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The CIA

I wore no uniform— just silence and suits. A ghost in global rooms, a whisper behind the curtain. I was a civilian, but my job was war. They called it "analysis," but what I did was study souls. The psychology of power— Presidents, rebels, kings. We knew their childhoods, their fears, their fault lines. I was trained to see through smiles. To know, from a handshake, what could break a man. Africa. We watched it like a hawk. A map of minerals, and men we could move like pawns. We flew them to Washington, dinners and flags, and while they smiled for cameras, we read their eyes, filed their secrets, decoded their pride. Every trip— a trap. Every handshake— a scan. Instability was our most valuable currency. If a leader dreamed too loud, if a nation dared to rise, we lit fires in its shadows. We funded chaos, armed ghosts, named them rebels. Terror was not born—it was designed. I have walked through cities burning from our whispers. I have read reports on coups we engineered like boardroom mergers. We called it "foreign policy." But it was a slow, brutal theft— of futures, of hope, of sovereignty. No country escapes us without scars. Only the strong, the truly awake, can untangle our web. I was just a civilian, but I held nations in my briefcase. And now I see: Power without soul is the truest form of evil.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2025




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Date: 7/18/2025 2:53:00 PM
Hi Chanda this is intense and moving...and intriguing. I have some covert backgrounds myself, but assuming you have a background in intelligence, would you say that the concept of nationalism is co-dependent on espionage and the grotesque diplomacy you describe in this work?
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Chanda Katonga
Date: 7/19/2025 9:08:00 AM
Thank you for your striking comment — it’s rare to meet someone who shares that covert lens. Yes, I would say nationalism often breathes through the lungs of espionage. The illusion of sovereignty is sustained, in part, by the shadows of intelligence work and the quiet wars fought beneath official diplomacy. Grotesque or not, this subterranean theatre shapes global narratives, policies, and even revolutions — all under the guise of national interest. In truth, what we call “nationalism” is sometimes just a well-written script masking deeper geopolitical games. I’m deeply grateful for your reflection.
Date: 7/17/2025 10:13:00 PM
Powerful lucid write, Chanda. It is Innermost Heart that cannot be penetrated, by no mind at all. This will flip the coin. Sending high vibes, my friend. X.
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Chanda Katonga
Date: 7/18/2025 12:08:00 AM
Thank you for your powerful reflection. Your words resonate deeply. The truth often lies in what logic alone cannot explain—and I'm humbled that you felt the heart behind the words. Indeed, the world is rarely one-sided, and perhaps poetry allows us to turn that coin and look underneath. Sending love and light back to you, my friend. ?

Book: Reflection on the Important Things