SandBoxBlogs: Vail Daily News "In search of his father, a spy"

Caramie Schnell:
"In circular fashion, the film begins at the end — of his father's life, that is. Elusive even in death, William, 76, went on a night-time canoe ride and disappeared. His body was found nine days later in a tributary of the Potomac River. That was 15 years ago.

As the film begins, Carl narrates: “My father was a soldier. He jumped out of airplanes. He lived to serve. People would turn to me and say, ‘You know your dad was a murderer.' My immediate reaction used to be ‘You don't know what you're talking about.' Then I'd find myself thinking, was he? Well, who was he, really?”

Long after the film ends, that's the question you're left to ponder.

The film is a morality tale. It's at once a deep memoir of what it's like to live with someone so ghost-like, and a historical account of the CIA. It weaves the personal with the political, and more than anything, it's an inquiry into the secret actions this country is involved in every day.

“This president (Obama), even though he has his hands full right now, every other night, or whatever, he's approving what's called a presidential finding,” Carl said. “He signs off on a high-level, high-profile, highly dangerous, covert operation; he's using that capability probably more than any president since the Kennedy brothers.”

Carl's father used to tell him “the CIA exists so that the president has an option between lodging a diplomatic protest or sending in the Marines,” he said.

“We're in like 15 to 18 countries, at least, including the ones we already know about,” Carl said. “It's a very seductive tool. The problem is it becomes easy to use, and not that accountable. You're not having to tell the American people anything. And then if anything happens, he can blame the CIA ... I wanted to make it so people would understand the sacrifice people are making, not just the one my mother made, and my small family, but also now. People are lifting off tonight. Helicopter blades are whirling. Men and women are out there, thousands of them, so we at least ought to have a discussion. What is this secret war?”..."
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