Using a terror technique to spy on China | M.R. Narayan Swamy

[fond noir][blanc]BOOK REVIEW[/blanc][/fond noir]

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Shadow Cell: An Insider Account of the New Spy War
by Andrew Bustamante and Jihi Bustamante

Headline Press/Hachette
Pages: x + 261; Price: Rs 699

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Without doubt, this is a gripping story involving the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and how two of its operatives decided to use techniques perfected by Osama bin Laden in their own spy business with surprise results.

No, CIA agents Andrew and Jihi Bustamante did not embrace or even advocate violence; they simply copied the methodology Al Qaeda used to keep bin Laden in hiding for so long until an error unravelled his Pakistani hideout, leading to his death.

But unlike bin Laden, the Bustamantes perfected their work style so much that not only they did not face any failure (near failure, yes) but the CIA itself opted to follow their footsteps.

The young Bustamantes go out of their way in the book to hide their target country, calling it simply Falcon. But a description of the country makes one conclude that it could only be China.