5 comments about Both In One Trench: Saddam's Secret Terror Documents.

1. For years now, we've been deluged by lies and propaganda from the neo-communist left, about the Iraq war. And it doesn't help that George Bush acts like the Manchurian Candidate during his second term, cravenly abandoning the war on terror, or even basic common sense, in favor of ultra-liberal policy (the REAL reason Bush's popularity is so low).
   
   Problem is, Hussein, like the Nazis before him, had a real fetish for documenting his evil. Our country seized libraries full of documents and hasn't spent nearly enough resources translating them.
   
   But, what HAS been translated proves that Hussein was complicit in terrorism world wide and had a major hand in 9/11. Since, he put a rope around his neck for it, Bush deserves major accolades for the war in Iraq. But, what those documents ALSO say, is that Hussein had an active nuclear weapons program and that the russians transported the whole thing, lock, stock and barrel to Syria, just days before the US rolled on in to Baghdad. Not making that info public is bad. What's worse is that Israel recently identified where those nukes were and blew up the site. And our administration tried very hard to convince them not to. Bush should be impeached for that gross dereliction of duty. And the anti-war left should jailed for treason and sedition.



2. When it was reported that the Iraq Survey Group had confiscated documents from the Saddam regime in 2003, I was anxious for news of their content. Most citizens, via the media, have been content to simply dismiss these documents as forgeries. For the layman, to examine any single document without an historic overview, proves uninformative. Because of the lack of sensationalism - meaning something akin to a signed confession of guilt - the media reports of the translations were sparse, and their place in the context of time and events vague.
   
   But wait... it is not that simple.
   
   What was ignored by the media was an actual diary by an IIS agent, filled with memos and notes of various meetings over years of time. Analyzed by ME experts, the identification and plans of the convened parties in the diary notes, plus actual subsequent events, reveals a gun... if not smoking... that is still downright hot from discharging.
   
   More than just a translation, the author takes you thru history - connecting the dots between the various documents, and their participants, with actual historic events.
   
   By connecting the dots, data and events, a real perspective on how the Global Islamic Jihadist Movement interplays with the various Middle East countries and their leadership - and just how those countries must play along to insure their own survival - becomes abundantly clear to western minds.
   
   Without an author familiar with the players in the Global Islamic Jihadist Movement, these documents could be... and have been... passed over as inconsequential. All efforts verifying authenticity is disclosed. But perhaps the best proof of all is their prescient and ominous plans - finally realized in all too many actual events.
   
   This book is not for those content with a media sound byte education. It is, in fact, a fabulous textbook for anyone who genuinely wants to understand how our enemy survives and functions. You will learn not only of Saddam and his regime's covert actions in his efforts to retain power, but a new perspective on the entire, and widespread, jihad movement itself.



3. I have bought several comedy books, most of them on American popular culture. All of them are funny and written that way on purpose. Guess what? Based on my purchase of those comedic books this site recommend this book! Anything from anyone associated with FoxNews is a comedy, for sure! Just read the "reviews" of this "book" and you can see they are as uneducated, crazy and rabid as the best FauxNews "journalists". Probably written by friends, family or paid "reviewers". Thanks Amazon for realizing this is a book of mirth and not real news or worth reading at all.



4. Some say Saddam Hussein & his regime were "strictly secular", and would never have worked with religious terrorists.
   
   Christopher Dickey, Paris Bureau Chief & Middle East Regional Editor of Newsweek Magazine, himself attended a 'Popular Islamic Conference' in Iraq in 1993 - Just as the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush was about to order the launch of crusie missles on Iraq as one of his final acts as President. While the entire eye witness testimony should be read, this excerpt from Dickey's first hand account is especially telling:
   
   "So Islamic radicals from all over the Middle East, Africa and Asia converged on Baghdad to show their solidarity with Iraq in the face of American aggression. Chechens in Persian-lamb hats, Moroccans in caftans, delegates who hailed "from Jakarta to Dakar," as one Senegalese put it, poured into Baghdad's Rashid Hotel, where Saddam's minions urged them to embrace jihad as "the one gate to Paradise." And the greatest holy warrior of all? "The mujahed Saddam Hussein, who is leading this nation against the nonbelievers," they were told. "Everyone has a task to do, which is to go against the American state," declared Saddam's deputy Ezzat Ibrahim [al-Douri]"... "That was in January 1993. I was there, and every time I hear diplomats and politicians, whether in Washington or the capitals of Europe, declare that Saddam Hussein is a "secular Baathist ideologue" who has nothing to do with Islamists or with terrorist calls to jihad, I think of that afternoon and I wonder what they're talking about? If that was not a fledgling Qaeda itself at the Rashid convention, it sure was Saddam's version of it." http://www.Newsweek.com/id/65578/page/1
   
