The Terror Network

The Terror Network (1981, ISBN 0030506611) by Claire Sterling is a book that claims that the USSR were the source of all international terrorism in the world.

Much of the information in the book is claimed by ex-members of the CIA to be black propaganda by the CIA itself:

However Michael Ledeen a friend of Claire Sterling and a major proponent of the theories in the book, denies this and says that almost all of the event were born out by the Stasi files. [ [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/davis200410211043.asp National Review- The Power of Bad Television] ]

A 1981 special national intelligence estimate from the CIA had this to say about book:

The book also dealt with the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John II, in which she blamed the Bulgarian secret service for ordering the attack, the so-called "Bulgarian Connection." During the confirmation hearings of Robert Gates, in 1991, it was charged, including by Melvin Goodman, that the CIA politicized a 1985 report on the attack. The report indicated that the Soviet GRU might have cooperated with the military intelligence from Bulgaria in carrying out the attack, but also stated that the Soviet Union had both incentives pro and con for attacking the Pope. The main authors of the report denied that the report was biased, and that the 1985 report was commissioned after new information had surfaced from a human source. [cite news | title = CIA analysts defend report | publisher = Washington Times | date = 1991-10-05] An internal review by the CIA found that Gates did not try to influence the report's conclusions, but did conclude that subordinates mangled the report in such a way to confirm to their superiors' preconceptions. [cite news | title = In Rebuttal to Senate Panel, C.I.A. Nominee Seems Truthful but Incomplete | publisher = The New York Times | 1991-10-13]

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