"This was shocking and horrifying...another paramilitary covert operation": John Stockwell (1978)

In Search of Enemies is a book written by John Stockwell, a former CIA officer who served as the agency's Chief of the Angola Task Force in the 1970s. The book was first published in 1978 and provides an insider's perspective on the CIA's activities during the Cold War, specifically in regards to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and in Angola.

In the book, Stockwell argues that the CIA's operations in Angola were a failure and a waste of resources, and that the agency was more focused on maintaining its own power and influence than on promoting U.S. interests. He also accuses the CIA of engaging in illegal activities, including assassinations and covert operations, and of disregarding democratic principles in pursuit of its objectives.

In Search of Enemies is an important critique of U.S. foreign policy and the role of intelligence agencies in American politics. The book sheds light on the often-secretive and controversial activities of the CIA during the Cold War, and raises important questions about the relationship between intelligence agencies and democratic governance.

Since its publication, In Search of Enemies has become a seminal work in the field of intelligence studies and has been widely cited by scholars and policymakers. The book remains a powerful reminder of the dangers of unchecked intelligence power, and of the need for greater transparency and accountability in U.S. foreign policy.

John Stockwell is a former CIA officer who is known for his outspoken criticism of the agency's activities during the Cold War. He was born on March 16, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point before serving as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

After leaving the military, Stockwell joined the CIA in 1964 and was stationed in Africa, where he worked to support U.S.-backed regimes and counter Soviet influence. He rose through the ranks of the agency, eventually serving as the Chief of the Angola Task Force in the 1970s, where he was responsible for overseeing the CIA's activities in the region.

However, Stockwell became disillusioned with the CIA and the U.S. government's foreign policy during this time. He was particularly critical of the agency's activities in Angola, which he believed were counterproductive and fueled violence and instability in the region.

In 1976, Stockwell resigned from the CIA and became an outspoken critic of the agency and U.S. foreign policy. He wrote several books, including "In Search of Enemies," which was a critique of the CIA's activities in Angola and Vietnam. He also became an advocate for transparency and accountability in U.S. foreign policy, and spoke out against U.S. involvement in Central America and other regions.

Stockwell's outspoken criticism of the CIA and U.S. foreign policy has made him a controversial figure, but he has also been recognized for his bravery and dedication to transparency and accountability. Today, he continues to advocate for peace and justice, and his work has had a lasting impact on the field of intelligence studies and U.S. foreign policy.

John R. Stockwell (born 1937) is a former CIA officer who became a critic of United States government policies after serving seven tours of duty over thirteen years. Having managed American involvement in the Angolan Civil War as Chief of the Angola Task Force during its 1975 covert operations, he resigned and wrote In Search of Enemies.
Early years

Born in Angleton, Texas, Stockwell's Presbyterian father moved the family to the Belgian Congo when he was posted there to provide engineering assistance.[1] Stockwell attended school in Lubondai before studying in the Plan II Honors program at the University of Texas.
CIA career

As a Marine, Stockwell was a CIA paramilitary intelligence case officer in three wars: the Congo Crisis, the Vietnam War, and the Angolan War of Independence. His military rank is Major. Beginning his career in 1964, Stockwell spent six years in Africa, Chief of Base in the Katanga during the Bob Denard invasion in 1968, then Chief of Station in Bujumbura, Burundi in 1970, before being transferred to Vietnam to oversee intelligence operations in the Tay Ninh province and was awarded the CIA Intelligence Medal of Merit for keeping his post open until the last days of the fall of Saigon in 1975.[1]

In December 1976, he resigned from the CIA, citing deep concerns for the methods and results of CIA paramilitary operations in Third World countries and testified before Congressional committees. Two years later, he wrote the exposé In Search of Enemies, about that experience and its broader implications. He claimed that the CIA was counterproductive to national security, and that its "secret wars" provided no benefit for the United States. The CIA, he stated, had singled out the MPLA to be an enemy in Angola despite the fact that the MPLA wanted relations with the United States and had not committed a single act of aggression against the United States. In 1978 he appeared on the popular American television program 60 Minutes, claiming that CIA Director William Colby and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger had systematically lied to Congress about the CIA's operations.
Writing career

Stockwell was one of the first professionals to leave the CIA to go public by writing a bestselling book, In Search of Enemies. The CIA retaliated by suing him in the 4th District Court in Washington, D.C.. Part of the suit intended to eliminate the possibility of selling the story for the purpose of making the movie and requested all future publications be submitted to the CIA for review. Unable to afford the travel necessary to contest the case, Stockwell filed for bankruptcy in Austin, Texas. After the litigation was processed through the bankruptcy, the CIA eventually dropped the suit.

A brief story in the book is about a CIA officer having Patrice Lumumba's body in the trunk of his car one night in then Elizabethville, Congo. Stockwell mentions in a footnote to the story that at the time he did not know that the CIA is documented as having repeatedly tried to arrange for Lumumba's assassination.[2][3]

His concerns were that, although many of his colleagues in the CIA were men and women of the highest integrity, the organization was counterproductive of United States' national security and harming a lot of people in its "secret wars" overseas.

Red Sunset was Stockwell's next book and was published in 1982 by William Morrow Publishing Co., Inc. in hardback, then in paperback by Signet a year later. In it he discusses his prediction of a peaceful end to the Cold War. Stockwell presented these ideas in fiction form in order to get it published.

In 1991, Stockwell published a compilation of transcriptions of many of his lectures called The Praetorian Guard.[4][5]
See also

Philip Agee, author, former CIA case officer in Mexico and Ecuador
Robert Baer, author, former CIA case officer in Middle East
Peer de Silva, author, former CIA Chief of Station in East Asia
Richard Helms, author, former Director of CIA
Victor Marchetti, author, special assistant to Helms
Ray McGovern, former CIA senior analyst and national security adviser
Ralph McGehee, author, former CIA case officer
Peter Wright, author, principal scientific officer for MI5

Books

The Praetorian Guard: The US Role in the New World Order. Boston: South End Press (1991). ISBN 0896083950.
Red Sunset. New York: William Morrow & Co. (1982).
In Search of Enemies: A CIA Story. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. (1978). ISBN 0393009262.

Filmography

The C.I.A. Case Officer: John "Bob" Stockwell. Institute for Policy Studies (1978).
The Secret World of the C.I.A: The "Testimony" of John Stockwell. Cambridge, Mass.: Insight Video (1988). OCLC 18296714.

References

"Former CIA Agent John Stockwell Talks about How the CIA Worked in Vietnam and Elsewhere" – via www.youtube.com.
Buckley, Kevin (July 16, 1978). "Old Africa Hand". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
https://twitter.com/onlyafricafacts/status/1048428088072257536
Kuhlenbeck, Mike (24 January 2015). "Exporting Fascism: US Imperialism in Latin America". Foreign Policy Journal. Retrieved 19 January 2023. "One of the leading critics against the agency is former CIA case officer John R. Stockwell, who resigned from his post in the late 70s. In his book The Praetorian Guard, he concludes, "Now more clearly than ever, the CIA, with its related institutions, is exposed as an agency of destabilization and repression. Throughout its history, it has organized secret wars that killed millions of people in the Third World who had no capability of doing physical harm to the United States.""

"CIA Whistleblower John Stockwell: The Praetorian Guard" – via www.youtube.com.

External links

Works by John Stockwell at Internet Archive.

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1937 birthsLiving peoplePeople from Angleton, TexasAmerican anti-war activistsAmerican spiesAmerican whistleblowersPeople of the Angolan Civil WarPeople of the Central Intelligence AgencyCIA personnel of the Vietnam WarHistorians of the Central Intelligence AgencyUniversity of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumniUnited States Marine Corps officersRecipients of the Intelligence Medal of MeritMilitary personnel from Texas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stockwell_(CIA_officer)