STOCKWELL, John
Former CIA officer who became a prominent agency critic after leading the Angola task force during Cold War covert operations.
John Stockwell joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1964 and spent thirteen years conducting covert operations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. His most significant assignment involved directing the CIA's Angola Task Force during Operation IA Feature in 1975-1976, overseeing American involvement in the Angolan civil war following Portuguese decolonization.
As task force chief, Stockwell coordinated weapon supplies and military aid to anti-communist factions fighting the Soviet-backed MPLA government. He witnessed firsthand the destructive impact of U.S. covert intervention, including support for brutal militias and the exaggeration of Soviet threats to justify American involvement.
Stockwell resigned from the CIA in 1977 and published "In Search of Enemies" in 1978, providing detailed insider accounts of agency operations and decision-making processes. His book revealed classified information about CIA activities in Angola and criticized the agency's Cold War interventions as counterproductive and morally questionable.
Following his resignation, Stockwell became a prominent speaker on college campuses and in activist circles, arguing that CIA covert operations typically served corporate interests rather than national security. His whistleblowing established him as one of the earliest CIA officers to publicly criticize agency methods from within, preceding later whistleblowers like Philip Agee and Frank Snepp.
Bibliography:
- Stockwell, John. In Search of Enemies
- Congressional Angola Hearings 1975-1976
- CIA Inspector General Reports on Angola
- Weissman, Stephen. American Foreign Policy in the Congo