5 comments about The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina.

1. 
   Several years ago, I may have had some disagreements with Frank Rich's worldview and some of his columns. But I'm compelled to take a few moments to convey what an astounding accomplishment "The Greatest Story . . ." is.
   
   Mr. Rich has strung together all the important milestones that were incomprehensible to those of us shrouded in the "fog of war" until the convergence of Cindy Sheehan, Katrina and Scooter Libby. This book is nothing short of the first draft of history that a century from now will be the pre-eminent resource of our nation's tragic misadventure in Iraq.
   
   Mr. Rich's narrative is compulsively readable, making sense of the seemingly senseless, and demystifying the propaganda machinery perfected by the Bush administration.
   
   "Greatest Story" is a must-read for anyone who cares to understand how a faux existential threat to America was exploited by the neocons to fashion a new world order in the Middle East with disastrous consequences, a squandering of blood and treasure and -- most importantly -- the destruction of a generation of patriots: American soldiers who will be brought home with appalling disabilities, psychological damage and torn families.
   
   Kudos to Mr. Rich for this monumental achievement. It stands alone in the pantheon of books on the subject of making sense of the senseless.



2. the spin, and Fox news propaganda always made up a quick response to any BUSH lies, and Incompetence. In this excellent book on CD's you can hear the actual truth, sans lying propaganda, and see how we were systematically deceived, manipulated, and just constantly lied to. As to IRAQ, and the whole run up to war, 'the whole damn thing was a LIE !'



3. what a truth-teller!!! if you want a refreshingly honest and accurate critique of the horrors of w's presidency, be sure to have this in your library...frankie's essays are delightfully biting...



4. The timeline at the end of the book ties up the case: for some unknown reason (perhaps just to get re-elected) the party in power deliberately takes the country to war. Every documented lie is exposed. Sometimes the anguish I felt reading this book caused me to put it aside and I felt despair about our miss-directed lives as citizens.



5. In this day and age of sanitized/filtered news and monopolized corporate media, it is refreshing to read a 'timeline' book that delineates all the mistakes, bad schemes, and outright lies of 'Bush 2' and company, written by an astute and honest researcher and chronicler. The book presents disturbing fact after fact that should trouble every American, and is not partisan in any way. Republicans, as well as Democrats, should be at least concerned, and at most outraged at all the inept mismanagement and lies that led to the Iraqi invasion, as well as the many other incompetencies of the Bush administration. From his ignoring the message that the second tower was attacked while reading to children to 'Yellowcake' to wrongly outing Valerie Plame to the Iraq war buildup based on lies/false information to the Iraqi war mismanagement to Bush staging 'Mission Accomplished' to Abu Ghraib to not providing proper armor/combat vehicles to our soldiers to the intransigence of Katrina to the 'swiftboating' of a war hero, John Kerry (while Bush saw no combat duty) to the fast rising oil/gas prices to the brainwashing of the largely gullible and malleable American public, etc. etc. etc. This excellent book essentially 'covers all the bases' when it comes to why George Bush will be considered one of the worst, if not THE worst Presidents we've ever had. Frankly, if 'Shrub' was a corporate CEO, his rear-end would have been fired a LONG TIME AGO! How this way below average buffoon ever made it to be POTUS in the first place is the shock of the century.

5 comments about The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack.

1. After watching Kessler on Book Span TV, I immediately browsed the book at Borders and thought it was just part of the neo-con propaganda machine. More fear mongering and complaints about the so-called liberal obstructionists. I take issue with his statement that some FBI or CIA agent might compromise their work because they fear lawsuits; they should fear more for not doing their jobs and should be able to get the necessary approvals to charge ahead. What is a democracy without safeguards!
   
   As for the recommendations, it's the usual suspects - Woosey Woolsey et al. It would have been simpler to say that Joseph Goebbels approved it; that would have summarized it best. I don't think a NewsMax hack like this adds to the intelligence debate that the nation is currently engaged in.



2. "The Terrorist Watch" reads like a recruiting brochure - oversimplified and biased hype. Example I - attributing the FBI's computer backwardness entirely to former Director Louis Freeh, ignoring the fact that Attorney General Ashcroft heatedly refused requests by Mueller (Freeh's replacement) for funds to improve computer systems and anti-terrorism efforts. Example II - asserting the U.S. has won in Afghanistan, and ignoring how blunders allowed bin Laden to escape into Pakistan.
   
   Another problem is sometimes muddled statements - eg. whether the "20th hijacker" was Zacarias Moussauoi (taking flight lessons in Eagan, Minnesota) or al-Qahtani (refused entry in Orlando after providing vague answers to immigration questions).
   
   As for the claim "rolling up more than 5,000 terrorists worldwide since 9/11," that's non-credible given the almost non-existent resulting convictions. Nor is it supported by the confirmed fact (per U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) that an estimated 75 percent of 3 million applicants for immigrant benefits - green cards, work visas, and a host of other documents - at a major federal processing center were not screened through the U.S. terrorism watch list over the past four years.
   
   Then there's the periodic reports of failed airport security checks, unchecked materials shipped via airplanes, and ocean-borne cargoes; terrorists' names not added to the "Do Not Fly List," and infants and government critics who are listed.
   
