Left of Boom
{{Short description|Memoir by Douglas Laux}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
| image = File:Left of Boom.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = Douglas Laux
Ralph Pezzullo
| illustrator =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| subject = Espionage, War in Afghanistan, Syrian Civil War
| genre = Non-fiction
| publisher = St. Martin's Press
| release_date = April 5, 2016 (hardcover)
| pages = 320 pages
| isbn = 978-1-250-08136-0
| dewey= 958.104/78
| congress= DS371.413 .S66
| oclc= 907965926
}}
Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is a memoir by Douglas Laux, a former case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, and Ralph Pezzullo.{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/nytnow/your-friday-evening-briefingnuclear-security-donald-trump-saudi-arabia.html | title = Your Friday Evening Briefing: Nuclear Security, Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia | date= 1 April 2016 | accessdate = 8 July 2017 | newspaper = New York Times | author = Andrea Kannapell and Sandra Stevenson}}{{cite news | url = http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2016/04/02/can-nashville-restore-hope--risk-youth/82533466/ | title = Can Nashville restore hope for at-risk youth? | date= 2 April 2016 | accessdate = 8 July 2017 | newspaper = Tennessean | author = Frank Daniels III Stevenson }}
Background
The book details the experiences of Douglas Laux, who served for seven years as an undercover case officer for the CIA, first in southern Afghanistan and later in the Middle East, particularly Syria.{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/02/world/middleeast/a-cia-grunts-tale-of-the-fog-of-secret-war-douglas-laux.html | title = A C.I.A. Grunt's Tale of the Fog of Secret War | date= 1 April 2016 | accessdate = 8 July 2017 | newspaper = New York Times | author = Mark Mazzetti }} The book was heavily redacted by the CIA prior to publication.{{cite magazine | url = http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/cia-gets-back-to-spying/ | title = CIA Gets Back to Spying | date= 26 April 2016 | accessdate = 8 July 2017 | magazine = American Conservative | author = Philip Giraldi }}
The phrase "left of boom" is a military idiom that refers the U.S. military's effort to disrupt insurgent cells before they can build and plant bombs.{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092801683.html | title = Left of Boom - Glossary | date= 28 September 2007 | accessdate = 9 July 2017 | newspaper = Washington Post }}
Overview
Left of Boom describes Laux's time as a case officer in Afghanistan, which included a tour in Afghanistan during the Afghan surge and another to Kandahar during the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.{{cite news | url = http://www.salon.com/2016/04/07/homeland_made_me_laugh_heres_what_its_really_like_being_a_cia_agent_in_the_middle_east/ | title = "Homeland" made me laugh: Here's what it's really like being a CIA agent in the Middle East | date= 7 April 2016 | accessdate = 9 July 2017 | work = Salon | author = Scott Timberg }} As an undercover case officer, Laux was trained in Pashto prior to his deployment along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, however, Laux writes the dialect of Pashto he learned was not spoken in the region, thus making communication with local assets initially difficult.{{cite web | url = https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-04-19/story-20-something-cia-officer-who-took-taliban | title = The story of the 20-something CIA officer who took on the Taliban | date= 19 April 2016 | accessdate = 9 July 2017 | publisher = PRI | author = Joyce Hackel }} The role that Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence played during this time is alluded to, but Pakistan is never specifically mentioned in the book.
Laux writes about his time in Syria meeting with leaders of the Syrian rebellion in 2012 with the goal of removing Bashar al-Assad from power. Frustrated by the Obama administration's decision to reject the CIA's plans to oust Assad in December 2012, Laux resigned from the CIA in early 2013.{{cite news | url = https://nypost.com/2016/04/02/ex-cia-operative-how-hillary-clinton-betrayed-syrian-rebels/ | title = Ex-CIA operative: How Hillary Clinton betrayed Syrian rebels | date= 2 April 2016 | accessdate = 9 July 2017 | newspaper = New York Post | author = Maureen Callahan }}
Laux also discusses the strain that being an undercover agent had on his personal relationships, saying, "the closest to me were always suspicious."{{cite magazine | url = http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/04/how-do-spies-keep-their-double-lives-secret.html | title = How Do Spies Keep Their Double Lives Secret? | date= 18 April 2016 | accessdate = 9 July 2017 | magazine = New York Magazine | author = Cari Romm }} Laux developed addictions to alcohol and oxycontin as a way of coping with operational setbacks and the struggles of his double life, adding, "I didn't handle it well."{{cite web | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/spy-kid-young-cia-officer-breaks-cover-spills-secrets-n548846 | title = Spy Kid: A Young CIA Officer Breaks Cover and Spills Secrets | date= 1 April 2016 | accessdate = 9 July 2017 | publisher = NBCNews | author = Ken Dilanian }}
Reception
In an official statement released after publication, the CIA commented on Left of Boom, "Sadly, Mr. Laux’s career at the CIA did not work out," it said in a statement. "We hope that someday, maybe with age and greater maturity, he will have better perspective on his time here."{{cite news | url = http://www.timesofisrael.com/obama-reportedly-rejected-cia-plans-to-oust-assad/ | title = Obama reportedly rejected CIA plans to oust Assad | date= 5 April 2016 | accessdate = 9 July 2017 | newspaper = Times of Israel | author = Raoul Wootliff }} Reviewing Left of Boom, the New York Times said, "The collective weight of all C.I.A. memoirs written since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks could collapse a bookshelf, but Mr. Laux brings a raw perspective to the canon."