Ask Charles Faddis - Retired CIA Officer and Author discussion

One of the things I try to do in all my novels is to give people a flavor for what it is really like to work intelligence operations undercover. There aren't a lot of high stakes poker games or nuclear-powered wristwatches. There's a lot of deceit. There's a lot of ambiguity. There's a lot of danger. You live and die by your wits and your ability to think two steps ahead of your adversary.

I'd love to hear your questions and comments about the reality of intelligence operations.

Your comments above are, actually a decided understatement. I was a researcher at USARIEM [U.S Army Res. Inst. of Env. Medicine...with Green Berets and psy ops folks.] That was decades ago, and I know what you mean...we are always one wrong turn from disaster/death[like today, was inadvertently about 100 yds. from Gaza and 3 Hamas "farmers....I made the quickest U-turn of my life]...the Golani Brigade commander was very understanding about my abject lack of sense of direction...a potentially fatal deficit in the field.
I proposed a little get together here earlier, so I hope I didn't screw it up; however, we could possibly have a great exchange. Clare Lopez, Woolsey, and Deutch might join in, if that's okay with you.
I don't really know how this Goodreads site works, but from the little I read in your 'fiction' book was chillingly 'non-fiction' in my almost-interesting career. I'm at garykatzusa[@]gmail.com if you want to stop by.
Thanks a lot for this....I have some just-released documents from Golda Meir and the REAL situation of the 1973 War...remarkable.
Nice meeting you, sir.
Respectfully,
Dr. Gary Katz
Jerusalem, Israel/via Boston

Like I said, the more the merrier. Clare is a good friend. Know Woolsey as well.

I also am a newcomer to Goodreads really, but think there is a lot we could discuss of value to both writers and students of intelligence work. Much of what is portrayed in fiction is silly. It has no connection to what the work is really like. There are no 25 minute Kung Fu fights on top of skyscrapers. You get sloppy. You get dead. Real fast. "The best engagement is one, which is over before the enemy knows it has begun."

Pre-emptive strike. You just got the essence of what Golda Meir said in the just released [last week]de-classified docs. Great intuitive skills,Faddis!

Remind me to tell you about my 24 minute Kung Fu fight on the roof of the Azrieli Tower in Tel Aviv.....[lol]
Meanwhile, it was a stunningly bizarre circus at the useless UN this past week. THAT's entertainment, eh?
I felt so bad for Clare and her brilliant work exposing the magnitude [& depth]summarily ignored in a dismissive, surreal context these days. She's a lot tougher than me, but is she okay? Great person, in the age of sub-mediocrity. Her promotion and work on the film "Iranium" will be recognized by all....real soon.

http://www.andmagazine.com/content/ph...

Mr. Faddis, this is a bit off topic, but who is your literary agent? Is there any problem selling this type of manuscript?
Thank you.

Actually, right now I am my own literary agent. I had an agent a few years ago who retired, and from that point on I have acted on my own.

Given the nature of what I write, there are issues with ensuring that classified material is not disclosed. I send all my fiction and non fiction pieces to the Publication Review Board at CIA before they are published. CIA clears everything in advance.

Here is some context for our discussion, as the Arab attack on Israel on October 6, 1973 [The Yom Kippur War] has been an enigma to many of us. Well, until about a week ago, this was all classified>>> here's a response:

Observation: America Facilitated Yom Kippur War by Reneging on Promise to
Enforce of Missile Restrictions

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 5 October, 2013

As Egypt prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their successful
October 6, 1973 crossing of the Suez Canal (that this move that started the
Yom Kippur War concluded with the IDF 101 kilometers from Cairo and a
starving surrounded Egyptian 3rd Army will not, of course be mentioned in
the festivities) it is appropriate to take a moment to consider what made
this Egyptian operation possible.

We Israelis focus on whether or not the war could have been avoided if
Israel was more forthcoming in diplomatic activities before the war (often
these discussions ignore Israeli willingness to negotiate and an Israeli
initiative rebuffed by Egypt) but perhaps more important for future
policymaking is why Egypt was able to carry out the operation in the first
place.

