John Stockwell Quotes

United States, Intelligence Officer
1937

John R. Stockwell (born 1937) is a former CIA officer who became a critic of United States government policies after serving seven tours of duty over thirteen years. Having managed American involvement in the Angolan Civil War as Chief of the Angola Task Force during its 1975 covert operations, he resigned and wrote In Search of Enemies.

The CIA maintains prepackaged stocks of foreign weapons for instant shipment anywhere in the world.

John Stockwell
- World
Enemies are necessary for the wheels of the U.S. military machine to turn.

John Stockwell
- Military

Short, successful military adventures are as effective as the Super Bowl in diverting people's attention from unpleasant truths.

John Stockwell
Case officers are subject to the same embarassments any tourist suffers-snarled schedules, lost passports, lost money and luggage, and getting off the plane at the wrong destination

John Stockwell
- Money
- Lost
The KGB is by far the world's largest, the Israeli probably the best, and the Iranian and the South Korean the deadliest.

John Stockwell
- World
Kissinger was, as always, preoccupied with other matters of state and his rather complicated social life.

John Stockwell
- Life
Case officers most fear the US ambassador and his staff, then restrictive headquarters cables, then curious gossipy neighbours in the local community, as potential threats to the operation. Next would come the local police, then the press. Last of all is the KGB.

John Stockwell
- Fear
- Community
- Police
A strongly antiagency ambassador can make problems for the CIA chief of station.

John Stockwell

The men who control the CIA are of an older, conservative generation which has kept the agency fifteen or twenty years behind the progress of the nation at large.

John Stockwell
- Men
- Control
- Progress
I once watched an angry Zairian official very nearly strip and search the person of a CIA GS 17 who had forgotten to speak politely

John Stockwell
- Angry
- Search
Customs and immigrations officials are trained to detect the unusual. In some countries they are especially alert to CIA officers

John Stockwell