   Finally, Kessler is also totally oblivious to the unsupportable costs of U.S. terrorism efforts. Bin Laden's weakening of the American economy means he's winning the "War on Terror" even if there's never another attack on the U.S.



3. Wake up America! This book is a must read. It reveals the truth about what the press does not want us to know.



4. Kessler takes the reader into the world of counterterrorism and paints a realistic picture of today's world. I learned a lot about the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the National Counterterrorism Center.
   
   The book contains the good, the bad, and the ugly of the evolution of the U.S.'s effort to counter Islamic terrorism.
   
   The bad begins on page 12 when Robert Muller gave Bob Dies a list of software he would require upon becoming Director of the FBI--Microsoft Office for example. Dies informed him that none of it would work on the FBI's current (ancient) computers. It seems the current director, Louis Freeh did not like computers and never used them. This is but one example of what had gone wrong in the 1990s. The FBI was unable to process information and could not communicate with each other or other agencies.
   
   The ugly is "the wall" created by Richard Scruggs in a 1995 memo. Instead of realizing Scruggs was an ill-informed idiot, Deputy AG Jamie Gorelick and the AG, Janet Reno approved Scruggs memo.
   
   The remainder of the book is devoted to the good, how things have improved. The wall has been torn down and the CIA, FBI and other agencies are communicating.
   
   Before making any type of judgment on how well, or how poorly, the U.S. is doing in combating terrorism, read this book.
   
   FBI Special Agent Piro's eight months interview with Saddam Hussain is work the price of the book. Saddam confirmed that he had fooled his generals, Iran, and the West into thinking he had WMDs. He did not think the U.S. would invade, and his fear was Iran. Should be ours too.
   
   Lee Boyland author of two alternative reality books dealing with current events: The Rings of Allah and Behold, an Ashen Horse.



5. There is a lot of interesting material in Kessler's book. I enjoyed the look inside the government's counterterrorism efforts, and the interviews and data from FBI and CIA agents/officers provide a great perspective on how things have unfolded over the past six or eight years.
   
   However, I was shocked at how clearly biased Kessler's work is. You expect any writer/journalist will have a bias, but Kessler is almost non-stop in his unmitigated praise of Mueller/Tenet/Bush and he misses no opportunity to take shots at Clinton, Freeh, and the "media elite." This is not to say that his opinions are wrong or misguided, it's just hard to swallow the idea that Mueller/Bush/et. al. have been 100% right and effective in everything they've done while nearly all failures are attributable to "liberals" and "the media."
   
   Kessler defends every policy and action of the current administration without any critique at all. Everything from Homeland Security to the Patriot Act to the outing of Valerie Plame, is discussed and supported without question or critical analysis. It's as though the book was written strictly from notes provided by the White House Press Secretary.
   
   Another area of concern is Kessler's use of statistics. He is happy to quote statistics printed in the NY Times or Washington Post and then tear them apart as misleading or representative of "liberal media bias." That's fine - statistics are a dangerous tool, so hearing multiple interpretations of them is always valuable. However, Kessler then goes on to cite his own sweeping statistics (e.g. FBI "terrorist" arrests in recent years) in support of his views but does not explain or analyze them in any critical manner.
   
   Don't get me wrong, I like the book, and it is refreshing to get a perspective on these issues from a source other than politicians and their spokesmen. It just makes me question the otherwise sensible-sounding data and conclusions in the book given the authors uncompromising bias. Kessler often comes across less like a journalist / investigative writer and more like a political hack / windbag like Limbaugh or Franken.

5 comments about Terrorist Trail: Backtracking the Foreign Fighter.

1. Mr Poole does it again. Another lifesaver for the troops.
   
   Will use it in our training. If you are into tracking; check out the chapter on urban tracking, it's old techniques put in a new environment, might just save your life.



2. Terrorist Trail by LTC John Poole (USMC-Ret) is one of the great books explaining how operations should be run in Iraq (and Afghanistan) to minimize damage to the local civilian population, while downgrading the ability of the insurgents to re-supply & operate. The book explains irregular warfare at it's best. How to assist the local population without having to destroy it! Unfortunately the GameBoy Generals of the Pentagon do not understand that all that glitzy billion dollar weaponry they love so much causes more damage in the long run to the war effort than it helps. They like to use a sledge-hammer to pick-off a flea.
   
   Instead of relying on massive firepower from the air or artillery, the US military needs to go back to training troops how to become excellent at small unit infantry skills. Let the Platoon & Squad leaders with eyes on the target, knowing his unit's capability, make the decision on how to attack a positon or control a target location. Instead of investing more billions in "real time" micro-managed command & control from CentCom, invest millions in highly effective light infantry training (*See the other works by John Poole regarding infantry training) on how to ID & target insurgent controlled areas while enlisting the help of the local population.
   Tracking is one of man's oldest survival skills. Early man tracked to find food & when he "evolved" tracked other men to kill them. This skill is as old as it gets for survival - except for running. The fastest man survived, the slowest was dinner. If the US military wants to survive & even thrive in an asymmetric 4th GW environment it has to evolve & change it's methodology of warfare in the coming years. Terrorist Trail explains beautifully the "how to" methodology of fighting the insurgents and winning in Iraq & in other back waters of the world. Will our current military leadership look at this work as sage advice? Highly un-likely. Most senior military leadership is looking to retire & move on to high paying jobs in the military-industrial complex (better know as Beltway Bandits)& down & dirty combat tactics just won't get them a hi-tech job!
   
