5 comments about Information Operations: Warfare and the Hard Reality of Soft Power (Issues in Twenty-First Century Warfare).

1. This is the most up-to-date book on Information Operations I've read. There are over a dozen contributors from the US, UK and Australia, all of whom have hands-on Information Operations experience. It is must reading for anyone serious about this important field of military operations.



2. Finally, here's a book that cuts through the dense brush of information operations theory and reaches a clearing where the reader can truly discover the practical application of information operations. The list of contributors is impressive...and all have practical experience in information operations. A must read for practitioners of IO.



3. This is a first rate effort, but it is incomplete and overly U.S. centric. A new expanded edition is needed soonest.
   
   For myself the best chapters were on "Intelligence Support: Foundations for Conducting IO" and "Information Projection: Shaping the Global Village." Other chapters on the language of IO, information protection, related and supporting activities, and implementing IO were good.
   
   The most important point in this book from my point of view was its observation that modern war is only 15-25% military action, and the rest must be a unified national campaign that leverages all sources of national power **for which IO is the glue that provides the inter-agency coherence.** These authors understand and teach, very ably, how IO is at the heart of managing complex coalition contingency operations.
   
   The book over-all shows a real appreciation for the role that must be played by non-military agencies, coalitions, and private sector organizations including religions, academics, and business as well as media personalities.
   
   The discussion of the "information battlespace" is useful, as are the illustrations. There is an excellent "strategy to task" section helpful to anyone actually implementing IO.
   
   The authors are to be commended for emphasizing that knowing the enemy is not enough--you must know yourself and be firmly grounded in reality rather than ideological fantasy, if the IO message is to have traction. The authors also address, diplomatically but directly, the limitations of the traditional insular military planning process (especially the secretive intelligence process), and clearly articulate the need for open processes that can embrace and leverage varied communities of interest, non-US as well as US.
   
   The authors also raise an extremely important issue to which they cannot provide an answer, but which must be resolved sooner than later: the urgency of being able to educate Americans about global realities and threats, without being accused of propagandizing Americans. [This is one reason why Congressman Simmons, on both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee, is so important--he understands that the state intelligence centers and networks we are advocating can serve two functions: as bottom up dot collectors, and as disseminators of real world open source intelligence to the state and local publics.]
   
   One minor nit: the authors assume that because most of the 9-11 hijackers had Saudi passports they were Saudi. My understanding is that they were a mixed bag with passports of convenience from Saudi Arabia for those who were not Saudi.
   
   The book concludes with cursory attention to Russian, Chinese, and Australian IO doctrine and practices, and does not address Iranian, Indian, Pakistani, and Venezuelan-Cuban IO, which are of considerable importance.
   
   The book, very understandably, does not spend a lot of time on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) or the need to properly monitor all information in all languages all the time, but the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence has clearly articulated the need to do "universal coverage, 24/7, in all languages, at the neighbood level of granularity" (this is an abdiged paraphrase) and DoD appears well on its way to doing just that. I recommend that this book be read in conjunction with Max Manwaring and John Fishel's Uncomfortable Wars Revisited (International and Security Affairs Series) with Max Manwaring's edited work on The Search for Security: A U.S. Grand Strategy for the Twenty-First Century which emphasizes key moral messages; and my own IO book, Information Operations: All Information, All Languages, All the Time which focuses exclusively on information peacekeeping or the foreign language content side of IO, and has a comprehensive annotated bibliography. Specialty books that I recommend to IO practitioners include Larry Beinhart's Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin Robert Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials); Robert Parry's Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth' and John Hasling's The Audience, The Message, The Speaker with Public Speaking PowerWeb.



4. Info Ops: Warfare and Hard Reality of Soft Power is an awesome primer to information operations/information warfare (IO/IW). The book was originally written as a textbook for some high-level defense university classes, but has worked great as a layman's introduction to the field. In it you'll find many government agencies and the scope of their involvement in IO, great examples of IO/IW [save one example I'll mention later]
   
   The book is the foundation to an IO/IW education, so it is a definite "must-purchase." Its low price may shy folks away, thinking its a "discount" overview - but that is a mistake in thinking, and maybe IO (deception) on the part of the publisher...
   
   The one example of IO/IW I was disappointed in was mention of cyberspace exercises called Solar Sunrise and Elligible Receiver. The mainstream press have called them hoaxes or reporting blown out of proportion; the book does no better by using it as a "smoking gun" without the powder burns or shell casing. The mention of both exercises seem to be wrapped in the same mystery and hysteria as found on online conspiracy theory sites.
   
   Other than that slight peeve, the book should be purchased to get the skinny on IO/IW.



5. The meaning of the tem `Information Operations' (IO) is still evolving, but it is generally recognized to be inextricably part of the concept of Network Centric Warfare which was made possible by what the U.S. Military refer to as the `Global Information Grid' (GID). Which is to say that the IO concept is essential to developing military strategy and force structure planning. So what is it? The simplest definition of IO that is currently in fashion would appear to be that it refers to techniques and actions that adversely affect an enemy's ability to collect, manage, and use information while defending ones own abilities in this regard.
   
   All this is by way of introduction to this book, which although written by a committee of U.S. and Australian IO theorist and operators, is a pretty good over view of how IO works both in theory and, interestingly enough, in practice. The book makes perfectly valid claims that IO clearly must be based on effective intelligence production and good information systems. Ironically both defensive and offensive IO are dependant on access to accurate and timely information (knowledge) to be successful. In this context it was rather surprising that the book did not make more of an issue of the dangers of disinformation and corrupted information to IO success although it did discuss psychological warfare as an aspect of IO. Still the book is for now a good primer on IO and understanding the complexities of war in the 21st Century.
   
