Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, by Tim Weiner. 2007. Doubleday. For those interested in learning about the blunders, deceptions, crimes and disasters of the Central Intelligence Agency, Tim Weiner’s 2007 book Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA is an excellent place to start. The book presents a highly critical history of…

Both Senate Democrats and hawkish Republicans lined up to support Obama’s recent sending of military personnel to Iraq. They are allegedly there only in an advisory capacity, but those of us who know something about how the Vietnam War started have reason for doubt. This support for a supposedly strictly advisory military mission is no…