CIA director John O. Brennan
When John O. Brennan was growing up in a blue-collar neighborhood of North Bergen, New Jersey he didn't dream he would some day be the director of the CIA. Brennan served as CIA director from March 2013 to January 2017, resigning on the day Donald Trump became president.
In this memoir Brennan relates stories about his life and work, writing, "By sharing my personal experiences, as well as some anecdotes of the missteps, joys, and heartbreaks that have marked my life's journey, I hope to convey the challenges, responsibilities, and opportunities that accompany what I consider a most noble profession." Brennan also wants to "correct some of the mischaracterizations and falsehoods that have been propagated over the years - some purposefully, others unintentionally - about the CIA."Brennan hails from pure Irish stock, and is a first generation Irish American.
John Brennan's grandparents Ann and Owen Brennan
John Brennan's parents Dorothy and Owen Brennan
Little John Brennan with his sister Kathleen
As a boy Brennan contemplated entering the priesthood, with the objective of becoming the first American pope. On the way to that goal, young John was dedicated to schoolwork, practicing his Catholic faith, and playing sports. To get money for extras, John worked as a paper boy, pharmacy delivery boy, grocery stocker, and house painter, in accordance with the strong work ethic of the Brennan household.
Young John Brennan
As a youth John Brennan played sports in James J. Braddock Park in North Bergen
In high school John's intellectual curiosity was aroused by progressive teachers, and he became something of a doubting Thomas with respect to religion. Brennan observes, "From that point on I routinely would seek out empirical proof before accepting as immutable truth something I had read or had been told that I considered dubious or unfounded." This mental sea change helped prepare John for his future in the intelligence field.
For college John attended Fordham University (one of my own alma maters 🙂).
Brennan then contemplated joining the Ph.D. program in Middle East Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. John also applied to the CIA, where the recruiter encouraged him to do the Middle East studies first - to boost his chances of joining the Agency.
Before departing for school in Texas, John married his sweetheart Kathy Pokluda, who accompanied him to Austin and got a job teaching and coaching volleyball.
John Brennan and his girlfriend Kathy
At UT, John concentrated on international politics, national security issues, Middle East studies, and Arabic classes.
Much was happening during that time in the 1970s, including "the Camp David Accords and the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt; the Iranian Revolution and the U.S. diplomats being held hostage in Tehran; the takeover of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia by violent extremists and their bloody expulsion; and regional reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan."
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (left) and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin (right), with President Jimmy Carter witnessing it.
I enjoyed the book and was intrigued by the peek into the CIA and intelligence gathering.
Many thanks to Celadon Books for a copy of the book.
For college John attended Fordham University (one of my own alma maters 🙂).
Brennan then contemplated joining the Ph.D. program in Middle East Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. John also applied to the CIA, where the recruiter encouraged him to do the Middle East studies first - to boost his chances of joining the Agency.
Before departing for school in Texas, John married his sweetheart Kathy Pokluda, who accompanied him to Austin and got a job teaching and coaching volleyball.
John Brennan and his girlfriend Kathy
At UT, John concentrated on international politics, national security issues, Middle East studies, and Arabic classes.
Much was happening during that time in the 1970s, including "the Camp David Accords and the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt; the Iranian Revolution and the U.S. diplomats being held hostage in Tehran; the takeover of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia by violent extremists and their bloody expulsion; and regional reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan."
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (left) and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin (right), with President Jimmy Carter witnessing it.
Iranian Revolution
Invasion of Grand Mosque in Mecca
Invasion of Grand Mosque in Mecca
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Because of developments in the Middle East, John decided to leave UT with a Master's Degree and re-apply to the CIA. After passing interviews and polygraph tests Brennan got a letter saying "Congratulations" with reference to a salary of "$17,340." The future CIA director was on his way!
John Brennan during his early days with the CIA
If you're familiar with the TV series "The Americans", about Soviet sleeper agents in the United States, you've seen some disguises employed by field agents (spies).
Actor Matthew Rhys disguised in The Americans
Brennan himself got a lesson in disguise as a CIA novice. Assigned to escort an Arab military officer and his family for a few days, Brennan was outfitted with a dark brown wig with sideburns, tortoiseshell-rimmed tinted eyeglasses, and a lift in one shoe to change his gait. All went well until the final day of the visit, when John was in a rush to apply his disguise. Later, as he was escorting the Arab family through a mall, Brennan noticed people staring at him. A mirror showed John he'd put his disguise on wrong, and the sideburns were sticking almost straight out from the sides of his face. Brennan observes, "I'm on my first operational mission, and I wind up looking like Sally Field in 'The Flying Nun." 🙂
John also found he wasn't much good at clandestine surveillance, and he and his bosses decided he was a better match for the analytic - rather the field agent - side of the CIA. Citing some of his successes - in conjunction with other CIA agents and additional government departments - Brennan says they were able to "identify undercover Iraqi intelligence officers, forcing Baghdad to shelve terrorist plans" and "piece together fragmentary evidence from the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland that determined conclusively that Libya was the perpetrator."
Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Scotland
In 1993, Brennan was assigned to provide the Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) to President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and numerous national security advisors. As an intelligence briefer, Brennan had to present reports on the Middle East and terrorism as well as Russia, China, the Balkans, and more. The job required Brennan to wake up at 2:30 A.M., go to his office, read all the items in the PDB, absorb all the underlying source material, and be ready to present the report first thing in the morning. Brennan notes, "Clinton was a very careful reader. He had an amazing ability to ingest, process, analyze, and retain voluminous amounts of information on virtually any topic."
President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore
In 1995 Brennan became the executive assistant to George Tenet, deputy director of central intelligence. This was Brennan's first extended stint among the senior ranks of the CIA. He writes, "My time as George's executive assistant was a learning experience like none other I ever had. The curtains that shrouded the most sensitive CIA programs were opened to me, as I accompanied George on his visits throughout the Agency and participated in most of his headquarters meetings. I also traveled with him frequently on his foreign trips, when he would meet not only with heads of intelligence and security services but also with foreign government leaders."
Deputy director of central intelligence George Tenet
Brennan was at a meeting in Tenet's conference room on September 11, 2001, when planes hit the North and South towers of the World Trade Center. Everyone at the CIA immediately concluded that al-Qa'ida was responsible, and the agency quickly reacted to the disaster. Brennan observes, "I am absolutely certain that al-Qa'ida would have succeeded in carrying out additional devastating attacks against the United States after 9/11, including the homeland, had it not been for the outstanding work of CIA officers around the world."
On 9/11 terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center
These CIA successes bump up against the widely reviled Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation program (RDI), which gave the Agency "authority to capture, transfer, detain, and interrogate suspected significant terrorists." The 'enhanced interrogation' techniques used by the CIA under RDI were considered torture by many people, and the program severely blackened the Agency's long-term reputation.
Brennan says he first learned the sordid details of RDI in August, 2002, when he read a report describing the interrogation and waterboarding of al-Qa'ida member Abu Zubaydah.
al-Qa'ida member Abu Zubaydah.
Brennan was troubled by the document, but did not have the authority to make decisions about RDI. Still, Brennan empathizes with those who did, observing, "I am sure the prospect that tens if not hundreds of thousands of innocent people might die at the hands of al-Qa'ida weighed heavily on those who [implemented RDI]." Nevertheless, Brennan regrets his silence and says, "I consider my failure at the time to convey my concerns about the program in clear and unequivocal terms to George and to other senior officials at the CIA my most egregious. Over time, I would realize the mistake I made, and I would vow never to remain silent again." (This may be a case of hindsight is 20/20 in my opinion.)
After 9/11 President George W. Bush and security officials decided a change in intelligence sharing was needed, to prevent another such attack. Thus, during the State of the Union address in January 2003, President Bush announced, "Tonight, I am instructing the leaders of the FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense to develop a Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), to merge and analyze all threat information in a single location."
President George W. Bush giving the State of the Union Address
The CIA was tasked with creating TTIC, and Brennan was appointed director; TTIC later became the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Brennan notes, "Playing a role in the creation of TTIC and NCTC was one of the most professionally rewarding and personally satisfying chapters of my career."
When President Barack Obama took office in 2009, Brennan assumed the role of assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. Speaking of his new quarters in the White House Brennan recalls, "My windowless office was far from glamorous - its low seven-foot drop ceiling gave it the feel of a bunker in a war zone, and the sound of White House rats occasionally scurrying inside the walls and ceiling was an added treat." 😏
President Barack Obama
During Brennan's stretch as Obama's security assistant, a passenger on a Delta flight from Paris to Detroit set his pants on fire. It turns out the passenger, a twenty-three old Nigerian national named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had tried to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear. The terrorist had obtained the bomb from al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which soon tried to bring down two more aircraft over the United States. Luckily they didn't succeed.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to down a U.S. plane
During Obama's administration, the U.S. discovered the whereabouts of Usama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Brennan describes the extensive planning that resulted in the May 2011 raid that killed Bin Laden. This part of the book has an exciting 'you are there' feel, and demonstrates the cooperation necessary to pull off a complex mission like this.