   Yet this book is not the definitive statement on IO, rather it is another step on the road of the U.S. Military to transformation to force structures based on Network Centric Warfare. Incidentally for those interested in that concept I suggest they read "The Future of War" by Mark D. Mandeles (Amazon.com). A rather different but equally relevant view of IO can be found in "Information Operations' by Robert D. Steel (Amazon.com). Until the term `Information Operations' is finally established, it is a good idea to keep an open mind on what it means.

5 comments about Patriot Games.

1. Having seen the movie many times I decided to read Patriot Games and see how the novel compared to the film. Unfortunately, as with other reviewers, I was disappointed by the novel but regard the film as well done. Both adhere to the same story line with the novel going more in depth into the characters and technical details of the intelligence, military, and law enforcement communities. Honestly, I felt it was a bit much and could have done without it.
   
   The best example is the Ryan character. I just could not sympathize with him, even though he is portrayed as a great family man. He did not seem human at all and the actions of the characters at the end just seem plain ridiculous, as well as Tom Clancy's justification for those actions. By the end of the book, I did not care about his fate at all. In fact, no character was crafted well enough to not seem ridiculous.
   
   The dialogue between the characters also seemed simplistic and childish. It can be hard to convey the feelings and expressions of characters in a novel without having to resort to plain, simplistic dialogue where every character says what they normally wouldn't if one could see their expressions and emotions. However, Clancy takes this to the extreme. The dialogue almost seemed Victorian in nature. Everyone needed to voice the reasons for their actions, and continue to do so even when the reader has gotten their fill. For example, a state trooper who only appears on one page of the novel. Based on events that happened before his arrival I could derive his emotions and feelings clearly without being explicitly told. However, Clancy goes on and on describing this trooper's ruminations ad nauseum.
   
   Overall, it seems like this was a very early work for Clancy and it shows. Perhaps he was honing his craft, but that is surprising seeing how well I regarded his previous novels. I think he was having fun with the Ryan character as a family man, the beauty of childbirth, morality etc. and he just got carried away. Unfortunately, that translates to a very slow story with many long drawn out parts.
   
   I cannot recommended this book when there are much better Clancy novels out there. If you are new to Clancy I would suggest The Hunt for Red October or Red Storm Rising over Patriot Games. I would have liked to have been able to have read the book before seeing the film. Perhaps that would change my view. However, the movie does a good job of trimming the fat, which is what Clancy should have done with Patriot Games.



2. IRA attack.
   
   
   Jack Ryan accidentally gets involved with the IRA when he saves one of their targets from being killed because he just happens to be around and that is the sort of thing he does.
   
   This has serious reprecussions for him when he is minding his own business with his family and they come calling with an attack team.
   
   A decent, fairly intense personal level thriller.
   
   
   3.5 out of 5



3. we the british we have ruled this planet since we have been around and we will continue to rule it for as long as we are around



4. This is still my favorite Clancy book ever. It's the most personal Jack Ryan story and is very, very emotional (and thus very gripping) for that reason. The only time I've ever cheered at a novel was while reading this! This book has much less technical and military minutiae than any of his other books and I actually prefered that. If I want all the specs on a pistol or mortar round, I'll look it up in a Jane's.
   
   There are other stylistic differences and some have speculated that Clancy was playing with the character internally and giving him more depth. I've always felt like that 'Patriot Games' was his "real" first Ryan novel - actually written (or at least sketched out) before 'The Hunt for Red October.' It precedes that book 'chronologically' and its basic plot is mentioned in 'Red October'.
   
   I read the book first and while I love 90% of the film version of 'Patriot Games', the book is better to me. The movie is more faithful to the book than just about any movie adaptation I've seen - except for the ending. I utterly despise the movie's ending, having read the book first.
   
   SPOILERS: The whole point of the story is that Jack is a better man than Sean Miller. That he doesn't kill Miller at the end of the book and instead turns him over to the authorities is extremely important. Now, the movie may kill off Miller "accidentally" (and clumsily) during the boat chase but it robs Jack of that important moral choice. And I HATE THAT.



5. I watched the movie for this one when I was younger and I read the novel for it a few years ago. This novel is different from his others, this one does not focus on Russia or the middle east, but on Ireland and the war between Northern Ireland and the UK.
   
   Ryan gets caught up in the war, when he saves the life of an English Lord, who is the target of an Irish separatist group. The plot thickens when this group decides to go after Ryan, here in the US.
   
   This is a straightforward action novel, and Clancy does an excellent job! Read the book and watch the movie!

5 comments about The Zero Hour: A Novel.

1. I was looking for a story about assassins when I picked up this book. Its premise around a terrorist, sometime assassin, did not fit my interest but I could not put the book down.
   
   In this match of wills between the terrorist, Henrik Baumann, code name "Prince of Darkness" and FBI Agent Sarah Cahill and her task force is an engaging thriller. The author invites us into the minds of Baumann and the FBI task force. Contracted by a businessman seeking revenge on the United States, Baumann, a cold blooded killer, meticulously plans and executes a devastating attack on American soil. He leaves behind him a trail of bodies of those who get in the way, and the FBI is not immune. Agent Cahill, among others, will pay a steep price during the hunt.
   
   The author has a tendency to give information dumps to explain how things work from customs agents to bomb triggers. Sometimes those sections get cumbersome and slow down the story. Some of the "new" technology is actually dated as of this writing.
   
   Agent Cahill and the task force use intellect and vast resources in the race to close in on Baumann. The Prince of Darkness is aptly named as he uses murder and subterfuge as formidable weapons to finish the contract, and he has always completed contracts. The end game is thrilling, heart stopping, and satisfying.
   
   I plan to read more of this author's work.



