5 comments about Direct Action: A Covert War Thriller.

1. This is a pretty good read. Its got a ton of detail about covert operations, spy devices, and the intelligence apparatus to make you feel like this is what really goes on. The story line is pretty good, too. It is more than slightly annoying that the authors' political views are so obviously on display.



2. "Direct Action" is so heartpoundingly real it might as well be
   virtual reality. This book is a powerful page-turner that provides so much inside info that you feel you are right there with Tom Stafford and his buddies, every minute of the journey. If you're curious about all the dirty little secrets behind counter-terrorism and how difficult it is to do your job if you are CIA or ex-CIA, then this book is a must read. What fascinated me most was the incredibly accurate details of the locations in Paris, descriptions of exactly what they ate and drank, the restaurants, the clothes, the disguises and how they go about capturing their prey. Weisman writes about all of it in depth and so well, that you're always kept wondering what is truth and what is fiction. Yet with all of this, he still keeps the action at a breakneck pace.



3. A friend recommended a novel to me that I probably would have overlooked without his advice... Direct Action by John Weisman. A good espionage thriller...
   
   Tom Stafford is a former CIA officer who quit the agency when things became far too bureaucratic for his liking. The private firm he works for has uncovered an al-Qaida terrorist who has been a mystery figure to everyone who has tried to find him in the past. When they bring this to the attention of the CIA, they are inexplicitly told to back off. What makes this even more frustrating is that the terrorist is launching a suicide bombing plot involving designer backpacks and undetectable explosives. Unless this is stopped and the explosives analyzed, all the preventative measures in place around the world will be rendered moot. An unusual mix of private contractors with shadowy pasts and mixed loyalties have to come together to flush out the terrorist, find the explosives, and steer clear of whatever powers in the CIA are preventing them from doing what's right...
   
   Weisman writes with the perspective of someone who has spent plenty of time in the world of covert actions. The plotline of the story is meshed into real CIA personalities and activities, so it's often a little difficult to draw the line between what's story and what's actual history. He also blacks out certain names and activities in the book, much like you'd see in a declassified document. It may sound a little hokey, but it works well to make the writing feel even more real.
   
   Prior to this read, I hadn't even heard of Weisman. Now he's moved into my "so what else has he written" list... A good read to allow you to escape for a few hours...



4. This book made it past the censors and yet gives the layman an inside look at the frustrations for operations personnel in the CIA. While the detail can bog you down in the first few chapters, it's well worth it as you move through the book. Finally a book that exposes the political correctness that has hog tied our operatives in the field.
   Well thought out; detailed and true to life senarios.



5. This novel painfully points out the problems with the CIA during the terms of Directors such as Webster, Gates, Woolsey, Deutch and George Tenet. Seasoned intelligence professionals left the agency in droves or were forced to retire. Directives were issued that in effect prevented the clandestine service from spying. Positions were filled by individuals few of whom had the experience, ability or inclination to recruit agents to spy for America. Tom Stafford, a former CIA case officer, can't stand how things have deteriorated. He joins up with a group of former CIA agents who now are independent contactors calling themselves the 4627 Company. This group contracts projects that the rather impotent CIA would not be capable of handling. This plot centers around a genius terrorist bombmaker who has miniaturized parts so they can be hidden and carried undetected onto to commercial aircraft. This is really an almost impossible to put down read. My only complaint is that there were at least ten pages where portions of the text were blacked out as though by a censor. I find that rather disconcerting. Plenty of espionage tips and tricks. And plenty of excitement as they hunt down and terminate the enemy.

2 comments about Rhodesians Never Die (State and Democracy Series).

1. "Rhodesians Never Die" is a comprehensive history of the European population that ruled pre-independence Zimbabwe. This book takes a cynical view of Rhodesia's struggle to maintain minority rule amid increasing outside and internal pressures.

   Godwin and Hancock put together an amazing amount of information in this work that includes even the smallest detail. "Rhodesians Never Die" chronicles every event, argument, article and demographic affecting Rhodesia for more than a decade.

   The only drawback to this exhaustive work is its critical view of Ian Smith and Rhodesia's so called 'way of life'. Reading this book I got the impression that the authors arrived with preconceived conclusions about Rhodesia that weren't supported by their arguments. This could be due in part to the fact that this book does not relate Rhodesians to international influences or to the black population. I would liked to have seen a more classical argument and counter-argument to Rhodesia's problems.

