5 comments about The Wolves of Islam: Russia and the Faces of Chechen Terror.

1. Rare is the book or author who understands the concept of the perpetual jihad. But Paul Murphy, who uses that term in his preface, gets it. The jihad is not about land or politics, but about obtaining perpetual Islamic rule and law worldwide. Chechens like to compare their national character to the wolf, because it will attack a stronger foe, and they do it in the name of Islam.
   
   Had Russia recognized Chechnya after the first recent war ended in 1996, moreover, the process of perpetual jihad would merely have been hastened, he adds, since Chechnya's president could not control the criminal gangs who sought to take Russian territory in Dagestan "to carve out their new Islamic state in the North Caucasus.
   
   The principal character in this drama is Shamil Basayev, a Sufi Naqshbandi Islamist, heir to a deputy of the Imam Shamil who fought Russia in the 19th century Murid Wars, from 1830 to 1859. Credited to his name (if you can call it that) are the 1995 attack on a Russian hospital, and his famous 1991 hijacking of a Russian airliner and his 1996 Grozny offensive. He has a $5 million price on his head, but even this has not stopped the Sufi terrorist, who is a favorite with foreign journalists.
   
   Basayev seeks to reestablish the imamate, which he envisions to encompass Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia and Karachaevo-Cherkessia, ultimately stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, a vision supported by Chechen president Dzokhar Dudayev, who took office illegally on November 2 1991--a month before the USSR was dissolved.
   
   On November 9, 1991, Basayev went with Said-Ali Satuyev and Lom-Ali Chachayev to the Russian town of Mineralnye Vody, where they hijacked a plane with 178 passengers to Turkey. They threatened to explode the aircraft and all its passengers if Russia did not lift the state of emergency imposed on Chechnya.
   
   In Georgia, in July 1992, the Grozny Confederation of Caucasus Mountain People Parliament sent troops to fight for the independence of Abkhazia; it is a documented fact that the veins of captured Georgian soldiers were cut open and the victims made to toast the Chechnyan victors with their own blood. Worse, 100 Georgian soldiers were herded into a central stadium and beheaded; their heads were used as footballs in a soccer match.
   
   Basayev lost 56 men in the Abkhaz Battalion. But when he returned to Chechnya in February 1994, he had created a combat ready force to serve President Dudayev. Then Basayev and 20 men went to Afghanistan to train in the Amir Muawia camp (which U.S. cruise missiles hit in August 1998 in an attempt to kill bin Laden).
   
   In June 1993, Basayev stormed the town hall in Grozny to disrupt a protest of Dudayev's string of undemocratic actions, and disbanded demonstrations in Tealtralnaya Square, killing at least 30 people. The attacks on the opposition continued in 1994, and Basayev took a key role in defending Dudayev against Russian-backed forces and 47 Russian tanks. Basayev attacked with rocket propelled grenades and took 21 Russian soldiers hostage.
   
   During the first Chechen war, from 1994 through 1996, Basayev's forces rose in number to at least 2,000--some say 10,000. In December 1994, Russia sent 24,000 troops into Grozny to disarm "illegal armed formations and restore constitutional order." Chechen forces opened fire with a huge arsenal of grenade launchers, flamethrowers and a modified warhead that could blow the top of any tank with one hit. They destroyed the entire Russian brigade, killing about 1,000 Russian troops.
   
   The Chechen atrocities were horrific. In one case, a Russian soldier was nailed to a cross and mutilated there. His own penis was cut off and stuffed in his mouth. It took Russia until early 1995 to control the last stronghold of resistance, in the village of Shatoi.
   
   These terrorist exploits were followed by a gargantuan suicide mission in the summer of 1995. On a budget of $35,000, Basayev purchased trucks and a car to transport terrorists to Russia and pay bribes at the border. In Budennovsk, his men shot every policeman in sight at the local police station, raised the Chechen flag over city hall, killed 41 townspeople and captured the local hospital, where hundreds of hostages were imprisoned. To garner a press conference, he murdered five hostages. Sixteen days after the siege began, 143 hostages were dead and 415 people wounded--and Russia had been compelled to call a cease fire in Chechnya. In all there had been 1,600 victims.
   
   And this was just the beginning for Basayev, a man Murphy calls Russia's Osama bin Laden.
   
   In all, the 280-page book catalogs the gruesome details of more than 240 terror attacks with thousands of victims.
   
   The one fault with this volume is that Murphy ascribes all the evil to the influence of the Wahabbi sect. But Basayev and his followers are all Naqshbandi Sufis, and they are following a jihad tradition that is 1,400 years old, inscribed in the theological and legal doctrines of all major branches of the faith, as attested in Andrew Bostom's The Legacy of Jihad.
   