2. An encrypted phone call is intercepted by American aothorities.The call
   reveals that an act of terrorism is going to be carried out on Wall Street.
   This is the plan of billionairo Malcolm Dyson to gain revenge.He was a billionaire in America.He was put on trial and convicted of insider trading.He managed to escape the United States and move to Switzerland
   where he cannot be extradited.U.S, Marshalls attempt to arrest him in
   Switzerland killing his daughter and wife and crippling him.He wants to get even.
   He arranges for South African intelligence agent(terrorist) Henrik Baumann to escape from a South African prison.Baumann has performed many
   assassinations for pay.He is a skilled killer and operative.Dyson agrees
   to pay Baumann(the Prince of Darkness $10 million to carry out a mission.
   Baumann is to plant a virus in the computor system of Manhattan Bank destroying the entire system and rendering the bank insolvent.He is also
   going to blow up The National Electronic Transfer Facility also known as
   the Network.This is where the computor system is that transacts money transactions from all over the world.The destruction of this system would
   close down all financial markets in the world.
   F.B.I.agent Sarah Cahill is in charge of stopping Baumann.She has no idea what Baumann looks like.She and a task force are moving at a breakneck pace to stop Baumann before he can gain vengance for Dyson.Cahill's son even comes into play.
   This is an outstanding book that you should read.



3. I personally love Joseph Finder novels - most are based around corporate business, but The Zero Hour is focused on terrorism...
   This novel was written pre 9/11 though there are some passages that reflect what occured on that dreadful day...
   Finder through his usual deep plot and deep character development shows that in the real world you cannot be open to strangers (even though you feel comfortable around - may not be who they think they are).
   In brief, this book is about a man who wants to get even.
   My favorite passage (which wraps up the novel beautifully) can be found on page 232:
   "Malcolm and Alexandria Dyson's marriage had long colled, but she had given birth to Pandora, and Pandora was Malcolm Dyson's whole world, the center of his life. He loved his daughter as much as any father had ever loved a daughter. He was obsessed with his Pandora; he could not talk about her without lighting up, without a smaile or a glow.
   "Malcolm Dyson was a paraplegic now who carried his anger around in his m otorized chair. Once he had lived for forturne; now he lived for revenge. I'll never walk again, he had once thundered at Lomas, but with Pandora gone, why in the world would I ever want to?"
   
   I love that passage...And I love how Finder writes so beautifully to the point where you as a reader feel compassion for the "evil" people . . .
   
   :) I loved this book and I know you will to! without a doubt this book deserved 5 stars!! * * * * *



4. Joseph Finder is one of my favorite authors and I am really looking forward to reading his next corporate thriller, POWER PLAY. ZERO HOUR was written in 1996 and while reading it I saw Finder's talent but also saw how far he has progressed in writing. His novels are so much better now. ZERO HOUR is still very good.
   
   A South African prisoner, Baumman, escapes from captivity with the help of a rich man named Malcom Dyson who wants to hire him. Dyson is living in Europe and holds an immense grudge against the United States. He hires Baumman to carry out a terrorist bombing that will destroy the financial infrastructure of the world. Sarah Cahill is a single mom and an FBI agent with bomb expertise. One of her informants is murdered and this informant has ties to a high ranking Wall Street banker. On Sarah's end, the pieces slowly fall into place that indicate a bomb attack might be coming. Baumman plans his attack very carefully, but makes a few mistakes, and because of some random events, the FBI figures out his plan. The rest of the novel is a cat and mouse game as the FBI is always seemingly one step behind Baumman.
   
   Finder's novels have always been extensively researched, and ZERO HOUR is no exception. However, in this novel, Finder followed a pattern of introducing an subject, then explaining how it worked or its history (the research) then moved on with the story. Because of the inserted research, the story didn't flow seamlessly. I still enjoyed it however, even if it is a by the numbers spy thriller.
   
   The FBI references previous bomb attacks a lot while trying to figure out where Baumman is going to strike next. They reference the Timothy McVeigh Oklahoma City bombing as well as the first World Trade Center bombing. While reading, it gave me a weird feeling knowing about the soon to occur events of 9/11. Finder includes this paragraph after a character asks if a certain amount of C-4 explosives can bring a building down. The character answers: "Yes, some buildings yes, some no. Not a huge building like the World Trade Center." He knew there had been four studies done on the engineering aspects of the World Trade Center complex, which determined based on vibration analysis that the World Trade Center buildings could not be brought down by an bomb short of a nuke.
   
   I believe all Finder fans will enjoy this novel, as well fans of the genre.



5. Finder has a background in Government and Business that helps make this exciting thriller seem all the more plausible. It is also very interesting to read a novel about blowing up a building in New York that was written pre 9/11. At one point he writes that the only thing that could bring down the towers would be a nuke. Would that were only true. He creates a wonderful villian in Henrik Baumann, and keeps this novel a page turner. Not as good as the best Follett or DeMille, so I did not award this strong tome 5 stars. Nevertheless it is a highly recommended read.

No comments about How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qa'ida.

5 comments about Hunting the American Terrorist: The FBI's War on Homegrown Terror.

1. As a retired FBI agent, I am finally impressed with a realistic presentation of a multiagency task force investigation. Hunting the American Terrorist captures the array of human emotions that motivate and complicate big cases. Readers will be able to enter the bull pen and proceed through the complex world of colorful personalities and bewildering puzzles that make up the daily successes and failures of an actual investigation. HAT should be required reading for anyone considering a career in law enforcement.