   Nonetheless, those who read this book will be greatly surprised to see how moderately the authors portray Rhodesia's Prime Minister. Even though 'Old Smithy' is not shown favorably, he wasn't the extremist as he is so often labelled. That role was played by other segments of Rhodesia's political spectrum.

   I highly recommend this book to anyone who has read Peter Godwin's "Mukiwa" or would like to learn more about the politics of southern Africa. This book was well worth the wait.




2. This book piece by piece debunks the myrhs surounding the Rhodesian war and sociaty.

   Itshould be made compulsory reading for all the ex Rhodesian when-we's who live around the world today.

   If only some body would write a book this good debunking the myth of Mugabes noble freedom fighters

5 comments about The Afghan.

1. Excelent book, the classical style of fosyth whit a lot of storys at the same time and is magnificent read the book and see how all the stories converge. A lot of historical information that you believe that all is true.
   Excellent like always



2. anytime you read a book about terriorism, it is scary....there are so many ways......this book moves fast, but is just missing something, not sure what. not a bad read....



3. I enjoyed this book. It keeps you interested with the level of "insider" details. I intended to wait and read this at the beach later this summer, but once I started to read it, I got hooked. It is not Forsyth's best effort. (The Day of the Jackal was so great, I doubt he'll ever match it.) That said, for a great escape that does fit with today's reality, I recommend this book.



4. Generally, I like Forsyth's work a lot: The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File are among the greatest thrillers of all time. But I'm afraid I didn't care much for this one. The story isn't very tightly plotted, and so with the lack of character development that has always been a weakness of Forsyth's, the narrative drags along intolerably at times. There is too much coincidence for the plot to be credible, and the wealth of technical details overwhelms rather the educates the reader. Even with all of these weaknesses, this novel is serviceable enough as beach or airplane reading. Still, The Afghan is disappointing when you realize what brilliant books Forsyth turned out in the past.



5. Excrutiatingly boring: badly written, just facts piled on one another, no protagonist to carry the story and care about. I stopped when it became clear the books was not going to improve. I have better things to do with my time and far better books to read.

3 comments about Understanding the War on Terror.

1. In "Understanding the War on Terror," Foreign Affairs Magazine has compiled an extensive array of articles examining not only the war on terrorism, but on the past, present and future of terrorism. The book covers a multitude of topics including the political, social, cultural, wealth, power, and religious struggles that have plagued the Middle East for decades; struggles that have created an atmosphere of instability in the region as well as for the rest of the world, especially America. While the publisher has done an admirable job, the book does fall short of its intended goal of explaining the War on Terror. Readers looking for answers to hardball questions on the 9/11 attacks will not find them in this book, but it are still worth reading.
   
   "Understanding the War on Terror" begins with the chilling account of what transpired on that fateful day of September 11, 2002 when 19 terrorists hijacked four airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, a field in Pennsylvania, and into America's mind set.
   
   The book covers, in general, terrorist acts, such as those committed in Yemen, Somalia where two Black Hawk Helicopters were shot down), the first World Trade bombing, attacks against the US in Saudi Arabia, the Khobar Apartments (killing 18 Americans), the USS Cole. . . . Many feel that those attacks were part of Osama bin Laden's "Jihad", or Holy War against the West. Some articles discuss "national security" where some writers feel that economic competitiveness or globalization plays a significant factor in US vulnerability; competitiveness in international trade has forced border security to perform fewer inspections and to relax regulation enforcement in order to speed commerce.
   
   Richard K. Betts, writes about security and its breakdown within US security agencies like the FBI, CIA, NSA and so on (no mention of the FAA), and how these lapses must be corrected. Some of the areas that must be looked at as part of national security updating are spying, technologies, information gathering and analyzing and manpower, or field agents; increase funding like the CIA's 30 billion dollar budget increase is a good stating point, but it should not end there.
   
   In his article, "Promoting Democracy and Fighting Terror", Thomas Carothers writes of the conflict between promoting democracy and enhancing internal security. He writes of the Bush administration's effort to build a stronger coalition with non democratic countries and autocratic leaders, or friendly tyrants -- countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Niyazov. These countries have little to no interest in promoting democracy, but Washington has demonstrated great restraint in the promotion of democracy in order to avoid terrorists from making those countries headquarters and/or escape routes for terrorists. The same is true, according to Carothers, of Southeast Asia where human right violations are common, yet the US has kept on friendly terms with governments even giving fifty million dollarsin aid to Malaysia. The author contends that it has become more important to assure security than to promote democracy. Washington has gotten friendlier with Russia and China for the same reasons. Many of the countries that Washington is courting have long histories of human rights violations or are oppressive states run by regimes that believe in autocracy and not democracy.
   
