In cadrul dezbaterii publice despre istoria reala a Romaniei, declansata de aparitia lucrarii istoricului american Larry Watts, “Fereste-ma, Doamne, de prieteni…” s-a evidentiat in spatiul online al bloggerilor si postacilor un acerb aparator al unei lumi in declin: dl Vladimir Tismaneanu, foarte deranjat de deconspirarea lui Ion Mihai Pacepa drept un agent KGB. Dl Tismaneanu a fost dintotdeauna fascinat de fostul general nomenclaturist comunist si kaghebist Ion Mihai Pacepa. Posibil chiar de dinainte de “defectarea” acestuia. Doar erau vecini, locuind in acelasi cartier rosu, la doar cateva stradute distanta. Fascinatia i s-a amplificat dupa ce a reusit sa penetreze si el granitele Statelor Unite, pe urmele eroului sau, acum “anti-comunist”. O dovada sta si in recomandarea calduroasa pe care o face la cartea acestuia despre uciderea lui Kennedy, “Programat sa ucida…” (1), considerata insa de analistii CIA de la Studies in Intelligence drept o productie incoerenta care prezinta o versiune fantasmagorica, bazata doar pe experienta autorului cu KGB-ul (2). Apartenenta “eroului” lui Tismaneanu la serviciile speciale sovietice este intarita in cel de-al doilea volum al expertului american in informatii Larry Watts. Ziaristi Online a prezentat sub titlul LARRY L. WATTS DESPRE PACEPA-KGB (I) un prim extras dintr-o serie cuprinzatoare despre Ion Mihai Pacepa, republicat prin curtoazia revistei Magazin Istoric.
Catalogat de dl Tismaneanu drept un “national-stalinist” care urmareste sa-i contrazica “Raportul Final” cu lumea comunista, dl Watts a avut amabilitatea de a ne informa ca, de fapt, nici nu i-a citit “opera” politologului pre-post-comunist: “Din pacate, nu am citit Raportul in cauza dar imi propun sa fac aceasta dupa ce finalizez editarea celui de-al doilea volum si il trimit la tipar”, ne-a declarat istoricul american. Tot dl Tismaneanu a afirmat cu o oarecare doza de isterie ca primul volum al lucrarii “Fereste-ma, Doamne, de prieteni…/ With friends like these…” a fost laudat “ditirambic” de catre “megafoanele secunostalgiei”. In articolul nostru “National-stalinistul” Larry Watts si schreib-kampful lui Tismaneanu (II). Cateva enunturi si anunturi in premiera despre Razboiul Secret contra si in apararea Romaniei am prezentat mai multe opinii romanesti despre carte, de la academicianul Dinu Giurescu la directorul SRI George Maior. Acum va prezentam si parerile unor experti straini, in original (3).
Totodata, spre informarea specialistilor romani dar si a amatorilor de tipul lui Vladimir Tismaneanu, facem trimitere si la o recenzie a cartii lui Larry Watts publicata in The Slavonic and East European Review, numarul din ianuarie, de profesorul care a reusit sa-i blocheze ambitiile politologului nostru la Georgetown, britanicul Dennis Deletant (foto sus). Profesorul de la Universitatea de elita a Americii admonesteaza din primele fraze intentiile unora ca Tismaneanu de a respinge aprioric lucrarea lui Watts pe considerentul ca autorul este afiliat – pe linia propagandei gri si negre – de cercuri “nefrecventabile”. “Aceasta este o abordare superficiala ca raspuns la un studiu original si provocator”, scrie Deletant, altfel de multe ori laudat chiar de Tismaneanu si ai lui.
Dupa ce ii remarca acribia lui Watts, Deletant se cam lasa insa purtat de valul propriei scriituri si, desi primul volum al lucrarii se opreste la anul “defectarii” lui Pacepa, 1978, profesorul britanic ajunge cu observatiile sale pana la moartea lui Ceausescu, comentand absenta unor episoade din ultimii ani ai dictaturii. Hilara este si interpretarea pe care o da acesta unui episod din 1988, cand, aminteste Deletant, romanii se buluceau cu entuziasm la birourile Aeroflotului, unde se distribuia raportul perestroikist al lui Gorbaciov la cel de-al nouasp’elea congres PCUS. Sa nu fi inteles profesorul Deletant, dupa atatia ani batuti prin Romania, ca entuziastii romani erau ofiteri ai DSS trimisi de dl general Vlad sa epuizeze stocul sovietic de “glasnost” si “perestroika”?
