The Lives of Secrets

The Perception

I spent a long career at the CIA but I rarely write about it. The myth is too pervasive and exciting, so that anything I said on the subject would sound like mere prose. In Latin America – during my time at least — not a sparrow fell, but the CIA was responsible for its cruel untimely death. Here in the United States, many people think of the Agency as a shadowy prime mover, hiding behind the façade of our democratic government and “terminating with extreme prejudice” anyone who gets in the way. No doubt the grandees on the seventh floor at Langley wield the image to their advantage, but these fantasies are entirely self-induced. There’s something about turning secrets into a multi-billion-dollar business that makes people crazy.