   There are articles on religious groups, especially Islamic fundamentalists (radical and extremists Islamic groups). Some authors write of US foreign policy flip-flopping, efforts on reconstructing Afghanistan's political system. Fareed Zakaria writes of the Middle East's disillusionment with America (the West) and how this "is at the heart of the Arab problem[s]". His article illustrates the Middle East's rejection of modernization. Other writers tell of corruption, regime change, and the questions of which America's allies are. Still others write about warlord systems, the corruption of wealth and power, Gamal Abdel Nasser's failed dream of independence for the Middle East, Pakistan, al Qaeda, the Taliban, jihad, martyrdom, and factions in the Middle East. The book concludes with updates on the Bush administration's war in Iraq and on terrorism.
   
   "Understanding the War on Terror" is an excellent primer for those unfamiliar with the past, present and future of America's relationship with the Middle East and on the war on terrorism, but it is in no way conclusive in its explanations of America's war on terror. Many of the articles seem to whitewash important factors that contribute negatively to America's relationship with the Middle East. Nevertheless "Understanding the War on Terror" is still worth reading.



2. For those of you seeking credible sources to make sense of issues like terrorism, look no further than Foreign Affairs. With each carefully crafted essay, like Fareed Zakaria's influential report on "Why They Hate Us" you will learn about the roots of terrorism and understand the best ways to deal with the challenges that terrorism presents.
   
   This collection of essays and articles are brillantly written, thorougly researched, and authored by exteremly qualified policy analysts. Also, unlike many media sources, who increasingly use polemics when presenting a biased view of important topics, these essays present arguments from a variety of angles--which, in the end, is the best way to learn.



3. Excellent book for those interested in understanding the lead up to the Iraq war and the intellectual discussions that surrounded the immediate effects of the conflict. Good for academics and beginners.

5 comments about Unsafe at Any Altitude: Exposing the Illusion of Aviation Security.

1. I saw the advance publicity for the "60 Minutes" report last night and
   went out to get a copy of "Unsafe at any Altitude," the book the report was based on. Not only did this book's authors, Susan
   and Joseph Trento, obtain the copy of the no-fly list that "60 Minutes"
   used as the basis of its report, but that list is only one of many interesting revelations as this book explores how flawed
   our aviation security system is.



2. It costs a lot for responsible government officials to play the game: Don't blame me don't blame you -- blame that fellow behind the tree. The author's tell you how that game was played in respose to 9/11. And because this billion dollar game was played with the screeners at airports, the extra billions of dollars spent are not providing any more safety than before 9/11. But the mind set of the post 9/11 air traveling public must make us safer. The passengers now know if they fight for the control of the plane there is a chance for life -- if they don't fight death is certain.



3. Much of the info in this book is fact. However, assumptions are made to fill in the fact gaps. Even what they call "truth" is sometimes assumption or just plain wrong. The authors offer some ideas on improving airport security, but you have to figure that they have already been considered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.



4. This book offers a professional analysis and it brings the aviation terrorism phenomenon into the front of the stage, by highlighting some evidence regarding some of the major aviation terrorism incidents of the pase decades. As an academic researcher of aviation terrorism, this book certainly may be useful for those who are interestd in the 'story behaind the story'.
   Dr. Hillel Avihai



5. This book is superbly written, the prose is gripping and hard to put down. I finished this book in one day and was drawn in page after page. It focuses a lot on Argenbright Security, the company which privately handled airport security in numerous cities before the invention of the incompetent TSA, and details how it was scapegoated for the incompetency of numerous federal agencies.
   Further, it details the uselessness of the "No Fly" list which is as worthless as the Arizona Navy.
   This book will challenge any notions of airport and airline safety you may have, this book carefully details the relationship of 80's Beirut, the CIA's complicit machinations in Lebanon and how it intentionally and inadvertently created the aircraft hijacking as a political tool by middle eastern terrorists.
   If you think this sound ridiculous, challenge my characterization and read the book for yourself.