2. As a forensic psychiatrist, I believe this is an extremely important book, which works on many levels. First of all, it is the ultimate page-turner true life crime story, told by the ultimate insiders. Turchie and Puckett let their tale of hunting the Unabomber and other domestic terrorists unfold as they experienced it, allowing us a rare view of the politics and personalities that presented assistance and obstacles along the way. Told in a matter-of-fact voice, and absent the rigid and self-congratulatory tone that rightly diminishes lesser "insider" true crime books, the authors reveal their methods to us: pain-staking attention to detail, thinking outside the ultimate bureaucratic box, and, in the Unabomb case, the careful maintenance of an inquisitive and open mind in the face of FBI profilers unwilling to adapt to new evidence.
   
   The first half of the book concentrates on the successful search for and arrest of Theodore Kaczynski, with a fascinating look at the relationship developed by Agent Puckett and Kaczynski's brother, which has evidently remained intact as David Kaczynski provides a back cover review. Puckett served as the Behavioral Analyst on the Unabomb task force, and provides unique insights into Kaczynski's personality, decision-making, and motives.
   
   The second half of the book discusses Puckett's study of American Lone Wolf Domestic Terrorists. The reader learns the value and method of taking a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding these offenders, as Puckett takes us on an investigative "road trip," visiting law enforecment officers, forensic scientists, and mental health experts who worked on the cases. It is rare that these disciplines reach out to each other, but each could benefit from the others knowledge and expertise. Puckett's study is the template for this type of collaboration. This is the heart of the book, and is an invaluable manual for those who hunt terrorists, domestic and foreign.



3. Hunting the American Terrorist: The FBI's War on Homegrown Terror
   
   An amazing journey through a top FBI case. Can't wait until the next book by these authors comes out--HOMELAND INSECURITY!



4. The Terrorist is not something of strictly Arabic manufacture. "Hunting the American Terrorist: The FBI's War on Homegrown Terror" is a look at what many Americans don't know exists - those who would call themselves American citizens and do harm upon their own people. A look at these bizarre individuals and the acts they have visited upon us, such as Timothy McVeigh and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings, it also gives the optimistic light on how these individuals are cracked down upon daily. A frightening and eye opening look at a subject not often talked about, "Hunting the American Terrorist" is a must for anyone who would truly understand Terror.



5. 
   Written by Terry D. Turchie and Dr. Kathleen M. Puckett this book chronicles the hunt for several American terrorists. Unlike traditional terrorists who operate in cells and therefore by sheer numbers could make mistakes leading to their capture, the American terrorist proceeds as a "lone wolf." Folks like Theodore Kaczynski better known as the "Unabomber" and Eric Rudolph, the bomber of several abortion clinics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics are two examples of this different kind of terrorist. While these individuals may share ideological beliefs with various organizations, they never fit in with those organizations primarily because of their personalities. As such, ostracized and alone, they carry a one person war against their targets.
   
   Being one person as opposed to a group makes them harder to catch assuming they don't make mistakes. This means that psychological profiles are of huge importance and must change as the suspect and the case evolves. That is where the work of co-author Dr. Kathleen M. Puckett and others involved in profiling or behavioral sciences becomes so important.
   
   While the Unabomber began in 1978, the person still wasn't caught when Terry D. Turchie took over the case in 1994. It had been a little over a year since the latest violent attacks and the task force was no closer to solving the case. The book chronicles the next seven years of the hunt as Mr. Turchie leads the task force. Seven years that were fraught with some success, bureaucratic power struggles, and inaccurate profiling until Special Agent and Behavioral Expert, Dr. Puckett was added to the task force among other issues. As the Unabomber Task Force evolves to hunt this new type of criminal, it makes waves inside the FBI and outside making the bureaucracy almost a bigger problem than the Unabomber.
   
   While Mr. Turchie chronicles the bureaucratic side of things, in the second half of the book Special Agent Dr. Kathleen M. Puckett shares her thoughts from the behavioral analyst point of view. One of the things made clear is that the analysis must change as the events happen. The original profile offered by analysts at Quantico regarding the Unabomber was fundamentally wrong from the very start. Sixteen years later, the profile hadn't changed when Mr. Turchie took over the task force and that grossly incorrect profile had failed the case for years. Through her section, Dr. Puckett chronicles the case and how she looked at things differently than others did over the years.
   
   Also covered in smaller pieces are the hunts for Eric Rudolph and Timonthy Mcveigh. Also covered and discussed is the study Dr. Puckett provided for the Counter Terrorism division, regarding the profile of the lone terrorist. A phenomenon that could create an international lone terrorist just as easily as an American lone terrorist. The implications of that are chilling.
   
   This 294 page book including index provides an interesting look into some of the most notorious cases in American history. While there is a tone of self congratulatory praise running through the work, the book through text and photographs explains well how two high level insiders considered the cases and the events and people surrounding them. It is not a totally objective view of events nor is it intended to be as accounts by insiders are always biased towards the authors. The book recounts in interesting detail the author's perspectives on these cases and serves as an example of how such these types of investigations will most likely be conducted in the future when another one strikes.
   
   
   Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2008

1 comments about Terrorism and Communism (Revolutions).