   --Alyssa A. Lappen



2. This is an excellent book about the history terrorism in Chechnya and its effect on Russia and the world today. From Shamil Basayev (aka Russia's Osama bin Laden) to Aslan Mashkadov, the anti-Jihadist Chechen president who later joined forces with Basayev for reasons of his own, author Paul Murphy chronicles the history of terrorist activities in Chechnya from 1991 to 2004 in crisp, precise language. If you are a reader who's interested in current events and the history of terrorism, especially Chechen terrorist activities, then get this book and read it.



3. After having been kidnapped, beaten, tortured and raped by Chechens rebels only days after the resignation of Gorbachev, I have but only sympathy for the "decent" Chechens who must bear witness to the daily horrors forced upon them by fanatics who possess not an shred of decency nor a human heartbeat.
   
   Paul Murphy writes an extremely close account of the truth.
   It's such a pity that the majority of human beings on this planet choose not to pay heed.
   
   Well done Paul Murphy!
   
   -Yvonne Bornstein, Author, Eleven Days Of Hell



4. Osmium 187 is a component of nuclear bombs, not the fissionable material.
   "The security services keep the illegal trade in precious metals under constant control, but the sale of osmium-187 attracted their attention also for another reason. It is a strategic dual-purpose material used in the defence industry as a catalyst to increase the blast range of a nuclear bomb. "



5. This is the first time I have written a review on Amazon, but I have been bothered by the Wolves of Chechnya since I finished it a week ago. The people whose reviews I read who gave this book five stars either have an agenda, or have little knowledge of the issues and lack critical reading skills.
   
   My first complaint is that the author does not cite ANY sources. Not even with a bibliography! He writes something in the beginning about synthesizing different sources of information and then drawing the most logical conclusion, though it appears that he more likely swallowed the Kremlin's version of history and puked it back up wholesale.
   
   Murphy also tries to portray the Chechens as partners with al Qaeda, which is a laughable contention. Though Murphy writes that "al Qaeda" trained fighters to send into Chechnya, these fighters were actually trained at Khattab's camps, which were created, organized, staffed, and funded through a distinctly separate apparatus from bin Laden's. After their falling out, Khattab despised bin Laden. They did not cooperate.
   
   And while plenty of Arabs made their way to fight jihad in Chechnya, no Chechens returned the favor. Mr. Murphy has it plain wrong when he writes that Chechens were caught in Afghanistan. Many journalists dutifully listed Chechen, along with Saudi, Yemeni, Pakistani, et al, when referring to al Qaeda's foreign fighters. But when the caves were cleared, there were actually no Chechens. A real expert--or at least an unbiased one--would know that.
   
   I could go on with more specifics, but suffice it to say that an appearance of bias, combined with a failure to cite any sources, combined with factual errors and analytic weakness, makes this not the best choice of reading material for anyone.

1 comments about Beslan: The Tragedy of School No. 1.

1. This book is an interesting read about what happened at the siege of Beslan's school No. 1 but in the end I found it lacking. The book is broken into chapters, but they are not exactly in chronological order. The first chapter will address a part of the Siege while the next will go into the background of Chechnya or Russia and maybe tell the author's own adventures while over there and what kind of impact they had on him, the next chapter will again relate to Beslan and the one after again to the historical context, and so on and so forth.
   
   I have to say that the author committed a few errors in his historical prose and I can't say he was 'unbiased' in presenting the plight of the Chechens. The author does talk about the various deportations of the Chechen and Ingush people as well as a variety of other ethnicities throughout the Soviet Union, what I noticed was missing was the fact that none of the other ethnicities turned to terrorism against innocent civilians, worse women and children, aside from the Chechens, why leave that out? The accounts from the parents and others who were trapped in the school were all quite interesting.
   
   Some stories that are stuck in my mind are when the first police units arrived they had blanks for bullets, the police "armourer" had gone to the city and had taken the key to their arsenal with him. At one point when a negotiator asked the terrorists if they would allow food and water to be brought in for the children the response was that the children "had announced their own hunger strike in sympathy with the terrorists' aims." More than once the author points out the media's incorrect guesstimates when it came to how many hostages were bieng held in the School. The exact number of 354 was pronounced when the reality was that it only covered perhaps a quarter of those trapped in the school. This under counting, according to the author and some of those trapped inside the school, seemed to enrage the terrorists. When the siege began on the first day children and adults were still allowed to get water from a tap and go to the bathroom, by the second day this was rescinded as the terrorists awaited expected "VIPs" whom they demanded to see so that they could discuss their demands. Chaos and panic were evident throughout, a village less than a mile from Beslan was receiving calls where the callers claimed they had seen the local school attacked by terrorists. When the local police went to investigate it turned out that the attackers were special forces practicing for the storming of School No. 1.
   
