Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
First edition
AuthorDouglas Laux
Ralph Pezzullo
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectEspionage, War in Afghanistan, Syrian Civil War
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherSt. Martin's Press
Publication date
April 5, 2016 (hardcover)
Pages320 pages
ISBN978-1-250-08136-0
OCLC907965926
958.104/78
LC ClassDS371.413 .S66

Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is a memoir by Douglas Laux, a former case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, and Ralph Pezzullo.[1][2]

Background

The book details the experiences of Douglas Laux, who served for seven years as an undercover case officer for the CIA, first in southern Afghanistan and later in the Middle East, particularly Syria.[3] The book was heavily redacted by the CIA prior to publication.[4]

The phrase "left of boom" is a military idiom that refers the U.S. military's effort to disrupt insurgent cells before they can build and plant bombs.[5]

Overview

Left of Boom describes Laux's time as a case officer in Afghanistan, which included a tour in Afghanistan during the Afghan surge and another to Kandahar during the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.[6] As an undercover case officer, Laux was trained in Pashto prior to his deployment along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, however, Laux writes the dialect of Pashto he learned was not spoken in the region, thus making communication with local assets initially difficult.[7] The role that Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence played during this time is alluded to, but Pakistan is never specifically mentioned in the book.[3]

Laux writes about his time in Syria meeting with leaders of the Syrian rebellion in 2012 with the goal of removing Bashar al-Assad from power. Frustrated by the Obama administration's decision to reject the CIA's plans to oust Assad in December 2012, Laux resigned from the CIA in early 2013.[8]

Laux also discusses the strain that being an undercover agent had on his personal relationships, saying, "the closest to me were always suspicious."[9] Laux developed addictions to alcohol and oxycontin as a way of coping with operational setbacks and the struggles of his double life, adding, "I didn't handle it well."[10]

Reception

In an official statement released after publication, the CIA commented on Left of Boom, "Sadly, Mr. Laux’s career at the CIA did not work out," it said in a statement. "We hope that someday, maybe with age and greater maturity, he will have better perspective on his time here."[11] Reviewing Left of Boom, the New York Times said, "The collective weight of all C.I.A. memoirs written since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks could collapse a bookshelf, but Mr. Laux brings a raw perspective to the canon."[3]

References

  1. ↑ Andrea Kannapell and Sandra Stevenson (1 April 2016). "Your Friday Evening Briefing: Nuclear Security, Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia". New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Frank Daniels III Stevenson (2 April 2016). "Can Nashville restore hope for at-risk youth?". Tennessean. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Mark Mazzetti (1 April 2016). "A C.I.A. Grunt's Tale of the Fog of Secret War". New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Philip Giraldi (26 April 2016). "CIA Gets Back to Spying". American Conservative. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Left of Boom - Glossary". Washington Post. 28 September 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Scott Timberg (7 April 2016). ""Homeland" made me laugh: Here's what it's really like being a CIA agent in the Middle East". Salon. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  7. ↑ Joyce Hackel (19 April 2016). "The story of the 20-something CIA officer who took on the Taliban". PRI. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  8. ↑ Maureen Callahan (2 April 2016). "Ex-CIA operative: How Hillary Clinton betrayed Syrian rebels". New York Post. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  9. ↑ Cari Romm (18 April 2016). "How Do Spies Keep Their Double Lives Secret?". New York Magazine. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  10. ↑ Ken Dilanian (1 April 2016). "Spy Kid: A Young CIA Officer Breaks Cover and Spills Secrets". NBCNews. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  11. ↑ Raoul Wootliff (5 April 2016). "Obama reportedly rejected CIA plans to oust Assad". Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
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