Book SummaryThe Main Enemy, by Milton Bearden and James Risen

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Main Enemy

Cold War Espionage: CIA vs. KGB Battle

Espionage in Afghanistan in the Cold War Era

This section of "The Main Enemy" delves into the intelligence and counterintelligence operations conducted in Afghanistan by America and the Soviet Union, primarily through the CIA and the Soviet secret police, respectively.

How the CIA Used Afghanistan to Undermine the KGB, Contributing to Soviet Collapse

Bearden and Risen argue that the CIA's secret activities in Afghanistan played a crucial role in the Soviets' decision to withdraw from the country, and contributed to the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union. The authors illustrate how the CIA, under the direction of President Reagan and DCI Casey, significantly increased aid to the Afghan mujahideen in the mid-1980s. This involved providing sophisticated weaponry, such as Stinger missiles, and coordinating training programs with the Pakistani ISI. The aim was to increase the cost of the Soviet Union's presence through escalating the effectiveness of the Afghan resistance.

The authors highlight the remarkable impact of these actions, particularly the deployment of Stinger missiles. They describe how the Stinger, a "fire-and-forget" weapon, effectively neutralized the USSR's advantage in air power and forced the Soviets to adopt more cautious tactics, such as flying at higher altitudes beyond the missile's range. The psychological effect of the Stinger weapon on both the Soviet troops and the mujahideen was significant, boosting rebel morale and instilling a sense of vulnerability among Soviet forces. The authors argue that the CIA's program's success, combined with domestic pressures within the Soviet Union, ultimately forced Gorbachev to seek a negotiated withdrawal from Afghanistan. This, in turn, weakened the Brezhnev Doctrine and emboldened independence movements across Eastern Europe, leading to the dismantling of the Soviet empire.

Context

• Mikhail Gorbachev, who became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, was implementing policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring), which included reducing military expenditures and seeking to end costly foreign engagements.
• As Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), William J. Casey was a key figure in shaping US intelligence operations during the Reagan administration. He was known for his strong anti-communist views and played a significant role in expanding covert operations.
• Pakistan's involvement was driven by its strategic interest in countering Soviet influence in the region, which it viewed as a threat to its own security and regional dominance.
• The increased cost of the war, exacerbated by the effectiveness of the Stinger missiles, contributed to the economic strain on the Soviet Union. This financial burden was one of the factors that led to broader systemic issues within the Soviet economy.
• The CIA, in collaboration with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), trained Afghan fighters in the use of Stinger missiles. This training was crucial for effective deployment and maximizing the impact on Soviet forces.
• This was a policy articulated by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in 1968, asserting the right of the Soviet Union to intervene in the affairs of communist countries to strengthen communism. It was used to justify interventions in countries like Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring.
• The weakening of Soviet resolve and resources due to the Afghan conflict indirectly encouraged independence movements in Eastern Europe, as Soviet control over its satellite states began to wane.

CIA Aid: Procuring Weapons for Afghan Resistance

In their book, Bearden and Risen thoroughly describe the CIA's efforts to procure weapons and other supplies for the Afghan fighters. They explain the CIA's process, with allies like China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Kingdom, of establishing an elaborate supply chain that funneled vast quantities of weapons and materiel into Afghanistan through Pakistan. The authors describe the various types of weapons used, ranging from small arms and mortars made in China and Egypt to Soviet-designed SPG-9 rifles with recoilless barrels and French-manufactured Milan anti-tank missiles.

The authors emphasize the importance of selecting weapons that were both effective and suitable for the tactics of the Afghan fighters. They specifically highlight the need for weapons with extended range, such as the Milan and the SPG-9, to counter the Soviet advantage in armor and air power. The authors describe the meticulous procedure for screening and training Afghan combatants in operating these sophisticated weapons, along with the challenges of distributing supplies equitably among the various resistance factions. The authors offer vivid descriptions of training camps established in the harsh terrain of Khyber Agency, where Afghan fighters learned to use weapons ranging from RPGs and recoilless rifles to Stinger missiles and satellite-guided mortars. They illustrate how resourceful the CIA and Pakistani ISI were in adapting training methods to suit the Afghan troops and the harsh conditions of the war.

