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“Ideology is the enemy of intelligence,” explained Tim Weiner, former investigative reporter and New York Times Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Weiner was the first guest of the International Speaker Series, a collaboration by the World Affairs Council of Charlotte, the UNC Charlotte Office of International Programs, and the International Studies Programs .
Before his lecture, Weiner sat down for an interview with the University Times. When asked what prompted him to write about the CIA, Weiner related a story about his early days as a journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. “At 29, I was sent to the Philippines to write about the snap election called by Ferdinand Marcos. Reagan was president, and Marcos had been aligned with the U.S. for more than 20 years.”
It turns out Weiner would bear witness to the first popular uprising of the Cold War era. He continued, “Reagan decided to let this pro-American [Marcos] who stole the election go, and it fascinated me.“ Weiner determined after that to write about National Security and Foreign Policy. His next interesting assignment that impacted his future ambitions came in 1987. It was speculated that the CIA, with Pakistan, was funneling millions of dollars in armaments to Afghanistan, which was at the time in its seventh year of Soviet occupation. Before going to Afghanistan, Weiner called the CIA public relations line, which has always existed, and asked “to deal with investigative reporters like himself,” in hopes of getting a country briefing. At the time, his request was denied, but that didn’t stop him from going to Afghanistan. While there, he rode with the Mujahideen Afghan’s Holy Warriors, and an assignment that should have lasted a few weeks turned into three months. Once back in the States, Weiner received a call from the CIA, interestingly enough asking now if he wanted that country briefing.
After traveling seven miles outside Washington D.C., passing two security check points and gaining security clearance, he was allowed to enter into the hallowed halls of the CIA. The Gospel of John 8:32 is etched into marble near the entrance, “And you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” From then, Weiner admits to being “hooked ever since, and fascinated with American diplomacy.”
Weiner’s latest book, “Legacy of Ashes,” in his own words is a” transparent, on-the-record history of the CIA,” which came out from a culmination of declassified documents and hundreds of on-the-record interviews Weiner had conducted over the years as a journalist. The paperback copy documents about 1,000 end notes, giving every one who reads access to where the information comes from “so they can know how I know what I know,” Weiner explained.
Getting information to the public at large has always been a part of his career. “It is crucial,” Weiner remarked when asked how important informing the public truly is. “We live in an open society. An informed citizenry is crucial for participatory democracy.” He went on to say “if people don’t have a paper to read by reporters who dig up information about how the community, the state and the country works, or how America fits in to the rest of the world, then they can’t make informed decisions.”
Simply that is why there is a free press, to give people access for making informed decisions. But not everything printed in the press or broadcast by the media is fact. Take some of the myths associated with the CIA that Weiner seeks to debunk, such as the CIA is a rogue agency. “It’s nonsense,” he exclaimed. In reality, with few exceptions, “since the Bay of Pigs disaster, the CIA has been exquisitely responsive to presidential command and control.”
Weiner explained the CIA was set up to start with to serve as strategic intelligence. This has always been “the information that the president, the secretary of state and the secretary of defense needed to form a strategy for the United States, not one for next week, but for the future over the horizon.” Why has it fallen away from that purpose? It is by and large due to the lack of understanding of the nations we’re interested in.
“We don’t know about their history, their language, or their culture,” stated Weiner. The sad fact is the problem with the CIA isn’t unique to them. He pointed out America as a whole has the same problem. The next president is going to have to be serious about engaging the world. So is there hope that the next administration, whomever it may be, will take the initiative to learn from past follies? “It takes two people to speak truth to power, one to speak and one to listen.” Weiner remarked in closing, “but the next president has to park their ideologies and their preconceptions at the curb 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. when they come to office and they need to have open minds about the ways of the world.”
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