5 comments about Lone Wolf: Eric Rudolph: Murder, Myth, and the Pursuit of an American Outlaw.

1. It is really quite frustrating. After spending the last few days virtually spellbound by the improbable story of Eric Robert Rudolph I come away with the feeling that I really don't understand the man any better than I did before. This is not to fault author Maryanne Vollers. "Lone Wolf" grabbed my attention very early on and just never let go. Here is a man you might enjoy having as your next door neighbor who at the same time has a dark side capable of killing totally innocent people. For reasons still not entirely clear to her, Maryanne Vollers was contacted by Eric Rudolph shortly after his capture. Rudolph had decided that it would be Vollers he would confide in. Make no mistake about it. Eric Rudolph is a pretty smart cookie and he was bound and determined to tell his side of the story. And as you will see in "Lone Wolf" he has lots of fascinating tales to tell.
   Just in case you were living in a cave back in 1996 and 1997, Maryanne Vollers does a credible job of recalling the gruesome events that occured at Centennial Park in Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Olympics. She also describes in vivid detail the explosion that took place just a year later at an abortion clinic in Birmingham. After the Birmingham bombing, Rudolph quickly realized that he had been spotted and was considered the prime suspect. And so it was that Eric Rudolph disappeared into the woods of Western North Carolina. He would survive in these woods for the next five years!!! "Lone Wolf" goes into considerable detail describing Rudolph's lifestyle during these years. You really cannot help but admire the man for his ingenuity and cunning during this extended ordeal. But "Lone Wolf" is not just about Eric Rudolph. Maryanne Vollers spends considerable time portraying the folks from the FBI, ATF and other government agencies involved in the massive manhunt for Eric Rudolph. You will discover the strategies that were being employed and learn about the inevitable tensions that occur when several government agencies are involved in an investigation. You will also be introduced to the members of Eric Rudolph's defense team and discover just how the final resolution of this case came about.
   If you are anything like me, "Lone Wolf" will hold your interest from cover to cover. This is an engaging and superbly written narrative. Just don't expect an answer to the question "Why?" Recommended.



2. THE AUTHOR'S DESCRIPTION OF ASHEVILLE NORTH CAROLINA IS NOWHERE NEAR HISTORICALLY CORRECT AND IS MISSING SEVERAL KEY POINTS. THE AUTHOR WRITES, IN HER BOOK, THAT ASHEVILLE IS A TRENDY MOUNTAIN BOOM TOWN WHICH IS CORRECT. HOWEVER, SHE FURTHER WRITES THAT ONLY A GENERATION AGO ASHEVILLE NC WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A BUCOLIC BACKWATER TOWN, BEST KNOWN AS THE SITE OF THE BILTMORE ESTATE AND FORMER PLAYGROUND OF THE VANDERBILT FAMILY AND HOME OF THOMAS WOLF. THE FACT IS THAT ASHEVILLE HAS ALWAYS (AT LEAST SINCE 1895) BEEN A SOPHISTICATED LITTLE CITY AND WAS LABELED "PARIS OF THE SOUTH" IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY BECAUSE IT WAS SO WELL KNOWN FOR ITS THEATRE, OPERA, AND ELECTRIC STREET CARS. ASHEVILLE WAS THE SECOND CITY IN THE UNITED STATES TO HAVE ITS OWN ELECTRIC STREET CARS, RICHMOND, VA. THE FIRST.
   THE AUTHOR DID NOT DO HER RESEARCH ON ASHEVILLE SO HOW CAN I KNOW THAT THE REST OF HER BOOK IS AUTHENTIC?



3. I enjoyed Maryanne Vollers' book entitled Ghosts of Mississippi and thought I'd give her effort on bomber Eric Rudolph a try. I found the book worth my time, but felt disgust for Eric Rudolph's twisted logic. He claims his actions in bombing abortion clinics were consistent with his beliefs. He can't understand why other pro-lifers don't act in a similar way. As an analogy he states Thoreau was imprisoned for abolitionist activities. When Emerson asked him why he was in prison, Thoreau stated for being anti-slavery. "The real question, Emerson, is why aren't you in here with me?" Pro-lifers who don't advocate violence to end abortion would be despised by Eric Rudolph. The time that Rudolph was hiding in the woods he was practically under the noses of the authorities as Rudolph observed them from his post in the hills. I especially enjoyed the section of the book that tried to explain the mind of Eric Rudolph. He currently resides in the supermax prison nicknamed "Alcatraz of the Rockies" in Florence, Colorado, with other notorious characters such as spy Robert Hanssen, "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, terrorist Zacharias Moussaoui, and Ramzi Yousef who planned the first World Trade Center bombing.



