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The Seen and the Unseen, hosted by Amit Varma, features longform conversations that aim to give deep insights into the subjects being discussed. Timeless and bingeworthy.
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8. The Triumph, the Skepticism, and the Legacy of the Sisterhood Liza Mundy Book: The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA
Even with high-level attention on the bin Laden compound, the targeters faced continued doubt and hesitation from senior operational leadership, a symptom of the CIA's humiliation over 9/11 and the bad intelligence regarding WMDs in the Iraq War. Nevertheless, the "ground-level targeters" were "very close to 100% confident" in their precision, using detailed aerial imagery analysis, including counting the laundry on the line, to determine the number of people and families inside the compound. When the SEALs raided the compound, they were astonished by the precision of the targeters' intelligence. In retirement, key figures like Barbara Sude and Heidi August continued their lives. The women later gathered at a writers' retreat for a cathartic moment, drinking wine and reading aloud the memoirs of the men they had worked for, often "shouting with frustration." The book also notes that the character of Maya (from Zero Dark Thirty) was based on a single woman who left the agency unpromoted.
Even with high-level attention on the bin Laden compound, the targeters faced continued doubt and hesitation from senior operational leadership, a symptom of the CIA's humiliation over 9/11 and the bad intelligence regarding WMDs in the Iraq War. Nevertheless, the "ground-level targeters" were "very close to 100% confident" in their precision, using detailed aerial imagery analysis, including counting the laundry on the line, to determine the number of people and families inside the compound. When the SEALs raided the compound, they were astonished by the precision of the targeters' intelligence. In retirement, key figures like Barbara Sude and Heidi August continued their lives. The women later gathered at a writers' retreat for a cathartic moment, drinking wine and reading aloud the memoirs of the men they had worked for, often "shouting with frustration." The book also notes that the character of Maya (from Zero Dark Thirty) was based on a single woman who left the agency unpromoted.
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