Good Hunting: An American Spymaster’s Story

In a career that peaked as associate director of the CIA’s overseas operations, Devine served—and survived—more than three decades with the CIA, from the Nixon to Clinton administrations. Predictably, he considers “a powerful intelligence service... an imperative of modern statecraft,” believes in the effectiveness of covert action, and denounces the current tendency to politicize intelligence while condemning “White House ‘dabbling.’” Devine describes the CIA’s thinking on covert action during his career and discusses—without excessive use of the first person singular—his worldwide implementation of those principles at the sharp end of covert war, from overseeing the missile shipments that initiated the Iran-Contra scandal to delivering the Stingers that turned the tide against the Russians in Afghanistan. He argues for long-term maintenance of a “CIA covert action component” in Afghanistan as part of a “robust U.S. mission,” and hypothesizes that “most future paramilitary engagement will be reminiscent of the smaller Cold War covert action programs.” Whether one agrees with Devine’s particulars, the insights derived from a long and varied career make this a top-line addition to the proliferating body of “insider” memoirs from the years when the Cold War gave way to the “war on terrorism,” and the rules began to change. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency. (June)