1. this was Trotsky's bout with one-time Marxist Karl Kautsky, representative of Social-Democracy,revolution,the affinity for parliamentarian incremental change through bourgeois means; ballot-boxes, sitting sovereigns, capital comforted with safety nets, and the context here is Soviet Russia was waiting(isolated) for assistance from the German Revolution to happen which just eroded away with the murder of Rosa Luxemberg, curious that the word "terror" has magnetized itself around it new multi-dimensional meanings,the media has done wonderful work bundling the word "terror" with anything resembling opposition, I doubt if Israeli apparatchiks could speak on TV without utilizing the word a few dozen times, to define, fears fears-of-fears, Unknown-Knowns-Fears,Known-Knowns, the Rumsfeldian epistemology,still there is some marvelous reflections here from Trotsky on the Paris Commune,the balance of power in the shape of the globe circa 1920; the paradigms of power and the next thread in its evolution, Kautsky simply wanted to preserve, the Known-Knowns,without seeking to face those monstrous Un-Knowns, he didn't have a sensibility for such dangers, Trotsky did up to a point,but was blind of his own fate, yet here there is good analysis of the reality of aftermath Soviet situations prior to the Stalin Thermidor was to take root,a vastly involutarily trained endoctrinated marxologist himself I suspect Zizek is looking for cognitive "threads"in shapes resembling Badiou-ian " Truth" nodes, "Events" which can illumine a path perhaps simply to more discussions on youtube within the world un-evolving postpoltical context, with bio-politics, and the neo-liberal order at the helms stirring the ship with their own cognitive maps. Zizek is good at what he does, and leaves out the residue of rhetorical hatreds you still odiously find on the Left,fighting self-defeating battles merely to hear one's own voice, I like to recall the old RCA white putchee dog, staring mindlessly into vinyl playing speaker cone; "What's this?" like the Left does today for things they refuse to explain, Zizek has a Wotan-like spirit in these Verso writings assignments assembling his theoretical "Walkure" to assist him;

5 comments about The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in an Age of Terror.

1. The author approaches a difficult topic with the eyes of a reporter, cautiously, but clearly, presenting the characters, the context, and their choices.
   
   Without pretending to know exactly the inner thoughts of a young Muslim from Lackawanna tempted by the urgings of a more radical islamist, the author shows the thread that leads to the choices made (and the doubts that later emerge.) This makes all the more meaningful and central the question of how the justice system should handle such cases.
   
   In the process of examining this question, the author tackles with great insight and balance the issue of the post 9/11 political context and the application of justice. In the urge to satisfy the public thirst, to justify the machinery put in place to combat terrorism, are we creating a justice system and an administration consistent with our values, our beliefs, our concern for due process?
   
   An easy read, and a highly recommend one.



2. Having grown up in suburb of Buffalo next door to Lackawanna and being an advocate for peace and justice, a book about the Lackawanna Six jumped off the shelf into my hands. And once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Reading more like a good mystery than the well-researched investigative reporting that it reflected, this book kept me intrigued and reading well past my regular bedtime.
   
   Dina Temple-Raston, National Public Radio's FBI correspondent and critically acclaimed, award-winning author of several books including Justice in the Grass, In Defense of Our America (with Anthony D. Romero) and A Death in Texas, gave this extraordinary accounting of the lives of six American Muslim twenty-somethings who never in their wildest dreams considered where a trip to Pakistan would lead them.
   
   Temple-Raston created suspense as she sketched the characters, showing their immaturity, restlessness, and strong family ties to their Yemeni heritage. She moved the narrative along with short chapters, action, suspense, and intrigue. Her extensive investigations included traveling to Yemen, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Knowledge of FBI practices, as well as her ability to gain trust in order to extract information from the most reluctant witness, makes the reader feel like a welcome guest where formerly no one had ever visited.
   
   Temple-Reston painted these alleged terrorists from the perspective of humanity and naiveté. Their travels to Pakistan before 9/11/01 led them to a nightmare during the era after 9/11 when government policies and procedures defied logic and justice. Photos of the six, the neighborhood where they lived, and scenes from Yemen including boys studying at a madrasa added to the interest and authenticity of the book.



3. Being from Lackawanna, I felt the book was largely on the mark for describing the community and the Arabian populations assimilation, or lack thereof. I am still struck with wonder how the Arab brethren now jailed, 6, could not have realized the import of their adventure in Afghanistan in the months before 9/11. They now have plenty of time to ponder thier treasonous neglect. It is difficult to feel sympathy for them, and the book correctly did not overtly try to extract it. Arabs must learn to become Americans first, and Muslims second.



4. I bought this book excited to learn something new about the war on terrorism, particularly through a case involving US citizens. Living in a city where homegrown terrorist Timothy McVeigh blew up a federal building to prove a point, it hits home with me.
   
   Though this book reads quickly, I agree with another reviewer that it does jump around a bit and never really focuses on one thing. People who aren't versed in the history of the case but are interested in learning something, this is not the book for you. To me, it seems like it's more about the injustices that are happening in the post-9/11 days but the author just hints at it, rather that focusing on it. I'd recommend "The Looming Tower: Al-Queda and the Road to 9/11" for true insight into the motivations behind terrorists intent of destroying America.



5. I was on the 3-4 star borderline with this, and ultimately went down a star for two reasons. One is that enough people will 4- or 5-star it anyway. The other, more importantly, is that given Temple-Raston's background and experience, she could have done more.
   
   One main thing lacking? More conversation with the group's lawyers. T-R never even names the lawyer for Faysal Galab, the first of the Six to plead, despite the Six's lawyers' pledge not to cut separate deals.
   
   Second, the "ideological detonators" chapter was only loosely connected with the rest of the book; and, it was too short to go into enough depth on this issue.
   
   Above all (and there may be government restrictions on this), interviews with the Six themselves are skimpy. But, if T-R couldn't interview them, she could have talked more with the families.
   
   Or, what about Needham? Or somebody off the record out of the Buffalo FBI office? Or a retired agent from that office?
   
   If you're going to write about the "detonators," anyway, you should, I would think, do more analysis of effective or ineffective FBI tactics are.
   
   Part of me feels like reviewer B. Colson, too; continuity was sometimes hard to come by in the book.
   
   The book does do a decent background setting of Lackawanna itself, as well as with Yemen.
   
   In short, this is probably a good starter book about the anomie of second- or third-generation immigrant Muslim-Americans, but only a starter book.

