Book Description
Conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, 2001 continue to spread. Now, in a meticulous, scientific and groundbreaking new book, Popular Mechanics puts these rumors to rest. The magazine’s editors analyze the 20 most persistent claims underlying 9/11 conspiracy theories—and conclusively disprove each one. The result is a triumph of hard fact over conspiratorial fantasy.
Customer Reviews:
The truth shines through........2007-10-17
This book wades through all the crazy ideas out there and puts the nuts to shame. If you want to know the facts and not crazy ideas this is the book for you.
hey.......2007-09-20
so i haven't read the book, i will tell you that, but i think it's funny how John McCain helped write it. That guy needs to be off the balot and in jail for sure. Not all CT's are crazy either. They are family memebers who didn't get a proper investigation from the gov't. The Gov't doesn't care about them or the investigation and they call it a horrible attack on America. Bin Laden isn't even wanted for it. He i wanted for bombing in 198 or something on an american embassy killing maybe 200.
Anyway, read "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" wesome "truther" book
Propaganda and a waste of money. .......2007-09-20
Buy a copy of Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin before buying this pack of lies. You can save your time and money and learn what Popular Mechanics says and OMITS in building their case against the truth. Hearst Publishing is still in the business of propaganda. Wake Up.
Reads like propaganda.......2007-09-14
I wish just once somebody would publish an objective book or collection of writings about this topic. The afterward is particularly insulting to the millions of concerned citizens with legitimate questions. Anyone can see that this book was written with an agenda. If this book doesn't give you ammo for you hate-spewing debunking arsenal, it might actually convince you that there are suspicious circumstances to consider.
Junk Science.......2007-08-29
This analysis doesn't even rise to the level of being wrong. You don't have to be a structural engineer to know that a steel-framed building cannot "pancake" at free-fall speed. You don't have to be a metallurgist to know that jet fuel won't leave pools of molten metal weeks after the fire is out. If you cherry-pick your "facts" you can make Stalin look like a boy scout or Mother Theresa look like the devil. This book starts with the conclusion and then tries to prove it. If you want an analysis that starts with the facts and works towards a logical conclusion, try any (or all) of David Ray Griffin's books.
Book Description
The attacks of September 11, 2001 were accomplished through an amazing orchestration of logistics and personnel. Crossing the Rubicon discovers and identifies key suspects - finding some of them in the highest echelons of American government - by showing how they acted in concert to guarantee that the attacks produced the desired result.
Crossing the Rubicon is unique not only for its case-breaking examination of 9/11, but for the breadth and depth of its world picture - an interdisciplinary analysis of petroleum, geopolitics, narco-traffic, intelligence and militarism - without which 9/11 cannot be understood.
The US manufacturing sector has been mostly replaced by speculation on financial data whose underlying economic reality is a dark secret. Hundreds of billions of dollars in laundered drug money flow through Wall Street each year from opium and coca fields maintained by CIA-sponsored warlords and US-backed covert paramilitary violence. America's global dominance depends on a continually turning mill of guns, drugs, oil and money. Oil and natural gas - the fuels that make economic growth possible - are subsidized by American military force and foreign lending.
In reality, 9/11 and the resulting "War on Terror" are parts of a massive authoritarian response to an emerging economic crisis of unprecedented scale. Peak Oil - the beginning of the end for our industrial civilization - is driving the elites of American power to implement unthinkably draconian measures of repression, warfare and population control. Crossing the Rubicon is more than a story. It is a map of the perilous terrain through which, together and alone, we are all now making our way.
Customer Reviews:
A must read!.......2007-08-05
A timely revelation of facts and events that the lamestream media has conveniently omitted. Much of what we hear in the news makes no sense in the backdrop of what we see from the misleading perpectives of the "right " or left" , but this book explains the process behind much of what is going on. Being aware of the government's role in 9/11as described by Ruppert and watching the constant consolidation of power by the administration enables one to predict with some certainty the future: decreasing oil supplies not meeting population demands, resource wars (the imminent Iranian attack) to maintain our lifestyle, massive population declines as oil-based food production drops dramatically, and the imposition of martial law over an increasingly pacified Congress and "terror-conditioned" population.
Good, yet I'm not totally convinced.......2007-06-28
There is an overwhelming amount of more than just circumstantial evidence here that our goverment aided the 9-11 attacks. As for peak oil being the prime motive, I don't know, if that were the case, wouldn't the world have unraveled even more by now? In any case, it was also entertaining, not your father's conspiracy theory. If Thomas Malthus, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and Oliver Stone got together to write a book, this would be the result.
Wake up - be alert - question.......2007-06-19
Riveting, provoking and disturbing are the three adjectives for Crossing the Rubicon. It is a page turner, filled with fascinating details about 9/11, the CIA and our government. Surely, for the truth seeker, this book is captivating.
Be alert, sober and a critical thinker. Be willing to question all that you learned...for things are not as they appear...or what we have been indoctrinated to believe.
Read the book.