   According to detainees, as well as captured documents translated and analyzed by the US Military's "Iraqi Perspectives Project" designed to look into the eyes of Saddam's regime, "Since 1994 The Fedayeen Saddam camps 'graduated' 7200 people" . "Beginning in 1998 these camps began hosting Arab Volunteers from Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, The [Persian] Gulf [States], and Syria. "These training camps were humming with frenzied activity in the months immediately prior to the war ... As late as January 2003 the volunteers participated in a special training event called 'heroes attack'". Chapter III starting page 51
   http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2006/ipp.pdf
   
   
   About Ray Robison - A career that spans the C.I.A.'s Iraq Survey Group, The Defense Intelligence Agency, & The 101st Airborne brings journalists from Christopher Hitchens on the left to Rush Limbaugh on the right to ALL AGREE: Ray Robison is uniquely qualified to analyze the millions of items in Saddam's Archives.
   
   A comprehensive report on this book and other back ground info can be found at www.sonicbids.com/BothInOneTrench



5. Excellent review of the intelligence gathered from Iraq. Some assumptions made that may be somewhat questionable, but makes good arguments to support them. Very readable. Lays out the intelligence, offers opinions, and allows for different views.

No comments about Terrorism Law: Cases, and Materials, Fourth Edition.

1 comments about The Man with the Red Bag.

1. 12 year old Kevin is on a bus trip with his grandmother. A strange, mysterious man boards the bus and Kevin thinks he's up to no good. It's only been 6 months since the 9/11 tragedy. The man reminds Kevin of the faces he's seen on the news that flew the planes in the tragic event. He and a friend join together to investigate. You will be surprised at what they find out is in the precious bag!
   
   The story moved at a fast pace.
   
   
   It was a good reminder for kids that you can't judge people by the color of their skin. You have to look deeper than that

4 comments about The Question.

1. I read _The Question_ when I was in high school, back in 1958 or 1959. It made a major impression on me, more than most of the books I was reading at the time. The subject is the use of torture in dealing with terrorism and the author did not sugarcoat the subject. He was fairly graphic about the techniques used. The book is short, less than 100 pages, but it gets the point across. What makes the book timely today is the combination of the publication of _The Battle of the Casbah_, two years ago, wherein one of the French Army's practioniners of torture tells his story for the first time and the fact that the United States is now engaged in fighting a war against terrorism. For those who believe that the issue of torture as an element in fighting terrorism has not been surfaced in the past, the fact is that for those who wanted to know, the information was available all along. As we ask ourselves about this interrogation "technique" it is good to go back and review what has been said in the past.



2. tHIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF EUROPEAN HYPOCRACY, LIBERTE, FRANTERNITE ET EQUALITE. THIS BOOKS REVEALS THAT THE ABOVE SOLOGAN IS FOR ONLY CERTAIN PEOPLE OF THE WORLD,BUT NOT FOR AFRICANS. ONCE, AGAIN THIS BOOK REVEALS THAT NOT ALL FRENCHMEN AGREED WITH THE DE GUALLE GOVERNMENT OFOPRESSION.ADDITIONALLY,IN READING THIS BOOK AND OTHERS OF THIS NATURE,SHOULD REINFORCED THE STOPPING OF TORTURE ADN NOT MATTER WHEN IT HAPPEND THERE SHOULD NOT BE A STATUE OF LIMITATION. PROSECUTION SHOULD MANDATORY AND THOSE GUILTY SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE.



3. If you are interested in what exactly waterboarding is, and the physical and moral impact on victim and torturer, you need to read this book.