   What I wasn't too interested in seeing, yet saw a lot of, were wild claims with little to back them up aside from rumors and hearsay, this could be seen in regards to the Russian president, Putin, and a variety of other 'characters' in this situation who apparently owe their jobs to him, the terrorists and why they would grow aggravated, and a variety of other incidents which one can only guess at when wondering what the cause or causes might have been. I, personally, would have preferred to simply hear the outcome and not the author's ideas about how or why the outcome was come to. Without all the facts being available for scrutiny it is very hard to understand what the truth is and to separate it from the chaos of the events in question which inevitably lead to such rumors. While it might be OK for the author to present what he's heard in terms of rumors and innuendos it would be a benefit if he were to specifically state which can be proven to be true and which are simply allegations. There is also a recounting of the Nord Ost siege, which took place in Moscow a few years before Beslan, which in my opinion leaves a lot out of what happened and easily puts all the blame on Russian officials and special forces. For a more balanced view of that incident and others, including Beslan, I would recommend "Terror at Beslan" by John Giduck. Giduck's book has an abundant number of interviews with Special Forces and others who helped to rescue as many children as they could, some moving into the field of fire to distract the terrorists from the children when they were running out of the school after the two initial explosions. In this book hardly any of that is covered, if it is the author questions the accounts from the special forces side. It would have been preferable if the author actually interviewed not only survivors and locals but also some of the special forces that participated in this operation. When it comes to their side of the events all one has in this book is speculation. When I saw the following words "...the mighty Russian bear had fallen" in regards to uncensored footage being shown of this event I couldn't help myself but to think, is this what the world thought of the US on 9/11? Doubtful. A lot of blame is leveled against government forces and administration but nowhere did I find a recounting of the massive number of civilians who came out to the school armed with their own weapons and shooting indiscriminately at the terrorists throughout the siege. Yes, mistakes were made on all sides, this was a chaotic situation but that doesn't make it alright to pile all the blame on any one body. While it did take time for Alpha and other special forces to finally be able to rescue those trapped throughout the school this was because they were searching the school one classroom at a time and not running through it screaming 'Marco!' All in all I'd have to caution those reading this, if you do read it get Giduck's book as well to see the other side.

5 comments about War Footing: 10 Steps America Must Take to Prevail in the War for the Free World.

1. This is the first book I have strongly urged anyone to buy, ever. It is the most chilling book I have yet read and It should be required reading for every American, because it will take a few million of us to become politically active enough to start making a difference.
   "Is it accurate?" The contributors all have very strong pedigrees and it is heavily footnoted. Researching the footnotes reveals that not only is Gaffney & company not exaggerating, in some cases they may be understating the threat.
   
   This is not about liberals and conservatives. This is about having the freedom of choice and the way of life we enjoy today. I urge you to buy it, read it, and pass this information on to your trusted networks. We must get this knowledge in the hands of as many Americans as possible, and quickly.
   Here are some of the subjects it explores:
   1. The rise of Islamofascism, a totalitarian ideology that masquerades as religion; how it is funded; and how it threatens today's Free World and how it poses an even more immediate menace to the majority of Muslims who do not agree with their agenda.
   2. The very real nuclear threat to the U.S. that makes bombing a major city small by comparison; and what our threats 1) know about it, and/or 2) could possess the technology.
   3. The rise of totalitarian regimes in oil-rich states and the rising economic and military power of one not-so-oil-rich nation; including Dictator Hugo Chavez' rise to power, his dismantling of Venezuela's democracy, his intentions for the US and how he'll pay for it.
   4. What the porous ness of our border system means to our country's security.
   5. The alliances (of 1 & 3 above) that the "bad guys" have formed or are forming; their goals and objectives.
   6. The international political war that our enemies are waging against the Free World, and our lack of effective response.
   7. And several subjects regarding "return-on-investment" for Federal funds expenditure directly relating to our national security.
   At each step of the way, the book spells out what must be done. Much can be done by the American people, becoming pro-active and working to shape the policies and actions of the politicians, and other government/corporate institutions who can turn the tide.



