He spent nearly three decades in prison. Known the world over as a freedom fighter and an ambassador of social justice, today Nelson Mandela is an icon whose death in 2013 at age 95 sparked mourning around the globe. President Barack Obama and a high-profile official delegation that included former presidents Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton attended the memorial service, televised everywhere on the planet. But—if a former State Department official and reported Central Intelligence Agency operative can be believed—the U.S. government aided in Mandela’s 1962 capture and thus bears some responsibility for the 27 years he...