Review of
Instaread summary Playing
to the Edge American Intelligence in the Age of Terror by Michael V. Hayden
Three out of five stars
As a lifelong
political junkie, I was unimpressed with this summary, there was nothing in the
recapitulation of the programs and facts that has not been mentioned in the
news media many times over. Given that Hayden was such a high level
intelligence official for so long and during the administration of George W.
Bush, it is also not a surprise that he praises both his boss and by
indirection himself.
The obviousness
of the content is summarized very well by the statement of key takeaway seven.
“The intelligence community must work to consciously
balance the need for national security and the legitimate privacy concerns of
US citizens.”
Another very
important and completely predictable point is made in the author’s perspective
section.
“Hayden saves his harshest words for the journalists
whom he believes developed biased and critical stories about the work of the
NSA and CIA.”
In conclusion, the
book is a self-serving explanation by a high official of how the intelligence
community acted, a defense of the premise that George W. Bush was in charge and
heaps the blame for their bad press on the press. Standard operating procedure for
ex-government officials and there is no new content. So this summary convinced
me that there is no point in my reading the book.
This book was made available for free for review
purposes.
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