2. This is a great book and really explains, in one place, every aspect of the war we are facing: from what needs to be done from a military point of view, to cultural initiatives. It explains that we are NOT fighting the religion of Islam, we are fighting people who hold the IDEOLOGY of (Saudi Wahhabist) islamo-fascism, or "Islamism", (or just: Islamic fundamentalism). This book discusses everything from illegal immigration, to EMP attacks (electromagnetic pulse attacks that would knock out our infrastructure). This book puts it all together in one book. Each page contains insights that cut right to the chase, without any "grandstanding". There is more in this book of real value than in 10 other books on the subject, combined. I just hope our politicians are reading it.



3. This book details some of the best methods for dealing with homeland security,oil dependency,jihadist and radical regimes,and an emerging China to challenge the U.S..I wish that George Bush had followed these ideas that deal with our weak spots of our nation's security.Even some critics of Bush would back some of these suggestions as a plan for true homeland security



4. This book was an eye-opener for me. I can't believe that our leaders haven't put all 10 steps into action to win the war for the free world. This book made me realize that we all have to get actively involved in preserving the freedoms we enjoy today and ensuring that our children and grandchildren understand the threats we face and how much we have to lose.



5. Every US citizen who cares about their continued safety and the ongoing freedom of this country should read this book. The 10 steps that Mr. Gaffney outlines in it are frightening, enlightening and motivational all at the same time.
   
   I truly believe that this book, and the principles within it should be part of the required curriculum taught to our children in all public schools in the US.

5 comments about Cover Up: What the Government Is Still Hiding About the War on Terror.

1. I read "Cover Up" because I heard the author (PL) on a very popular
   nationally-syndicated radio show. He was part of a panel discussing
   9-11, of course. I really couldn't decide whether PL thought that 9-11
   was a govt. conspiracy, but he was very critical of a very "strident"
   conspiracy radio host/film maker. PL claimed that he wrote only what
   he could prove, and that the "powers that be" actually want people to
   believe in vague, high-level conspiracies rather than getting at the "real"
   facts. Having read many books on 9/11 that indeed point to a high-level
   govt. conspiracy, I wanted to read "Cover Up" to get another point of
   view about 9-11, this despite the scoffs from my friends!
   
   I found "Cover Up" interesting for the most part, also quite
   informative, as if a short primer on domestic terrorism (I will assume
   that PL got his facts straight), though as I'll discuss below, I am still
   not certain what PL really thinks about 9-11.
   
   "Cover Up" depicts shocking, outrageous corruption, perhaps the most
   egregious corruption is the FBI/Justice Dept.'s cover up of the relationship
   between a fairly high-level agent and a Mafia hitman who killed many people
   in a war among "families." While a large element of organized crime is
   apparently eliminated, laws are broken at every turn, and when the FBI
   man is prosecuted, he answers "I can't remember" 44 times, and is allowed
   to retire on full pension, and to make sure the corruption is never revealed,
   an honest cop's reputation is ruined, and he is stripped of his pension.
   
   If you read "Cover Up," and I recommend that you do, you will get the
   tie-in between the son of the Mafia hitman and Ramzi Yousef, whom PL
   claims devised the bomb that killed a young engineer in the so-called
   "Bojinka" plane bombing, which the author connects to the TWA 800 disaster,
   in a convincing way. PL also connects all of this, along with incredible
   negligence on the FBI's part, with terrorism and 9-11, and the details are
   quite Interesting.
   
   PL clearly spent a great deal of time interviewing the wives of the
   9-11 victims, who pressed for a very long time before the govt. agreed to
   have a commission, and he shows many aspects of blatant, deliberate
   suppression of evidence by the commission, many members of which were very
   compromised, and had much to lose by getting at the real truth.
   
   Yet I found the book lacking in certain aspects of 9-11, esp.
   the lack of a deeper analysis of what exactly happened on 9-11. PL asks
   exactly the same questions that those who think that the govt. at the very
   least knew in advance of the attacks, yet he makes no attempt to answer
   them, and cites not one of the "conspiracy" books that do try to answer
   the difficult questions.
   
   A very key part of 9-11, as discussed in "Cover Up," is simply reported
   and nothing more. Repeatedly we are told that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Yousef's
   uncle, is the mastermind beind 9-11, yet I remember no evidence or further
   details in the book, just a reference to PL's prior book on 9-11. Also KSM's
   arrest and interrogation are kept secret, yet again we are not told anything
   beyond this, and conspiracy researchers would obviously wonder what the real
   story is?!
   
   So what we get is an interesting read but I was left wondering if what
   is presented in "Cover Up" is just a shadow of the deeper truth. Still, I
   recommend reading the book.



