My Book Is Just About Ready

Those of you who have been with us from the beginning (God bless you), will recall that the reason I created this blog was to introduce my book to potential readers.  The aptly titled book, "Mukhabarat, Baby", took five years to complete.  The Agency review process is not included in that time period, as their eight months of manuscript possession and the four months required to stitch things back together added a year to the total.  It has taken six years to reach this point.  Last summer, when I started this blog, I envisioned the opportunity to comment on current events from an intelligence collection perspective, while also sharing excerpts and anecdotes from MB.  I have enjoyed the blog so much, and in ways I never anticipated.  My close friend Tina provided me with a couple priceless "Twitter lessons", and explained the value of staying current and conversant in the Twittersphere.  I found myself commenting on current events in an evening post and then discussing my comments on Twitter the next afternoon.  I love just about everything about blogging, and I have no intentions of slowing down after the publishing of the book.

One thing that I learned during this process is the importance of each and every viewer.  The same must be said for readers of a particular book.  Impacting one person can make all the difference between success and failure, so every pair of eyes is equally important.  When writing MB, I made every effort to stay non-political, and I approached the blog with the same intention.  That effort last all of three weeks.  When capturing images of the past and transferring those images into written word, the emotions of the characters and the signature event dominate the narrative.  There is no room for something as petty as politics unless you intentionally create room.  When commenting on current events, politics are difficult to avoid.  Real-time includes a "tomorrow", full of countless unknown variables.  We are tasked to suppose those variables.  Knowing a character's politics is invaluable in creating a hypothesis for the future.  It took some time for me to come up with that bullshit excuse; the truth is, I began to include a bit of political commentary in my posts because certain powerful leaders were pissing me off.

No doubt I've come down hard on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and also looney tunes President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina.  The majority of my criticism, though, has been closer to home.  I have not always been so frustrated with Barrack Obama.  I voted for the other guy in '08 and '12, but I wanted Obama to succeed.  Actually, because I'm fundamentally opposed to Socialism, I knew his policies would fail.  What I sincerely hoped for, was that our first African American President would prioritize the issue of race in our country in a way that would highlight our commonalities.  I wanted President Obama to create an "Urban blight" czar, someone whose job would be focused exclusively on combating violence in urban black communities like Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit.  I hoped that money usually wasted on entitlements would be spent on education, training and job creation in our most at-risk neighborhoods.  Was I setting myself up for disappointment or what?  The only time Obama addresses the issue of race in the United States is either to score political points by exacerbating an existing problem, or to point out our failures to a room full of tin-horn dictators and Socialists at the United Nations.  In six years I have heard not a word about a legitimate state-by-state effort to address the number of teenage, unwed mothers in the black community.  Has President Obama created a panel of famous successful African-Americans to help create better role models for young black men other than the gangsters and hip-hop artists who dominate their lives?  Its as if we elected a black President, but what we got in reality was another middle-aged, crusty, political, disingenuous white guy.  All that seems to matter is the entrenchment of his economic and social philosophy at all costs.

I continue to avoid politics with the blog as much as I'm able.  My favorite saying is that "opinions are like assholes; everybody has one and everybody's stinks".  My opinions belong to me, but at the end of the day, they come and go and are probably the least thing of value that I have.  I have no problem with folks who disagree with me, and I can count a number of Democrats as long-time close friends.  As for my book....... I would be lying if I said it wasn't a difficult experience.  Having another person read and critique one's writing can be a painful process.  At the end of the day, what is important is the integrity of your message.  After all is said and done, my book is still my own.  I read myself in every line, on every page, and in every chapter.  I'm fortunate because I have those stories locked away in my own personal grey matter archives.  I think the stories are special and I want to share them with you.  Think of this blog as the first step in a trip we are taking together.  I truly hope all of you will be on board for the next ride.

So Who and What Is "Mukhabarat, Baby!" Anyway?

As my book "Mukhabarat, Baby" gets closer to publication, I will use the blog to provide excerpts for the audience to enjoy (or not).  My profile provides a bit of information about me, but I think this is a good time to expand a bit.  I was raised overseas, mostly in France, but I spent most of my formative years in Texas.  I consider my home to be San Antonio and I am one of those very proud Texans, which means I root for the Dallas Cowboys and I say "y'all".  My first language was French, and since then I have added English, Spanish, Afrikaans and a smattering of Zulu to the list.  I started my career in the early 1990's in what was then called the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and is now under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  During my stint in Federal Law Enforcement I worked on the International Bridges in Laredo and in the State Prison System in Huntsville, arranging deportations of foreign national felons.  I joined the CIA in the late 1990s as a Case Officer.  My tours took me to eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Near East, Africa, and some places I forget.  During my career I was poisoned, which eventually obliged me to retire sooner than I would have liked for health reasons.  In 2010 I started writing stories, detailed from my career, as a form of therapy. It blossomed into both this blog, and the book which I hope to see published soon.

