2007), says that this 'book is a 600-page op-ed piece masquerading as serious history it is the advocacy of a particularly dark point of view under the guise of scholarship. In the end, Weiner's 'bias overwhelm his scholarship.'ĭujmovic, Studies 51.3 (Sep. Backed by selective citations, sweeping assertions, and a fascination with the negative, Weiner overlooks, minimizes, or distorts agency achievements.' The statement notes that the book 'is marked by errors great and small,' and provides an 'incomplete catalogue' of some of the errors. Among other criticisms, the press release states that the author 'paints far too dark a picture of the agency's past. In a rare event, the CIA has chosen to respond publicly to Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes (2007).

The Agency statement is reprinted in AFIO WIN 31-07 (13 Aug. Central Intelligence Agency, ' CIA Statement on 'Legacy of Ashes'' (6 Aug. (Not the KGB, certainly, nor the SIS or Mossad.) If not, and if there is no consistently 'first rate' intelligence service, then the problem may lie in an exaggerated expectation that any secret intelligence service can reliably 'see things as they are in the world.''

The implication here is that the standard for excellence has been set by another intelligence agency, one that unlike CIA is 'first rate.' If so, it would be interesting to know which agency that is.

2007, notes the author's contention that 'the most powerful country in the history of Western civilization has failed to create a first-rate spy service. In a comment by someone who is certainly not a fan of the CIA, Aftergood, Secrecy News (from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy), 13 Jul. Tim Weiner - Legacy of Ashes Tim Weiner Legacy of Ashes

Legacy of ashes by tim weiner