Perseus Academic: Denial and Deception by Melissa Mahle

Melissa Boyle Mahle risked her life as a CIA field officer in the Middle East until her departure from the Agency in 2002. As a former clandestine operative, she has a unique vantage point from which to view the political and operational culture of the agency in the post-Cold War climate, and to reveal how the CIA failed to anticipate the 9/11 attacks.

From Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush, Mahle provides a vivid personal and historical narrative of how the CIA became a rudderless organization, lost in the post-Cold War world. Afraid to take risks that might offend Washington politicos and European allies after overstepping its legal bounds in the Iran/contra era, gutted of the clandestine operators who knew how to run secret wars, exhausted from reform whiplash, and demoralized by criticism and poor performance, the CIA simply became unable and unwilling to get down and dirty to do the hard part to fight a real war on terrorism.

Denial and Deception is an unparalleled history of the modern CIA and is a unique contribution to our understanding of the secret world of intelligence.

Melissa Boyle Mahle is a former US intelligence officer and is an expert on the Middle East and counterterrorism. She was one of a handful of women in the CIA who spoke Arabic during her years in the Agency. She received a letter of appreciation from the President for her work on the Middle East peace process. Since leaving the government in 2002, Mahle has worked as a private consultant on Middle Eastern political and security affairs. She lives in Virginia.

Melissa Boyle Mahle is a counterterrorism expert who was the top-ranked female Arabist in the CIA when she retired as a covert officer in 2002. She received a letter of appreciation from the President for her work on the Middle East peace process. Since leaving the government, Ms. Mahle has worked as a private consultant on Middle Eastern political and security affairs. She lives in Virginia.