Which brings us to probably the most profound and least discussed episodes
in the Jewish State's short history: America's refusal to honor its
commitment to enforce the 1970 Egypt-Israel ceasefire.

A refusal that was ultimately responsible for the Yom Kippur War.

The last time I can recall that a national leader saw fit to allude to this
terrible series of events was then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s 30
September 2001 address at the main memorial service for those who died in
the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Sharon noted that Israel was surprised in that war by Egypt because the
Egyptians did not honor the 1970 cease-fire agreement and thus the lesson of
the Yom Kippur War is that one must always pay attention when agreements are
not honored.

For reference below is the 13 August 1970 statement by the Defense Minister
Dayan on the immediate Egyptian violation of the 7 August cease-fire
agreement.

Now we know the following:

#1 The Egyptians moved anti-aircraft missiles close to the Suez Canal the
very moment that the cease-fire went into effect.

#2 The US had a spy plane that flew over the area that first day and
photographed the violations. They were aware that first day that the
Egyptians had violated the agreement. It should be noted that at the time
the US asked Israel to provide evidence and for several days said it was
waiting for evidence of violation.

#3 While BEFORE the agreement was signed, the US promised Israel that if the
Egyptians moved up their missiles that the US would press the Egyptians to
pull them back, when they finally had to face up to the violation, the US
explained that they could not pressure Egypt.

#4 The US ultimately compensated Israel with "black boxes" for Israeli
aircraft that were meant to offset the damage to Israel's security caused by
the Egyptian violation.

#5 Those same anti-aircraft missiles ultimately provided invading Egyptian
forces protection from the Israeli Air Force at the opening of the Yom
Kippur War in 1973.

#6. Without the anti-aircraft cover, the invasion would have been quickly
repulsed.

#7. In point of fact, in all likelihood, Egypt would have never tried to
cross the Suez Canal if the anti-aircraft missiles hadn’t been deployed in
the Canal area.

Simply put, if the United States had honored it’s word in 1970 and insisted
that Egypt pull back the anti-aircraft missiles to their pre-truce positions
the Yom Kippur War would never have taken place.

There is certainly much to be learned from the events of 1970 and the
nightmare that followed in 1973.

Much that is extremely relevant to our own times.

Israel paid dearly in 1973 for accepting the Egyptian violation of the 1970
agreement.

So we have a double warning for Israeli policymakers:

#1. Ignoring the violations of agreements can have deadly consequences.

#2. It is irresponsible to rely on third parties to honor their commitments
to guarantee the compliance of the other side.

The Muslim BrotherHoodlums assassinated Anwar Sadat during a military parade celebrating the great Arab victory in the 1973 war.

Anybody got any questions?

Yes, Charles. But first, I need to apologize for my poorly executed first attempt to provide Goodreads readers with your field experience and expertise, with the added dimension of a gift for giving the reader the existential essence of sudden death at any moment, despite the reality that psy ops or secret operations. They can be tedious and not all that glamorous, to understate the matter.
So my question is this: How did you deal with those many times when you knew that day could very plausibly be your last? And also, how were you able to allow the reader to have a full glimpse of the 'dark world', without compromising classified info? It's like revealing everything and nothing....simultaneously.
What literary and intelligence, and creative devices were most useful? Had you always written or had some instinct to put it down on paper???? Thanks.
Doc. Jerusalem, Israel

In the field you don't focus on death. You plan. You prepare. You are hyper vigilant. Your goal is to control all the variables. Sometimes you do. Sometimes you just convince yourself you have. Every once in a while something goes off the rails and then you just react. You do the necessary and you don't ponder it if at all until later when it is all over. Then sometimes the shakes come.

I have found that by changing names and places and by shifting events in time I can address most concerns about revealing classified intelligence. I run all my books through CIA for clearance when I'm done writing. They cleared the last one without requesting a single change. I guess that means I'm getting it right.

http://frontlinesoffreedom.com/2013/1...

