The most important lesson from all of this is that the CIA is ready and willing to censor and doctor its own reports in order to make them suit the foreign policy agenda of the given presidential administration. What we learn from the reports is that the CIA tells its government clients what they want to hear about given geopolitical issues or foreign leaders, and not what it should do as the impartial, non-partisan intelligence agency: tell it the way it is and stick to the facts.

How they’d do it? Cherry–picking top assets, modernizing manufacturing and distribution, doubling the shelf life of products and capitalizing on the rare place in pop culture Hostess products still held. “People walk up and thank me for bringing back Twinkies,” says Metropoulos, who has previously rebuilt brands like Bumble Bee Tuna, Chef Boyardee and Pabst Blue Ribbon. “No one ever thanked me for saving Vlasic pickles.”