   John Poole explains very clearly in Terrorist Trail who the insurgents are & where they come from, who & how are they supplied. The US military can acquire the intelligence to effectively fight & defeat the Jihadists. If you can ID the insurgent, know his mentality & fighting methodology, you can defeat him using the tactics & techniques recommended by LTC Poole in this book.
   I highly recommend this book to anyone going in harm's way overseas & to anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of defeating the insurgents at their own game.



3. Future historians will identify John Poole as one of those clairvoyant savants of military art who told us of the threat long before it happened, exactly what we should expect, and how to train to fight it. He will also be remembered as a perceptive author whose books were read and studied by the Soldiers and Marines who fought the wars of the 21st Century but, unfortunately, not read and studied by the generals who led them. In Terrorist Trail, he has again identified the threat, their modus operandi, and where to find them. He has identified why we haven't done very well at finding and eliminating the insurgents because of the lack understanding the threat, the absence of true soldier skills, and the burden of a very heavily laden attrition mind set on the part of most of the senior officer set.
   
   Terrorist Trail is a well researched volume based on keen insights into the Arab mind and culture. Moreover, the Trail follows the flow of foreign fighters right through the valley of the Euphrates and across the borders of Iran. This is more than just insight, it is information - nay, intelligence - from what is happening on the ground based on first hand accounts and observations. It is a detailed account which could be used as a continuity document for units in Iraq to read and understand as they rotate into these areas.
   
   Poole takes us on a tour d' force through successful counterinsurgency (COIN) operations throughout history and in the third world - pointing out lessons that should be learned if we are to ever master COIN ops. It doesn't take a mental giant to understand that this is a primer on "how to", but if unread, the lessons have no chance of being learned. If read, the lessons have to be implemented at a level to be effectively applied. Some of Poole's recommendations might be discerned in the new Army/Marine COIN Manual, FM 3-24/MCWP 3-33.5, December 2006, but these similarities exist in too few areas to think they are more than serendipitous. It would take an entirely different leadership, cultural mind-set, force organization, and training to implement Poole's recommendations, and there is no significant evidence of that in the conventional U.S. Army or Marine Corps.
   
   There is some flavor of Poole's prescriptions in Special Forces, but they too suffer from conventional generals with 2d generation thinking. Poole makes the case for decentralization of training in order to be able to create the type of army that can successfully combat the terrorists. He goes so far as to suggest: "If America's brigade commanders can't figure out how to fight more effectively at short range, they should defer to the collective wisdom of those who do it for a living - their rifle squad leaders." Such an outrageous statement, no matter how true, will provoke more of a defensive reaction by the hierarchy than the more appropriate determination to improve. One suspects that just such a thing is happening as there is now a shortage of his books in the Post and Base Exchanges. As the world situation continues to deteriorate, being good has become far more important than looking good. Poole has developed and tested a new "bottom-up" squad training method. Until more U.S. infantry units adopt it, they will continue to have problems at short range in either conventional or unconventional warfare.
   
   Thank you, John Poole, for doing some serious research and thinking on tactics, operations, and strategy and translating that into this newest great book, Terrorist Trail.



4. Examines the roots of an aspect of what is currently being faced in other climes and places. The author is uniquely qualified to write on the subject.



5. My biggest challenge in reviewing Poole's books is trying to find new ways to say essentially the same things: they are a refreshing, authoritative source of well-documented research and in-depth analysis of modern tactical warfare that are unequivocally the troops' best reference tools and the status quo's greatest threats. This book certainly continues that tradition.
   
   The book was organized into three inter-related parts. In the first part, Poole provided a great, detailed history of the terrorist relationships between Africa and the Middle East, and the increasing influence of Eastern (Chinese) methods and presence in the Middle East. Chapter 4, "Euphrates Pipeline," which read like a detailed intelligence summary of suspected infiltration routes in the Iraq-Syria border area, was the first of three `must-read' chapters for individuals and small units deploying to Iraq.
   
   The second part was an analysis of small unit actions and lessons from many years of African insurgency-counterinsurgency conflicts. I was especially impressed with Chapter 10, the second `must-read' chapter, which highlighted the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. In the final part, Poole shared his experienced perspectives on how to train for and win against the terrorist threats we are likely to be facing for the foreseeable future. This final part includes the final `must-read' chapter, "To Truly Win in a Place Like Iraq," from which the following quote is taken that pre-dated and predicted the kinds of successes that we are starting to see from the surge efforts in Iraq:
   
   "...America's leaders must override their cultural impulse to "think big" and start "thinking small." It will all come down to the basics - basic 4GW [4th Generation Warfare] skills for U.S. troops and basic services for oppressed populations. That means humanitarian light infantrymen instead of infrastructure destroying and jihadist-generating smart bombs. Some squads would anchor neighborhood security through CAP [Combined Action Platoon] platoons, while others mantracked and arrested perpetrators. Only then will the cycle of violence be broken."
   
   I look forward to the challenge of reviewing my next Poole book, but not as much as I look forward to the day when our troops and small-units get the kind of training and leadership that they deserve. Read this book to see what they are facing and how they can be victorious against our terrorist foes.