4. The Question is, without doubt, the single best argument against torture under any circumstances. It is a brutally true and personal account of a man caught up under the circumstances beyond his control during the Algerian War of Independence. It was a time when the French, desperate to maintain control over Algeria, had allowed its army to use torture in order to obtain information about its main insurgent enemy, the FLN (Front Liberation Nationale). The author literally puts the reader into his shoes, and one can literally feel the pain of electric shock, the suffocating hell of water boarding, or the miserable mind warping experience of truth drugs.
   
   In wars such as the current GWOT (Global War on Terror) as well as in Algeria, there is always the temptation by politicians to use acts like torture in order to gain an advantage over an insurgent enemy. However, make no mistake. Just as the revelations of torture had undermined the perceived legitimacy of the French cause in Algeria, the same danger also exist in today's struggle in the GWOT.
   
   Regardless of one's opinion on the matter, one must read this simple book in order to gain an understanding of what a torture victim goes through. The book is beautifully written as well as brutally honest. One can easily read it in a day.
   
   Finally, it is important to keep in mind that there is no politics in this book. It is just an account of the hard reality of man's inhumanity against man.

3 comments about Islamic Sufism Unbound: Politics and Piety in Twenty-first Century Pakistan.

1. Rozehnal's book is a compelling account of a 20th century Sufi order. He takes the reader behind the scenes, showing how personalities, histories, and politics interweave with rituals and belief structures that have been passed down from master to disciple for many generations. This is an essential read for anyone interested in Sufi practice or the role of Sufism in Pakistani politics. The book also provides in depth profiles of three modern Sufi masters in the Chishti Sabiri order, each with a different emphasis in his teachings and philosophy and very different personalities - including one British man who converted to Islam and rose through the spiritual ranks to the level of a teaching shaikh. Rozehnal deepens the book with rich ethnographic detail from many interviews with current disciples, bringing to life the experience of being a Sufi in modern Pakistan.



2. This is the best book I have read on Sufism. Rozehnal is to be applauded for wading into controversial and dangerous waters and producing a first-rate study that should serve as a model for scholars in a variety of fields. According to the biographical information given, he teaches in a Department of Religious Studies, but he is clearly just as fluent in politics, anthropology, and history. This is an absolute "must read" for anyone interested in this region.



3. The author clearly did a thorough study of the history of Sufism and then proceeded to present a comprehensive review of Sufism in contemporary Pakistan. He treated the Sufis with great respect and understanding in his many personal interviews. A must read for anyone wanting to be informed of Islam in present day Pakistan.

5 comments about Patriot Games.

1. Jack Ryan, former marine and stockbroker now naval history professor, is on vacation with his wife and daughter in London when all hell breaks loose and terrorists start shooting at a car containing the Prince, his wife, and their daughter. Jack's military training automatically kicks in and he manages to tackle on of the gunman, disarm him, and shoot the other to death. He is shot, himself, in the process, but is saved when help arrives on the scene. He wakes up in the hospital to find himself considered a hero both in England and the US, but not by the terrorists he thwarted. When the terrorists decide to follow Jack back to the United States to tie up their loose ends he finds himself torn between his simple lifestyle as a teacher and a prospective job with the CIA where he can attempt to stop the very militants that threaten the lives of his family and countless others.
   
   This action packed suspense novel keeps the pages turning throughout. The politics and secrecy of the military and various alphabet soup law enforcement agencies keep the reader guessing and wondering if the good guys will catch up with and get ahead of the bad guys. All the while, the suspense is contrasted with the human emotion displayed between Jack and his family as he has to choose the best way to protect his family and decide if his decisions will put them in risk of more or less danger. This is the first in the Jack Ryan series with Jack Ryan as an adult (preceeded by Without Remorse, a John Clark novel with a younger Jack referenced along with his father). It is a great start to what will certainly be a great series.



2. 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.



3. 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



4. 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



5. 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.

4 comments about We Are All Suspects Now: Untold Stories from Immigrant America After 9/11.

