{"product_id":"mukhabarat-baby-mortars-wmd-mayhem-and-other-memoirs-of-a-wartime-spy-9781634903769","title":"Mukhabarat  Baby! Mortars  Wmd  Mayhem and Other Memoirs of a Wartime Spy","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the story of a young American who would eventually fulfill his dream of becoming a CIA Case Officer  only to have a promising career cut short after having been purposely poisoned by a contact. Eric Burkhart was raised in Europe in a bilingual household  and accepted a job in Africa right out of college. Upon his return to the United States  he was hired as an Immigration Agent in Laredo  Texas  working Inspections on one of the busiest port-of-entries connecting the United States and Mexico. This experience is detailed in this humorous  occasionally heartbreaking memoir about choosing to be a survivor. In 2000  Burkhart accepted a position as a Case Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency. The book includes details of both the notoriously arduous hiring process and the rigorous training program  including Burkharts eventual successful completion of the Espionage Course taught at the famous \"Farm\". Burkharts first overseas working experience was in war-torn Kosovo  where he was unwittingly poisoned by an unstable intelligence contact. Burkhart would struggle with the repercussions of this episode for the remainder of his career  and eventually be obliged to accept full medical retirement from the CIA. However  before retiring  Burkhart completed tours in Iraq and Africa. His time spent in the Green Zone almost immediately following the occupation of Baghdad  constitutes the majority of this enlightening book. Burkhart exposes the reader to the human element within the CIA  and we are introduced to a variety of characters  some who will seem familiar  and some who reveal the eccentricities we expect with this kind of occupation. Follow Burkhart through the battlefields of Iraq  past the Iraqi Insurgency  and to his next assignment in Africa. Burkhart leaves no emotion unexpressed as he details his medical struggles with the horrific damage caused to his body from Toxic Exposure. Wracked by pain  Burkhart reaches the point where he must consider quality of life issues  and has to accept retirement as a necessary decision. Burkhart has a story to tell  and leaves no stone unturned during this turbulent time both in his life  and in our history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67600501145653,"sku":"ByrdShop_1634903765","price":31.61,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781634903769.jpg?v=1790972624","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/mukhabarat-baby-mortars-wmd-mayhem-and-other-memoirs-of-a-wartime-spy-9781634903769","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}