4. I can't stand it when individuals use the incredibly valuable resource that is Amazon book reviews to make some parochial comment, especially one who thinks what they have to say is so important that they type it all in caps. When that happens I am compelled to offset it with a 5-star review (I read the book and it is a quality work).
   
   BTW, I grew up in NC and the author's description of Asheville is fine in the context it is given. So sorry that it offended an Ashevillian who can't see the forest for the trees...



5. First an introduction: From 1986 - 1992 I was employed as an investigator at the Office of Capital Collateral Representative (CCR) in Tallahassee, Florida, where Scharlette Holdman worked as the supervisor of the investigators from October 1985 - March 1988.
   
   I have known Scharlette since the mid-1970s death penalty debates at Florida State University, including the debate between Professor Richard L. Rubenstein (author of "After Auschwitz", "My Brother Paul", "The Cunning of History: Mass Death and the American Future", "The Age of Triage", "Religion and Eros", and other books) vs. Baptist Minister and Philosopher Will Campbell (the debate was circa 1977).
   
   Her office, the Clearinghouse on Criminal Justice, was in the same wing of the Petroleum Building as my office at Common Cause in Florida (where I was a full-time volunteer during the day and worked at the Brown Derby Restaurant at night from 1981 - 1986).
   
   The Petroleum Building was next to the State Capital, the Florida Supreme Court and the State Archives and Library. When it was torn down, the space and the space for the first CCR office became the Mary Brogan Art and Science Museum and a storm water retaining pond. The Petroleum Building was called by those of us who worked or volunteered there the "Forces of Good" (FOG) Building -- as opposed to FOE -- Forces of Evil, such as Associated Industries, the Chamber and other big business interests in Florida. The FOG building also included (not an exhaustive list) the Clean Water Action Project, the ACLU, NOW, Florida Legal Services, Migrant Farmworker's Organization (directed by Cliff Thaell, who has more recently been a Leon County Commissioner for over ten years), Mike Vasilinda's television news service.
   
   About every two years at CCR there was a Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist-Maoist purge due to the pressures and dysfunctions of the work and the people. I survived two such purges. With the third, I was the first to go in the spring and summer of 1992.
   
   When Scharlette had essentially declared war upon CCR in 1987 and thereafter, some of us decided to investigate her background given some things that we had heard. Low and behold, Scharlette's claim of a PhD in anthropology from the University of Hawaii and a Master's Degree from Memphis State (now University of Memphis) don't exist. A claimed undergraduate degree from Memphis State: I no longer recall if this was confirmed by the university.
   
   We used Scharlette's Social Security number, her maiden name and her married name -- with all this information, both universities had no record of Scharlette having received any degrees from these institutions.
   
   As I understand Scharlette, she needed the "degrees" to confer upon her "credentials" that she really never needed as she is indeed then and now a national expert on capital mitigation, litigation, etc. However Scharlette can be deceptive, as her lack of a PhD and Masters so demonstrates. Even today she claims to have the degrees as when she gives presentations regarding capital cases, she is identified as "Dr." A key word search of her name will bring up some of the presentations that she has made in the past several years with the title "Dr." preceding her name.
   
   If she has received any honorary or other degrees since 1990, that would be new information for me. If anyone can assist in this matter, please contact me at [...]. Thank you.

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 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

3 comments about Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terror: Military Culture and Irregular War (Stanford Security Studies).

1. Excellent book. Format was good and the book was well written. Good points presented by the book.



2. Despite LTC Cassidy's occasional allusions to the dubious belief that the Army is changing as necessary for the kind of
   irregular warfare terrorism presents, he still makes some valid points about how the Army and other
   services need to change further. LTC Cassidy makes valid observations about the American military culture of conventional
   warfare thinking, but his recommendations seem to be less about cultural change and more about organizational
   change. The problems he identifies seem far too entrenched for organizational tweaking to resolve them.
   