Also, take a look at Catherine Austin Fitts' website solari dot com
Excellent analysis of the evidence available .......2007-06-12
This is a well done researched book that taps into the Official 9/11 Commission Report myth. Who was behind 9/11, what prompted it, and what was the purpose and consequences for the US political process. The books delineates in detail the CIA's involvement with the drug trade and arming foreign guerillas to meet their own needs and their involvement with events leading up to 9/11 along with the FBI, Military Industrial Complex, and Wall St. This detective journalism at its best. If you ever wanted to know what and who was REALLY behind 9/11, I highly recommend this book. It is quite extensive with lots of hard factual information. If you are looking for stats like the guy below, this is not for you. Instead, the book acts like a "connect the dots puzzle" that flows consistently throughout the book. I think this will seriously change how you view the US political and governmental system.
There should be a million more books like this on the shelves........2007-06-12
This books absolutely blew me away. I don't even know what else to say.
Ruppert argues his case in the book as if presenting to jury. The only defense to the book's logical conclusion is that Cheney and Co. weren't cross examined; but since the Administration refused at all cost the 9/11 Commission's establishment and their own sworn testimony before it, that's about all the proof we need of their treason.
READ THE BOOK. Read the 9/11 commission report, and then Whiteout (by Cockburn and St. Clair) and every other expose of CIA drug dealing and covert terrorism in alliance with Nazis and neo-Nazis...I mean, neo-conservatives. You'll be convinced, if you can handle it that is.
Product Description
The thesis of Webster Tarpley's 911 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA has been enthusiastically received with its working model of the 9/11 plot: a covert network of moles, patsies, and a commando cell in the privatized intelligence services, backed by corrupt political and corporate media elites. Buttressed by historical examples like the Baader-Meinhof Gang and the Gunpowder Plot, this model makes it clear how such a monstrous false-flag or self-terror exploit is possible even under a largely benign government. That paradox is the incredibility gap that has made most Americans reject the evidence about 9/11 as paranoid fantasy. Tarpley brings decades of expertise to the 9/11 issue. In 1978 he exposed the terrorist Red Brigades as patsies of Italy's fascist P2 shadow government, and 9/11 is on the same pattern. The forthright subtitle, Made in USA, is backed up by an analysis of key figures who behave like moles working for the insidious network. 9/11 Synthetic Terror highlights the salient points of sheer physical impossibility of the official 9/11 conspiracy theory. It makes clear that figures like Osama bin Laden are patsies, dupes or double agents, selected for their ethnic coloring as the basis for launching a "Clash of Civilizations," and how absurd it is to imagine that such tools of US intelligence agencies could turn around and infiltrate or overwhelm US defenses unaided. Tarpley shows that the wars on the Islamic world, the Soviet-Afghan, Kosovo and Chechen conflicts, as well as US-UK-NATO synthetic terror incidents like 9/11, Beslan or 3/11 in Madrid, have been contrived to continue the Cold War, in pursuit of the centuries-long campaign for Anglo hegemony over Eurasia and the world. The preface to the second edition explains the significance and superiority of "MIHOP" vs "LIHOP," and the many drills on 9/11 and on 7/7, which were cover and conduit for those false-flag operations. The third edition preface makes clear that 9/11 is the only issue that can stop a new world war and the descent into a police state. It shows up the cowardice of the "left gatekeepers" on this score. The analysis of Moussaoui on trial as a classic weak-minded patsy -- part double agent, part fanatic -- again shows the unique power of Tarpley's mole-patsy model to debunk the lies put out by the war party. For a principled refutation of the 9/11 propaganda myth in all its parts, Tarpley'A bombshell, brilliant book - I strongly recommend 911 Synthetic Terror. Should be required reading for all honest truth seekers, s work is indispensable.
Customer Reviews:
An insult.......2007-10-15
to intelligence and to the memory of the 3000 innocent victims felled by Islamist fanaticism
Tour De Force !.......2007-08-05
This book is packed with information which probably means that if you are a beginning truth seeker, you would want to start out with something such as David Ray Griffins books as they are a little easier to read.
Think for yourself, and QUESTION!.......2007-07-09
I heard this guy speak. He gives a moderately entertaining romp through a lot of true information, and more. 95% of what he says is plausible (if questionable). Perhaps 50% of what I heard, I know to be true. But plenty of his stuff is a shotgun blast of information which only SEEMS convincing by its voluminousness, but in fact has no evidence. Take his (and Tex Marrs') claim about "angel is next". This refers to a threat supposedly delivered to Bush by moles in his staff, entailing a threat on air force 1, and nuclear war by compromised launch codes on 9/11. He gives a whole rapt story, with twists and turns and lots of insider details. It's not totally impossible, and could make fine fiction, but has no evidence whatsoever.
There's too much crucial, true, and verifiable information out there to waste your time on this in-depth far-out fantasy garbage. I wouldn't trust this man to give me a weather report.
The search for Truth is one step at a time.......2007-07-09
I love to devour books. I leave my local library with no less than two or three volumes after each visit. Sometimes I wonder if I ever race through literature too quickly. Occasionally a book crops up that can be sifted through within a few hours, depending on its type, although I always try to keep pages of notes on hand if I misplace or forget key facts or points. Webster Tarpley's "9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA" is not one of those books. Quite the contrary, I recommend this book to be studied ponderously, pored over hours at a time, critically dissected and examined, not to mention cross-referenced by numerous other sources, whether they be unauthorized or obscure. Supposedly, we live in the "Information Age", yet the most unverifiable of claims and propositions confuse and sway more efficiently than ever before, and the populace hardly diligently deciphers what is true. Partisan politics, not to mention rigid principles ("liberal" and "conservative") can dampen even the freshest and inquisitive of minds. That kind of reader will not enjoy Tarpley's book.