5 comments about The Bloody Shirt: Terror After Appomattox.

1. My hat goes off to Mr. Budiansky for writing a sad and harrowing tale of terrorism on America's home front immediately following the Civil War. This book holds your attention throughout retelling the stories of a few of the people, black and white, who tried to create a new society in the old Confederacy. To say they were tilting at windmills is to put it mildly. Those of you who have read Eric Foner's dry tome about Reconstruction will find this book a perfect supplement. Unfortunately, Professor Foner I feel failed to get across to the reader the absolute violence and terror of the times. This book sadly remedies that oversight. Mr. Budiansky is correct in saying this era of US history is one of the few left where so little has been written about. I urge all graduate students in US history to make Reconstruction their concentration. The voices of tens of thousands of freedmen, as well as Republican carpetbaggers are crying to be heard.



2. Stephen Budiansky has written a popular history of the Reconstruction era. His is no easy task, as Reconstruction falls far behind the Civil War as a subject of popular interest, despite their closeness on the historical timeline, and despite the fact that many of the Civil War's main players (such as James Longstreet, who's featured here) were very active in both. "The Bloody Shirt" is a well-researched and well-written account that focuses on several individuals and events rather than try to examine the period as a whole. The author explores Reconstruction in Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina--the Deep South states that were the heart of the large plantation economy.
   
   The main problem I had with the book was its emphasis on description rather than analysis. It reads like dispatches from the Reconstruction "front." That's fine, to a point, but at times it is more a string of primary sources than a monograph. Very often, letters and newspaper editorials, frequently printed whole, are left to speak for themselves. Much of this information could've been boiled down--and more importantly, should've been commented upon. For example, at one point, one Southern newspaper makes reference to "Colfax." Those familiar with the Reconstruction period will know this means the "Colfax Massacre" of 1873, which happened in Louisiana (if one wants to read about that, he/she can read the recent book "Redemption" by Nicholas Lemann).
   
   Most importantly, the book lacks sufficient political context. The last portions of the book deal with the infamous Hamburg massacre (or, as Democrats fashioned it, the Hamburg "riot") in South Carolina. Budiansky unfortunately, doesn't give us much context about Reconstruction politics in that state. Despite the violence there, it was one of the last Reconstruction governments to fall and was the only one to have a mostly black legislature. The Republicans survived in South Carolina largely because of the state's majority black population. Budiansky doesn't lay this out, and makes it seem as if African Americans were merely victims of some last-minute white terror. By that point, however, Reconstruction had failed, and it was not because of events in South Carolina alone.
   
   The extent to which Democrats resorted to violence and fraud was inexcusable, but Budiansky doesn't examine some of the faults of the Reconstruction governments. Republican mismanagement and corruption enabled Democrats to build their case for overthrowing Republican rule (on this subject, check out Thomas Holt's "Black Over White" about the Reconstruction government in South Carolina). As overstated or even outright false as many Democrats' claims were, there was mismangement and corruption among Republicans. That does not justify the Democratic backlash, but even the Republican governments' legitimate expenses--for things as seemingly basic as public education and infrastructure projects--were hotly debated by Southerners.
   
   Nevertheless, Budiansky is correct in saying that the real cause for overthrowing Reconstruction was not fiscal conservatism--which he addresses in the case of the Republican Governor Ames of Mississippi--but white anger with "Negro rule." And he is also correct in showing that African Americans were eventually abandoned by Northerners who had grown tired with events in the South. Once the Federal government decided blacks weren't worth defending, the radical Republican governments could not succeed.
   
   If Budiansky's sympathies are with the right people, another problem I had with the book was its fragmented nature. As soon as we are introduced to some figures and events in Reconstruction, we are whisked away to somewhere else. The passages about James Longstreet are well written, but Longstreet feels dropped in from nowhere. No sooner does he appear then he is gone.
   
   In sum, Budiansky's description of the violence of the period is well done, and he certainly is passionate in his defense of the white-black coalition governments. This is a good place to start for someone who is not well versed in the Reconstruction period. If I were to suggest an academic book about terror after Lee's surrender, I would suggest Richard Zuczek's "State of Rebellion," about Reconstruction in South Carolina. As a work of popular history, Budiansky's book illustrates some of the features of Reconstruction, but it doesn't break any new ground in the field of study. And those looking for a more comprehensive study might want to check out Eric Foner's "Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution."



3. This account of some of the worst atrocities perpetrated on free negros and their white allies in the decade following the Civil War by Klansman and their kinsmen brings to mind the difficulties the USA has now in occupying Iraq. If the majority culture in the land being occupied is willing to kill to keep its power, the occupier is doomed to eventual defeat. You just can't kill every mayor, shopkeeper and farmer in the land you want to "reform", and in the American South after 1865, that's what it would have taken for the Yankees to prevail in the "peace." The KKK justified its terrorism via The Bible, and their traditional culture, and stalled off racial Democracy in their states for an additional century. When their leaders told lies, even obvious ones, their people supported them because they did not want to give up their former privileges and powers. "We lost the uniformed war, but we don't have to lose the political war" seemed to be the slogan of the hour. This is worth reading if you have an interest in the Reconstruction, or if you want to understand better the hardships our troops and our diplomats face in the Middle East.



