this week, which traces his career in the CIA. As of a few hours before publishing this post, I have not been able to locate a review of the book. So, here is a publisher's promotional piece regarding Crumpton's career and a video of his interview on "Sixty Minutes." If I run across an actual review of the book, I might slip it in here later, but, of course, there is no reason you cannot buy the book and read it yourself. It might be educational and even jolt you into reality.

Hamlet .... Act 1, Scene 5:
"Swear by my sword
Never to speak of this that you have heard"

 A legendary CIA spy and counterterrorism expert tells the spellbinding story of his high-risk, action-packed career while illustrating the growing importance of America's intelligence officers and their secret missions.

For a crucial period, Henry "Hank" Crumpton led the CIA's global covert operations against America's terrorist enemies, including Al Qaeda. In the days after 9/11, the CIA tasked Crumpton to organize and lead the Afghanistan campaign.

With Crumpton's strategic initiative and bold leadership, from the battlefield to the Oval Office, U.S. and Afghan allies routed Al Qaeda and the Taliban in less than ninety days after the Twin Towers fell. At the height of combat against the Taliban in late 2001, there were fewer than five hundred Americans on the ground in Afghanistan, a dynamic blend of CIA and Special Forces. The campaign changed the way America wages war. This book will change the way America views the CIA.

"The Art of Intelligence" draws from the full arc of Crumpton's espionage and covert action exploits to explain what America's spies do and why their service is more valuable than ever.

From his early years in Africa, where he recruited and ran sources, from loathsome criminals to heroic warriors; to his liaison assignment at the FBI, the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, the development of the UAV Predator program, and the Afghanistan war; to his later work running all CIA clandestine operations inside the United States, he employs enthralling storytelling to teach important lessons about national security, but also about duty, honor, and love of country.

No book like "The Art of Intelligence, Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service" has ever been written -- not with Crumpton's unique perspective, in a time when America faced such grave and uncertain risk. It is an epic, sure to be a classic in the annals of espionage and war.