I personally do not subscribe to any one conspiracy theory, precisely because there are so many, and thus hundreds that follow sweeping conclusions based on the stretching of facts, outright absurdness, and lack of relevant evidence. I, however, cannot outright dismiss the conspiratorial views regarding the tragic day of September 11 because I so often come across pertinent points. The groups propagating such theories ask the correct questions most of the time, whether or not they embrace the correct conclusion. Rather, I believe piecing together the facts from a variety of authors and sources into a sound theoretical framework appears to be the only way to acquire the truth behind the 9/11 attacks that is free from dogma or ideology (although many of these authors and sources do just that).
What the book's author does is exactly this: combing the external facts, the puzzling discrepancies, historical evidences, public testimony, important documents, etc. and constructing each part into a plausible theoretical framework. From what I conducted during other research, I think Tarpley's essential thesis is correct. It is that the U.S. government secretly holds an elite oligarchy, or a "network or faction of like-minded plotters which cuts across the institutions transversally" (pg. 104). They hold influential positions as a hidden government inside the elected one. The group may not populate just the intelligence agencies, the Pentagon, or the White House, but also the privatized public sector, which acts as its center of gravity. The oligarchy deploys a select amount of "moles", which may not be everywhere, but are nonetheless strategically placed to carry out core objectives. The corporate media participates also, complicit with the magicians directing the show. These core objectives numerously appear throughout the course of history, especially the twentieth century, such as the many attempts to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle and Operation Northwoods, in which planned attacks on key U.S. targets would justify an invasion of Castro's Cuba.
How does this relate to 9/11? Tarpley himself dismisses the official media story as the ultimate conspiracy theory of them all, and unveils these facts:
+ Six of alleged 11 hijackers receive training at U.S. military bases (pg.179)
+ Mohammed Atta: Not a radical Islamist, but a promiscuous playboy and frequent cocaine user hooking up at topless bars and drinking vodka for three hours (pg. 178)
+ Could hijackers fly the planes? Atta and Marwan Al Shehhi had to receive supplemental lessons due to sub-par performance, according to an instructor associated with the Jones Aviation Flying Service (pg. 183)
+ Instructors at Maryland Freeway Airport acknowledged that, despite 600 log hours, Pentagon hijacker Hani Hanjour was incapable of finishing his flight training (pg. 183)
+ The hijackers, instead of choosing direct ways to their targets, flew long detours (pg. 188)
+ Training needed to pilot 757s or 767s required special precision and "super training" not offered at Huffman Aviation, where the Flight 11 and Flight 175 hijackers received lessons (pg. 191)
Although I do not recall whether Tarpley mentioned it in the book or not, but on September 10, 2001, then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that $2.3 TRILLION could not be accounted for in the Pentagon budget. Obviously, the story vanished the next day. Tarpley also discloses lesser-known factoids of equal importance, including the fact that live fly, NORAD exercises were conducted on 9/11, some that even resembled hijacked airliners (pg. 207). On page 213, Tarpley writes how blips and dummy hijacks occurred, thus confusing loyal air controllers on 9/11. Why, exactly? So government moles could carry out their ordered operations.
There is so much more to this work than I let on in this review. Suffice to say, whatever your political background, this is one of the most important books regarding current events that I ever read. A lot of the information, I admit, made my head swirl, even when I gasped and cringed throughout what I read. At the end of the book, I felt depressed and sorrowful. I expressed pity at the American people, of whom most this book will never find, and how so quickly we abandoned our Founding Fathers' dream of a constitutional republic of a well-informed and hardworking independent people. President Reagan, leaving all conceptions of this book behind about various government officials aside, said, "Trust but verify." We forgot. Will we be forgiven again?
Comprehensive Review of 9/11.......2007-07-08
Tarpley provides a thorough analysis of the 9/11 and how the tragedies could have happened. This book is a must read for those interested in the 9/11 truth issues.
The book goes into great detail about logistics of the attacks. Tarpley shows his experience as a historian and the amount of time he used to research into the issues.
Book Description
The Investigative Project on Terrorism, founded in 1995 by Steven Emerson, maintains the largest nongovernmental data and intelligence library in the world on militant Islam. The Project assists the White House, the FBI, the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, and other government departments with counterterrorism activities.
Together with a staff of experts, Executive Director Steven Emerson has compiled this thorough factual overview of the Islamist terrorist threat to the United States. Unlike the Final Report of the 9/11 Commission, which was focused mainly on the retrospective analysis of al Qaeda activities leading up to the attack of September 11, 2001, this work emphasizes current radical activities in the United States and the threat they might pose to national security. Divided into three sections, the work first sets the stage for the current situation by reviewing the lessons learned from previous terrorist plots and attacks both within our borders and against American interests abroad. Emerson and colleagues profile key players in the terrorist network and describe their various criminal activities before and since 9/11. The second section analyzes organizations in the Middle East besides al Qaeda that are hostile to the United States: Hamas, Hizballah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and radical groups in Pakistan. The third section analyzes the subtle, wide-ranging support system for terrorist activities that exists within our own borders: charities and foundations that secretly solicit for terror; the complex corporate web of companies, charities, and nonprofit corporations known as the SAAR network; mosques that provide cover for terrorists; the use of the Internet for terrorist communication; and lobbying efforts by Muslim American organizations to influence the top echelons of the federal government. In a dangerous age, this is an important book for all Americans to read.