2. I really like Peter Lance. I enjoy his writing style and he has researched his topics well. However, I thought 1000 Years for Revenge was better. He seemed a little stressed and frustrated while writing this book. However, I would still recommend Cover Up. Without this book and 1000 Years for Revenge I would have been clueless as to the flaws of the 9/11 Commission.



3. I agree with the reviewer who said that this is half a book. The first half of this book matters; the second half, not so much.
   
   While the bad news is that you are getting half a book for the price of a full book, the good news is that the half a book that you are getting is a bomb - well worth the read. If what Lance reports is true - and Lance's story is documented well enough to believe it is true - the pre-9/11 failings of our government, especially the FBI, are abhorrent. Incompetence is one thing; cover-ups of painful truths are quite another.



4. Since 9/11, I have watched our leaders expend human and material resources in an obviously wasteful and non-productive manner. It is clear that they did not take adequate measures to insure our national security. We have and continue to pay a dear price for their negligence. Appropriate, necessary action can only be taken if we know the truth about what happened and who the players were and are. Official government channels have not been forthcoming with this information. We have been left misinformed and vulnerable. We must know the truth in order to plan intelligently. Peter Lance has provided us with a great resource. He has presented us with chilling new information in a well documented, dispationate, non-partisan manner. We are all in his debt. I urge you to read this book and become active in getting you elected leaders to do the same.



5. This is an extremely well-written and documented book. I especially liked the foot-noted references that allow the reader to check the facts for themselves. If the average citizen thinks the FBI and CIA are providing meaningful security to the USA, this book will make one think again. After reading this book, I also read "1000 Years for Revenge". That book finished filling in the blanks. I suggest they both be read to get the whole picture. There is no doubt in my mind that the US will be attacked again, and that government agencies have been put under so many constraints that they will never be able to stop it. Read these two books. Your hair will stand on end.

5 comments about Contract Warriors.

1. This was an interesting book. The writing (and editing) weren't really that great, but I was expecting a bit more substance.
   
   The author gave an overview of mercenary operations over an extended period of history and then gave relatively short shrift to current operations, particulalry in Iraq, where PMC's (Private Military Companies) are making sinful amounts of money out of the ongoing debacle in Iraq.
   
   The author doesn't appear to have an agenda with this book, other than to get published and make money the sad thing is that with a little more homework and fact checking, he could have done something special.



2. Contractors in war is certainly the topic of today, especially when you tie the war on terrorism into it, which is probably why a book with such little insight, information, and thought was published. Despite the title, the book does not address how mercenaries have changed history and the war on terrorism.
   
   Rosen starts off making the claim that Tim Spicer changed the way "mercenaries" are perceived by creating a business corporation that could function in the legal realm. An interesting thought but, unfortunately, a conclusion he does not support. Instead he presents 96 pages (out of 202) of anecdotal and poorly written history that superficially traces the historical use of mercenaries from ancient times into the 1990s. None of the 96 pages (Chapters 4-7) supports his argument and generally it is a history of the conventional concept of bad-boy mercenaries. He follows with one chapter (8) that's nothing more that a who's-who of today's government contractors, or Professional Military Corporations (PMC). The last chapter (9) is just a description of stereotypical bad-boy mercenaries who were allegedly involved in a plot to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guiana, yet were not working for a PMC. It's almost as if he can make his argument with a, "guilt by association approach;" if he mentions PMCs in the same book and chapter as evil mercenaries then we'll agree with him.
   
   Another problem is sloppy writing. The book suffers from poor transitions, poor editing, and a lack of precise writing. For example, the nation of Colombia is misspelled as Columbia, a common error made by those not familiar with Latin America. Another example is when he states that Franco led the Loyalists during the Spanish Civil War, then says the Abraham Lincoln Brigade fought, "for the Loyalist cause." He then has the Abraham Lincoln Brigade attacking the Nationalists (with whom Franco was associated) - all within the space of a few paragraphs. As if this were not enough, he makes the statement that "killing technology," as exemplified by the atomic bomb, created less opportunity for mercenaries, which, "partially accounted for all the ill-trained men who fought for the Republicans during the Spanish civil war." Although one can figure out kinda' what Rosen is really saying, the fact that the atom bomb wasn't used until 1945, and the Spanish Civil War occurred in the late 1930s creates a bit of discomfort.
   
   A crucial problem with the book is that Rosen never defines the term mercenary in a book in which he tries to link PMCs with mercenaries. In fact, throughout the book he uses the term mercenary so loosely that he even applies it to immigrants who joined their adopted country's militaries. When he applies the term mercenaries to the Rough Riders of the Spanish American War, the only proof he offers is that there were soldiers with "foreign" names on the rolls. He also says that Americans working for the American CIA in Vietnam were mercenaries as were Irishmen who served in the British army during those centuries when Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.
   
