Berntsen is a former CIA covert operations man. He is very dedicated to his organization and his country, and the first half of Human Intelligence offers some sound advice on improving the state of U.S. intelligence-gathering operations. Unfortunately, it seems to have been penned to lull readers into a false sense of security, because halfway through, Berntsen dives off the high board into the batshit deep end.

Here are some typical Berntsen observations:

Iraqis are depraved terrorist torturers. In contrast, U.S. military personnel "mistreated" a few prisoners at Abu Ghraib. (Since when did rape, sodomy, and beating people to death count as mere "mistreatment?")

Guantanamo Bay detainees might not have been terrorists when they were incarcerated, but they're terrorists now. Therefore, in the interests of nipping the spread of Islamic terrorism in the bud, the United States government should execute them. Every last one of them.

The current Iranian regime is an Islamo-fascist dictatorship, the most dangerous threat to peace and stability on earth. Therefore, the United States should invade and install a new government. (Funny, but Berntsen forgets to mention that the current Iranian regime is precisely what happened the last time the U.S. tried its hand at regime change in that country. He also doesn't mention how the chronically overstretched military is supposed to handle invading and occupying a third country.)

Berntsen also believes that the CIA should have the ability to conduct covert operations and assassinations anywhere in the world, at any time, without government oversight. He thinks Pinochet was just a swell guy and Allende was a right bastard to the Chilean people.

Finally, and in contrast to the first half of the volume, the quality of the writing decreases markedly during its second, Mr. Hyde half, and nonsensical sentences make frequent occurrences. Editing is virtually nonexistent (check out the glossary, which includes entries for topics Berntsen never discussed in the text). This potentially intelligent book ended up being just a bunch of blech.