Customer Reviews:
A wake-up call to America.......2007-09-23
Emerson is the person who predicted a major Islamic strike in the United States, who that is, foresaw 9/11. A first rate investigative reporter he has to be very careful as his life has been threatened more than once by extremist Islamic groups.
In this book he outlines major Islamic terror groups operating within the United States, and also traces out the sources of their funding. He shows how these groups are not simply fringe groups but have support within the American Muslim community most especially from its religious centres. The picture he presents is a frightening one.
What is especially troubling is the difficulties placed by political considerations before Law Enforcement Agencies. There is a clear distinction between the field agents who better understand the situation, and their bosses who have outside considerations in mind.
What is also alarming is that it is not simply Islamic nations hostile to the U.S. that are connected with the operations within the U.S. but one of America's chief allies , Saudi Arabia.
Emerson brings a great mass of information and corroboration to confirm his major point.
Jihad is active in the United States.......2007-07-29
American Jihad by Steven Emerson has been updated by Jihad Inc.
Militant Islam is growing in America. Hamas, which is one of the most radical of the groups has many cells in the United States. They are so well organized and secluded, we don't know when and how they plan to strike our internal structure. Mr. Emerson paints a very vivid picture of what we can expect in the future. As with the 9-11 attacks, they will strike when the odds of success are in their favor.
Startling!.......2007-06-27
A well written chronology of the recent history, thinking, and structure of radical Islam including their organization and funding networks. If only everyone would read and comprehend the scope of this threat!
Hostage Bob.......2007-06-23
As a retired Special Forces Green Beret and graduate student in Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies, I would like to make a correction to Mr. Emerson's book where on page 216 he states that, "Ali Mohamed - the former US Green Beret who..."
Ali Mohamad was not a Special Forces Green Beret! Rather, he served with a Special Forces unit in a support capacity as a "supply clerk" (later as an instructor).
In order to qualify as a Special Forces Green Beret, one must successfully complete all required Special Forces training including the Special Forces Qualification Course (Q-Course). Upon successful completion of the Q-Course a Green Beret is awarded an 18 Series Military Occupational Specialty code (e.g. 18A, 18E, 18D, 18C, 18B). Special Forces Warrant Officers are awarded the MOS of 180A. Ali Mohamed never received any Special Forces related training and never attended or graduated from the Q-Course. Ali Mohamed was NOT a Green Beret.
This may seem like a small point, but to those of us who have earned the Green Beret it is not.
Hostage Bob
CW2, SF, Ret.
De Oppresso Liber
Retired FBI Senior Executive.......2007-01-12
Once again Steve Emerson has hit the nail on the head. He is keenly aware of the problem the United States faces with respect to Islamic extremism. While many believe the threat only emanates from outside the United States, he follows "American Jihad" with another in depth study of the threat within the United States. This book is replete with examples of Islamic terrorist cells which are ingrained in our communities and neighborhoods and have been, collecting funds and possibly preparing to commit terrorist attacks against us. Emerson brings together, in great detail, information which is vital to help protect Americans in the future. If we are aware, we can be safe. While it is recognized that most people from Muslim countries living in the United States are here for peaceful purposes, some of them have been used by extremists to further the "cause," be it in America or overseas. I encourage everyone to read this well documented book so each may be aware of the threat we face--IN AMERICA-- from Islamic extremism. Law enforcement must walk a fine line to root out the terrorists (criminals) among us and by reading Emerson's new book, "Jihad Incorporated," the average American can at least learn more about the enemy which has declared war on all peaceloving people, Christians, Jews, Muslims and those of all faiths which make up America.
Book Description
This Foreign Affairs bestseller from MSNBC terrorism expert Walid Phares allows a frightening look into the future of jihad. Phares--who has served as an expert with the Justice Department, briefed the Defense and State Departments, and testified to Congress--shows that ther has been a fundamental misunderstanding about al Qaeda's ultimate goal in the West and what victory means to jihadists. Future Jihad shows how our defenses have been infiltrated; identifies the future generation of home-grown terrorists; and points the way for America to win the ideological war at the heart of jihad.
Customer Reviews:
If you want to see how they are going to destroy us..........2007-09-03
Read on... This is a must for anyone who wants to see how they are destroying us, and what they intend. It is an absolute must for every American, Canadian, European, Latino.... this is a war of culture, religion, and people versus people. We are in the last stage of war, where one people rise up against another irrespective of nation, politics, philosophy, resources or technology. It is an all out war to the death of one, or the other. There is no compromise, there is no middle ground, there is no peace. There is only death or surrender.
A must read!!.......2007-09-03
This book is a must read for anyone who is a true student of counterterrorism studies. Well writen, a real eye opener!
