Syrokomsky, Vitaly, ed. International Terrorism and the CIA: Documents, Eyewitness Reports, Facts. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1983. 264 pages.

This is a broad-ranging collection of essays by Soviet journalists Vitaly Syrokomsky, Boris Svetov, Oleg Tarin, Igor Timofeyev, Boris Asoyan, and Lolliy Zamoysky. It's their answer to efforts that were underway at the time in conservative U.S. circles, which tried to portray terrorism as Soviet-sponsored. By using mostly U.S. publications, the authors make the case that the CIA has its own sordid history of sponsoring terrorism.

Most of the U.S. sources are books already in NameBase, but the Soviets usually manage to come up with the odd CIA name that wasn't mentioned in the U.S. literature, as well as other information that contributes to the overall historical perspective. In this volume, the descriptions of 20 assassination attempts against Castro (not the mere handful described in U.S. sources), and the 32-page history of CIA involvement against African liberation movements, are good examples. Sometimes Soviet journalism seems overdrawn and hysterical compared to those sober reports from U.S. think tanks, but this might simply mean that Soviet propaganda techniques needed refinement. With the collapse of Soviet empire, books like this won't be appearing anymore. In any case, the final judgment should rest on the weight of the evidence and the number of incidents that can be cited by either side.
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