The Decline of the CIA

As a new, young case officer with the CIA, Robert Baer was anxious to begin his career. He spent many years learning his craft and became proficient at recruiting "agents," gaining valuable intelligence for the US and learning to evade the enemy who was often just a few steps behind him. As the years passed, he became disappointed when he found a lack of support from his superiors back in Washington, D.C. Robert would eagerly report intelligence that he had gathered but would often learn that the intelligence went no where or was sometimes even greeted with hostility.

Many of the individuals who were promoted to supervisory positions within the CIA had little or no field experience and didn't understand the difficulties and dangers that case officers and their agents faced. Officials in the White House and Pentagon came to rely more on...