A Covert Action
Reagan, the CIA, and the Cold War Struggle in Poland
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
“A tale of victory for peace, for freedom, and for the CIA— a trifecta rare enough to make for required reading.” —Steve Donoghue, Spectator USA
In 1981, the Soviet-backed Polish government declared martial law to crush a budding democratic opposition movement. Moscow and Washington were on a collision course. It was the most significant crisis of Ronald Reagan’s fledgling presidency. Reagan authorized a covert CIA operation codenamed QRHELPFUL to support dissident groups, particularly the trade union Solidarity. The CIA provided money that helped Solidarity print newspapers, broadcast radio programs, and conduct an information campaign against the government.
This gripping narrative reveals the little-known history of one of America’s most successful covert operations through its most important characters—spymaster Bill Casey, CIA officer Richard Malzahn, Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, Pope John Paul II, and the Polish patriots who were instrumental to the success of the program. Based on in- depth interviews and recently declassified evidence, A Covert Action celebrates a decisive victory over tyranny for US intelligence behind the Iron Curtain, one that prefigured the Soviet collapse.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jones (In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan), a political scientist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, offers a complex and well-written account of a major U.S. intelligence operation of the Cold War. When the power struggle between Poland's Communist government and the popular pro-democratic, unionist Solidarity movement led to the proclamation of martial law in December 1981, President Ronald Reagan saw an opportunity to bring the Cold War home to the Soviet empire by guile rather than force. He was the behind-the-scenes patron of Operation QRHelpful, which furnished Solidarity with resources to print leaflets, finance radio and television broadcasts, and organize demonstrations. By 1989 the movement had gotten Poland closer to free elections, and two years later a Solidarity leader was elected president. Despite the useful foreign assistance, the keys to the operation's success were Polish: old-line trade unionists, idealistic intellectuals, and Catholic clergy. Some names remain familiar, like those of Solidarity cofounder Lech Wa e sa and Karol Wojty a, later and better known as Pope John Paul II. The person-to-person nature of the operation is ideally suited to Jones's narrative format and the vivid character sketches that inform it. This account will reward readers interested in human and government behaviors in high-risk, high-stress situations.