4. This is a most interesting book about the period of reconstruction. The carpetbaggers did not make this process any easier for our Nation that had been torn apart. Race was a problem before the war, during the war, during reconstruction, and it is today. The war was over but the hate was still there. There were four years of the bloodiest war we have ever experienced. Families had been split apart, neighbors, states, and a nation. The Mason and Dixon line was still drawn. With reconstruction came the terror that resulted in hangings and political turmoil. Lincoln's untimely death was part of the terrorism that flooded the South. By Ruth Thompson author of "Natchez Above The River" and " The Bluegrass Dream"
   
   Writing as a Small BusinessQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelTravelersNatchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil WarThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early Settlers



5. This is actually an excellent book. I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 only because it wasn't what I expected, plus it's not the kind of history I typically like.
   
   As others have said, it does seem to be just a series of loosely strung-together vignettes, with very little analysis. On second thought, though, the particular vignettes the author chosen are really very telling. And there is a real flow, from the early hopes of reconstruction to its tragic denouement. Similarly, there really isn't that much need for analysis - the facts really do speak for themselves.
   
   In fact, this is the real strength of this book, in my opinion. The behaviour evidenced in this book is so awful (and typically so hidden and swept under the rug) that it really makes me wonder about this country, and how we can ever overcome a past like this.
   
   If you're interested in more books along these lines, try:
   
   The Slave Ship: A Human History
   
   Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America
   
   Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism
   
   Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II
   
   The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction
   
   At the Hands of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America (Modern Library Paperbacks)

5 comments about Why America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11.

1. In "Why America Slept" Gerald Posner has written an excellent account of policy and intelligence failures that prevented America from suspecting, detecting, and preventing the September 11, 2001 attacks. The book is not a typical political ax-grinding tome, but rather seeks to dispense credit and blame regardless of party affiliation. The book goes back to the Carter administration, which in many ways set the tone for US dealings with Muslim extremists (largely excepting Reagan) and is particularly good at exploring the legal hand-wringing that went on in Washington in attempting to deal with terrorists in a politically correct manner, and a general failure to take terrorism seriously enough (the book gives perhaps the best account of the Clinton administration's failure to treat Osama bin Laden as a major threat, despite the 1999 findings of the Hart-Rudman report on national security.)
   
   A major recurring theme of the book is the now-familiar refrain of lack of intra- and inter-agency cooperation (most notably between the CIA and FBI), utter incompetence by the INS, failure to correctly analyze threats by militant religious factions (starting with the takeover of the Alkifah Refugee Center in Brooklyn, New York by Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, ultimately giving bin Laden prime influence at the Center,) and political cowardice in pursuing religious enemies of the United States, including enemies who had repeatedly threatened US interests.
   
   This is a very concise and well documented history of the government inaction that utterly failed to prevent the worst surprise attack in American history. I highly recommend it to everyone.



2. "9/11 could have been prevented."
   
   A dry read that will leave you frustrated with the failures within our government and around the world. Information is taken from personnel interviews and extensive references. We shut our eyes and ears--willingly ignorant. Were we looked on as a paper tiger?
   
   Posner covers: The ignored Mosques and charities in our own cities, who raise funds for terrorists; the lack of communication within and between our government, CIA, FBI, and law enforcement--division, hindrances, lack of action, ineptness; terrorists cells within; links to iraq; bombings leading up to 9/11; the warnings of the Bin Ladin progression; missed opportunities; the money flow--banks, businesses.
   
   The media reporting on domestic terrorists was overshadowed by the O.J. trial--the later bringing in a more captivated audience. Our priorities lie elsewhere.
   
   Was Zubayday tortured? Who else new and failed to tell us?
   
   Good accompaniment: "9/11 Commission Report"



3. Gerald L. Posner proved his prowess as an investigator in his books covering the murders of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy. But it is with this account on the political games & blunders that led to 9/11 which will define his reporting for future generations.
   
   It is not only the 20-plus years of quiet deals, turf wars and unexplainable ignorance, but the powers who hold the puppet strings of the so-called American political leaders that doomed innocent civilians on that September morning.
   
   And the perfection of the reporting has deflected harsh criticism initially aimed at Posner, in particular the threatened legal action from the Saudi ruling family. The truth really stings when it is in a book and cannot be honestly repudiated by the puppeteers.
   
   As the Bush Administration and their lap dogs - Democrats and Repulicans - in Congress and the media prepare the American people to escalate the military quagmire in Iraq and rattle the sabre at Iran and other sovereign nations, Posner's message is as important as ever.
   
   The politcians refused to set an alarm clock of common sense. It is time for the people to wake them up to the truth behind their criminal lies.



4. This is work that goes beyond just the interesting or compelling. If we think we heard all there is to hear about 9/11...then this book proves us wrong. The 2001 tragedy, as Posner documents the history, was far more than just 4 planes, 19 terrorists, three buildings, and a president in a schoolroom. Terrorist planning began years earlier. Funds from Germany were involved. The culprits roamed USA streets, lived in local east-coast apartments, and gathered illegal cash for their 9/11 project years before the event...so we find out.
   