Informative.......2007-08-11
The book provides historical prospective and covers current Jihad plans and tactics. It is a read that all Americans should read to understand our current Terrorist situation and challenge. I highly recommend it for all Americans, especially our elected officials who are invovled in protecting American.
Essential Primer for Dealing with Global Jihad.......2007-07-03
Lecturing and writing about world jihad in the 1990s when hardly anyone was listening, Walid Phares, who hails from Lebanon and who fled the violence and found exile in the United States in 1990, has written the essential primer in order for America, and the Western free world, to repel global jihad. He shows with mastery that jihad is not some recent crackpot idea that Osama Bin Laden cooked up in the last decade or so. To the contrary, jihad is part of a master plan that was set into motion when the Islamacists conquered the Medina back in the Eighth Century. Phares goes into the mind of the jihadist and shows how his jihad, currently sponsored by Saudi-funded Wahabism, is a long-term goal, namely, to make the entire world beholden to strict Muslim Law, Sharia. The tenacity and Machiavellian techniques employed are blood-curdling. After analyzing the jihadi master plan, Phares explains America's denial and complacency, characteristics that will result in our demise if we don't wake up soon. This book is that wakeup call. It is the definitive primer to dealing with global jihad and mates perfectly with the narrative of 9/11, Lawrence Wright's masterpiece The Looming Tower.
Puts It All Together.......2007-06-26
Not a difficult read...yet puts together in historical context the development of the different lines of Islam, their internecine conflicts, leading to the state of Jihad today and for the future.
If you ever wondered how the Grand Mufti could have become an SS General in Berlin, or how "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" has led to chaos in the modern world, this book will make sense to you. It will help you understand what world Jihad is all about, and why a united Muslim front is difficult to obtain.
Most highly recommended for serious student of modern geopolitics!
Amazon.com
The result of months of intensive investigations and inquiries by a specially appointed bipartisan panel, The 9/11 Commission Report is one of the most important historical documents of the modern era. And while that fact alone makes it worth owning, it is also a chilling and valuable piece of nonfiction: a comprehensive and alarming look at one of the biggest intelligence failures in history and the events that led up to it. The commission traces the roots of al-Qaeda's strategies along with the emergence of the 19 hijackers and how they entered the United States and boarded airplanes. It details the missed opportunities of law enforcement officials to avert disaster. Using transcripts of cockpit voice recordings, the report describes events on board the planes along with the chaotic reaction on the ground from nearly every level of government. Going forward, the commission calls for a comprehensive overhaul of what it sees as a deeply flawed and disjointed intelligence-gathering operation. The creation of a post for a single National Security Director is recommended, along with the creation of a National Counterterrorism Center. The report finds fault with the approaches of both the Clinton and Bush administrations but, because they were a bipartisan panel and the problems described are so systemic and far-reaching, they stop short of assigning blame to any particular person or group. Credit must be given to how readable the report is. At more than 500 pages, the writing is clear and forceful and the information is made more accessible since it is fre from election politics and rancor. While the commission notes that future attacks are probably inevitable, a coordinated preventive effort along with a clear plan to respond with efficiency can offer Americans some hope in a post-9/11 world. --John Moe
Book Description
Nearly three thousand people died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In Lower Manhattan, on a field in Pennsylvania, and along the banks of the Potomac, the United States suffered the single largest loss of life from an enemy attack on its soil.
In November 2002 the United States Congress and President George W. Bush established by law the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission. This independent, bipartisan panel was directed to examine the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks, identify lessons learned, and provide recommendations to safeguard against future acts of terrorism.
This volume is the authorized edition of the Commission's final report.
Download Description
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.
Customer Reviews:
An Interesting Account of the Events Leading Up To 9/11.......2007-09-09
The purpose of the 9-11 report is to "investigate the 'facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001'." In pursuing this objective, the 9-11 Commission sought to be "independent, impartial, thorough, and nonpartisan." The Commission states that its
purpose is not to assign individual blame, and indeed, it doesn't. It is a unique piece of literature, historical yet not far enough removed from the actual events to really call it history in the traditional sense. It's not written for entertainment, yet it is fascinating nonetheless: the report almost reads like a spy novel as it traces the movement of the 9-11 conspirators, where they traveled, how they slipped in and out of the country, and how close some of them got to being captured. It gives you insights on how our government does, and doesn't, work, and describes how the numerous government agencies interact and, more often than not, fail to interact. It seeks to find the reasons why the attack succeeded, blaming everyone and no one, it seems, in the process. The 9-11 report leaves no doubt that it was written by a bi-partisan commission that refuses to lay the blame on individuals but instead lays it on institutions and processes.
The first chapter describes what happened in the air that morning, and from there, the report discusses the rise of Bin-Laden and Al Qaeda, the rise of counterterrorism activities in the US (touching on several departments, including the CIA and FBI), and on to how the 9-11 commission believes the attacks were planned and carried out. It then covers the actual events of September 11, 2001, describing in some detail how the first-responders handled this crisis and some of the shortcomings they had to deal with. Finally, the book addresses the ensuing war in Afghanistan (briefly) and makes recommendations on global strategy and reorganization within the US Government, esp. in the intelligence community. Throughout the report, the commission shoots down a number of rumors that were popular during the writing of the book, such as members of the Saudi family leaving the country while all flights were grounded, and one of the terrorists (Mohamed Atta) meeting with an Iraqi diplomat in Prague.
