James Bamford Boeken

The bestselling author of "Body of Secrets" and "The Puzzle Palace" delivers a hard-hitting account of the failures of America's intelligence agencies and the Bush administration's efforts to sell a war to the public. In previous works, he revealed the existence of the NSA and explored its history. Now, he channels his investigative prowess and access to intelligence sources to address pressing contemporary issues. Bamford critiques the mishandling of pre-9/11 threats and the unfounded claims regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, arguing that the Bush administration manipulated the intelligence community for political gain, jeopardizing American security. He contends that the administration's Middle East policies, including the overthrow of Saddam and neglect of the Palestinian situation, stem from the beliefs of a conservative elite. The book examines the systemic weaknesses that led to the intelligence community's failure to recognize the evidence of the 9/11 attacks, particularly the overlooked significance of the Palestinian cause in fueling Arab anger toward the U.S. Following 9/11, the administration's immediate push for war in Iraq and subsequent justifications have left the U.S. more vulnerable to terrorism. This work serves as an unprecedented expose of one of the most secretive administrations in history.

Behind the scenes at the National Security Agency, which is many times larger than the CIA and spends many billions more per year, is the most secret agency within the U.S. government.

The NSA is the largest, most secretive and most powerful intelligence agency in the world. It dwarfs the CIA in budgets, manpower and influence. Using internal documents and interviews with NSA officials, this text offers details about the workings of the agency. It exposes the role the NSA played in many Soviet bloc Cold War conflicts and discusses its undercover involvement in the Vietnam War. Author, James Bamford, also looks at the technological advances that the NSA have employed since 1985 and brings to light the NSA's network of global surveillance ranging from on-line listening post to intelligence-gathering satellites. Bamford warns that the NSA is a double-edged sword, its eavesdropping offers the potential for tracking down terrorists and uncovering nuclear weapons deals, but it also has the capacity to listen in on global personal communications.