   It's an eye-opening, totally mind-boggling chronology that's something like a spy novel, something like a drama, with built-in intrigue and depth. -Here's the perfect book for anyone confused by the reported "facts" of 9/11...or for who may be searching for the behind-the-scenes truths about CIA, FBI, White House mishaps, bungling and non-cooperation. What did the FBI know pre-9/11, and how many times did the brass there say: "Forget about it. We don't need to deal with it now"? Quite a few times, apparently. So incredible a tale about how our super-sleuth agencies and administration dropped the ball, the read often infuriates and irritates.
   
   It might be added, though Posner explained who was sleeping...and how, when, and where we were asleep at the switch, he didn't much tell us "Why" we slept, perhaps the (politico-?) background of which would be an equally magnetic story to tell. Even so, "Why America Slept" is a superb (if not slightly depressing) work!



5. Unlike Clark's book, this shows a true picture on why America let its guard down. Many people didn't do their jobs. The INS didn't implement a effective student Visa program. Liberals like Barney Frank thought it was OK to let immigrants come into this country with political terrorist backgrounds. Our presidents didn't take the opportunity to review national security concerns. In fact, Clinton didn't even meet with his CIA head for two years. Many people failed, and OBL and his group seized the opportunity. Even our allies like Germany, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia deceived us. There is alot in this short book that makes people angry. The author documents why America slept, while the terrorists planned. In fact, during the election squabble, two of the pilots were training in Florida while this was happening.
   
   This is one of the better books about 9/11. I thought I might be reading a rehash on what happened, but Posner tells his reader audience why this event happened. An interesting read, and one that will shape your perspective.

5 comments about Home Workshop Explosives, Second Edition.

1. Everything the everyday Joe could ask for on hard-to-find information about explosives! A step-by-step guide by the master himself! Uncle Fester! An underground legend in his own time!



2. The title says very little about this most amazing book. I love high-explosives. I like to play with them. And I have a little bit of experience with it... I'm a former special-operations officer with 16 years of service in my country's intelligence agency (something like a "mix" of CIA/FBI/Secret Service, now extinct), and I have done years of overseas "contractor" work... I've been in five major guerrilla wars (Angola, Mozambique, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Lebanon), and alt. I had previous experience with improvised explosives, that old "Black Books" on improvising ordnance did not help me, when I needed it most. Old warriors never die (they only go to Hell to regroup), and I even ask some "insiders" on contrating me to work in Iraq, earlier this year, as a "security advisor", but they find me too fat & unfit to be of use in there... a close friend, former Royal Marine and veteran of Northern Ireland and Malvinas/Falklands, who lived in another big town here, go there, and now is doing what he was trained for... and alt. in all wars we once fought we can get any ammount of firearms, ammo, support weapons, you name it, there was a lack of high-explosives to we "Soldiers-of-Fortune" play with... If I had this amazing book with me on "my wars" back in the '80's, I could do things in a better, faster, more funny way, if you can get what I'm talking about. I love high-explosives, as I told earlier, even being outside of any war, and experiments with this books' fuel-air devices make me fell young again, even with the small earthquake people feel around... with the most potent "toy" described (and a very easy to use one), I get a fireball the size of a truck! I LOVED IT!!! Well, if you want real fun, this is the book for you. Stop reading feeble books that can only "instruct" you, or dangerous books that can only teach you how to blow yourself in hundreds of pieces. Uncle Fester knows what he writes about - and knows a LOT.



3. this book really has all you need to become a conoisseur of the finer explosives. It covers everything from material choice, recipes for the main high explosives through to detonators, safety and storage tips. Each recipe also includes a very good explanation on how to procure certain of the chemicals needed without leaving a paper trail 5 miles long. I can say from personal experience that these recipes do indeed work, and with a bit of creative chemistry one could convert these recipes to work with some of your day to day bathroom, tool shed or cleaning products to produce some crude yet effective explosives(I have succeeded in this without any chemical experience whatsoever).
   the book gives an insight that explosives are within the grasp of any DIY terrorist with even half a decent brain.
   learn how to protect yourself from them, BUY THIS BOOK!



4. I highly recommend this book for any one in military or law enforcement. Understanding how explosives are made helps you recognize the signs of some one making explosives. Who knew you could use stump remover, drain cleaner, and drug store glycerin to make nitro glycerin? Along with a $200 chemestry set as well.



5. i bought this book wondering how good it really was in the start but taking note from the reviews of this book i kinda knew what i was in for in getting this. THIS IS THE MAN, THE UNCLE FESTER. In reading all that i have so far i am shocked, almost to the point of hitting the floor. in the time that i have worked in the pyrotechnics field i have picked up a few things but not all that is in this book, knowing all that is in here makes me happy i got this book seeing as i am sure some time that it will be taken off the market due to all that is in this book.

No comments about Combating Terrorism, Strategies and Approaches.

5 comments about Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib, and the War on Terror.

1. The author strongly makes the case that the Abu Ghraib torture scandal was not caused by a few rotten apples on the night shift, but was systematic torture as policy. The Red Cross report and other valid reports are in the book so that the reader can see for himself that the torture at Abu Ghraib was certainly far more than a few rotten apples that were military police serving in the reserves that were sent to Abu Ghraib.
   
   There was sadism at Abu Ghraib. There was a breakdown in law and order at Abu Ghraib. There was a breakdown in discipline at Abu Ghraib. This, of course, puts our entire Country and our entire military at risk.
   