1. This book is a collection of stories of prejudice, discrimination and racial profiling brought on by events and government policies after the September 11th attacks on the United States. It explains what some of these immigrants went through both before and after the attacks of September 11th. The author does a good job explaining the unjust detainment and sometimes even the deportment of immigrants around the country.
   This book describes in relatively good detail, how these people were living before and after the events and policies after September 11th. It goes into detail on how most of the immigrants had a relatively good life while trying to achieve the American dream. These people had jobs and they were making enough money to live and to send to their families in their own countries. Most of them saved to bring their families to America so they could leave the poverty, war and oppression of their home countries. This all changed on September 11th 2001.
   Within the next two months, the government conducted what was called the September 11th roundup. This is when they detained more than twelve hundred Muslim, Arab and South Asian men who were possible terrorist suspects. These men were not given attorneys or told why they were being detained. None of the men that were detained were found of aiding terrorism. This was just the start of the policies that made immigrants fearful that they might be deported from the country they loved back to the country they feared.
   The government also had new policies like special registrations that forced men who were sixteen or older to register with the government. This lead to an extremely large number went through deportation hearings and many also were detained. This policy seemed like it was meant to get rid of the immigrants whose visas and green cards were already expired. This would mean that they would go through deportation hearings and most likely would be deported. Most people did not want to register because they knew what was going to happen but one way or another, they would be found out and most likely deported. This was also a tragic thing to happen to a family. It would mean that the man would have to leave his family who were still living in the U.S. It was made even harder because the family would often have to follow the man because they really had no choice in the matter. They would have no money if the male had to leave the country.
   There were also some really awful things that were done to the detainees in the prisons. They were not allowed to make any phone calls, not even to their families. Most people were denied the use of a lawyer. They tended to set bail at a high price so the detainees would not be able to get out of jail. If they did have the money, it was hard to tell your family because you were not allowed phone calls and they also moved the detainees all over the place to different locations, sometimes even multiple locations in one day. There were some bad things that were done to the prisoners and I wish that I could say that they were done for a reason but I can't see any logical reason to do any of these things to those people.
   The issue that I think is the most severe is the border patrol issue. As an American, I think that it is very alarming that people can just about come into the U.S. from Mexico unnoticed. This seems like it makes us even more susceptible to many different kinds of terrorist threats and should probably be treated as so. If all these migrants can cross the border without being caught, then why couldn't a terrorist? Although the only places where they can cross are in either mountain or desert areas where many people die just trying to have a little piece of the life that we have. In some way it makes me respect and understand just how lucky I really am and how much more worse off I could be.
   There is also another part to the story of many immigrants just trying to make it in the free world. There are plenty of immigrants who were forced to seek asylum in Canada because they heard their asylum laws were not as strict as the U.S. and they did not want to register in the U.S. But the laws in Canada were about to change. The U.S. and Canada had both worked together to create similar laws to protect the border. So most of the time when the immigrants made it to the border, the Canadian government would take them right back to the United States. I don't exactly know how I am supposed to feel about this situation. I realize that all these people want is a home but the sudden rush of people trying to get asylum hearings was just not going to happen during these hard times.
   This was a very intrusting and enlightening book for me to read. I feel extreme sadness and sympathy for the people who were wrongfully affected by the procedures of these policies that were implemented by the United States government after the tragedy of September 11th. Although I think that for the most part, these procedures needed to be put into effect. Something needed to be done to help prevent another tragedy from occurring, especially on our own soil. These policies are by no means perfect but they are a large stepping-stone for us to start on.



