Mark Riebling
Encyclopedia
Mark Riebling is a U.S. historian, essayist, and policy analyst. He has written on national security, the history of ideas, and Vatican foreign policy during Cold War and Second World War, and is the author of Wedge: The Secret War between the FBI and CIA
.
and directed its Book Program. Previously he had worked as a book editor in the Adult Trade Division at Random House
. He did graduate work in political philosophy at Columbia University
, studied English at Dartmouth College
, and majored in philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley.
From 2002 to 2006 Riebling served as Research Director for the Center for Policing Terrorism
, which partnered with LAPD Chief William Bratton to create and administer the National Counter Terrorism Academy
. The center also reportedly provided analytical support to NYPD Deputy Commissioner David Cohen, a former CIA Deputy Director for Operations. In his 2008 book, Crush the Cell, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Counter Terrorism Michael A. Sheehan
wrote that the center "provided a team of intelligence analysts that supported our work with timely and accurate reports on fast-breaking issues."
, the deputy U.S. attorney who prosecuted the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
, wrote in The Wall Street Journal
in 2006 that "Riebling’s analysis has now become conventional wisdom, accepted on all sides. Such, indeed, is the reasoning behind virtually all of the proposals now under consideration by no fewer than seven assorted congressional committees, internal evaluators, and blue-ribbon panels charged with remedying the intelligence situation."
perspective, alleging others have used his arguments to broaden the FBI's ability to collect intelligence.
, 2002) traces the conflict between U.S. law enforcement and intelligence, from World War II
through the War on Terror
. Using documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with former agents, Riebling presents FBI-CIA rivalry through the prism of national traumas—including the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, and 9/11--and argues that the agencies' failure to cooperate has seriously endangered U.S. national security.
Wedge traces many of the problems to differing personalities, missions, and corporate cultures: While the CIA evolved from freewheeling foreign operations, the FBI focused on domestic security and the punishment of criminals.
Discussing the paperback edition in The Washington Post, Vernon Loeb wrote: "If Riebling's thesis--that the FBI-CIA rivalry had 'damaged the national security and, to that extent, imperiled the Republic'--was provocative at the time, it seems prescient now, with missed communications between the two agencies looming as the principal cause of intelligence failures related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."
Wedge: The Secret War between the FBI and CIA
Wedge - The Secret War Between the FBI and CIA, a nonfiction book by American historian and policy analyst Mark Riebling, explores the conflict between U.S. domestic law enforcement and foreign intelligence...
.
Professional Background
From 2001 to 2010 Riebling served as Editorial Director at the Manhattan InstituteManhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a conservative, market-oriented think tank established in New York City in 1978 by Antony Fisher and William J...
and directed its Book Program. Previously he had worked as a book editor in the Adult Trade Division at Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. He did graduate work in political philosophy at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, studied English at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, and majored in philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley.
From 2002 to 2006 Riebling served as Research Director for the Center for Policing Terrorism
Center for Policing Terrorism
The Center for Policing Terrorism is a national-security think tank formed after 9/11 in New York City.-Founding Personalities:The Center's founders included former National Security Council Staffer RP Eddy and former White House Counter-Terrorism chief Richard A. Clarke. Policy analyst Mark...
, which partnered with LAPD Chief William Bratton to create and administer the National Counter Terrorism Academy
National Counter Terrorism Academy
The National Counter Terrorism Academy is a training center for U.S. state and local law enforcement officers. The Academy operates at the LAPD's Ahmanson Training Center, near the Los Angeles International Airport.-Creation:...
. The center also reportedly provided analytical support to NYPD Deputy Commissioner David Cohen, a former CIA Deputy Director for Operations. In his 2008 book, Crush the Cell, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Counter Terrorism Michael A. Sheehan
Michael A. Sheehan
Michael A. Sheehan is a United States author and former government official and military officer.-Education:Sheehan graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in New Jersey in 1973 and the United States Military Academy in 1977...
wrote that the center "provided a team of intelligence analysts that supported our work with timely and accurate reports on fast-breaking issues."
Influence
Riebling's analysis of security failures influenced post-911 intelligence reforms. Andrew C. McCarthyAndrew C. McCarthy
Andrew C. McCarthy III is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A Republican, he is most notable for leading the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center...
, the deputy U.S. attorney who prosecuted the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 lb urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower into the South Tower , bringing...
, wrote in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
in 2006 that "Riebling’s analysis has now become conventional wisdom, accepted on all sides. Such, indeed, is the reasoning behind virtually all of the proposals now under consideration by no fewer than seven assorted congressional committees, internal evaluators, and blue-ribbon panels charged with remedying the intelligence situation."
Criticism of his work
Riebling’s ideas have drawn criticism from both the political left and right. Writing in Reason Magazine, Michael W. Lynch criticized Riebling from a libertarianLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
perspective, alleging others have used his arguments to broaden the FBI's ability to collect intelligence.
Wedge: From Pearl Harbor to 9/11
Wedge (Knopf, 1994; Simon & SchusterSimon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, 2002) traces the conflict between U.S. law enforcement and intelligence, from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
through the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Using documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with former agents, Riebling presents FBI-CIA rivalry through the prism of national traumas—including the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, and 9/11--and argues that the agencies' failure to cooperate has seriously endangered U.S. national security.
Wedge traces many of the problems to differing personalities, missions, and corporate cultures: While the CIA evolved from freewheeling foreign operations, the FBI focused on domestic security and the punishment of criminals.
Discussing the paperback edition in The Washington Post, Vernon Loeb wrote: "If Riebling's thesis--that the FBI-CIA rivalry had 'damaged the national security and, to that extent, imperiled the Republic'--was provocative at the time, it seems prescient now, with missed communications between the two agencies looming as the principal cause of intelligence failures related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."