The Pueblo Surrender: A Covert Action by the National Security Agency

Offers a clear, simple account of what really happened prior to, during, and after the seizure of the USS "Pueblo" by the North Koreans in January of 1968, implicating the National Security Agency in an espionage power play

Liston argues that the 1968 seizure of the U.S.S. Pueblo was part of a National Security Agency-run operation, in which the ship and its unsuspecting crew were offered as bait. The centerpiece of the plot, according to his scenario, was a rigged code-machine placed aboard the ship for the North Koreans to "capture" and use, leading to the breaking of Communist-bloc military codes. Liston, a novelist and jounalist, doesn't claim to have proven his case, but the documentation and material obtained in interviews render his theory shockingly plausible. The book carefully reconstructs the ship's seizure, and the Chinese and Soviet military involvement in its aftermath. Liston's primary focus, however, is directed toward the NSA, which he compares to the Soviet KGB in its ability "to manipulate the actions of our civilian and military leaders." ( Pueblo 's commanding officer, Command Lloyd Bucher, is presented as an honorable dupe.) From the agency's viewpoint, the operation was a brilliant success, maintains the author, helping prevent U.S. defeat in the Tet Offensive, causing the Soviets to abandon a military adventure in Red China and opening the way for a Beijing-Washington rapprochement.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

It was 20 years ago, journalist Liston argues, that the National Security Agency set up the spy ship USS Pueblo as a juicy, poisoned plum to be grabbed by the North Koreans--a ploy by the United States to aid in the breaking of a Soviet code system. Liston, who admits that he is not an expert in this arena, claims to have unveiled a conspiracy that eight other books and a heated Congressional inquiry (his primary sources of information) failed to discover. Although he weaves a troubling tale, Liston's histrionics and innuendoes weaken his credibility. He tantalizes with questions, but tends to leave the discerning reader with more doubts than clear answers.
- John Yurechko, Georgetown Univ., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.