What I found particularly disturbing in this book was how easy the 9-11 terrorists entered and exited the country, and how easy it was for them to find people to assist them in finding a place to live, worship, etc.. I was also amazed at how easily money flowed from Al Qaeda to the 9-11 conspirators, and even more amazed at how easily they could have been caught yet weren't.
One of the biggest assets within the 9-11 report is also its biggest drawback: the book has hundreds of footnotes, and while most of these simply identify a source (say, a book or a person interviewed), many provide additional information about the topic discussed in the text. Many of these latter types of footnotes, I felt, needed to be in the body of
the main text and not hidden in the back of the book.
Recommendation: Highly recommended if you have any interest at all in knowing what happened before, during, and after September 11, 2001.
911 commission report.......2007-08-16
As it is non fiction catagory it would be hard to comment though after reading the report I now would reclassify it as fictional account on how kerosene can weaken 200,000 tons of construction steel to the point that the buildings collapsed! Also totally missing is any explanation why WTC7 came down.
Or any explanation where are the engines in the Pentagon attack?
Don't judge a book by its cover.......2007-08-10
Unfortunately, I am not sure how else to describe the report other than... well... garbage. I hate to say it but there are too many holes and it does not hold up to scrutiny.
Although it had a good story to tell and made popular by the government and media, it is just that- a story that does not hold up to the facts. I was hoping that it would provide more insight into the events on 9/11 but it left me asking all kinds of questions especially about WTC7, evidence of thermite, omitted testimony of eyewitnesses, and the testimony discrepancies between Cheney and Mieta.
I am deeply disappointed that I wasted my money on this. I gave it 2 stars because it did a least grab my attention and provided some good references in the back.
Gripping.......2007-06-09
I'd better declare first that I'm not a conspiracy theorist (I favour cock-up theory any day) and I work in the airline business.
I also have a friend who works for United who lost colleagues that day.
Or maybe she's another part of the Neo-Con-Judo-Zionist conspiracy and she's lying to me. A tad unlikely methinks - she's a Buddhist from Taiwan.
50 tonnes of fuel + 70 tonnes of aircraft travelling at ca.450mph.
You don't need a degree in Engineering to work out what will happen:
From the first chapter reading the accounts of what happened to each individual flight and seeing the total confusion between ATC, the FAA, NORAD etc is frightening. They didn't know what to do, they didn't know what was happening. With transponders turned off, it was impossible to track those aircraft accurately. Personally I've flown enough jumpseat trips that it still fills me with dread to think what was happening up front.
Later chapters on Bin-Laden and the rise of Al-Qaeda and Muslim extremism (mainly due to their corrupt self-serving leaders) are well presented.
Richard A. Clark's efforts to thwart Al-Qaeada are also explained.
Buy the book, it's a good read. Though I still can't believe they didn't put an Index in it.
Sadly, to digress a little, the unjustified invasion of Iraq subsequently has been a complete disaster. Saddam ran a secular society - you could drink alcohol and socialise with women. He was the Arab Caligula, only interested in himself and his personal empire. But Saddam had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks. Nothing. So much goodwill towards the US has been lost due to Iraq and the Neo-Con (not my Taiwanese friend .-)) led invasion.
As for the Conspiracy theorists on this page, to be honest I'm quite shocked when I found this review page. I've honestly never read so many self-serving attempts to cling to straws in my life, like this "Loose-Change" stuff. It's an insult to those who died that day. And I'm not American!
Listen, do you really really think a government could pull off a stunt like this?
Have you ever been to the Middle East? Have you ever listened to the hatred there is towards the USA? Albeit very often from the same people who tell you next sentence they have a relative in New York and want to go and join them!
The seeds of 9-11 were sown years ago. Yes, of course there are inaccuracies (there always are in disaster reporting) but there is no conspiracy.
I know no conspiracy theorists in Air Traffic Control or the airline business. Get real - it happened.
And sadly many of us in Europe thought "no surprise it was US Domestic flights, US Airport security is a total farce".
[...]
Over and out
Pure whitewash - should be called 911 Omission report.......2007-05-22
Omits everything factual. Doesn't bother to mention, much less explain, what happened to the 47 box columns of steel from which the twin towers were constructed. Also no mention of building 7 falling on it's footprint at freefall speed, even though no airplane hit building 7.
The purpose of this report is to reinforce the blatant official fantasy, for the purpose of justifying problem / reaction / solution, and getting you to cave in and accept greater government control over you.
There was no effort made to check any facts. If you're seeking the truth about what happened on 9/11 you won't find it in this book. Instead you'll find lots of reasons to seek facts and you'll find the facts at [...]. You may also want to check out David Ray Griffin's books or Steven E. Jones.
When a lie is big enough and you tell it often enought the people may believe it and this is the purpose of the 911 Omission report.
Average customer rating:
- Being really smart does not mean you know anything.
- Chomsky is total disinfo
- disappointed
- Spot on but outdated
- Fantastic Little Book !!!
