Veil

By Bob Woodward

Veilis the story of the covert wars that were waged in Central America, Iran and Libya in a secretive atmosphere and became the centerpieces and eventual time bombs of American foreign policy in the 1980s.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Dec 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781471109874

Bob Woodward

Bob Woodward is an associate editor at The Washington Post, where he has worked for more than 50 years. He has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, one for his Watergate coverage and the other for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has authored 21 bestselling books, 15 of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers.

Reviews for Veil

[keylawk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Woodward provides deep journalism on the work of the US Central Intelligence Agency, "CIA". President Ronald ("Nancy") Reagan appointed William J. Casey as DCI ("Director of Intelligence"). The book covers the period of Casey's service from 1981 to 1987 when he was forced to resign.Casey was DIA Director and responsible for the dramatic expansion of programs unprecedented in American traditions: He conducted (1) Covert wars, involving actual boots on the ground, and (2) Disinformation campaigns, which deliberately lied to the American people and destroyed the Congressional oversight required by the Constitution. The unauthorized wars, and disinformation, coupled with clandestine relationships with both domestic and foreign powers created "time bombs" with both immediate and long-term effects. Woodward documents the conduct as well as the harmful impacts. I was left with the conviction that the Reagan administration was not only left un-informed, because of a failure of intelligence, but was also deliberately and intentionally subverting the Constitutional structure of oversight and rules of law.The specifics revealed by Woodward are convincing. He enjoyed access to Casey himself in numerous interviews, even long after he had resigned in disgrace and was dying in the hospital. Morever, since the book was written, the data has been largely corroborated by writers whose work is more associated with "history" than with Woodward's "journalism", such as Kessler ("CIA at War"), and admissions by Wm Donnelly, the CIA Head of Administration. The entire Reagan administration came under scrutiny and most of the officials at the highest levels were convicted of perjury and other felonies. Many of these crimes were enabled or solicited by Casey, and Iran-Contra was only the tip of an iceberg of expensive and wrongful abuses of power.Woodward had the opportunity to meet with Casey after the facts and cover-ups had been exposed, hoping there would be "an admission of some kind or an apology" acknowledging the damage or his understanding. [506] "It hurts", Casey said. "What you don't know."