New York Times bestsellerThe former Director of National Intelligence’s candid and compelling account of the intelligence community’s successes–and failures–in facing some of the greatest threats to AmericaWhen he stepped down in January 2017 as the fourth United States director of national intelligence, James Clapper had been President Obama’s senior intelligence adviser for six and a half … senior intelligence adviser for six and a half years, longer than his three predecessors combined. He led the U.S. intelligence community through a period that included the raid on Osama bin Laden, the Benghazi attack, the leaks of Edward Snowden, and Russia’s influence operation during the 2016 U.S. election campaign. In Facts and Fears, Clapper traces his career through the growing threat of cyberattacks, his relationships with presidents and Congress, and the truth about Russia’s role in the presidential election. He describes, in the wake of Snowden and WikiLeaks, his efforts to make intelligence more transparent and to push back against the suspicion that Americans’ private lives are subject to surveillance. Finally, it was living through Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and seeing how the foundations of American democracy were–and continue to be–undermined by a foreign power that led him to break with his instincts honed through more than five decades in the intelligence profession to share his inside experience.
Clapper considers such controversial questions as, Is intelligence ethical? Is it moral to intercept communications or to photograph closed societies from orbit? What are the limits of what we should be allowed to do? What protections should we give to the private citizens of the world, not to mention our fellow Americans? Are there times when intelligence officers can lose credibility as unbiased reporters of hard truths by inserting themselves into policy decisions?
Facts and Fears offers a privileged look inside the U.S. intelligence community and, with the frankness and professionalism for which James Clapper is known, addresses some of the most difficult challenges in our nation’s history.
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Curious about US intelligence services? James Clapper takes us through his life as the son of a military intelligence officer through his own career as the same. I loved the anecdote of how he spent his summer vacation as an eleven year old. He, in his own words, “hacked” the local police radio feed using a tv and some toothpicks. Remember, this is back when tuning your television to a particular station required you to turn the dial by hand. He accidentally located the police frequency in between channels and used the toothpicks to stabilize the dial so he could listen to what was being said. Clapper figured out the source of the dialog and proceeded to learn the 10-codes by taking copious notes on index cards. When his father asked how he spent his summer, James brought out his hand written data base, explained what he had done, and was complimented as being ‘his father’s son.’
My ears perked up when I discovered a vicarious personal connection with James Clapper. Like the General, I was stationed at Headquarters, Strategic Air Command, Offutt Air Force Base, outside of Omaha, Nebraska, and I lived, for a time, in Bellevue, Nebraska, where his son went to high school. He mentions his missions aboard the Looking Glass aircraft. Those missions required an officer of General rank be aboard its 24/7 flights. Looking Glass was billed as SAC headquarters in the sky. He and I were not stationed there contemporaneously, but his description really brought back some memories.
James Clapper comes across as a truly patriotic American who has no time for politics when the good name, reputation, and safety of the United States is in play. FACTS AND FEARS is as much autobiography as it is history. Clapper saw service through the presidencies of John F. Kennedy through, and including, Barack Obama. His service included both military and civilian roles. His descriptions of this service always put the safety of the United States, her citizens and allies, at the center of what should be done. He is not infallible. He admits to his mistakes as readily as he explains his successes.
A number of amusing anecdotes appear throughout the book. They serve to both lighten the mood of a very heavy subject and to show readers that James Clapper is indeed a most human being.
Everyone should read this book
Clapper’s bottom line on Russia-Trump, as I reported in my review for The Washington Post:
“Of course the Russian efforts affected the outcome. Surprising even themselves, they swung the election to a Trump win,” Clapper wrote. “To conclude otherwise stretches logic, common sense, and credulity to the breaking point. Less than eighty thousand votes in three key states swung the election. I have no doubt that more votes than that were influenced by this massive effort by the Russians.”
Was there active collusion between the Trump campaign — or the candidate himself — and Russian proxies or agents? Clapper does not go that far because he doesn’t have proof. But what he calls Trump’s “aggressive indifference” to the intelligence community’s detailed presentation of Russian activities is, in his view, damning enough. “Allegations of collusion and the results of the election were secondary to the profound threat Russia posed — and poses — to our system,” Clapper writes, and he does a fair job explaining why.
You can trust Mr. Clapper to tell “Truth to Power!”