Cu o oarecare nostalgie dupa sarmalutele, vodcutele, fetiscanele si vremurile de odinioara de la Bucuresti, fostul agent britanic diletant, dar foarte bun profesor, demasca si preferintele tovarasilor sai din Romania: “Mai multi prieteni romani de-ai mei au admis, in urma vizitei lui Gorbaciov, ca ar fi preferat conducerea Moscovei celei de la Bucuresti”. Daca prietenii lui Deletant sunt Marius Oprea si Mircea Dinescu, nu-i de mirare…
1. Vladimir Tismaneanu despre Ion Mihai Pacepa si cartea sa Programmed to Kill: Lee Harvey Oswald, the Soviet KGB, and the Kennedy Assassination – The Training of a Dedicated Agent, Chicago, Ivan R. Dee, 2007: “This is a fascinating and provocative book that will definitely change our understanding of one of the 20th century’s most disturbing and puzzling episodes.”
2. CIA in Studies in Intelligence, Hayden B. Peake despre Pacepa si cartea sa Programmed to Kill: Lee Harvey Oswald, the Soviet KGB, and the Kennedy Assassination – The Training of a Dedicated Agent: “What evidence does Pacepa provide for his imaginative story? Only his analytical skills and his experience with the KGB. The book is filled with terms like “must have,” “could very possibly have,” and “of course, there is no way of knowing.” … An equally likely explanation for Pacepa’s version is what R.V. Jones called Crabtree’s Bludgeon: “No set of mutually inconsistent observations can exist for which some human intellect cannot conceive a coherent explanation, however complicated.” Programmed to Kill presents a conceivable explanation of Kennedy’s assassination, but it is also implausible. Pacepa doesn’t connect the dots, he adds new ones. A health warning is warranted.”
[The Intelligence Officer’s Bookshelf, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 88-89, CIA] – Traducerile la Marius Mioc
3. Experti straini despre primul volum al cartii lui Larry Watts, “Fereste-ma, Doamne, de prieteni…/ With friends like these…”:
“… Romania’s rift with the Soviet Union and its satellites, and the East-West reverberations, seen through the parts played by the intelligence services involved. It significantly revises parts of Cold War history and what followed. A “must” for understanding the period. Historians now have no excuse for ignoring its intelligence dimension and the national and international effects.”
Michael Herman, Founder Oxford Intelligence Group, Oxford University, Former British intelligence officer, Former Chair Joint Intelligence Committee
Author Intelligence Services in the Information Age (2001) and Intelligence in Peace and War (1996)
“Reading WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE is like participating in an important archaeological dig. Larry Watts demonstrates his mastery of Cold War security issues and, in particular, the Russian/Soviet push-pull with Romania. … fascinating.”
David B. Kanin, Johns Hopkins University, Former CIA Senior Analyst
“Watts’ work packs more information than a dozen other books. This is a “must read” volume for any serious student of Romanian history under communism and the inner workings of intelligence services on both sides of the Iron Curtain.”
Kiki Skagen Harris, Former Senior US Diplomat
(Posted to Romania 1983-1987, 2000-2002), Author
“…a magnificent work of scholarship… Watts has meticulously and completely footnoted his text, and scholars who wish to take issue with him will find themselves hard pressed.”
Ernest H. Latham, Jr., Professor, US Foreign Services Institute, Former US Diplomat
(Posted to Romania 1983-87), Editor Athene Palace (R. Waldeck) (1998) and Assignment: Bucharest (Donald Dunham) (2000)
“Monumental… the missing link of Cold War history. …With unrelenting scholarship and a unique grasp of political and cultural subtleties, Watts presents the most accurate picture yet of what actually happened in this widely misunderstood corner of Europe and the fascinating cast of actors who pulled the levers.”
Jim Dorschner, Special Correspondent IHS Jane’s Information Group
“Based primarily on unknown or unconsidered sources, WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE is dense with information … a must for anyone interested in modern Romanian and Balkan history.” Prof. Ingmar Söhrman, Göteborgs Universitet, Sweden
Author/Editor Balkan Folk och länder i krig och fred [The Balkan Peoples in War and Peace] (1996) and Sprak, nationer och andre farligheter [Language, Nations and Other Dangerous Things] (1997)
“Reflecting a regional and country-specific knowledge both broad and profound, Larry Watts has produced a path-breaking study of the clandestine war within the Soviet Bloc set on a foundation of prodigious research.”
Prof. Henry L. Carey, Atlanta State University, Georgia
Author/Editor Romania Since 1989: Politics, Economics and Society (2004)
and National Reconciliation in Eastern Europe (2003)
“Larry Watts’ book brings clarity for the first time to the subject of Romania’s relations with the Soviet Union. This much misunderstood subject is examined here in forensic and immaculately-sourced detail. Watts never loses sight of the big picture, and manages to pull off a rare feat: a work of ground-breaking academic research that is fluent and compelling.”
Neil Barnett, Special Correspondent
Author Tito (2006) – See for more LarryLWatts.com
4. Profesorul Dennis Deletant despre Watts, Larry L. With Friends like These: The Soviet Bloc’s Clandestine War Against Romania. Volume 1. Editura Militară, Bucharest, 2010. xxii + 733 pp. Maps. Notes. Bibliography. Index. LEI 195.00 – The Slavonic and East European Review – Vol. 90, No. 1, January 2012 – Project Jstor.org
