American Spy Post #1

The biography that I have chosen to read this quarter is American Spy by E. Howard Hunt with Greg Aunapu. E. Howard Hunt was an employee of the OSS and CIA beginning in WWII, through the cold war era through the Watergate Scandal with Richard Nixon. Hunt spent much of his career abroad, fighting communism in countries such as Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, China, and Japan. Throughout his many years at the CIA he often carried out activities such as phone taps, recruiting agents and obtaining pertinent information from defectors. He also was a major player in the Watergate Scandal (which I will address later). Many of his activities were blatantly illegal, yet by their completion, Hunt was able to help contain the influence of the Soviet Union and in many instances, prevent all out nuclear war.

A career in the OSS and CIA was saturated with suspicion and distrust. No one could ever be sure who was on their side, or who was an enemy. A best friend, or even a spouse could be an agent, placed to obtain classified information for their country. One always had to be on the lookout for a foreign agent. During his training for the OSS, Hunt tells of how his group of 12 people had been told that there was an OSS agent amongst them. Everyone was immediately suspicious and learned that they could not trust anyone. At the end of the session, everyone was told to write down who they thought the agent was. The vote was for Hunt, who obviously was not the agent. The trainees were never told who the real agent was. Hunt writes, "We were never told who the real agent was, if there even was one- that piece of information might have been just another layer of disinformation set to work against our psyche" (15). The test that the trainees went through were designed to test their psychology, rather than their strength or brawn.

Throughout his career, Hunt would find that much of his duties would have to do with manipulating people. In order to recruit informants, one first had to befriend them or bribe them. In one instance in Uruguay, Hunt worked to recruit the chief of police of the city of Montevideo. In order to gain his trust and bribe him, Hunt takes the man out to lunch at an expensive club. After dining with the man, on such things as lobster and steaks, Hunt flat out asks the man to tap embassy phones. Hunt describes the encounter, saying, "I shrugged and took a casual sip from my brandy glass. 'Chief,' I said, 'I can make the taps with or without your help, the difference being that if we do it together, we can share the take'"(101). Hunt is obviously manipulating the man. By telling him that with or without his cooperation, the phones will be tapped, he lays out an offer that the Chief almost cannot refuse. He offers a reward for something that can be done without his help (or so the Chief is told). This brings up several ethical dilemmas. The first is that of how Hunt is obviously manipulating the chief. He has bribed him with money and expensive food in exchange for the betrayal of classified information. Hunt condones his actions with the idea that it is for national security and the good of the United States. Another ethical quandary is that of the Chief of Police. He can take a handsome bribe, which will pad his wallet nicely, but in exchange he must betray the secrets of his homeland. In this case, the Chief chooses to take the bribes.

We also should examine our own motives. If we were given the chance, would we betray our country, possibly causing the deaths of hundreds, in exchange for money, or would we stay true to our home land and refuse a bribe that could significantly improve our way of life? Also, if we were given the choice, would we deliberately manipulate another person to obtain information that could save the lives of hundreds of citizens of our country? Throughout our lives, we will all face a time when we are forced to examine our ideas and decide what we truly will strive for, and how much we are willing to sacrifice to obtain it.

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Hunt, E. Howard, with Greg Aunapu. American Spy. Boboken,

New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2007.