2. WE ARE ALL SUSPECTS NOW: UNTOLD STORIES FROM IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES AFTER 9/11 is essential reading for any who would understand the changed lives of immigrants in the U.S. after the event. It gathers the personal stories of communities affected by post-9/11 tension and threats to civil liberties, examining immigration, asylum and criminal policies and how these have affected thousands of immigrants past and present. Changes to these policies reflect a shift to the right - and a shift in how immigrant communities are surveyed and managed.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. In the book We are all Suspects Now written by Tram Nguyen, she explains the untold tales of immigrant life in the United States after what happened on September 11th. People of Somali, Muslim, Arab, and South Asian decent tell their stories of detainment, deportation, and discrimination through out all areas of North America crushing their hopes and dreams of a better life for many immigrants in this country.
   Nguyen begins her focus of We are all Suspects Now by explaining the happy lives most immigrants had living in the United States. She further explains that many immigrated to the U.S. fleeing poverty and harsh treatments in their homelands or for a better life. The U.S. is where they could fulfill the American dream. Many immigrants came just to work and send money back to their families across sea. Others found good jobs and a safe place to raise their families. These stories of their "dream" land continued on until September 11th. This crises threw the U.S. into a period of discrimination and racial slander not only from ordinary American citizens but also from American government. From then on immigrants lives have been changed and mainly not for the better.
   Within a period of about two months after the 9/11 attacks, more than 1,200 immigrants were unfairly detained as "suspects" to the attack with no proof to even convict them. The way that Nguyen explains how these immigrants were detained was very disturbing to me because I was not aware of many of the actions taken, or situations these people were put in until after I had read his book. For example, Nguyen gives details of how they were not even told most of the time that they were being detained or even given the right to an attorney. This lead to many people just "disappearing" in the eyes of their family members and friends. Next the U.S. government took this process a step further by requiring men 16 and older to register in order to find out which immigrants had been living in the U.S. illegally with no green cards or visas.
   I believe that Nguyen is an inspiring writer because of the many issues she talks about. She rises above many people by telling these immigrants stories, including people such as Mohommad Butt who have died during this struggling period in American history. Mohommad Butt was the first person to die during detainment and Nguyen recognizes that in her book by making him a hero along with other immigrants of their time. She also includes tales of immigrant leaders who rose above to guide other immigrants to do the right thing in order to prevent deportation and detainment. She even included the harsh trips to Canada when fleeing the United States and how they were sent right back after spending their lives savings to reach this "safe haven."
   Nguyen uses these examples along with many others to explain the tragedies occurring to US immigrants after September 11th. She tells her story in such a way that it is almost unbelievable what happened to many of these immigrants. Nguyen not only uses facts against the US but also sympathizes somewhat for the US, giving the reader a better understanding of both sides of the story. To do this she explains that many of these immigrants that were deported had legitimate reasons to be according to United States laws. Many of them were illegal immigrants or had expired visas. Immigrants may have gotten away with this for some time, but it was against the US law so the government was in many ways just enforcing these laws in a stronger way. Nguyen only went so far with this idea because in her writing I believe people are able to understand that these situations could have been handled in a better way. Nguyen also makes us aware that many people were fleeing the borders of Mexico into the United States causing many problems with drug dealing and violence. The people living there, American or not, had to deal with these issues in a very uncomfortable manner including encounters with minutemen and small citizen made "militias" attacking not only the trespassers in their front yards, but them as well.
   Nguyen is a very strong writer because of her truthfulness as shown above. In my opinion I feel like Nguyen is a very convincing and relatable writer. She uses very realistic and relevant information throughout her book, which after reading I felt like was not exaggerated or overwhelming. When I first started reading this book I thought it was going to be similar to a dull history novel, but after I started reading more into it, I began to enjoy it more and learned a great deal about the subject of United States immigrants. I thought it was mainly going to be about things I had already known about 9/11, but everything I learned was knew to me. For example, I did not know that the government was being so harsh and racist against these groups of people and was shocked by most of it. These people were just trying to support their families and strive for a better life while America was racially discriminating against them just because of their race and culture. I believe that Nguyen is trying to get this point across in her writing so more people can be aware of these situations and they do not happen again in the future.
   Over all, this book was very informative and interesting to me. I learned a lot of information about immigrant life in America. I was very much appalled at the way in which the United States citizens and government handle situations after September 11th. From the stories Nguyen explained I realized that I was somewhat naive and unaware to these situations as I'm sure many others were too.