5 comments about A Long Short War: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq.

1. I realize "A Long Short War" is now a dated book that doesn't need one more review, still...
   
   Having grown tired of hearing how I should read "A Long Short War" because ot explains why the war in Iraq is proper and how the book "is only about 100 pages", I decided I'd finally read it, hence the title of this review.
   
   This book is not really about the War in Iraq! It says so in the title, "The Postponed Liberation of Iraq". It is about how Saddam Hussein is a bad man who should never have been in power and that the world would be a better place if he were unable to practice his particular kind of rule. As far as I can tell, there are not many debating whether Hussein was a bad man in the end, even among those who believe he wasn't one in the beginning.
   
   There is a tacit assumption in "A Long Short War" of the end justifying the means. Hitchens felt Hussein should be out of power, so he sees the war as a good thing. However, he does not deal seriously with the issue that the simple overthrow of Hussein is not the reason the Congress or American people were given for embarking on the war in Iraq. No WMD? Well, Hussein was trying to make them (in Hitchens' view) and there's no question (for Hitchens) that Hussein would have been successful if given enough time. Still, Hussein's having the time and inclination to make WMD was not the reason for US involvement. It was the presence of WMD, which many now argue was known to be false at the time. This is a point that Hitchens does not take up.
   
   In essence, I found "A Long Short War" to be a long short read. I kept waiting for serious discussions, which never came, of whether US entry into Iraq was justified for the reasons that the US supposedly entered. It is a very weak book that is strong on reasons why Saddam Hussein is/was a bad man. Unable to explain how Congress and the public were not misled into supporting US entry into Iraq, Hitchens merely repeats again and again how bad a man Hussein is/was as though this makes the question irrelevant. Hitchens is clearly an intelligent man who is up on his facts. It is easy to see how he and those who quote him can create a very powerful smoke screen, but in the end that's all it is--smoke. His silence on the *way* the US entered Irag is, to borrow from an old but apt cliche, deafening.



2. Mr. Hitchens, while obviously a personable and interesting fellow who writes and speaks very entertainingly, cannot by any stretch be called a high-powered scholar or thinker. If you want to understand how and why the United States government has committed so many lives and resources to the ongoing war in Iraq, you need to take into account the interests of other major powers in the Middle East--specifically the European Union, Russia, and China--and the clear intent of our foreign policy planners to ensure that no other major power shall obtain a foothold in the Middle East, that, not democracy or the "war against terror," being their central preoccupation. Two far more intelligent and revealing books to consult on this matter would be David Harvey's THE NEW IMPERIALISM and A BRIEF HISTORY OF NEOLIBERALISM along with a number of other texts and documents favorably referred to by him in these books. Hitchens merely stirs around on the surface and sheds no light on underlying transformative forces, the key one being precisely this enduring competition between the major powers, rarely talked about in public but no less decisive for that.



3. In the town where I live, I once encountered a senior- aged woman standing next to some Marines who were recruiting. She wore a crude mask likely meant to be George Bush or some political figure and had a sign reading something like "US Out of Iraq". Her mission in this vigil seemed to be to dispense little "facts" like this: "We've killed more people than Sadam Hussein ever did." Where to begin to tally the totals? One could start, Hitchens suggests, with the 50,000 strafed by helicopter gunships after Saddam had already surrendered in Kuwait. That doesn't include, of course, any of the body count from the actual Desert Shield/ Desert Storm war which ended in 1991. Nor does it include those within Iraq, many of them, like the Kuwaiti, their Muslim brothers, tortured and killed by the Baathist party. Then there are the surrounding nations.
   
   I wanted to ask the protesting matron where she had gotten her information. CNN? Perhaps it was merely a rather prolonged senior moment. At any rate, the cure is this book by Chris Hitchens. Another who may benefit from glancing at it is H. Clinton, judging from her campaign planks.
   
   This book, or at least my copy, dates from 2003, and runs slightly over 100 pages. Like C.S. Lewis and Neil Postman, I am a fan of the small book, and this one fits the bill. It also is what a lot of other books seem like they would be but never are, concise, pithy, polemical, reasoned, opinionated and supporting that opinion, and actually stimulating to the gray matter.
   
   Mostly these brief essays are all of one opinion: that Regime Change was mandated in the nation of Iraq, read: deposing of Saddam. These essays, mostly written on-line, in Iraq in 2003, make the case point by point in a way that would seem invaluable for those considering the present war. The one exception to the blog- style essays is one written for the Seattle rag, The Stranger, which, to its credit, allowed Hitchens to express a viewpoint with which nearly none of its readers would agree.
   
   I'm completely avoiding the obvious reason the name Hitchens may ring a bell: he's the author, after this book, of the best-selling God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Having not read it yet, I am in no position to comment on it, but he represents, in the present book, a small organization called Atheists for Regime Change, and when the conversation turns to religion, as it very briefly does in this book, his tone changes.
   
   He feels very let down by Christian pacifists. He substantiates a claim that Jimmy Carter betrayed Americans (you'll have to read it to see how and why) in the matter of Iraq. He points out that many of the salvos thrown at Bush senior and junior better apply to Bill Clinton. He takes on Pat Robertson in a sentence (a sentence is enough for Hitchens' reasoned prose). But I sense he simply feels let down by the Vatican and its advisors who, like so many Americans, kept buying time for Saddam. If the vatican enlists Mother Teresa's most vociferous critics to make the case as a devil's advocate, as it were, against her being canonized as a saint, I hope they will also listen to this staunch opponent and consider his arguments and insights in the matter of fighting oppression and rebuilding Iraq.