Terrorist Usama Bin Laden
Brennan also writes about the assault on the U.S diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya in September 2012, which resulted in the deaths of the U.S. ambassador and others. The reasons for the attack are something of a mystery, but - according to Brennan - may have been a violent reaction to the film 'Innocence of Muslims', which depicts the Prophet Muhammad in an unflattering light. Brennan observes, "The subsequent allegations made by Republican members of Congress...that Obama administration officials intentionally misrepresented events in Benghazi were nothing more than an unconscionable partisan attack to score points against political rivals in Washington."
Because of developments in the Middle East, John decided to leave UT with a Master's Degree and re-apply to the CIA. After passing interviews and polygraph tests Brennan got a letter saying "Congratulations" with reference to a salary of "$17,340." The future CIA director was on his way!
John Brennan during his early days with the CIA
If you're familiar with the TV series "The Americans", about Soviet sleeper agents in the United States, you've seen some disguises employed by field agents (spies).
Actor Matthew Rhys disguised in The Americans
Brennan himself got a lesson in disguise as a CIA novice. Assigned to escort an Arab military officer and his family for a few days, Brennan was outfitted with a dark brown wig with sideburns, tortoiseshell-rimmed tinted eyeglasses, and a lift in one shoe to change his gait. All went well until the final day of the visit, when John was in a rush to apply his disguise. Later, as he was escorting the Arab family through a mall, Brennan noticed people staring at him. A mirror showed John he'd put his disguise on wrong, and the sideburns were sticking almost straight out from the sides of his face. Brennan observes, "I'm on my first operational mission, and I wind up looking like Sally Field in 'The Flying Nun." 🙂
John also found he wasn't much good at clandestine surveillance, and he and his bosses decided he was a better match for the analytic - rather the field agent - side of the CIA. Citing some of his successes - in conjunction with other CIA agents and additional government departments - Brennan says they were able to "identify undercover Iraqi intelligence officers, forcing Baghdad to shelve terrorist plans" and "piece together fragmentary evidence from the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland that determined conclusively that Libya was the perpetrator."
Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Scotland
In 1993, Brennan was assigned to provide the Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) to President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and numerous national security advisors. As an intelligence briefer, Brennan had to present reports on the Middle East and terrorism as well as Russia, China, the Balkans, and more. The job required Brennan to wake up at 2:30 A.M., go to his office, read all the items in the PDB, absorb all the underlying source material, and be ready to present the report first thing in the morning. Brennan notes, "Clinton was a very careful reader. He had an amazing ability to ingest, process, analyze, and retain voluminous amounts of information on virtually any topic."
President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore
In 1995 Brennan became the executive assistant to George Tenet, deputy director of central intelligence. This was Brennan's first extended stint among the senior ranks of the CIA. He writes, "My time as George's executive assistant was a learning experience like none other I ever had. The curtains that shrouded the most sensitive CIA programs were opened to me, as I accompanied George on his visits throughout the Agency and participated in most of his headquarters meetings. I also traveled with him frequently on his foreign trips, when he would meet not only with heads of intelligence and security services but also with foreign government leaders."
Deputy director of central intelligence George Tenet
Brennan was at a meeting in Tenet's conference room on September 11, 2001, when planes hit the North and South towers of the World Trade Center. Everyone at the CIA immediately concluded that al-Qa'ida was responsible, and the agency quickly reacted to the disaster. Brennan observes, "I am absolutely certain that al-Qa'ida would have succeeded in carrying out additional devastating attacks against the United States after 9/11, including the homeland, had it not been for the outstanding work of CIA officers around the world."
On 9/11 terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center
These CIA successes bump up against the widely reviled Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation program (RDI), which gave the Agency "authority to capture, transfer, detain, and interrogate suspected significant terrorists." The 'enhanced interrogation' techniques used by the CIA under RDI were considered torture by many people, and the program severely blackened the Agency's long-term reputation.
Brennan says he first learned the sordid details of RDI in August, 2002, when he read a report describing the interrogation and waterboarding of al-Qa'ida member Abu Zubaydah.
al-Qa'ida member Abu Zubaydah.
Brennan was troubled by the document, but did not have the authority to make decisions about RDI. Still, Brennan empathizes with those who did, observing, "I am sure the prospect that tens if not hundreds of thousands of innocent people might die at the hands of al-Qa'ida weighed heavily on those who [implemented RDI]." Nevertheless, Brennan regrets his silence and says, "I consider my failure at the time to convey my concerns about the program in clear and unequivocal terms to George and to other senior officials at the CIA my most egregious. Over time, I would realize the mistake I made, and I would vow never to remain silent again." (This may be a case of hindsight is 20/20 in my opinion.)
