In this Book
- U.S. Intelligence and the Confrontation in Poland, 1980–1981
- Book
- 2004
- Published by: Penn State University Press
summary
Despite the U.S. government’s sophisticated intelligence capabilities, policymakers repeatedly seemed to be caught off guard when major crises took place during the Cold War. Were these surprises the result of inadequate information, or rather the use made of the information available? In seeking an answer to this question, former CIA analyst Douglas MacEachin carefully examines the crisis in Poland during 1980–81 to determine what information the U.S. government had about Soviet preparations for military intervention and the Polish regime’s plans for martial law, and what prevented that information from being effectively employed. Drawing on his experience in intelligence reporting at the time, as well as on recently declassified U.S. documents and materials from Soviet, Polish, and other Eastern European archives, MacEachin contrasts what was known then with what is known now, and seeks to explain why, despite the evidence available to them, U.S. policymakers did not take the threat of a crackdown seriously enough to prevent it.It was the mind-set of those who processed the information, not the lack or accuracy of information, that was the fundamental problem, MacEachin argues. By highlighting this cognitive obstacle, his analysis points the way toward developing practices to overcome it in the future.
Table of Contents
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- Acknowledgments
- p. vi
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- pp. vii-viii
- 1 The Burgeoning Confrontation
- pp. 17-32
- 2 The Confrontation Escalates
- pp. 33-46
- 4 Filling Out the Picture
- pp. 63-80
- 5 Intelligence and Policy
- pp. 81-88
- 7 Jaruzelski Takes the Government Reins
- pp. 105-116
- 8 A Setup for Military Crackdown
- pp. 117-136
- 9 A Close Call?
- pp. 137-150
- 10 Liberalization Infects the Party
- pp. 153-168
- 12 Bringing Down the Curtain
- pp. 189-210
- 13 Caught Off Guard
- pp. 211-234
- 14 Would It Have Made a Difference?
- pp. 235-244
- Author’s Note
- pp. 245-246
Additional Information
ISBN
9780271053110
Related ISBN(s)
9780271025285
MARC Record
OCLC
74671388
Pages
268
Launched on MUSE
2012-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No