The Assault on Intelligence

American National Security in an Age of Lies

By: Michael V. Hayden

Narrated by: Michael V. Hayden

A blistering critique of the forces threatening the American intelligence community, beginning with the President of the United States himself, in a time when that community's work has never been harder or more important

In the face of a President who lobs accusations without facts, evidence, or logic, truth tellers are under attack. Meanwhile, the world order is teetering on the brink. North Korea is on the verge of having a nuclear weapon that could reach all of the United States, Russians have mastered a new form of information warfare that undercuts democracy, and the role of China in the global community remains unclear. There will always be value to experience and expertise, devotion to facts, humility in the face of complexity, and a respect for ideas, but in this moment they seem more important, and more endangered, than they've ever been. American Intelligence--the ultimate truth teller--has a responsibility in a post-truth world beyond merely warning of external dangers, and in The Assault on Intelligence, General Michael Hayden takes up that urgent work with profound passion, insight and authority.

It is a sobering vision. The American intelligence community is more at risk than is commonly understood, for every good reason. Civil war or societal collapse is not necessarily imminent or inevitable, but our democracy's core structures, processes, and attitudes are under great stress. Many of the premises on which we have based our understanding of governance are now challenged, eroded, or simply gone. And we have a President in office who responds to overwhelming evidence from the intelligence community that the Russians are, by all acceptable standards of cyber conflict, in a state of outright war against us, not by leading a strong response, but by shooting the messenger.

There are fundamental changes afoot in the world and in this country. The Assault on Intelligence shows us what they are, reveals how crippled we've become in our capacity to address them, and points toward a series of effective responses. Because when we lose our intelligence, literally and figuratively, democracy dies.

Critic reviews

“For a longtime spook, Hayden is a breezy and direct writer. He reduces complex issues of cyber and information warfare to essentials, and his polemic is leavened with humor and sympathy. He is at his best, though, when he shifts to a purely analytical tone. He coolly forecasts the direction of America under Trump, explains the intelligence that foreign governments are likely to collect from the president’s Twitter feed and describes the benefits Russia drew from the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Kremlin-connected Russian attorneys and senior Trump campaign officials.” — The New York Times

“The more important, absorbing and disturbing aspect of Hayden’s book is the analysis from his professional perspective of what Trump and Trumpism mean for the intelligence community. It is sober, nuanced and, quite frankly, scary as hell.” - Mark Galeotti, Washington Post

Edifying

I found this book most interesting and scary. I chose to read this particular book on the subject of intelligence problems in this country because it was written by General Michael V. Hayden. Hayden was the highest-ranking intelligence officer in the military. Like General Colin Powell, General Hayden went to college on the ROTC program. He got his degree in history and went into the Air Force. Hayden was the first commander of the Air Force Cyberwarfare Command. He has also been Deputy Director of the National Intelligence and Director of the National Security Agency as well as Director of the CIA. He is a visiting professor at George Mason University. He has served under four presidents and lists his political affiliation as Independent, but I feel he trends toward the conservative. I recently read James Comey’s book “A Higher Loyalty” and noted that Comey said he had high regards for Hayden.

Hayden’s book is an analysis from his professional perspective of what Trump and Trumpism means for the intelligence community. I don’t believe it covers new material, but I found the big picture he paints of our world most scary. Hayden did provide pros and cons of George W. Bush, Obama and Trump’s actions. He states that Trump does not trust or feel a need for the intelligence community. Hayden says the intelligence community has a big problem of speaking the truth to a power that does not want to listen. I found the section about how Russia decided to use information as a method of warfare extremely interesting. Hayden explains how they first used it on their own people and then the world. The author explains how Russia and other enemies take advantage of the social and cultural divide between the average American. Hayden demonstrates how they use social media and plant stories that are lies and repeat them until people believe them in spite of knowing they are lies. After reading this book I decided I needed to know more about informational warfare and the intelligence service. I will look for more books on the topic.

The book is eight and a half hours. General Hayden does an excellent job narrating his own book.

Extraordinary perspective

Once again, Michael Hayden writes from the perspective of a subject matter expert on a topic bent side to side in the press. His lack of political bias allows a thoughtful consideration of the information he presents in an efficient and enjoyable fashion.

Truth takes a back seat

Worth every minute. Leaves you wondering how to get Trump supporters to dump Trump with all his falsehoods.

a great listen..informative !

thank you ...a great narrator ! the book is going be part of our countries history!

A critically important work

Of the many excellent books recently published by the intelligence community, this one is my favorite. Each one has a special point of view, and The Assault on Intelligence is uniquely nuanced with his life experience and perceptions.
The reading in his own voice allows the intention and emotion to come through. You really know how he felt about critical issues that threaten our democracy.

It pleases me greatly that we have such individuals serving the country. Beannachd leibh (Gaelic for Bless them all)

Highly recommended.