4. In her book, Tram Nguyen claims that there is very little room left for any infraction by someone without the legal status to be here in the US due to a post-9/11 national climate of fear and growing intolerance. She argues that there is little room left for immigrants in America to become anything more than "cardboard cutouts" simply playing a role to please their suspicious neighbors and ever more watchful government. She claims that the American political imagination has shifted so far to the right that people without status who have a certain profile must work harder and harder to earn and deserve their place in society: they must prove to everyone else why they should not be suspected, jailed, and eventually shipped away (in other words, guilty until proven innocent). Not only that, the book also discusses how recent security concerns have been used as a justification for the US government to display increased racial and cultural discrimination in areas of long-standing concern to civil rights advocates; such as housing and jobs. There are no exceptions to the argument presented, any and all immigrants, and especially communities of immigrants have been affected in the post-9/11 national security frenzy. Somalis, Haitians, Pakistanis, Mexicans, and more, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, have all been targeted by recent policies. While several scholars and others have so far explored the legal and constitutional ramifications of the war on terror, this book takes a different, ground-level, view of how these national and local policies affect the individuals, families, and communities themselves - the real effects of such policies on our neighbors. Most importantly, the author argues that with hindsight, racial and ethnic scapegoating in response to crisis is by and large viewed as unjust and inexcusable. The author asks readers: Will the war on terrorism redefine the meaning of who belongs in America?
   The claim that America has been putting every immigrant and foreigner in the USA under suspicion post-9/11 is backed up in this book by several firsthand stories and conversations. Also, at the end of the book there is an appendix which is titled "2001-2004: A time line of major events and policies affecting immigrants and civil liberties", which briefly describes over 100 policies and events which have directly affected immigrants, their families, and their communities since the September 11 World Trade Center attacks. Policies and events included are Secret Proceedings, the USA Patriot Act, Military Tribunals, Indefinite Detentions, INS Restructuring, and the new Department of Homeland Security, among others. The firsthand stories alone are not enough for me to deem this book effective in its claim that all immigrants and foreigners are living a suspected and frightened existence in America. However, the time line appendix in combination with these stories does make it an effective and worthwhile portrait in my mind. This book was not made to dryly describe policy and legalities, it was written to get readers, fellow Americans, to feel sympathy and outrage at what has been going on to our immigrant neighbors. To me, I did end up fully feeling this sympathy and outrage to the fullest upon finishing the book.
   The author points out alternative arguments in a few instances that the attack on immigrant civil rights is not new in the post-9/11 era, but only grossly exaggerated and magnified. She cites the war on drugs which racially profiled men and women of color in the 1980's, as well as the continued conflict over the US-Mexico border in the southwest, especially California, throughout the 1990's and today. Other evidence cited that the new post-9/11 policies are just magnified excuses for increased racial profiling and suspicion enacted by policies of the last two decades, including the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which both expanded grounds for deportation to include over fifty categories of crimes and made detention and deportation mandatory minimum sentences (both signed by Clinton in 1996). These are just a few instances painting a picture of what the author feels is wrong with the United States immigration policy and treatment in general going back much further than the crisis following September 11, and will keep going on much longer afterward.
   Closing with: "What the detained and deported have to teach us is the lesson of the most disenfranchised of this state. How we treat the people nobody wants to defend, America's least wanted, tells us much about the ability of this system to uphold a free and democratic equal society", Nguyen's book was the most convincing argument I have read since 9/11 that shows me the injustices of a society living in fear of "terrorists", which I just see as a fear of different cultures. The Civil Rights Act may have been passed in the 1960's, but now it seems as if we are just a nation going back in time and breaking promises that have been made for civil liberties for all inhabitants of our country. The book has opened my eyes ever wider to the fact that old and discredited ideas about race, ethnicity, and culture are rapidly rising. The narratives and interviews pulled at my emotions, making me ask myself over and over again, "How can we treat people so inhumanely?" While the ending time line made me ask "How did these policies all get passed without any sort of a public outcry for justice?" Overall, We Are All Suspects Now has earned my respect as being a wonderful and straightforward book that can pull in and eventually open anyone's eyes (even those who normally don't like to read) to the current culture crisis which is now facing the US.

2 comments about Class 11: My Story Inside the CIA's First Post-9/11 Spy Class.

1. For those that wonder what it might be like to enter training for the CIA'a Clandestine Service, this is your book. The author, otherwise an average American citizen, volunteered for the CIA soon after 9/11 in his mid-thirties. Along with a host of other men and women from all walks of life, Waters entered the training program for the Directorate of Operations to become a field operative in the war on terror. His depiction of training is fascinating, particularly with his perspective not as a gung-ho, wanted-to-be-a-spy-from-birth kind of guy, but as an average guy who was inspired to make a sacrifice to protect the country. I'm about halfway through the book now, but I can hardly put it down. Well-written and very interesting.