   Not only is the torture wrong, but, beyond that, torture is ineffective and many of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib had no intelligence value in the first place. Torture is very harmful to our Country politically speaking. It is certainly the case that any information that was obtained by torture would be overshadowed by the political damage caused by the activities.



2. This is by far the best journalistic account of the torture of suspects at Abu Ghraib. This is also the best book to read after reading the books of documents, which give you the vital context for understanding Danner's book. Read them first and then this one - you will then be able to understand what really happened and why. British and US troops really did commit terribe acts against their prisoners, with tragic consequences for the reputation of both nations in the Middle East. Read Danner and the documents books to discove why. Christopher Catherwood (author of CHURCHILL'S FOLLY: HOW WINSTON CHURCHILL CREATED MODERN IRAQ: Carroll and Graf, hardcover 2004, paperback 2005)



3. Like its companion, The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib, Torture and Truth is an essential resource for scholars or researchers on this subject. However, because of its length (500+ pages)and scope it is an excellent choice for the more general reader. It is a compilation of reports and letters, mostly from the Bush Administration, on the Iraq War and torture issues. Because of its primary source components, it is invaluable for anyone doing research on the subject. It is well-organized, and will find a place in many dissertations in the years to come.



4. I bought Mark Danner's TORTURE AND TRUTH several months ago from Amazon, and find it ever more relevant to current events. For the numbers of people detained and tortured in the War on Terror-- many of them believed by reputable individuals and organizations to be innocent-- continues to rise, and extends far beyond Abu Ghraib. The very fact that the majority of these people have never been formally charged with involvement in terrorist activity nor tried seems to prove their innocence, for it would be very easy to keep someone in jail these days if one could present solid evidence of their involvment in terrorism. Those who object that the tortures inflicted on these detaninees is not as bad as that which some totalitarian governments inflict upon their victims ignore the fact that the "soft torture" techniques in development since the end of World War II have been found to be more effective in "breaking" victims than simple brutality (see Alfred McCoy, A QUESTION OF TORTURE: CIA INTERROGATION FROM THE COLD WAR TO THE WAR ON TERROR). The suffering of these wretched detainees keeps me awake at night, yet to this day most people seem unconcerned about their plight. Danner's comment from the Introduction to his book still holds true: "Like other scandals that have erupted during the Iraq War and the war on terror, it is not about revelation or disclosure but about the failure, once wrongdoing is disclosed, of politicians, officials, the press, and, ultimately, citizens to act."



5. This book offers a chilling rendition of the events that occured at Abu Gharib. It fairly reviews the events through official reports, which are quite chilling! A must read!!

2 comments about The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda.

1. Based on interviews and quotes, the author profiles many movements whether open insurgencies or relatively close - small groups. From Europe to America and the Middle East, strikingly many share the same "normal" perspective: "I'm fighting against the aggressor".



2. If you ever wonder how those terrorists can do what they do this is the book for you. This book is the best one volume catch all book on about every terrorist group that there is. The author does a great job diagnosing what motivates each of those groups he highlights. He puts you into the mind of each group in a short, concise narrative on the group. You can see what motivates them to do what they do. His information is very applicable, right out of the newspaper. He goes over both FARC and PKK. Both groups recently had their chapters of fame in the world's newspapers just within the past month. Through every chapter you can see terrorists aren't like us. Each group is motivated by a slightly different cause. However it is easy to say that they all aren't like the average American. We are fooling ourselves to think otherwise. The author does offer some great tips on how to fight terrorism. His tips are real thought provoking and worthy of a look by all.

5 comments about Silence on the Mountain: Stories of Terror, Betrayal, and Forgetting in Guatemala (American Encounters/Global Interactions).

1. Good work for Mr Wilkinson.For some time i was looking for a book on the Guatemalan civil war and this was definetly a good start.Mr Wilkinson goes deep into the Guatemalan jungle to talk to people,soldiers and politicians that were involved in this terrible war.The way he explains the importance of the events is very good and he also describes the involvement of the United States which is not a good one. I specially enjoyed Mr Wilkinson's conclusion in which he explains the ramifications of recent political upheavals in Guatemala where a lot of people are not afraid anymore of expresing themselves and how minorities like indians are getting some of their land back.The only problem that i had with this book is that Mr Wilkinson is too "slow" in his account.He spends way to many pages describing situations and personal experiences that have no relations with the topic of the book whatsoever.For example, he describes how some chickens eat what's on the floor, he describes an accident he had in his motorcycle and he even describes an encounter with a "witch". For me this was just pages in which i just wanted to finish reading so i could get to the important stuff.BUt again its a good book.



2. time and again i let myself be surprised by the atrocious acts committed or supported by my government. the hypocricy of the CIA and of US foreign policy in general is nothing new, but this book tells guatemala's story from a very personal angle. the repressive practices of the post-50's guatemalan government are shocking and important to understand in and of themselves, along with the US involvement in those practices. but what is most outstanding about this book is the human face wilkinson puts on the tragedy. in his travels on a harvard fellowship, he meets many of the major players in the drama, as well as the ordinary people who suffered from the violence. the result is a book not entirely sympathetic to the guerrilla fighters, not entirely condemning of the guatemalan government, but entirely focused on the outcomes of the civil war that are still being faced by the rural poor in the guatemalan highlands. we are responsible as us citizens -- if we are us citizens, that is :) for understanding this story, since our government is largely responsible for supporting the violence over so many decades.
   
   also, this is an amazing read. it's intelligent, funny, well-written all around. it's not entirely chronological, but more like a travel journal-cum-historical flashbacks. i read it in preparation for a trip to guatemala, and am so glad that i did. everyone should read this book.