After 9/11 President George W. Bush and security officials decided a change in intelligence sharing was needed, to prevent another such attack. Thus, during the State of the Union address in January 2003, President Bush announced, "Tonight, I am instructing the leaders of the FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense to develop a Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), to merge and analyze all threat information in a single location."
President George W. Bush giving the State of the Union Address
The CIA was tasked with creating TTIC, and Brennan was appointed director; TTIC later became the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Brennan notes, "Playing a role in the creation of TTIC and NCTC was one of the most professionally rewarding and personally satisfying chapters of my career."
When President Barack Obama took office in 2009, Brennan assumed the role of assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. Speaking of his new quarters in the White House Brennan recalls, "My windowless office was far from glamorous - its low seven-foot drop ceiling gave it the feel of a bunker in a war zone, and the sound of White House rats occasionally scurrying inside the walls and ceiling was an added treat." 😏
President Barack Obama
During Brennan's stretch as Obama's security assistant, a passenger on a Delta flight from Paris to Detroit set his pants on fire. It turns out the passenger, a twenty-three old Nigerian national named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had tried to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear. The terrorist had obtained the bomb from al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which soon tried to bring down two more aircraft over the United States. Luckily they didn't succeed.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to down a U.S. plane
During Obama's administration, the U.S. discovered the whereabouts of Usama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Brennan describes the extensive planning that resulted in the May 2011 raid that killed Bin Laden. This part of the book has an exciting 'you are there' feel, and demonstrates the cooperation necessary to pull off a complex mission like this.
Terrorist Usama Bin Laden
Attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi
After President Obama was re-elected in 2012, he nominated Brennan to be CIA director. Brennan took the oath of office with his hand on an original draft of the Constitution dating from 1787. Brennan's critics decried his swearing in on this old version of the constitution, which had no amendments. They claimed Brennan used it to show disdain for the right to due process and the right to trial by jury, and claimed he had converted to Islam when he was stationed in Saudi Arabia. To this Brennan says, "There's no accounting for knuckleheads when it comes to politics and partisanship in Washington." (Too true. 🙄)
President Obama nominated John Brennan to be CIA directo
John Brennan was sworn in as CIA director by Vice President Joe Biden
New CIA director Brennan was sensitive to inclusion issues, and notes, "It was not lost on me that I was the latest in an unbroken line of white males to become CIA director; the history of CIA deputy directors was no different. Since its birth in 1947, the CIA had only partially shed its reputation as a bastion of white male dominance." Brennan was determined to bring more women and minorities into the CIA, and to overhaul internal policies to ensure equal opportunities for all CIA employees. (About time. 😐)
Brennan winds up the book with a hefty discussion of Russian interference in the 2016 election, which was (at least implicitly) endorsed by then president Donald Trump.
Brennan winds up the book with a hefty discussion of Russian interference in the 2016 election, which was (at least implicitly) endorsed by then president Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump
Brennan disdains President Trump, and is a worthy adversary to Trump in the Twitter wars. On Saint Patrick's Day in 2018 - when Brennan's Irish dander was ruffled by Trump's nasty comments about deputy director of the FBI Andy McCabe - Brennan tweeted about Trump, "When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption become known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will not destroy America....America will triumph over you."
In the following months Brennan continued to speak out on Twitter, calling Trump's self-adoration 'disgraceful', his behavior 'unprincipled and unethical', and his administration a 'kakistocracy' (a government run by the worst, least competent, and corrupt of citizens). Brennan said much more about Trump, who retaliated by trying to revoke Brennan's security clearance. The 'fighting' is quite salacious and intriguing, and it's worth reading the book to see more.
In fact there are MANY more fascinating anecdotes in the narrative - about Brennan's family as well as his work.
In fact there are MANY more fascinating anecdotes in the narrative - about Brennan's family as well as his work.
John Brennan's mother Dorothy
John Brennan with his father Owen
John Brennan and his wife Kathy
In work-related tales, Brennan writes about living and working in Saudi Arabia; the Arab Spring; the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; the shoe bomber; deadly drone strikes; the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi; the House Intelligence Committee's investigation of the RDI program; Congressional hearings; Brennan's conflicts with some senators and representatives; school shootings; famous people Brennan's met; and more.
John Brennan with Saudi King Salman
Richard Reid, also known as the "Shoe Bomber", is a British terrorist who attempted to detonate a shoe bomb while on American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami in 2001.
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
John Brennan testifying before the House Intelligence Committee
The book also includes a glossary of acronyms and terms; a list of important characters; an index; and photographs.
I enjoyed the book and was intrigued by the peek into the CIA and intelligence gathering.
Many thanks to Celadon Books for a copy of the book.
Rating: 4 stars