   Some points LTC Cassidy makes with regard to how to counter insurgencies are very good points. He addresses the
   cultures first of Russian, British, and American military thinking in separate chapters then summarizes the lessons
   concerning "small wars" in the end. In the process of summarizing the lessons of those three, he draws on additional
   experiences of the French in Indochina and Algeria. The organization of his work becomes a little difficult as the
   author seems to confuse the cultural issues with organizational or tactical issues of isolated examples. If the
   reader is able to separate those issues, this book has much to offer. Otherwise it may only confuse the issues.
   
   Specifically, among the observations LTC Cassidy makes, three seem especially helpful.
   First, the need to emphasize conversion/rehabilitation of enemy combatants. Rather
   than capturing them and jailing them away only for questioning, making the assumption that they cannot be
   rehabilitated, would it not be better to convert them - to win their hearts and minds? The very common-sense of that
   question along with the example given of British and Rhodesian techniques to do just that in Malaya and Rhodesia
   should provide the obvious answer.
   
   Second, and similar to the first point, large-scale use of indigenous forces provides legitimacy where occupation-style
   large American footprint does not. Again, the common sense of this thinking should be enough to immediately see the value
   of this point. Though he does leave the assertion open to a wide range of interpretation as has been the case in the past.
   
   Third, adopting realistic measures for success. LTC Cassidy, as with so many others, makes a challenge to the
   traditional measures of success such as insurgent body counts. Such measures do not tell us whether or not we are
   being successful at winning hearts and minds or improving the lives of those we claim to be protecting. The goal
   in conventional warfare thinking has generally been to destroy the enemy army. The goal in this unconventional warfare
   is to produce a lasting peace. Ignoring the population only breeds more insurgent support. The goal must be to win
   and protect the population more than to kill the ever-increasing flow of insurgents.
   
   A problem with all three of these points is that none can be mechanistically applied to every situation without an
   understanding of the cultural/political context of the indigenous people. What works in one scenario is not necessarily
   an universal law of counterinsurgency for all other scenarios.
   
   Another problem is the political question. And this one LTC Cassidy may be forgiven for not addressing
   as a military commander.
   He states that we need to change our military in order to meet the goal of "democratization" wars. But this rather
   begs the political question of whether such wars are even winnable in all cases. The sad fact remains that perhaps there are
   some cultures in which democracy is not workable or even wanted. LtC Cassidy is a military man tasked with carrying
   out political policies with which he may not always agree. It is not his place perhaps to question those
   policies - but it is ours. It is a difficult question that underlies just how effective any cultural or
   organizational changes could make in such situations.
   
   A third problem LTC Cassidy does not address is the common mistake of confusing revolutionary nationalist insurgencies,
   like those in Malaya or Vietnam, with the non-nationally focused insurgencies of global terrorism - something the title
   claims to address. Little is added on the theory of counterinsurgency as it pertains specifically to the so-called
   Global War on Terror. Instead, LTC Cassidy seems locked in the mindset of so many other military thinkers - still
   preparing for the last war or the war we would prefer to fight.
   
   While the author makes some very good points concerning counterinsurgency warfare, his conclusions for changing
   the military seem far too little. The military and political culture that feeds it must change as a whole and not
   just with organizational or tactical tweaks here and there. We also need to understand better that not every war
   is one we should be fighting or that we have a chance of winning.
   
   Despite some shortcomings, LTC Cassidy has given us a fair addition to the theory and practice of counterinsurgency.
   It is a good start perhaps at addressing the issues but the solutions are unimaginative and shortsighted. Still
   this work deserves a good rating for at least addressing some of the underlying problems.



3. I have not checked, but I would bet that this book is required reading at the various command colleges for our armed forces. The book reads like a PhD Dissertation, but that is not all bad. The sources and cites are awesome if you want to delve further into the subject.
   
   The basis of this book is a description of what counterinsurgency is, a historical look at its uses and how we must adapt to the new global "network insurgency"! LTC Cassidy has obviously done his homework on this subject. While dry, it is probably the best meta-analysis of the subject available for lay readers.
   
   Among the main themes for the successful prosecution of this type of conflict is the need to involve as many indigenous forces as possible, paternal control systems of occupation and scrupulous care to avoid killing "innocents". If you are a fan of Clausewitz, you are going to have a hard time getting into this!
   
   If you are interested in delving this deep into the war on terror and where it is going, I highly recommend this book.

No comments about More Freedom, Less Terror?: Liberalization and Political Violence in the Arab World.