American Spy : Wry Reflections on My Life in the CIA

**__This ain't your daddy's spy story.__ In a memoir written as a series of narrative vignettes, a former CIA operations officer recounts his years of danger, intrigue, and adventure.**This candid and darkly witty memoir recounts an exhilarating life --and a few close brushes with death. With remarkable sangfroid and a humorist's eye for absurdity, H. K. Roy describes his many strange and risky exploits in his long career with the CIA. Whether he was pursuing Soviet and Cuban spies, running "denied area" operations in Eastern Europe, hunting Bosnian War criminals, or providing actionable intelligence to US government and coalition forces in Iraq, Roy usually found himself at the right place at the right time. Except when he didn't--like the time he stumbled into a life-threatening ambush by Iranian terrorists while dodging Serb snipers and shelling in Sarajevo. Eight summers later, caught in a blinding sandstorm between Amman and Baghdad, he learned his fate was in the hands of an Iraqi tribal chief who had just lost his entire family to a US airstrike in Ramadi, in a failed attempt to kill Saddam Hussein that had tragic consequences. Combining dedication to duty with a maverick's disdain for bureaucracy, Roy makes it clear that he prefers foreign locales to Washington and thrives on the adrenaline rush that comes with danger. He also sheds much light on why intelligence is an essential component of national defense, even our very survival as a nation. AMERICAN SPY CONTENTS Preface A Note about Secrecy Abbreviations PART I: BALKAN TRILOGY Chapter 1: Betrayal in the Balkans: Hillary Sent Me, but Bill Nearly Got Me Killed Chapter 2: CIA Leak Chapter 3: Srebrenica Madness PART II: THE MAKING OF A SPY Chapter 4: Don’t Get Me Started Chapter 5: CIA Paramilitary Training Chapter 6: Secure Your Chutes PART III: LATIN AMERICA Chapter 7: Going Operational Chapter 8: Cuban Ops Chapter 9: Internal Operations: Nicaragua Chapter 10: Messing with Chinese Spies Chapter 11: Moon over Libya PART IV: RUSSIAN SPIES Chapter 12: CIA vs. KGB Chapter 13: How—and Why—to Recruit a Russian Spy PART V: CIA Family Chapter 14: Real Housewives of the CIA Chapter 15: Spy Kids Chapter 16: CIA Safe Sex Practices PART VI: HOT AND COLD RUNNING WAR: YUGOSLAVIA Chapter 17: Denied Area Operations Chapter 18: I Vant a Weeza Chapter 19: Komandante Giška Chapter 20: From War Virgin to War Weary Chapter 21: Life Imitates Art Imitates Life— Hunting Bosnian War Criminals PART VII: IRAQ: IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME Chapter 22: The Road to Babylon Chapter 23: Mission: Improbable Chapter 24: Tribalism Chapter 25: Travels in Arabia PART VIII: BRUSHES WITH CELEBRITY Chapter 26: Did I Inspire an SNL Skit? Chapter 27: Breaking Bad in Tijuana Chapter 28: Sitting Next to a Rock Star PART IX: THE SPY WHO CAME DOWN WITH A COLD Chapter 29: Ignore My Intelligence at Your Peril (I Am Not As Stupid As I Look) Chapter 30: Iraq Intelligence Failure Chapter 31: The Spy Who Came Down with a Cold Epilogue Spookstock and H. K. Roy Website Acknowledgments Notes In a series of lively vignettes, a former CIA operations officer reflects on his life as a spy, covert ops, war zones, and the importance of intelligence for national security. Written by a former CIA operations officer, this candid and often witty memoir recounts a life of intrigue, adventure, and a few close brushes with death. H. K. Roy describes, with remarkable sangfroid and a humorist's eye for absurdity, his many strange and risky exploits. Whether he was pursuing Soviet and Cuban spies, running "denied area" operations in Eastern Europe, hunting Bosnian war criminals, or providing actionable intelligence to US government and coalition forces in Iraq, Roy usually found himself at the right place at the right time. Except when he didn't--like the time he stumbled into a life-threatening ambush by Iranian terrorists while dodging Serb snipers and shelling in Sarajevo. Eight summers later, caught in a blinding sandstorm between Amman and Baghdad, he learned his fate was in the hands of an Iraqi tribal chief who had just lost his entire family to a US airstrike in Ramadi, in a failed attempt to kill Saddam Hussein that had tragic consequences. Combining dedication to duty with a maverick's disdain for bureaucracy, Roy makes it clear that he prefers foreign locales to Washington and thrives on the adrenaline rush that comes with danger. He also sheds much light on why intelligence is an essential component of national defense, even our very survival as a nation. This ain't your daddy's spy story. In a memoir written as a series of narrative vignettes, a former CIA operations officer recounts his years of danger, intrigue, and adventure.This candid and darkly witty memoir recounts an exhilarating life --and a few close brushes with death. With remarkable sangfroid and a humorist's eye for absurdity, H. K. Roy describes his many strange and risky exploits in his long career with the CIA. Whether he was pursuing Soviet and Cuban spies, running "denied area" operations in Eastern Europe, hunting Bosnian War criminals, or providing actionable intelligence to US government and coalition forces in Iraq, Roy usually found himself at the right place at the right time.Except when he didn't--like the time he stumbled into a life-threatening ambush by Iranian terrorists while dodging Serb snipers and shelling in Sarajevo. Eight summers later, caught in a blinding sandstorm between Amman and Baghdad, he learned his fate was in the hands of an Iraqi tribal chief who had just lost his entire family to a US airstrike in Ramadi, in a failed attempt to kill Saddam Hussein that had tragic consequences. Combining dedication to duty with a maverick's disdain for bureaucracy, Roy makes it clear that he prefers foreign locales to Washington and thrives on the adrenaline rush that comes with danger. He also sheds much light on why intelligence is an essential component of national defense, even our very survival as a nation. Amazon This ain't your daddy's spy story. In a memoir written as a series of narrative vignettes, a former CIA operations officer recounts his years of danger, intrigue, and adventure. This candid and darkly witty memoir recounts an exhilarating life --and a few close brushes with death. With remarkable sangfroid and a humorist's eye for absurdity, H. K. Roy describes his many strange and risky exploits in his long career with the CIA. Whether he was pursuing Soviet and Cuban spies, running "denied area" operations in Eastern Europe, hunting Bosnian War criminals, or providing actionable intelligence to US government and coalition forces in Iraq, Roy usually found himself at the right place at the right time. Except when he didn't--like the time he stumbled into a life-threatening ambush by Iranian terrorists while dodging Serb snipers and shelling in Sarajevo. Eight summers later, caught in a blinding sandstorm between Amman and Baghdad, he learned his fate was in the hands of an Iraqi tribal chief who had just lost his entire family to a US airstrike in Ramadi, in a failed attempt to kill Saddam Hussein that had tragic consequences. Combining dedication to duty with a maverick's disdain for bureaucracy, Roy makes it clear that he prefers foreign locales to Washington and thrives on the adrenaline rush that comes with danger. He also sheds much light on why intelligence is an essential component of national defense, even our very survival as a nation.