4. It is appropriate to return to this first-rate piece of propaganda with the benefit of hindsight. The world now knows, definitively, that the Bush administration and a complicit Congress took the United States to war on false pretenses. And it has been a disaster on all accounts. This much we know.
   
   But remember that Bush and Cheney couldn't have done it without a large cast of well-connected, well-paid, and thoroughly uncritical mass media cheerleaders. Hitchens is a good example of this kind of propagandist. Typically, they parrot official press releases and then add some pithy ideological flair (see him derisively referring to the now-vindicated anti-war movement as 'peaceniks').
   
   If the world is to avoid total barbarism, sane and humane people must not be afraid to call books like this out for what they really are: 'propaganda'. The fact that it does not come directly from a US government source makes little difference. Hopefully we, as citizens, can learn something from this, and look critically toward the future, finally absorb history's enduring lesson: war is a racket.



5. Without doubt, Hitchens' worst book.
   
   It's a shame that such an incisive, and normally clear headed journalist and critic could have been so wrong about the war in Iraq.
   
   None the less, it stands as an excellent example of how good people with the best of intentions can proudly support what becomes terrible evil.
   
   Doubtless millions of good decent Germans made the same sort of mistake from about 1930-1945.

5 comments about The Al Qaeda Connection: International Terrorism, Organized Crime, And the Coming Apocalypse.

1. When you finish this book you will be depressed as hell and then you will realize that you ought to spend every waking moment enjoying life. Paul Williams writes well about the end of the world as we now know it and he gives great footnotes and a wonderful index for those who are into checking and rechecking.
   
   Sadly you realize how very off the mark our government is and if you haven't thought the southern border ought to be closed up tight as can be, you will after you read about the "visitors" we have already let in. It will also hit you that somehow or other the media has not been doing its job. The information in this book is available to all and yet we rarely hear even the slightest mention of what we glean from this book.
   
   Best story we all know is about the Muslim FBI agent who refused not just once but twice to tape record a muslim terrorist because in his words, "Muslims don't record muslims." Did the agent get fired? Did he get moved to the Department of Agriculture? No, he was sent off to be one of our FBI agents in Saudi Arabia of all places!
   
   Please make the time to read this book. It doesn't have a political slant to it: instead it simply presents the truth about things we just must know and frankly no one comes out very well overall. But the truth is here at last.
   
   One of the most moviing lines in the sadly unfinished HBO series "Carnivale" makes it clear that with the development of the atomic bomb, we in the human race traded wonder for reason. Reason as we have watched over the last fifty years is leading us towards doomsday and Paul Williams shows us how.



2. Paul Williams has put out a book, with a big emphasis on sources and footnotes and a scholarly appearance. Professionally put together it seems. He warns that Osama has dozens of nukes within the United States already and that the "American Hiroshima" is coming soon.
   
   As a 911 resident, I started this book with considerable expectations and concern, but ended it almost not even wanting to bother finishing it. But I did. In some ways I see it now as another internal USA partisan type of publication, and frankly I am distracted by a "Clinton bad/Bush good" type of writing as opposed to sticking to the big issue, evaluating the threat of terrorism. I marked in my copy dozens of notes of dubious claims that are generally founded on the basis of the conspiracist logic rather than the logic of a factual analyst.
   
   Examples:
   
   1. Author claims that TWA 800 flight was downed by the elusive terrorist Mughniah. I understand there are people who claim TWA 800 was shot down but NO SUCH proof has been put out, and in fact when the plane went down, the FBI took the case on as a criminal case but in the end found no evidence of a bomb and the case is definitely explained as a faulty wiring in the central fuel tank. Not a terrorist attack as Williams claims.
   
   2. The author claims that radiological bombs (dirty nukes) pose a really serious threat. The reality is that they do not pose a disastrous threat, are slightly above conventional bombs. Radiological materials could cause fear, but the reality is that walking out of the radioactive zone is in all probability sufficient to survive. Whether as Williams claims, the "American economy would go into a tailspin" is simply not based on fact.
   
   3. Author claims (my copy page 186) that an Islamist in Florida named Hamdi brought Osama a replacement battery for OBL cell phone in May 1998. And that in August the embassies were bombed in West Africa. Allright, but Mr. Williams goes on to claim that "Bin Laden would have been incapable of orchestrating this without Tarik Hamdi and the replacement battery." Hard to prove these sort of claims. But my two questions are:
   a) How can someone be responsible for OBL bombs in Africa by buying OBL a replacement cell phone battery? You know, they do have cell phone batteries outside of the USA.
   But more importantly;
   b) how in the world can OBL not be able to get a battery for his darn cell phone while having at his disposal up to 20 nuclear bombs within the USA and a team of nuclear experts to maintain them? This is an absolute impossibility, this cell phone battery business.
   
   4. "When will it happen?" Asks Mr. Williams about the nuke threat. He claims that Sept 11 was an important date because of a terrorist conviction in NYC. And that Aug 7 (embassy bombings) coincide with Bush1 decision to commit to Saudi. This sort of speculative pseudo-science analysis is merely rhetorical nonsense and is a simple distraction from the event of thousands of people being murdered by psychotic mass murderers.
   
   5. Williams quotes Cheney as "proof," during the Bush 2004 campaign trail, oh, those precious truthtelling moments! Cheney speaking of nuclear threats coming up soon. "Cheney, on the campaign trail, warned that a nuclear attack by al Qaeda appears to be imminent." If I am not mistaken, most Americans see through this sort of politician rhetoric and know that the now long discredited Bush-Cheney ticket says all sorts of things to get what THEY want.
   
   I have at least a dozen of other examples of these sort of issues. I dont want to spend more time on them. But in my view they totally deprive the book of legitemacy, in spite of many areas being informative and great writing. I just don't know whats true there, if I, of all dumb people, can find so many errors. I hoped to be able to use the book as a reference for my fact-soup, but that is not possible without to much salt.
   