Thanks, Charles. The site that you cited, Front Lines of Freedom, appears very good. Even Amb. John Bolton is involved. And your being featured and acknowledged in such a classy manner was good to see.
Col. Denny's radio show, associated with the site, seems quite good as well.
Having been past Director of the U.S. Army Combat Labs, I was almost startled to see Denny's written account of the deterioration of our intelligence assets and Army training itself. Wondered about thoughts on this matter>>>>>Our Un-ready Military
dennyOctober 5, 2013Blog
The world today is a very, very dangerous place. I won’t start listing all the danger points, but a nuclear Iran is a good place to start. So we really, really need a military that is sharp and ready to rock when, not if, something bad happens that we must deal with.

But our military, at least our Army, is just plain un-ready and getting less ready. The case in point is a message from the grandson of a friend. This young man is a Staff Sergeant (E6) in the US Army Reserves. He just returned from a month of Reserve training at Fort McCoy, WI. His message is frightening—even though we could all see this coming.

“Training was just absolute crap. We are now the safety army. Everything we did had to have a safety officer, emergency personnel (EMT type, not even our own medics counted), and we all had to wear safety belts…doing tactical training…. We weren’t even allowed to shoot blanks as some soldiers had no ear plugs and brass could cause fires to start. Also not enough equipment was fielded so some soldiers had to pretend they had body armor on….and we did sexual harassment training….three times. Two hours of power-point each time. And suicide training. And environmental protection training. All death-by-power-point blocks of instructions. I think I sat in training more than I physically did anything. And as always, didn’t actually train for my actual MOS the entire time there. Lots of litigation, lots of overhead crap from civilians running our training environments, and LOTS of “cease all training and review the risks and safety of the mission parameters” every time some poor bloke stubbed his toe. We aren’t an army anymore. I had a platoon of soldiers freak out over mock rounds of mortars going off a quarter mile away. I think I’m done with this grandpa.”

This is a very sad day for our Army. I fear that this letter describes the typical situation across our military. It’s a disaster for our nation. And it raises serious doubt about either the intelligence or the integrity of those active and reserve officers wearing stars.

I have learned that Charles Faddis is a prolific writer, and also a rare find....a critical thinker who is not afraid to speak the truth to mass-marketed lies. His October, 2009 release, and fascinating to read a few samples...is "Beyond Repair: The Decline and Fall of the CIA." Charles' most recent [August, 2013] is "Caffa." Many of Mr. Faddis' are available on Amazon/Kindle.

Charles is, apparently, a bit overly modest and humble; he has exhibited a refreshing lack of shameless self-promotion and a full ration of accessibility. Small world, with more allies for a full and accurate presentation and fact/evidence based analysis appearing on a daily basis...a life-affirming and encouraging reality. Doc

It appears that I may qualify as one the Agency's needed "few Gary's around", which is hilarious to me. And I have known a few "Gary's" in the CIA and my Army research days [daze?].
Nice, flowing writing style, which is accessible and presented in a clear and organized way.
Well-worth a serious look.
"Facts do not cease to exist simply because they are ignored.". Aldous Huxley.

[Most recent release]>>
Caffa by Charles Samuel Faddis (Aug 11, 2013)

Beyond Repair: The Decline and Fall of the CIA by Charles S. Faddis (Oct 8, 2009)

Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq by Mike Tucker & Charles S. Faddis (May 4, 2010)

Willful Neglect: The Dangerous Illusion of Homeland Security by Charles S. Faddis (Mar 2, 2010)

Lost agency: CIA must return to its roots to become effective once again.(VIEWPOINT)(Ce... Intelligence Agency... by Charles Faddis (Jul 13, 2009)

From the Boston Latin School days>>>>
"tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito "

[You should not give in to evils, but proceed ever more boldly against them." ]

5.0 out of 5 stars Frighteningly Realistic, October 15, 2013
By
Sean S. - See all my reviews
This review is from: Caffa (Kindle Edition)
The thing that is most engaging about this story is its believability, which leads to the realization that it could really happen. As a nation we have consistently been guilty of preparing to fight the last war. Could the future be a biological catastrophe? What are we doing to prevent this from happening? We can only hope and pray that there is a real Bill and Aphrodite team out there watching our backs. Charles Faddis must be given full credit for not only writing another thrilling page-turner but also raising the alarm about the potential for biological Armageddon. This is a fascinating read told by an expert in the field.