Frank Snepp raconte comment notamment il a vécu la chute de Saigon, en tant qu'agent de la CIA aux premières loges et comment entre autres il a escorté Nguyen Van Thieu à l'aéroport. Passionnant. Une période très trouble, qui mérite d'être réexpliquée par les acteurs de terrain.
"Post Traumatic Stress in the CIA". Interview de Frank Snepp dans laquelle il raconte à quel point vivre la chute de Saigon l'a marqué au point de déclencher un PTSD, pathologie d'une complexité inouïe car jamais totalement guérie dans nombre de cas. L'écriture de "Decent Interval" et le conflit juridique avec la CIA n'ont pas arrangé les choses.
"As documentarian Susan Hunter sensitively reports, the emotional fallout from Vietnam stays even with those who spent enough time there to develop protective scar tissue and coping mechanisms. My five and a half years in-country, including most horrifically at the end, left an indelible imprint, though my experiences were scarcely those of my brethren in combat. I was cursed by being cleared for too many key secrets. My greatest nightmare was being too stupid to spot a warning signal that might save lives or avert catastrophe. I was in eternal agony over that prospect. Staying abreast of the information flow became an obsession that got in the way of all other emotions and obligations. And too often I failed in my task and wound up being torn by guilt over those, Vietnamese and American, who suffered or died because I had missed some key intelligence clue. Even now, through constant self-reflection and writing on the war I try to break those memories down into bearable, comprehensible fragments. That is why I gave such extensive interviews to Susan. It was self-therapy. Understanding is the best curative for me. But I have no magic prescription. It is really whatever gets you through the night".
Texte de Frank Snepp publié sur son FB le 7 janvier 2026