   It's hard to believe that Rosen is both a journalist and a adjunct professor of criminal justice. The writing, poorly thought out concepts, and a basic lack of the ability to support his thesis with information related to his argument belongs to an undergraduate's research paper - and a bad one at that.



3. Sex sells. And so does the word: mercenary. When I saw CONTRACT WARRIORS in a Washington, DC bookstore it caught my eye. Little credible information has been written about modern security contractors (aka. merc) and private security companies (PSC) who employ them. I am one of those professionals and decided to give Fred Rosen's book a read.
   
   The book cover got my mind turning. It is a close up of a camouflaged face with a pair of eyes fixed on yours. Does it represent the people Rosen will write about? I think not.
   
   The author opens the first chapter with the name, Tim Spicer, who used to head a British PSC called Sandline, and now heads a far bigger one, Aegis Defense, working in Iraq. Spicer's name is familiar to many in this specialized world. Opening with a well known and controversial figure sets the author's tone. But it also limits the scope for the informed reader. The world of today's security contractor is much larger than one person or company.
   
   Rosen's recounting of the `mercenary through time' is his strongest suit. Beginning with Libyan mercenaries during the XXI to XXV Egyptian dynasties (ca. 1100-664 B.C.E.), through Hannibal's march across the Alps, we are lead to the present day mercenary in Chapter 6. A book like this should offer new historical information and I found the 1846 America's "mantle of Manifest Destiny" period, of particular interest. Rosen describes how the Mexican government convinced some US Irish Catholic immigrants to turn on their new country and fight Americans in the name of their religion. The most noted of these was John Riley, who served in a special unit called Saint Patrick Brigade (or San Patricios).
   
   Where the book begins to weaken is in Chapter 8. The chapter offers a jagged presentation of a few companies currently providing services. But it lacks depth which might be sought after by readers. What criterion was used to select these PSCs and not others? For example, it includes a portion of Custer Battles in-house brochures, which makes their marketing pitch for services. The author writes in response, "The brilliant analysis of the situation in Iraq explains what a modern PMC should be doing: identifying and quantifying the risk, offering a solution to a client, implementing it with a clear goal in mind." What he doesn't mention is that Custer Battles was prosecuted for over billing the U.S. government.
   
   Reporting of other companies in this chapter would have been more useful if a business template, or similar device, was used to measure a company against some professional standard. One example would be the code of conduct being promoted through the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA). Focusing in on Iraq, the conflict has been a `comes as you are business opportunity'. The results have been a mixed bag of successes and failures for PSCs. A fresh look through new eyes would have been more practical. Examination of company structures, business plans and due diligence would benefit the reader when separating the good, bad and ugly.
   
   The Special Afterword by W. Thomas Smith Jr. inserts out of context statements and inaccuracies. He says,"In Iraq, for instance, mercs on patrol or conducting other combat operations routinely work 13-hour days, 6 days per week." While he states the work hours correctly, he is misleading in his reference of combat operations vs. defensive security activities.
   
   He states, "Critics continue to voice displeasure over the employment of contract warriors..." and proceeds to quote David Isenberg, a then senior analyst with the Center for Defense Information, in a 1997 monograph titled "Soldiers of Fortune, Ltd.-A Profile of Today's Private Sector Corporate Mercenary Firms." Since I know Isenberg I asked him about the quote. It appears Smith reported what he found useful but changed the context.
   
   Isenberg sent the following in response to our conversation:
   
   "I would note that Smith is selective in what he took from me. For example, he quoted the first part of a graf, but not the second."
   
   Smith concludes this section with an interview conducted with Richard Marcinko, a former US Navy SEAL author of Rogue Warrior and numerous other books. I have personally heard Marchinko speak and think someone else would have been more qualified for the purpose of this interview. When asked one question by Smith, "Why would a merc hopeful contact you for mercenary training, if they are going to be trained by the company contracting them?" Marcinko replied, in part, the applicant can say, "Hey, I'm Dick Marcinko-trained." Then the company will say, "Well, if you are Rogue-Warrior-trained, you must be okay." As a statement illustrating the hype and hucksterism one often finds in the industry it is priceless, but as a serious response to a serious question it is pathetic.
   
   CONTACT WARRIORS is worth the read but holds only limited value for the serious reader seeking to further define and understand the role of modern day security contractors.
   
   About the reviewer: Lyle Hendrick is a former US Special Forcers officer who has worked in Iraq as a security contractor with the Captured Enemy Ammunition (CEA) program, regional security manager for reconstruction projects and is returning as a country security manager.