Context

• The choice of weapons was influenced by the need to maintain plausible deniability; the U.S. often supplied non-American weapons to avoid direct attribution and to complicate Soviet intelligence efforts.
• Egypt, under President Anwar Sadat and later Hosni Mubarak, supplied Soviet-style weapons to the Afghan fighters. These weapons were familiar to the mujahideen, who often captured similar arms from Soviet forces.
• The selection of these weapons was crucial for countering the Soviet Union's technological and numerical superiority, particularly their armored and aerial capabilities.
• Limited resources meant that weapons had to be not only effective but also durable and easy to maintain in the field, where repair facilities were scarce.
• Extended-range weapons allowed Afghan...

The Main Enemy Summary The CIA's Efforts to Undermine the Soviet Union

This section highlights specific covert action and propaganda programs undertaken by the CIA during the Cold War to weaken the Soviet Union.

Secretive Operations in Afghanistan

This section focuses on the Central Intelligence Agency's secret mission in Afghanistan. The authors trace this program from its inception during the Carter administration to its successful expansion under President Reagan, highlighting the political and operational dimensions of a hidden war that would contribute to toppling a superpower.

U.S. Politics Shaped CIA's Afghan Policy, Leading To Escalation and Success

The authors analyze how U.S. domestic politics shaped the CIA's strategy in Afghanistan, leading to escalation and eventual success. The authors explain how the initial U.S. response to the Soviet invasion was driven by a combination of moral outrage and geopolitical considerations, prompting President Carter to authorize limited covert support for the Afghan resistance. However, the authors argue that Ronald Reagan's ascendancy to the presidency in 1980, combined with the rise of a powerful coalition of aggressive congressional leaders and conservative "moralists," led to a...

The Main Enemy Summary CIA-KBG Intelligence and Counterintelligence Operations

This section delves into the heart of the book by examining specific cases illustrating the shadowy war between the KGB and CIA, with a focus on the challenge of penetrating and protecting organizations from betrayal.

Betrayal and Hunting Moles

This section explores perhaps the most compelling element of the book: the human element in spycraft. The authors detail a number of cases illustrating the often-hidden domain of KGB-CIA penetrations, the quest for information masked by betrayal at the highest levels, and the equally secretive world of counterintelligence, the arduous effort to discover the agent "in place."

1985 CIA Asset Losses in Moscow/Eastern Europe Suggest Security Breach

Bearden and Risen open their book with a series of alarming events highlighting the CIA's sudden and catastrophic loss of Soviet operatives in Moscow and Eastern Europe in the mid-1980s. Beginning with the arrest of CIA officer Paul Stombaugh in Moscow in June 1985, while he was attempting to service the agency's most critical Soviet asset, Adolf Tolkachev, code-named "GTVANQUISH," the authors meticulously lay out the events that would ultimately lead to a major internal investigation...

The Main Enemy Summary The Cold War's End: Shifting Geopolitical Landscape

This section explores the monumental events of 1989-1991, the seemingly impossible shift in the fortunes of the Soviet empire and the Cold War rivals leading to a cascade of events that forever changed the balance of power across the globe.

Fall of Berlin Wall and Revolutions of 1989

This section chronicles the fall of the Berlin Wall and the cascade of revolutions in Eastern Europe between June and December 1989, events that are presented as nothing less than the culmination of the long history of the Cold War and which set in motion the ultimate dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Impact of Berlin Wall on Superpowers, Ending Cold War

The authors analyze the profound impact of the Berlin Wall's collapse on both America and the USSR, arguing that this single event dramatically accelerated the conclusion of the Cold War, defying prediction and overwhelming the intelligence capabilities of both superpowers. The authors, drawing on their years of experience battling the KGB and the Stasi in Moscow and East Berlin, could only marvel at how the old order had simply vanished overnight, leaving behind a trail of celebration, confusion, and anxiety about what the future might...