Themes analysis
Drogin presents significant themes in his book titled ‘Curveball: Spies, Lies, and the con man who caused a war (Drogin, 2007). An extensive analysis by any reader is necessary to point out the strong themes that Drogin intends to present to the public. The title itself speaks volumes of aspects including lies peddling, spying, war and conmanship. The best way of identifying these themes is to understand the book’s plot, the characters’ use in the story, and the identification of any conflicts that exist. A clear understanding of Drogin’s view of the world, human beings’ nature, and the ideas that he wishes to present are significant elements in this quest. Therefore, his book is informatory to his target audience as it presents significant themes including but not limited to layering, politicized intelligence, and the IC proximity to policymakers.
The themes
The first interesting theme is layering, and it concerns the different layers of secrecy present in the American system. Lowenthal argues that layering puts into use any assumptions and judgments made in a single analysis in another different analysis without paying close attention to any uncertainties present (Lowenthal, 217). It is a dangerous element present in society as it misleads analysts and policymakers. According to Drogin, Clandestine operatives have good training to make falsehood spread, which plays a significant role in their tradecraft. On the other hand, the United States’ intelligence services tend to hide the truth from both the government and the public as it concerns laws and policies. There is also concealing of information by the spy services despite being close allies. For this matter, the US experienced the biggest intelligence failure because the layering presented by deception and secrecy brought up a Rashomon effect that made every sector have different views of the Curveball (Drogin, 8). The US intelligence analysts got it all wrong regarding the Iraq possession of the mass destruction weapons. Therefore, layering is an element present in the world, and it leads to the building of improper assumptions from other assumptions made in prior analysis.
The second theme is politicized intelligence. It is a known fact that the intelligence departments must be independent of any influence for them to carry out unbiased investigations and analysis. Shifting the political class into intelligence is an untold rampant situation in most countries, and Drogin presents it in the book in different situations. It is the responsibility of a nation’s intelligence to be aware of other countries’ undertakings, especially on weapons, and foreseeing the effect that the activities may have on the country. One of the factors that led to the Iraq war was the driving of politics into intelligence. There was an initial search of the mass destruction weapons that proved futile because no weapons were found. There was immediate political intervention where President Bush gave a directive for the CIA to take charge of the investigation (Drogin, 336). The Iraq Survey Group was also involved in the investigations, and their reports indicate the details of the weapon’s programs and the ambitions that Saddam had during his regime. Political involvement in intelligence matters is not a new thing as it reflects the interests, compromises, and strategies of the people that exercise political power (Treverton, 130). Treverton’s thought is that the political changes in foreign policies and the intelligence nature present new channels of preventing intelligence politicization (Treverton, 182). Therefore, the direct and indirect political intervention in the intelligence of the affected countries, the US, and Iraq, in this case, affects the outcome of the investigations and analysis. The influenced outcome directly affects law formation and policies.
The third theme is the policymakers and Intelligence community proximity. The two institutions have a close relationship because any policies’ development depends on the intelligence community’s information. For example, if there is a forecasted security threat from another country, the policymakers can develop policies to eradicate any possibility of the threat. There was the provision of information by the intelligence community to Congress before the panned attack. A major section of the report provided included the bad relationship between Ahmed Chalabi and the CIA. Congress then came up with policies regarding the impending war and the scheduled coup (Drogin, 341). This is a clear indication that the two bodies depend on each other. The decisions from Congress depend on the information provided by intelligence. On the other hand, the CIA’s investigations and analysis must be per Congress’s stipulated laws and policies. According to Prunckun, the intelligence community has various agencies under it, which fall under the executive government branch (Prunckun and Hank, 28). The agencies are coordinated by the National Intelligence director that has a close relationship with the policymakers. The preparation for any attack calls for a good flow of information within the concerned parties, and proximity proves to be of essence because it takes a combined effort from the various stakeholders to fully vert or participates in a war. Therefore, their proximity cannot be ignored.
Another central theme in the book is foreign intervention. The superpower countries always intervene in other countries’ affairs, intending to gain control of certain aspects. For example, the US’s intervention in Iraq was necessitated by the need to control any weapons that would cause mass destruction (Drogin, 338). There are significant bodies that support peace programs across the world. It is their responsibility to intervene in any war cases and try and negotiate for an amicable solution. The US and Iran cases are one of the many cases where some countries intervene in others. Other known causes for intervention include controlling some valuable resources like oil and protecting allies.
Another evident theme is war and decision making. A country does not wake up in the morning and decide to go to war with another country. Instead, there has to be a series of factors, including investigations and bad relationships that drive them to go to war. The theme is evident where the CIA conducts investigations in Iraq regarding the weapons in anticipation of impending danger. However, it is good to note that most countries prefer going for negotiations fast before resorting to a war declaration. The reason is that wars bring more negative impacts as compared to negotiations. The war between Iraq and the US has deep roots anchored on prior political and security concerns. Drogin presents the series of events through the inclusion of step-by-step chapters that talk about the buildup. Therefore, the decision-making processing regarding war is vital because it involves the consideration of multiple factors.
Conclusion
The different themes discussed above are from Drogin’s book and are substantiated with the book’s different information pieces and other materials. There are other themes not covered in the essay, and this gives room for more research to uncover them. Finally, the informative level of the book is on a top-notch high level.
Work cited
Drogin, B. (2007). Curveball: Spies, Lies, and the con man who caused a war. Random House.
Lowenthal, Mark M. Intelligence: From secrets to policy. CQ Press, 2019.
Prunckun, Hank. Counterintelligence theory and practice. Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.
Treverton, G. F. (2009). Intelligence for an Age of Terror. Cambridge University Press.