4. I enjoyed Contract Warriors and its in depth journey into the history of the "Merc". Having worked with many of them, I feel it was an honest and straight forward portrayal of the men who thirst for the work. It is not for everyone, with the pace at which companys are signing them up, I feel this would be a very good read for anyone interested in getting into the field of the "PMC Merc" business. Just remember it's a long way to the top if you want to "ROCK & Roll"......



5. So far this book has good info, but when there are so many typos that it is almost hard to understand, thats ridiculous. What did this guy pay his publishing company for. it hurts how many typos there are.

4 comments about The Counter-Terrorism Puzzle: A Guide for Decision Makers.

1. Saw Mr. Ganor on C-Span - May 2005. His absolute (total mastery) of the suject of the (radical) Muslim terrorist movement mindset, and his analysis how to end this (complex, difficult, and long-range problem) ... is nothing short of brilliant !



2. Dr. Ganor is an expert on counter-terrorism from the country with the most experience in that area -- Israel. He has spent his life sturying counter-terrorism. This book is based on his doctoral discertation 'Israel's Counter-Terrorism Strategy.' It has been expanded to cover the world rather than just Israel.
   
   Most of the book is presented in the form of dilemmas. For instance, is terrorism a crime such as murder where the individual who did it should be hunted down, tried, imprisoned, etc.? Or is it a form of warfare where the individual perpetrator is less important than the organization be it govermental or otherwise behind him? The answer to this question determines what investigative techniques can be used, what incarceration rules should be followed, how extradition agreements are applied (murderers can be extradited, political activists are not ).
   
   All of these examples are just in the first chapter. There are ten chapters, each of which cover one area of dilemmas. Chapter 8, for instance covers the media. The terrorists understand and play for media attention. On the other (and darker) side, coverage of terrorists increases viewership or numbers of newspapers sold.
   
   This book is the most complete, most thought-out comprehensive discussion on counter-terrorism that I have seen. Note my emphasis on counter-terrorism. This is a book on how to fight terrorism, it is not a book on terrorism per se.
   
   Highly recommended. I hope our leaders read this.



3. This is the most thorough, cogent, and intelligently written work on terrorism and the ways to defeat it to grace the open literature in recent times. Unlike the more common offerings in this field, Ganor's work goes to great lengths to avoid or at least identify potential bias and to present opposing views. Nor does the author shy away from tough issues. Deterrence is one such topic. While noting that deterrence can be a matter of image (p. 63), he also recognizes the difference between deterring nations or terrorist organizations vs. deterring individuals or networks (p.64). He analyzes measures intended to deter terrorists, concluding that, ultimately, the attacker becomes used to a given measure and learns to live with it or overcome it (p.74). Yet he also addresses the complexities inherent in making public the thresholds set for deterrents (p.94).
   
   Another example is his thoughtful note that public warnings should only be issued when accompanied by concrete guidelines to follow that are directly related to the warning (p. 260) -- a welcome contrast to the post-9/11 proliferation of nonspecific warnings that often give the appearance of emerging to offset future claims of failing to alert the public.
   
   For clarity, analysis, and insight, Ganor's book is without peer.



4. This is the most enlightening book I've read as a lawmaker. Dr. Ganor pens an easy-to-understand account, not only of the obvious problems with terrorism, but those involving America's future decisions on how to lead without sacrificing US civil liberties.
   
   EXCELLENT!
   
   REP. BURKE DAY
   Chairman
   Public Safety & Homeland Security
   Ga House of Representatives

No comments about Law, Ethics, and the War on Terror.

2 comments about Into the Den of Infidels.

1. What happens to a Muslim when they start asking questions of their religion?
   
   Through the form of personal letters and short stories the author of "Into the Den of Infidels" portrays how Muslims convert to followers of Christ. Each of the stories show how the Muslim convert sheds their religion and gains a relationship with Jesus Christ as their personal savior. It also shows how the Muslim "religion of peace" then persecutes the convert and their families. Usually this will happen through beatings.
   
   If you want to better understand Muslim thought and culture especially how it relates to other religions then this is the book for you.



2. When you are born rich, it is hard to understand the blessing, because
   you don't know poverty. When you know it, you understand more.
   
   When you are born Christian, it is hard to understand the endless blessings, because it's the only thing you know. This book gives a glance into being born outside of Christ's riches.
   
   It shows also how great God's love is for the Muslims. How seeks them each out personally. And that he does not want that any of them should perish, but should come to the knowledge of his grace and mercy in their savior, Jesus Christ.
   
