Antonio J. Mendez - The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA

• To all the Masters of the Game; some whom I met or engaged during the Cold War and others I came to learn about or know while writing this book .
• To all the members of our families who also served the cause .

I UNDERTOOK THE WRITING OF THIS BOOK WITHOUT FULLY REALIZING the complexity of such a project. Although many others have written books about their careers in intelligence over the years and several have done so since the end of the Cold War, none could have been so blessed with encouragement and help from colleagues, friends, and family. Also I received excellent assistance and advice from many highly qualified and understanding people as this project unfolded.

My wife, Jonna, who was Chief of Disguise more recently and worked at the CIA for twenty-seven years, was fully engaged in this project. I penned the first lines in November 1997 and the last change to the manuscript was made on the fifth and final draft a year and a half later. Her writing and editorial advice greatly enhanced the process and final product and her creative judgment and political sense helped ease my way more than once.

My collaborator, Malcolm McConnell, proved he has infinite patience. He first called me about Readers Digests interest in doing an article about my rescue of the six U.S. diplomats from Iran, and mentioned he had always wanted to write a book about CIA successes during the Cold War. So do I, I answered, and so we did. His wife and able partner, Carol, was also a joy to work with and proved a marvelous cook and hostess as well.

My agent, Andrew Wylie, and his assistant, Jeffrey Posternak, have earned a well-deserved reputation as the top guns of the literary trade. It is no wonder their legions of well-known clients trust them to run interference.

My editor, Betty Kelly, and her assistant, Alice Lee, have made this project first among many at William Morrow. Their thoughtful review and deft editorial changes, line by line, have added infinite value, well beyond what one might expect in the hectic world of publishing. They also developed and spread an interest and excitement for the book throughout their organization that bodes well for the further success of the project.

Thanks also to my friends and associates, formally or currently in the CIA, who read and made corrections on the various chapters. Everyone in this group was there in the midst of the Cold War with me. They each appear as one of the major players in their respective stories. All have been given pseudonyms as a matter of courtesy or good security practices. Some are still serving in harms way while others are in CIAs most senior positions. They all took time away from busy operational schedules to help me write this book because they believe it is important.

A special thanks to the reviewers of the final draft. Their comments and suggestions helped ensure an independent point of view, plus the historical accuracy and technical quality of the work. This group includes: H. Keith Melton, author of The Ultimate Spy Book , noted espionage expert, and military historian; A. Denis Clift, president of the Department of Defense, Joint Military Intelligence College, and a senior staff officer in the National Security Council in the White House during many years of the Cold War; John Hollister Hedley, retired chairman of the CIAs Publication Review Staff and senior career intelligence officer; Gordon E. Smith, a scholar and professor of Russian studies who studied and did research in Moscow in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and Catherine Eberwein, a senior staffer on the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and an expert on counterintelligence and counterterrorism.

Finally, my regards to the chairman of the CIAs Publication Review Board, Scott Koch, and his staff, who led me through the wilderness of the review process. Also my regards to the members of the board who have a tough job and little time to do it. By federal statute they have only thirty days to complete their review of sensitive material. The month they reviewed my final manuscript, they completed their review on over four thousand pages of material.

The board obliges me to include a disclaimer stating that CIAs Publication Review Board has reviewed the manuscript for this book to assist the author in eliminating classified information, and poses no security objection to its publication. This review, however, should not be construed as an official release of information, confirmation of its accuracy, or an endorsement of the authors views.

The entire experience of preparing this collection of Cold War tales, while often harrowing, in the final analysis turned out to be as smooth as silk; not unlike my twenty-five-year career in the CIA.

Antonio J. Mendez

I DECIDED TO WRITE THIS MEMOIR IN SEPTEMBER 1997, WHEN THE Central Intelligence Agency publicly celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. During three of the Agencys five decades, which spanned the Cold War years, I served as a professional intelligence officer, creating and deploying many of the most innovative techniques of the espionage trade.

My purpose in writing this book, however, is not to bring credit to myself. I have already received ample recognition in the intelligence community. Vanity is not at stake in this project. Rather, I want this book to describe as accurately as memory permits a few of the operations my colleagues and I conducted. The reader can judge for himself the quality of our service in the cause of freedom.

Some of those we worked with are no longer alive. Others prefer to celebrate their achievements privately. Others are still actively engaged and must remain in the shadows. I have changed certain details of their identities so that they can remain anonymous. But, willing to err on the side of openness, I chose the potential risks of telling our story. I trust that doing so will also serve the cause of freedom.

Almost since its inception, the American intelligence effort has been either vilified by the worlds news mediasometimes as part of Soviet disinformation operationsor romanticized by spy novelists with only vague notions of the nature of espionage operations. Yet for more than fifty years, Americans have been asked to supportboth morally and financiallya large and active intelligence effort of which they have had little concrete knowledge. Several Directors of Central Intelligence and many of my colleagues have concluded that it is time to share more details of the earnest endeavor we made in the name of the American people. I agree.

I realize that my decision alarms certain intelligence professionals who see no need to breach the principles of silent service that I and others instilled in them during their training. But those who know me best will realize that I would never knowingly betray a trust or reveal a secret that would jeopardize a comrade, a source, or my countrys interests.

Secrecy, of course, is the lifeblood of espionage. I am not a reckless renegade intent on exploiting clandestine operational methods to promote a book, nor do I feel it necessary to apologize for the U.S. government or the CIAs past errors or excesses. In telling my story, I intend to help redefine the CIAs traditionally stringent disclosure position. Although I will reveal much of what I know to be the Agencys ongoing contribution to preserving the worlds peace and democracy, I intend to be consistent with sound security practices.