Of Green Berets & Secret CIA Missions
James Stejskal did it all, and shares his memories on the latest SpyTalk podcast
James Stejskal spent 23 years in the U.S. Army, much of it in top secret Green Beret cover assignments, before shifting to the CIA, where spent the next 13 years operating in the spy-world wilds as a case officer under non-official cover. In retirement today he’s a prolific author of political-military thrillers, his latest being Dead Hand, set in the aftermath of a Russian victory in Ukraine, when very bad things start to happen in Moscow and Western Europe.
On the latest SpyTalk podcast, Stejskal talks with me about his time with a shadowy Special Forces unit in Berlin, whose main job was to sabotage East German rail lines and organize resistance in the event of a Soviet Red Army invasion—“a suicide mission,” he called it, “about a million and a half Russians against a hundred Americans,” the idea being “to slow the Russians down, to get the Allies out and give West Germany and Western Europe time to prepare for their defense, to fight back.” But that wasn't all they did.
Later, as a CIA ops officer under civilian nonofficial cover, he had clandestine missions with targets in Russia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. And then there’s the story about the time he “cold pitched” a North Korean diplomat to defect….
Listen to the whole interesting show on Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. And do leave a comment—we love hearing from you.