Operation Valuable Fiend: The CIA's First Paramilitary Strike Against the Iron Curtain

(Hardback)

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In 1949, a newly minted branch of the CIA (the precursor of today's National Clandestine Service), flush with money and burning with determination to roll back the Iron Curtain, embarked on the first paramilitary operation in the history of the agency. They hatched an elaborate plan, coordinated with the British Secret Intelligence Service, to fome

Reviews

In Operation Valuable Fiend, Albert Lulushi has told a fascinating story well and made excellent use of untapped archival resources.
David Robarge, Chief Historian, Central Intelligence Agency

"[For the operation's dismal failure, h]istorians have blamed Soviet mole Kim Philby, who worked in British intelligence and knew of the operation, but Lulushi disagrees. His lively, detailed account of Hoxhas viciously efficient intelligence service, the exiles terrible security, and CIA navet make a convincing case."Publishers Weekly

"[Lulushi's] is the most complete account to date and well worth close attention." Studies in Intelligence

An important and well-researched account of one of the Cold Wars less known and often misunderstood clandestine operations . . . The book tells a lively and well-written if discouraging story. Any reader has a treat in store, and any student of the history of Americas role in the Cold War will find the book indispensable.
Ambassador Frank G. Wisner, former ambassador to four countries, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs

In Operation Valuable Fiend, Albert Lulushi has done a splendid job in updating our knowledge of the clandestine activities that CIA and its partners conducted in Albania in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Nicholas C. Pano, Professor Emeritus of History, Western Illinois University
In Operation Valuable Fiend, Albert Lulushi has told a fascinating story well and made excellent use of untapped archival resources.
David Robarge, Chief Historian, Central Intelligence Agency

"[For the operation's dismal failure, h]istorians have blamed Soviet mole Kim Philby, who worked in British intelligence and knew of the operation, but Lulushi disagrees. His lively, detailed account of Hoxhas viciously efficient intelligence service, the exiles terrible security, and CIA navet make a convincing case."Publishers Weekly

"[Lulushi's] is the most complete account to date and well worth close attention." Studies in Intelligence

An important and well-researched account of one of the Cold Wars less known and often misunderstood clandestine operations . . . The book tells a lively and well-written if discouraging story. Any reader has a treat in store, and any student of the history of Americas role in the Cold War will find the book indispensable.
Ambassador Frank G. Wisner, former ambassador to four countries, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs

In Operation Valuable Fiend, Albert Lulushi has done a splendid job in updating our knowledge of the clandestine activities that CIA and its partners conducted in Albania in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Nicholas C. Pano, Professor Emeritus of History, Western Illinois University

Author Bio

Albert Lulushi was born in Albania and experienced firsthand the oppression of Europes harshest Stalinist regime before fleeing to the West in 1990. He moved to the United States in 1991 and built a successful career as an information technology entrepreneur working with US government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. He has assisted US government officials at the highest levels in establishing and conducting relations between the United States, Albania, and Kosovo since the fall of Communism.