“Review of Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era.”
Publishers Weekly
1988
From Publishers Weekly
Emerson describes how the Pentagon set up its own clandestine "mini-CIA"
following the bungled attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran in 1980. A leak
in 1983 led to a widespread investigation by certain Army officials and the
Justice Department, resulting in secret court-martials and the conviction of
several key Army officers who had "decided they knew what was best for
the country." More recently, some of the original players participated
in a reincarnation of the scheme called "Enterprise," according to
Emerson (The American House of Saud). Part business empire, part military-intelligence
operation under late CIA director William Casey and National Security Council
staffer Oliver North, the Enterprise operation reportedly provided a framework
for retired Air Force Gen. Richard Secord and Iranian-born businessman Albert
Hakim to control elements of U.S. foreign policy while making huge profits.
Emerson focuses on what he sees as the central paradox of covert operations:
they are necessary, but they tend to spin out of control. First serial to U.S.
News & World Report.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.