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From Warsaw with love : Polish spies, the CIA, and the forging of an unlikely alliance / John Pomfret.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Henry Holt and Company, 2021Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First editionDescription: xii, 273 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250296054
  • 1250296056
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction -- Part One: Cold War capers : Chapter One: Tinseltown espionage -- Chapter Two: Tennis, anyone? -- Chapter Three: The American bear -- Chapter Four: True confessions -- Chapter Five: The Bridge of Spies -- Part Two: An unlikely alliance : Chapter Six: Playing footsie -- Chapter Seven: The bear comes knocking -- Chapter Eight: Shall we dance? -- Chapter Nine: Don't blow It up -- Part Three: Perilous partnership : Chapter Ten: Baghdad surprise -- Chapter Eleven: No exit -- Chapter Twelve: Didn't Get the Memo -- Chapter Thirteen: The floodgates open -- Chapter Fourteen: Slouching toward NATO -- Chapter Fifteen: The Prime Minister is a spy! -- Chapter Sixteen: Missing bin Laden -- Chapter Seventeen: Black site bargain -- Chapter Eighteen: Betrayed -- Chapter Nineteen: Under the bus -- Part Four: Marriage with hippos : Chapter Twenty: Same bed, different dreams -- Chapter Twenty-One: What is to be done? -- Afterword.
Summary: "In 1990, less than a year after the Polish people participated in their first democratic election since the 1930s, the young Polish government sent a veteran spy, who had battled the West for decades, to rescue six American officers trapped in Baghdad. The CIA had asked the Polish government for help, as the U.S. was desperately cobbling together allies to counter Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. The captured Americans held valuable intelligence and were they compromised, it could've spelled ruin for Desert Storm. John Pomfret's gripping account of the highly unusual mission reveals the surprising relationship between Poland and the U.S. The CIA had long been a fan of the tradecraft of Polish intelligence officers who back during the Carter administration had robbed America of its military secrets. Once the Berlin Wall fell, the agency signed Poland's ex-communist spies on as allies and they worked for America around the world. This cooperation didn't end with Poland's accession to NATO in 1999. Polish operatives conducted operations for America in Iran and North Korea. After 9/11, the Polish government even allowed the CIA to open a so-called black site in Poland to interrogate and waterboard suspected terrorists. As the U.S. teeters on the edge of a new cold war with Russia and China, Pomfret, who first uncovered this story during his long career at the Washington Post, revisits these little-known events as a reminder of the importance of allies in a dangerous world"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 327.1243 P786 Available 33111010628713
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 327.1243 P786 Available 33111010775472
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From Warsaw with Love is the epic story of how Polish intelligence officers forged an alliance with the CIA in the twilight of the Cold War, told by the award-winning author John Pomfret.

Spanning decades and continents, from the battlefields of the Balkans to secret nuclear research labs in Iran and embassy grounds in North Korea, this saga begins in 1990. As the United States cobbles together a coalition to undo Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, six US officers are trapped in Iraq with intelligence that could ruin Operation Desert Storm if it is obtained by the brutal Iraqi dictator. Desperate, the CIA asks Poland, a longtime Cold War foe famed for its excellent spies, for help. Just months after the Polish people voted in their first democratic election since the 1930s, the young Solidarity government in Warsaw sends a veteran ex-Communist spy who'd battled the West for decades to rescue the six Americans.

John Pomfret's gripping account of the 1990 cliffhanger in Iraq is just the beginning of the tale about intelligence cooperation between Poland and the United States, cooperation that one CIA director would later describe as "one of the two foremost intelligence relationships that the United States has ever had." Pomfret uncovers new details about the CIA's black site program that held suspected terrorists in Poland after 9/11 as well as the role of Polish spies in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

In the tradition of the most memorable works on espionage, Pomfret's book tells a distressing and disquieting tale of moral ambiguity in which right and wrong, black and white, are not conveniently distinguishable. As the United States teeters on the edge of a new cold war with Russia and China, Pomfret explores how these little-known events serve as a reminder of the importance of alliances in a dangerous world.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [265]-270).

Introduction -- Part One: Cold War capers : Chapter One: Tinseltown espionage -- Chapter Two: Tennis, anyone? -- Chapter Three: The American bear -- Chapter Four: True confessions -- Chapter Five: The Bridge of Spies -- Part Two: An unlikely alliance : Chapter Six: Playing footsie -- Chapter Seven: The bear comes knocking -- Chapter Eight: Shall we dance? -- Chapter Nine: Don't blow It up -- Part Three: Perilous partnership : Chapter Ten: Baghdad surprise -- Chapter Eleven: No exit -- Chapter Twelve: Didn't Get the Memo -- Chapter Thirteen: The floodgates open -- Chapter Fourteen: Slouching toward NATO -- Chapter Fifteen: The Prime Minister is a spy! -- Chapter Sixteen: Missing bin Laden -- Chapter Seventeen: Black site bargain -- Chapter Eighteen: Betrayed -- Chapter Nineteen: Under the bus -- Part Four: Marriage with hippos : Chapter Twenty: Same bed, different dreams -- Chapter Twenty-One: What is to be done? -- Afterword.

"In 1990, less than a year after the Polish people participated in their first democratic election since the 1930s, the young Polish government sent a veteran spy, who had battled the West for decades, to rescue six American officers trapped in Baghdad. The CIA had asked the Polish government for help, as the U.S. was desperately cobbling together allies to counter Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. The captured Americans held valuable intelligence and were they compromised, it could've spelled ruin for Desert Storm. John Pomfret's gripping account of the highly unusual mission reveals the surprising relationship between Poland and the U.S. The CIA had long been a fan of the tradecraft of Polish intelligence officers who back during the Carter administration had robbed America of its military secrets. Once the Berlin Wall fell, the agency signed Poland's ex-communist spies on as allies and they worked for America around the world. This cooperation didn't end with Poland's accession to NATO in 1999. Polish operatives conducted operations for America in Iran and North Korea. After 9/11, the Polish government even allowed the CIA to open a so-called black site in Poland to interrogate and waterboard suspected terrorists. As the U.S. teeters on the edge of a new cold war with Russia and China, Pomfret, who first uncovered this story during his long career at the Washington Post, revisits these little-known events as a reminder of the importance of allies in a dangerous world"-- Provided by publisher.

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