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9-11
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![Imperial Ambitions : Conversations on the Post-9/11 World [American Empire Project] (American Empire Project)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000GQLCV4.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Imperial Ambitions : Conversations on the Post-9/11 World [American Empire Project] (American Empire Project)
ASIN: 1583224890 |
Book Description
Chomsky's international bestseller, analyzing terrorism, Osama bin Laden, U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and the long-term implications of America's military response to September 11.
Download Description
Noam Chomsky comments on the the new war on terrorism, U.S. foreign policy, Osama bin Laden, U.S. involvement with Afghanistan, and the long-term implications of America's military attacks abroad.
Customer Reviews:
Being really smart does not mean you know anything........2007-08-30
Noam Chomsky could well be the character upon whom famed intellectual/cannibalistic mass murderer Hannibal Lecter is based. Brilliant in his chosen field (that's linguistics, not political science), he nonetheless is possessed of an insatiable need to feed on the flesh of the nation that welcomed his people while the Europeans were burning Jews' homes, and preparing to do much worse.
9-11 is a miserable, malicious, and awesomely unsophisticated villification of the greatest and most successful country in the history of mankind, the United States of America.
If you want to know why your toddler knows the f-word even though you never said it in front of him, read Chomsky. If you want a cogent and insightful analysis of American foreign policy and the politics of Muslim fanaticism, you'd do just as well to ask that same toddler as to read this glob of moronic silt.
Chomsky is total disinfo.......2007-04-23
Look up the "5 Dancing Israelis" and Building 7. It's called controlled opposition, disregard and find out the real truth about 9/11.
disappointed.......2007-01-11
Very disappointed with the book that I didn't even finish reading it. The book is more or less an interview with Chomsky. It really didn't offer any insight to 911 and it didn't offer anything new. I expected more out of this book and from Chomsky.
Spot on but outdated.......2007-01-09
Chomsky's analysis of the political situation is, as always, extraordinarily astute. He has a knack for cutting to the quick, summing up extremely complex international political situations succinctly and comprehensibly. And he certainly doesn't beat around the bush!
But five years down the line, though most of his predictions have sadly proved true, this book is clearly outdated. Owing to its structure, moreover - a series of interviews with journalists asking more or less the same questions - it's rather repetitive.
Now I'd like to know his thoughts on the situation in Iraq - and Somalia....
Fantastic Little Book !!!.......2006-11-02
I am a big fan of Noam Chomsky, and if you like to read a short book about 9/11 and the lies and deceptions attached to this tragic event, I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
Since the end of the Cold War, conventional militaries and their political leaders have confronted a new, brutal type of warfare in which non-state armed groups use asymmetrical tactics to successfully fight larger, technologically superior forces. In order to prevent future bloodshed and political chaos, it is crucial to understand how these unconventional armed groups think and to adapt to their methods of combat.
In Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias, Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew investigate the history and politics of modern asymmetrical warfare. By focusing on four specific hotbeds of instability-Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Iraq-Shultz and Dew conduct a careful analysis of tribal culture and the value of clan associations. They examine why these "traditional" or "tribal" warriors fight, how they recruit, where they find sanctuary, and what is behind their strategy. Traveling across two centuries and several continents, Shultz and Dew examine the doctrinal, tactical, and strategic advantages and consider the historical, cultural, and anthropological factors behind the motivation and success of the warriors of contemporary combat.
In their provocative argument, Shultz and Dew propose that war in the post-Cold War era cannot be waged through traditional Western methods of combat, especially when friendly states and outside organizations like al-Qaeda serve as powerful allies to the enemy. Thoroughly researched and highly readable, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias examines how non-state armies fight, identifies the patterns and trends of their combat, and recommends how conventional militaries can defeat these irregular yet highly effective organizations.
Customer Reviews:
Insurgents, Terrorists and Militias.......2007-07-29
I was excited when I saw the title, thinking that it was a timely work on an important subject. I was sorely disappointed. I am surprised at some of the people who are listed on the back cover who recommend the book; faced with the alternative explanation, I will accept that they actually did not read the book through.
The book is tremendously redundant throughout, wasting many pages to reiterate what was said a few pages previously. There was very poor quality control throughout the book as well; many misspellings and sentences which appeared to be pasted together from disparate attempts and not word-smithed.
The authors do not achieve their own stated goal, to provide a set of principles which could be applied to conflicts transcending time and space to enable understanding of potential enemies and operational environments. They fail miserably at this. Their analyses at the end of each chapter serve only to regurgitate what was said in the rest of the chapter, sometimes less concisely. The authors also enjoy throwing around the current most popular misused term in U.S. military circles: Asymmetric Warfare. They use this frequently and in many different contexts, often contradicting their own usage of the term. They never lay out exactly what this means to them or how it is defined by any other institution. It is used by the authors as a catch all phrase to explain strategy, tactics or anything which does not include exact force parity on the battlefield.
The authors have completely ignored the massive amount of work done through the previous century on Guerrilla Warfare. This is perhaps their most egregious mistake. They seem to believe that because their subjects of discussion are from tribal societies that their "asymmetrical warfare" is somehow unique in history. They continuously demonstrate their lack of understanding of even the most basic of tactics and strategies, or even the principles of warfare.