   I highly reccomend this book.

5 comments about Into the Night (Troubleshooters, Book 5).

1. Book 5 in the series. And hmmm...I didn't particularly dislike this story, but I didn't exactly love it either. It was just sort of the next story in the series, containing needed details for book 6 to make sense.
   
   In this one there is SEAL Mike Muldoon, and Joan DaCosta, a White House PR rep. SEAL Team Sixteen is to receive an award for the president so he is coming to the base they train out of, and since it is an election year, the White House wants to do it in public along with having the SEALs do a demonstration. Joan is the White House liason and Mike is the SEAL one. None of the SEALs are happy about the whole thing, some of them have a bad feeling that there will be a terrorist strike, but the White House won't call it off.
   
   There is more of the Sam/Alyssa dynamic in this book, but thrown in Max Bhagat, FBI head of the counterterrorism group, to the mix. I love all three of those characters, so I enjoyed reading about them. Also part of the book is Mary Lou, who is in an unhappy marriage with Sam, and Ibraham Raham, the gardner in the neighborhood Sam and Mary Lou live in.
   
   I think part of the problem with this story was that there were a number of characters that I didn't really like. Mary Lou is annoying as hell. I really could have done without, but unfortunately, she was entirely necessary to the plot. Joan really ticked me off at times. She was very patronizing and judgmental. Mike was kinda cool, but I've liked the other SEALs better. The storyline itself was fairly interesting, so that was good.
   
   The historical section was subpar, in my opinion. It involved Joan's grandparents and how the met and got married. It just didn't have the meat of the other historical parts in the other books.
   
   On a whole, it wasn't a bad book, just nowhere near as captivating as the others.
   
   Rating: 3 / 5



2. I love Suzanne Brockmann and her SEAL Troubleshooters. This is yet another thrill-filled sexy and steamy encounter that you won't be able to put down. But even better than the thrills her books give is the fact that they are incredibly well-written. She develops her characters masterfully and consequently keeps you coming back for more, I highly recommend this installment and all the others!!!!



3. I've read all the Brockmann Navy Seal books and "Into the Night" was one of my two favorites. I found the plot interesting (and if you're just reading it, the plot is VERY important to later books) and I loved the relationship between Joan and Mike - no histrionics, just a couple of people working their way together with humor and real emotions. The WW2 portion is touching and very relavant as well, as we see a glimpse of the creation of what was to become the Navy Seal teams.
   I'd very much recommend you read this book - I think it is one of Ms. Brockmann's most thoughtful.



4. Before last week I had never picked up one of the Troubleshooter books by Suzanne Brockmann but I am hooked now. I read the third book in the series and am now working my way through the rest. I loved Mike and Joan's story and I read this book in one sitting. Couldn't put it down!!



5. Into the Night by Suzanne Brockmann, like all her books is a good read. When I see her name on a binding I buy the book knowing I won't be disappointed. Her stories carry you into the world of Navy Seals. Her style makes you feel you are right there with them and the reappearing characters who are trying to keep the world safe while sorting out their personal lives.
   This novel has several stories entwined as characters from older stories mix with new ones. The love story of Charlie, DeCosta's grandmother is woven around her own and there are many similarities, both are afraid of love, but the addition of Mary Lou's wanting only to be loved, regardless of the costs, gives the tale interesting contrasts. The men in this saga are all appealing, brave and stubborn. Muldoon and Vincent are patient and persistent in the pursuit of the women they love. Sam Starrett avoids his wife and home life with the same stubborn tenacity, knowing he's made a big mistake but refusing to admit defeat. Meanwhile the bad guys are setting up to kill the president. Like all good mysteries you don't really know who the bad guy is until the very end.
   Brockmann creates the real life feel to her work by adding in characters who are different from the norm. It is not what they are, but who they are that makes them worth knowing. Brockmann's stories often have misfits and shows them fitting in with the strong, handsome, normal guys who deep inside are misfits too. In life everybody's a misfit, it is finding people and situations that fit us as individuals that brings us happiness. Jules, the gay FBI guy is in this story and is one of my favorites, not because he's gay, but because he's interesting and so is his fictional life. In this story Donny the neighbor has serious mental health issues and showing the other characters dealing with him brings home the fact that mental patients have friends and families that love them because they are worth loving.
   I have read a great deal of Brockmann's work and watched as over the years as her stories have drifted away from formula romance towards international thriller. Because the author's still evolving, each new work has a freshness to it that adds another layer of complexity to the experience of reading a Suzanne Brockmann novel.

No comments about How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq.