Evan Thomas

About the author: Evan Thomas is assistant managing editor for Newsweek magazine.

Contrary to the allegations of its critics, the CIA has been playing an effective role in America's war against terrorism. With the help of resourceful and courageous CIA agents—who infiltrated Afghanistan shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America—the United States was able to rout the Taliban. Islamic terrorist Osama bin Laden and his cohorts will be much more vulnerable to U.S. apprehension without the Taliban protecting them. Moreover, despite the CIA's failure to anticipate the September 11 attacks, the agency is making inroads against terrorism worldwide.

Parachuting supplies to CIA operatives working behind enemy lines is a tricky business, even in an age of Global Positioning Systems and spy-in-the-sky satellites. Supplies meant for the Alpha or Bravo team sometimes land on the Echo...