   This leaves the issue of nuclear threat altogether up in the air as the book can not properly address the issue. Sorry to say.
   
   So anyway, I am filing it in my bookshelf on the right side of the middle uh, well, kinda right between the far right and the middle-right.
   
   Still waiting for the good analytical book about a nuclear threat and terrorism. The last time "they" came to our neighborhood, it was not a nice day. Any recommendations for a book without a political slant and author creativity?



3. The Al Qaeda Connection is the sequel to Osama's Revenge, another excellent book.
   
   Some of the reviews raise interesting questions, "Why hasn't a suitcase nuke been used?" Others show political tunnel vision or refusal to accept facts they do not like. Paul Williams presents facts, some frightening, that make the reader wonder about the sanity of our government leaders. He does a terrific job of showing the fundamentalist Islamic mindset and objectives: they want to convert us to Islam, or turn us into slaves, or kill us. Nothing less is acceptable.
   
   Perhaps current events provide the answer to the "Why" question above. Williams references Homeland security sources (page 94) when he says al Qaeda obtained small nukes from Chechens and smuggled them into the U.S. Such small nukes would use a polonium-beryllium neutron source, the "nuclear trigger" to cause an atomic explosion. Polonium-210, the poison used to kill the former KGB agent in London, has a short shelf life. Neutron triggers would not functions after a year, thus the triggers have to be replaced. See my book (p.59) for details on this type of trigger, but suffice it to say a courier carrying small packets of foil rapped Po-210 could have caused the multiple contaminated sites if one or more of the packages leaked. [...]
   
   Williams' book is a must read. Al Qaeda and other fanatical Islamic terrorist groups are determine to destroy the Great Satan, the U.S., and will not stop trying until they die. Negotiations only encourage them. If we do not heed warnings such as the one in this book, we are doomed to become subjects of a "peaceful Islamic Empire."
   
   Can one or more nuclear weapons be smuggled into the U.S., hidden, and set off. Read The Rings of Allah--then answer the question for yourself.



4. Every American should read this book. DO NOT count on learning the truth about the threat we are facing in this Country from the liberal media. They do not want you to know what we are facing, due to their hate for Bush and the Republicans.
   
   EXCELLENT BOOK........



5. For the most part a wealth of valuable information about the radical Islamist threat posed by al Qaeda.
   
   However, I would like to make several corrections to Mr. Williams book.
   
   1. On page 129 he writes, "In October 2000, Ali Mohamed, a former US Green Beret sergeant who plead guilty to..." Let me make it clear that Ali Mohamad was NOT a Green Beret.
   
   2. On page 183 he discusses how Ali Mohamed's position as a supply sergeant afforded al Qaeda, "vivid proof of al Qaeda's amazing ability to stretch its tentacles into the very heart of military intelligence." This is a stretch (of the tentacles?) at best! The only thing that al Qaeda could have learned from Ali Mohamed,by virtue of his position as a supply sergeant, was supply-related only. Ali Mohammed was not given access to any intelligence;therefore, al Qaeda could not have accessed any Special Forces intelligence in any way, shape, or form from Mohammed. Mohamed may have picked up a manual or two while snooping around in places he was not authorized, but nothing of significance. I am interested in how Mr. Williams comes to this conclusion.
   
   3. On page 184 he explains, "In 1989 Mohamed received an honorable discharge and began traveling back and forth to Afghanistan, where he provided training in special operations (the same training he supposedly received as a Green Beret!?!) to recruits at al Qaeda training camps." I'm not sure what special operations training Mr. Williams is talking about here, because Ali Mohamed, as a supply clerk, never received any formal Special Forces operational training at all! However, Mohamed was a former Egyptian Special Forces Officer who, before joining the U.S. Army, did participate in some military exchange training with U.S. Army Special Forces Officers.
   
   In order to qualify as a Special Forces Green Beret, one must successfully complete all required Special Forces training to include graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course (Q-Course). Upon successful completion of the Q-Course a Green Beret is awarded an 18 series identifier (e.g. 18A, 18D, 18E, 18C, 18B) and authorized to wear the Special Forces shoulder tab. Special Forces Warrant Officers are awarded the MOS 180A. Ali Mohamed never received any Special Forces training, did not graduate from the Q-Course, did not earn an identifier, and was not authorized to wear the Special Forces shoulder tab. In short, Ali Mohamad was a "supply clerk" (later an instructor) who worked only in a support capacity.
   
   These may seem like small points, but to those who have earned the Green Beret they are not.
   
   Concerned

2 comments about Administration of Torture: A Documentary Record from Washington to Abu Ghraib and Beyond.

1. This book is a great collection of the records of the Bush administration's torture policy. Seeing as it is a collection of documents obtained through FOIA some of it is redacted. This redaction lends the book that air of "what are they trying to cover up." This book would be great for research.
   
   The introduction sets it all out in a nice brief synopsis. Thus, this book has little author influence as to opinion. It allows you to see for yourself.



2. You won't find many of the usual right wing nut jobs reviewing this book, because it is very hard to libel documentary evidence. In law, we say "res ipsa loquitor," or "the thing speaks for itself." And this book has delivered the goods: documentary evidence in spades. If you don't come away from this book convinced that at the very least there is a prima facie case for indicting the US military high command, up to and including the shrub and Darth Cheney, on charges of aggravated war crimes and crimes against humanity, then you just haven't paid attention, or, worse, you are part of that portion of humanity--Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pinochet, Pol Pot, etc.--that thinks there is nothing wrong with torture and that, in fact, we should use it more. If that is the case, you will find plenty to warm your heart here.