2. This book was previously reviewed numerous times by various people who gave it very poor reviews. None of those negative reviews, however, is still posted. Bad for sales I guess. This author is a clown. The book is weak. He left the CIA after only a few years. Therefore, his knowledge is super limited and the patriotism he so loudly proclaims is greatly undermined. Anybody in the intelligence or law enforcement community will tell you this book is weak, poorly written, and self serving. He joined the CIA, got out, and wrote a weak book which will make him a quick buck. Save yours!!

2 comments about Kindergarten.

1. I read this book when it first came out, and have since read it several times. It is an extraordinarily moving story about modern English children who, because of an act of political terrorism by which they are directly affected, are brought to confront the meaning of the Holocaust from the standpoint of children. The novel is written with a somber simplicity and elegance, yet it succeeds in evoking not just the events themselves, but the whole cultural context of modern European history. It contains, for instance, one of the most frightening versions of the Hansel and Gretel story that you are ever likely to read. This book is definitely not recommended for children, but it would be hard to imagine any adult not finding it a wonderful experience.



2. This is a short book which brings memories and deeper thoughts to the surface. For anyone who merely wishes something to pass the time during a train journey, sorry, but you're in the wrong place. Rushforth's excellent prose draws the reader through various times into a work which is both dark and enlightening; a memory of times past and, perhaps, a warning of future times.
   
   Since it was first published I have read this book many times, and have purchased at least five copies.
   
   Peter Rushforth died recently, shortly after the publication of Pinkerton's Sister and before the publication of Dead Language, both of which show the skill and literary knowledge of a man who (even at 60) died before his time.

3 comments about Modern Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies: Guerrillas and Their Opponents Since 1750 (Warfare and History).

1. The author writes an very interesting book, sometimes it races along and at other times it becomes tedious. The author also offers many quotes and what appears to be tons of background, supportive and historical evidence to support his claims; Yet the author gives absolutely no footnotes or endnotes that one might validate or verify his sources. I was able to correctly identify many of his sources, but an over reliance on one's memory is not a useful academic tool. If one is seeking a credible research source, I can not honestly recommend this book, strictly on the basis that an indiviudal can not substantiate primary and or secondary sources as the author has used them.
   
   The author does offer a substantial recommended reading list at the end of each chapter, but does not provide the standard alphabetically listed bibliography. Its tedious to search the reading list because of the way he has structured it.

   The chapters are well organized and flow well through history from approximately the 1750's to roughly 2000. Although the book would benefit the novice as a "starter" in terms of the amount of historical information that the author provides; the scholar or researcher will not be able to validate or verify the veracity of the Authors quotes, examples or dates.

   All in All I would rate this book 3 stars for its readability. I would rate it 4 stars for its contribution to the debate on modern insurgency/counter-insurgency and I will rate it at zero stars for its usefulness to research, simply because it has no endnotes or footnotes. In comparison with other books I would suggest that Robert B Asprey's updated Volume I, War in the Shadow's, long considered the academic baseline on the guerrilla in history is far superior.




2. Mr. Beckett's coverage of the development of insurgency movements from the time of Napolean to recent years is a daunting goal. He covered a great deal of material and seemed to cover a lot of material in not nearly enough detail for the sake of mentioning every guerrilla movement imaginable while covering only a few in detail. In fairness, I believe his intent was to track major shifts in insurgency philosophies or counter-insurgency doctrines. But one could hardly help getting the feeling of being dragged on a guided tour where the tour guide would let you linger only at the sights he wants you to see while mentioning the others only in passing quickly by. It is a noble task but could have been shorter by avoiding the side stories or longer by providing more details on the ones mentioned. It seems too much for 250 pages to hold. Still, overall, it was a good read and gives plenty of direction for those wishing to discover some hidden corner of insurgency others might have left unnoticed. Read Mr. Beckett's Modern Insurgencies to get your bearings then head out in one of the many directions he points for a specialty that suits your interests.



3. Beckett's volume is a veritable goldmine of counterinsurgency arcana. Unfortunately, its flaws are apparent, and other reviewers have pointed to them already: Lack of footnotes and a seriously fragmentary narrative hamper the overall usefulness of this treatment. So, f you want to know your Lansdale from your Abrams, go elsewhere. If it's of interest to know that the SAS' torture practices were honed in Aden, and then imported to Northern Ireland, then this is a book you'll want to have on your shelf. Treat it like a pocket encyclopedia -- skip the table of contents and dig in via the index.