Irreparable Harm: A Firsthand Account of How One Agent Took on the CIA in an Epic Battle Over Free Speech - Softcover

Snepp, Frank

Softcover

ISBN 10: 070061091X ISBN 13: 9780700610914

Publisher: University Press of Kansas, 2001

Synopsis

Among the last CIA agents airlifted from Saigon in the waning moments of the Vietnam War, Frank Snepp returned to headquarters determined to secure help for the Vietnamese left behind by an Agency eager to cut its losses. What he received instead was a cold shoulder from a CIA that in 1975 was already in turmoil over congressional investigations of its operations throughout the world.

In protest, Snepp resigned to write a damning account of the agency's cynical neglect of its onetime allies and inept handling of the war. His expose, Decent Interval, was published in total secrecy, eerily evocative of a classic spy operation, and only after Snepp had spent eighteen months dodging CIA efforts to silence him. The book ignited a firestorm of controversy, was featured in a 60 Minutes exclusive, received front-page coverage in the New York Times, and launched a campaign of retaliation by the CIA, capped by a Supreme Court decision that steamrolled over Snepp's right to free speech.

In the wake of Snepp's harrowing experiences, his legal case has been used by Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton to narrow the First Amendment freedoms of all federal employees, especially "whistleblowers." Such encroachments make it clear that Snepp's very personal story has a great deal of relevance for all of us and certainly for anyone who has grown increasingly distrustful of the federal government's "national security argument."

"The First Amendment to the Constitution protects our right to say what we think,

however unwelcome the message may be. And the 'central meaning of the First Amendment,' as the Supreme Court has put it, is the right to criticize government and its officials. So we believe. But the story of Frank Snepp mocks our belief. . . . A shocking revelation of how the law can be twisted in a country that prides itself on 'Equal Justice Under Law.'"—Anthony Lewis (from the Foreword)

"A reminder that cannot be repeated often enough of how government agencies hide their . . . malevolence and frequent Keystone Kop stupidities behind the tattered curtain of need-for-secrecy."—Washington Post

About this title

Review

Former CIA spook Frank Snepp was one of the last Americans lifted off the U.S. embassy in Saigon in 1975, at the tail end of the Vietnam War. In the days leading up to that fateful moment, he complained that the United States needed to do more to protect its intelligence assets, most of whom were left behind. "We'd betrayed the Vietnamese who'd depended on us," writes Snepp in Irreparable Harm, "and those who worked most closely with them ... now had blood on our hands, for it was we who in our daily contacts had convinced them to trust us." Snepp criticized this turn of events in a 1977 book, Decent Interval, and was promptly sued by the CIA because they had not given him clearance to write about his experiences. The resulting court case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Snepp tried to defend himself on First Amendment grounds with the help of a then-unknown Harvard lawyer named Alan Dershowitz. He ultimately lost the case, plus his money and the right to publish anything about the CIA without first receiving authorization. Irreparable Harm--which has received CIA clearance--captures all the twists and turns of Snepp's legal fight, but even better, it casts light on the nature of bureaucracies and how they protect their turf. If you've ever wondered why there aren't more kiss-and-tell books written by onetime CIA agents, Irreparable Harm will show you why. --John J. Miller

From the Back Cover

"A well written, candid, modern version of Kafka's The Trial."--James Bamford, New York Times

"Must reading for every law student in America. . . . Snepp took a courageous stand and paid for it. He, and the Constitution, deserved better."--Seymour Hersh, Los Angeles Times

"A hypnotizing and heart-breaking account [of] a constitutional train wreck."--Jeffrey Toobin, author of A Vast Conspiracy

"A powerfully written and richly biographical account."--David Garrow, Washington Monthly

"The First Amendment to the Constitution protects our right to say what we think, however unwelcome the message may be. And the 'central meaning of the First Amendment,' as the Supreme Court has put it, is the right to criticize government and its officials. So we believe. But the story of Frank Snepp mocks our belief. . . . A shocking revelation of how the law can be twisted in a country that prides itself on 'Equal Justice Under Law.'"--Anthony Lewis (from the Foreword)

"A reminder that cannot be repeated often enough of how government agencies hide their . . . malevolence and frequent Keystone Kop stupidities behind the tattered curtain of need-for-secrecy."--Washington Post

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of Kansas
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 070061091X
• ISBN 13: 9780700610914
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 416