N - Nal

Nabati, Mikael F. "Anticipatory Self-Defense: The Terrorism Exception." Current History, May 2003, 222-231.

[Overviews/Legal/Assassination]

Nabbie, Eustace E. "The Alamo Scouts." Studies in Intelligence 3, no. 4 (Fall 1959): 87-92.

The Alamo Scouts "performed for the U.S. Sixth Army services similar to those rendered by OSS detachments in other overseas commands.... The Scouts' principal mission was ... reconnaissance behind enemy lines.... They were volunteers."

[WWII/FEPac/Alamo]

Nadel, Joel, and Wright, J.R. Special Men and Special Missions: Inside American Special Operations Forces, 1945 to the Present. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1994. [Gibish]

[MI/SpecOps]

Nadler, John. A Perfect Hell: The True Story of the FSSF, Forgotten Commandos of the Second World War. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2005. A Perfect Hell: The True Story of the Black Devils, the Forefathers of the Special Forces. New York: Presidio, 2006. [pb]

DKR, AFIO WIN 5-06 (30 Jan. 2006) says that this book "tells the story of the First Special Service Force [FSSF]. Made up of volunteers from the US and Canadian armies,... [i]t participated in the assault against the German winter line in southern Italy, the defense of the Anzio beachhead, the liberation of Rome and the invasion of southern France. Its nickname, the Black Devils [Schwartzer Teufel], was conferred by the much larger German force it fought at Anzio."

For McClain, Air & Space Power Journal 21.3 (Fall 2007), this book is "[m]ore than a compilation of historical facts and figures"; it allows the reader "to sit down with the survivors" of the First Special Service Force (FSSF) "and hear their own words.... A very readable book with no discernable historical flaws, A Perfect Hell has my highest recommendation."

[Canada/WWII; WWII/U.S./Services/Army]

Naftali, Timothy J. Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism. New York: Basic Books, 2005.

From advertisement: On the basis of "newly researched documents, recently uncovered archival information, and interviews with the key participants, Naftali describes ... earlier [counterterrorism] successes [e.g., against Abu Nidal, Abimael Guzman, and Carlos the Jackal] and explains why they did not translate into success against Osama bin Laden later in the 1990s."

Powers, NYRB 52.8 (12 May 2005), comments that this work constitutes "a kind of naturalist's ramble around the fenced perimeter of the whole vast establishment of technical gear used for intercepting communications."

For Crenshaw, FA 84.4 (Jul./Aug. 2005), the author has produced an "admirably straightforward narrative." The work provides "a rich chronological analysis that allows for comparisons across different administrations and demonstrates that the shortcomings of the country's counterterrorism policy are long standing." Although Naftali's "suggestions are sensible, not all are practical."

Peake, Studies 50.1 (Mar. 2006), notes that this history of U.S. counterterrorism policy was originally written for the 9/11 Commission but was issued commercially when it was not released together with the Commission's report. The author's "attempt to link America’s initial contacts with terrorism to World War II and the early Cold War is ... force-fitting contemporary terms to past events where they do not apply." The reviewer finds "curious" Naftali's "interpretation of intelligence history and how it relates to contemporary counterterrorism."

[NSA/Sigint; Terrorism/00s/Gen]

Naftali, Timothy J. "De Gaulle's Pique and the Allied Counterespionage Triangle in World War II." In In the Name of Intelligence: Essays in Honor of Walter Pforzheimer, eds. Hayden B. Peake and Samuel Halpern, 379-410. Washington, DC: NIBC Press, 1994.

[WWII/Eur/Fr&Gen][c]

Naftali, Timothy J. "Intrepid's Last Deception: Documenting the Career of Sir William Stevenson." Intelligence and National Security 8, no. 3 (Jul. 1993): 72-99.

"There can be no doubt that Sir William Stevenson's exploits were great during the Second World War.... But [his] restless attitude toward his place in history tainted that legacy.... Stevenson was neither Intrepid, nor personal envoy. He did not contribute in any meaningful way to the Ultra achievement, nor did his beloved BSC execute Himmler's right-hand man."

[UK/WWII/BSC][c]

Nagl, John A. [LTCOL/USA] Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam: Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002. Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. [pb]

An advertisement for the 2005 paperback edition of this work notes that it includes "a new preface reflecting on the author's combat experience in Iraq."

According to Millen, Parameters 34.3, "this book compares ... the British approach to counterinsurgency in Malaya with the American approach in Vietnam.... Despite minor flaws, John Nagl’s book is a valuable asset for identifying key aspects of a successful counterinsurgency strategy."

Freedman, FA 83.6, says that "the point of Nagl's book is that the British managed to learn from early mistakes and adapt to the situation."

For Hoffman, Proceedings 132.3 (Mar. 2006), this work is "an extremely relevant text. Those interested in understanding the difficulties faced by Coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, or who wnat to grasp the intricacies of the most likely form of conflict for the near future, will gain applicable lessons."

[MI/SpecOps/00s; UK/Postwar/Malaya; Vietnam/Gen]

Nagorski, Andrew. "All Is Forgiven, or Is It?" Newsweek, 27 Oct. 1997, 40.

[CIA/80s/Kuklinski]

Nagorski, Zygmunt, Jr. "Soviet International Propaganda: Its Role, Effectiveness, and Future." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 398 (Nov. 1971): 130-139. [Calder]

[Russia/D&D]

Nagy, John A. Rebellion in the Ranks: Mutinies of the American Revolution. Chicago, IL: Westholme, 2007.

Although intelligence is not mentioned in the advertising literature, the author notes in private correspondence that in addition to "being the only book that ever covered mutinies as a subject for the entire American Revolution, it also identifies 30 spies in the American Revolution of which some are outed for the first time. It also correct[s] some of the names of spies of which Carl Van Doren in Mutiny in January (1943) guessed."

[RevWar/Overviews]

Nagy, Alex. "Word Wars at Home: U.S. Response to World War II Propaganda." Journalism Quarterly 67, no. 1 (1990): 207-213.

Calder: "A discussion of censorship during the War."

[WWII/U.S./Gen]

Naimark, Norman M. "To Know Everything and to Report Everything Worth Knowing": Building the East German Police State, 1945-1949. Working Paper No. 10. Washington, DC: Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1992.

[Germany/East]

Nair, K. Sankaran. Inside IB and RAW: The Rolling Stone that Gathered Moss. New Delhi: Manus, 2008.

According to Peake, Studies 52.1 (Mar. 2008) and Intelligencer 16.1 (Spring 2008), the author "served as a head of R&AW ... for less than 3 months in the 1970s.[footnote omitted] He spent more time in the IB, and the book has some interesting stories about his attempts in the 1960s to advise recently formed African nations about security services." Mostly, however, he focuses on "personal episodes and dealings with his superiors that are of no great intelligence value." This memoir "is primarily of local interest and a minor contribution to the intelligence literature."

[OtherCountries/India]

Nakashima, Ellen. "FBI Backs Off From Secret Order for Data After Lawsuit." Washington Post, 8 May 2008, D1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]

The FBI has withdrawn a national security letter (NSL) "seeking the name, address and online activity of a patron of the Internet Archive after the San Francisco-based digital library filed suit to block the action." The FBI also agreed to drop the accompanying gag order.

[FBI/00s/08]

Nakashima, Ellen, and Alan Sipress. "Al Qaeda Figure Seized in Thailand: Local Units, CIA Cooperated to Nab Top Asian Terror Suspect." Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2003, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]

Capture in Thailand of Nurjaman Riduan Isamuddin.

[Terrorism/War/03]

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