3. I agree with the other reviewer who suggested that US citizens have a responsibility to read this book, since the US is responsible for much of the suffering that's been going on in Guatemala - and other parts of Latin America. Fortunately, there are civic groups like the School of the Americas Watch ([...])that are providing assistance to the victims of our violence.
   I worked with an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala and the story he told of his village being destroyed was heart-breaking. I'm always glad to discover authors like Daniel Wilkinson who are sharing the sort of information that our establishment media marginalizes. Information that people like us can disseminate in our own grassroot networks.
   Along with Wilkinson's book, I'd recommend the DVD "When the Mountains Tremble," which features Rigoberta Menchu - who, predictably, has been smeared by defenders of our military establishment and self-serving myths that go with it. Additionally, I recently bought "Guatemala: Never Again!" to honor Bishop Juan Gerardi, who was murdered a couple days after he turned in the manuscript.
   
   Some may be interested to know that the song "The Flowers of Guatemala" by R.E.M. is about US foreign policy in Central America. Lead singer Michael Stipe mentions his intent during an interview in the progressive Christian magazine "Sojourners."



4. For anyone interested in learning about Guatemala, the Land of Eternal Spring , and the horrors and intricacies of the 36 year Civil War and it's aftermath, this is a must read. I found Wilkinson's writing to be inviting, compelling and informative. It is one of the best books I have read about the country so dear to me.



5. "Silence on the Mountain- Stories of terror, betrayal, and forgetting in Guatemala" is a book written by Daniel Wilkinson who is a graduate from Yale Law School who works for Human Rights Watch. It chronicles his journey through Guatemala on a motorcycle trying to find out what happened there after the CIA coup in 1954 in which the democratically elected government was overthrown. What he meets is a type of collective amnesia. Most people will not speak to him about what went on because they fear repression. This eventually changes when he gets one entire village to open up to him and share their collective stories of a massacre that had occurred there. He talks to people who tell him about the guerilla movement that grew in opposition to the US backed government. They tried to give back the land rights to the peasant population that had been taken away from them.
   
   The Guatemalan government never really had a chance in implementing the agrarian reforms that they planned to pull through in the 1950s where peasants where to get their own land. Much if not all of the land in the country was owned by private land owners. When the president Arbenz said that he would give some of the land back to the workers a plan was set in motion to take him out. The working system was structured in the following way in Guatemala. Germans had come there in the late 1800s and started coffee plantations. Here people got jobs but where always immediately put into debt. This debt became a trap that they usually ended up paying off the rest of their lives meaning that they where more like slaves. This indebted servitude was something that Arbenz wanted to stop with his land reforms in the 1950s. But with the CIA's help a man called Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas overthrew Arbenz in the operation PBSuccess. Creating a reign of US backed rightwing dictators that ruled the country for 40 years. The amounts of repression that the people of Guatemala lived through during these regimes was immense. It reached its peak in the early 1980s. Then the army started to use its "scorched earth" methods to fight the guerillas. This meant that often whole villages where erased of the face of the earth with their entire populations being ruthlessly killed. Most of these villages where Mayan Indian villages and the contained mainly innocents. About 400 villages where eradicated under this campaign and the genocide was in effect. It is said that 200,000 civilians lost their lives in total during these years. And this is truly the dark side of a guerilla war. That the army has no idea of where he enemy is or what they look like since they are not wearing uniforms and therefore attack civilians as a way of influencing, intimidating and hurting the guerillas as well as the locals. The same thing is starting to happen now in Iraq. That more and more reports are coming in that American soldiers are wounding and killing civilians. But Guatemala is truly a very graphic example of state sponsored terror where rape, violence against women and children, and slaughtering of innocents was used as a weapon.
   
   This was all done by a government that had full American support and even trained its soldiers at the now infamous School of the Americas(which has now changed its name). America was complacent in the bloody history of Guatemala. On the contrary to Ronald Reagan who gave the most oppressive dictator in Guatemala, Hector Gramajo, his full support, Bill Clinton fessed up and gave the Guatemalan people a formal apology in the late 1990s for his countries involvement in the genocides and bloody history of this poor country. Not that this changes much for the people of that country because as Daniel Wilkinson writes: "For Guatemala was a place where terrorism did in fact win."
   
   Now the situation in Guatemala is starting to gradually change. With globalization more and more people have started take an interest and see what is happening within the country. Many more human rights activists are working there and it is not possible for the government to implement the same brutal techniques they did before without having an outcry from the international community. The Mayan indians have managed to get an agarian reform where land has been granted them but they are far from finished. They are still working to see that more land is given to them. After reading this book I was both shocked, angered and felt sick. I had always been fascinated by the Mayan indians and loved their art. I even went with my friend to a Mayan art exhibit in Helsinki in the late 90s. Its only now that I realize their history is closely interlaced with American foreign policy. And its only now that I realized how much these people suffered. These types of human rights abuses are unacceptable.