When I made the decision to turn my stories into a book, it was because I saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the genre.  Books about the CIA, intelligence operations and individuals abound, but not much exists that really puts a face on the human piece of the puzzle.  Like all government Agencies, the CIA is built from carbon matter.  People have always made the Agency what it is, and still do to this day.  My book will introduce the reader to Frenchy, who as an infant was raised in a Japanese-run Prison Camp in Indonesia, spent his career in Agency special operations all over the globe, and continued as a beloved trainer (and fixture) at one of the intel agencies.  You will meet a host of characters from my training class, and discover that laughter and friendship can make almost anything bearable.  And then we have the beautiful Turkish embassy employee Tansu, who broke the heart of every man in Kosovo, until she met her match in Johnny from New York City.  With great pleasure I will introduce you to Poofy, a wonderful, brave man who not only risked his life for our interests (and for no compensation), but managed to wear more make-up and expensive clothes then Dolly Parton on tour.  It would be impossible to not include a few words about Madame Rus, the ancient linguist who taught a number of different languages to officers headed out to the field, and always smelled like Chanel perfume and flirted with every young man she met.  These are just a few of the characters that come to life in my book.

"Mukhabarat, Baby!" is about people, but it takes place during the various U.S. conflicts of the past two decades, including Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.  Not all of the characters are funny, pleasant or brave.  And that is the nature of the business.  As necessary a Case Officer must work on the edges of society, where the black market and the sociopaths come together.  You will meet an Iraqi who smuggled everything imaginable, from cigarettes and liquor, to AK-47s and eastern European prostitutes.  The episode in which I was poisoned is also covered in detail.  Every Case Officer is well prepared by the best training modules ever developed and by the most dedicated instructors available, to rub elbows with the dregs of society in order to get the intelligence that our government needs.  In Iraq, it was about saving the lives of American soldiers, and every Agency officer in the field regularly threw caution to the wind in order to get the job done.  No tally exists to demonstrate how many lives were saved by the dedication of the CIA officers in the field, and the brave men and women who provided the valuable intelligence.  Somehow, someway, the process of selecting Agency personnel works, because I cannot imagine a collection of more dedicated, brilliant and honest people.  Almost from the very beginning (and to this very day) I became part of a very special family, one that is trusted with the security of the 400 million Americans who go about their business every day.  It can be a tremendous burden, and even CIA folks like to complain.  But for the most part, as is necessary in this business, its all kept in-house.

I was a young, excitable Case Officer on the morning of September 11, 2001.  By the end of the day, I had, like all Americans, aged in some nondescript, hard-to define way.  I welcome the opportunity to share my September 11 story in "Mukhabarat, Baby!".  Because my stories are a true reflection of actual events, I was able to avoid getting overly political.  If I wanted to write a political book I could have.  Some of my blog posts exemplify my willingness to call elected leaders to task.  But "Mukhabarat, Baby!" is not about politics.  You won't find a chapter debating the decision to invade Iraq, nor will you discover a section detailing the foreign policy errors of various administrations.  Please enjoy my book for what it is....a peek behind the curtain into the human functions of the CIA. At the end of the book you should come to the same conclusion I did very early on in my career: that people are basically the same regardless of where they work.  Everyone likes a funny joke, no one wants to fight rush-hour traffic, and pompous-ass Chiefs should be avoided at all costs!  My book takes you through the everyday functions of a CIA Case Officer serving in the Balkans, in Iraq, in Africa, and stateside, to give you an up-close glimpse of some of the more recent current events.  At the same time, meet the people that make the machine work, and discover that they really aren't any different than you.

(Anyone interested in updates on the release of "Mukhabarat, Baby" and appropriate excerpts of the book as they become available, please feel free to send your email address to: mukhabaratbaby@gmail.com.)

Release of "Mukhabarat, Baby".....

One of the reasons I decided to enter the world of blogging was to introduce my soon-to-be-released book of the same title to persons who share a common interest in Intelligence Collection.  The book, which is a non-fiction collection of vignettes and anecdotes from my career working in areas of conflict, is essentially complete; but the process of getting a book from the keyboard to the bookshelf takes a bit of time.  It's true that the market has seen its share of Intelligence Community memoirs as of late, but with "Mukhabarat, Baby" I promise you something different. My goal is to personally draw the audience into every briefing and every meeting.  I want the reader to taste the anxiety and tension in the air as the officer completes his mission.  The foundation of my book is in the characters and personalties that I introduce; real people who make up this organization which by its very nature, will never receive due credit for its accomplishments.  The same can be said for its employees.
If you would like to receive appropriate updates and/or excerpts from "Mukhabarat, Baby", please send an email address to:

mukhabaratbaby@gmail.com