The chapters outlining the four areas which they profess to analyze and illuminate their "principles" do provide some basic understanding of these four areas (Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq). However, even this seeming contribution is fraught with errors and popular misconceptions pulled from the press, many which are just wrong and could have been corrected in this book if a little research had been done from original sources. Their section on Iraq degenerates into a regurgitation of press reports, perpetuating myths and illuminating nothing; they do not seem to be aware of what is going on there. And in Afghanistan they claim that the Pashto were not incorporated into the campaign to eliminate the Taliban or in the government. Do they not realize that President Karzai is Pashto? It was the defection of the Pashto which made the Taliban crumble so rapidly.
Overall, this book contributes nothing to understanding, and actually confuses, the issue of how to fight non-nation state actors. The authors provide no original research and no unique understanding. The book was a miserable failure. And it could have been so good. I gave it one star because the is no zero star rating.
For a really useful tool to understand this subject read "Insurgency and Terrorism: From Revolution to Apocalypse" by Bard E. Oneill. For a very thorough and concise book on Jihadist ideology read "Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror" by Mary Habeck.
Operational Level Analysis of Traditional Cultures.......2007-03-30
Insurgents, Terrorists and Militias by Richard Shultz and Andrea Dew is a solid introductory text that aims to guide current Intelligence Analysts with a framework to assess current and potential adversaries to US Forces worldwide. The operational framework they propose is specifically designed to analyze unconventional and guerrilla forces rather than the traditional military assessments that were designed and created for use in a conventional war (with the Soviet Union). Six questions are used to create their framework:
1) What is their concept of warfare?
2) Organization and Command and Control?
3) What are the Areas of Operations?
4) What are the Types and Targets of Operations?
5) Constraints and Limitations to the use of force?
6) The influence of outside actors?
The authors then explore four historical and contemporary case studies on how this framework would have assisted policy makers. The case studies are Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq. Over all the best case study is Iraq, due to the level of detail that the authors give- they describe the different `types' of insurgency and their historical basis, which impressed me. The worst is Afghanistan, where too much history is given too little type, and in the end we are left without much substance on the current operating environment there. I found the Chechnyan and Somali studies interesting and relevant, and the bibliography provides a guide to further and more detailed reading.
Overall, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the tribe, clan and religious structure and history of the societies. This is a relevant and worthy addition that many intelligence professionals can benefit from. Because these features are defining aspects of traditional cultures, they should hold an equivalent status in our analysis of them.
My only disappointment stems from the fact that because of their operational focus, many intelligence professionals in fields `closer to the ground' will find that their ideas, while interesting and worth keeping in mind, are not extremely helpful to the tactical level of intelligence analysis. For instance, although they explain why a Former Regime Element in Iraq has different motives for fighting than an Islamist in Iraq, this is not much use to a smaller, more specific area than say, Baghdad. To the intelligence professional concerned with the Bay'a, Al-Amel or Saydiyah Muhallahs within Baghdad, the most useful questions revolve around types and emplacement techniques of IEDs, and how these may be related to the structure and orientation of a specific insurgent group or cell; how, when, and where, do sectarian groups operate . . . These questions are of the most immediate concern, and will likely have the most substantive effect once the answers are found.
That being said, this book was a very interesting read, and a valuable one.
Tribes and Clans vs Superpowers.......2007-03-24
Using four case studies of conflict, Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq, the authors highlight the differences between conventional warfare with clearly established front lines and unconventional warfare there the is no front and engagements are hit-and-run surprise attacks with battlefields in the streets of a cities.
Until the times of these conflicts, American and Russian troops were trained to fight along the lines established by Alexander the Great and Napoleon, where divisions fought divisions, and one battle could have a decisive result. But in these conflicts the authors point out that the attackers often numbered less than 50 and before the defenders could organize their divisions to repulse the attack, the attackers, wearing the cloths of the locals, would melt into the population. No one was there for the division to fight.
The Red Army's experiences in Chechnya are cited as an example of tribal tactics. The Chechens would allow a column of Russian tanks to penetrate deep into the narrow, winding streets of their ancient cities. They would attack and disable the lead tank with a barrage of hand held rockets and then do the same to the last tank in the column. With the column of tanks unable to move forward or backward, the Chechens would pick off the remaining tanks before the Russian air force arrived.
All together, the book provides an excellent summary of the events encountered by the superpowers when they fought in Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq. But the main point of the book is, with a little study of the culture and practices of Tribes and Clans in these areas, the U.S. (and the Russians) would have anticipated how the insurgents and militants would respond to invasion - and how and where they would fight.
The authors argue that what transpired in all four cases could have be predicted and countered.
How do you win if you have different definitions for "victory"?.......2007-02-21
Insurgents, Terrorists, And Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat is a very useful contribution to the growing body of literature of modern conflict. While the subtitle of the book suggests a tempo-centric view of the Now, the book's purpose is really to demonstrate the value of anthropological analysis of the irregular warriors we are facing today. Unlike "modern" states who might employ irregular tactics, the authors look at the societal and cultural interactions specific in warrior societies, or "martial races" (a term indifferent to ethnicity), and their resulting organizing principles. This is done to satisfy Sun Tzu's admonition to "Know the enemy" which we do not. The absence of this knowledge, in simple terms, means we not only don't know or understand why or how the enemy fights but we don't even know how defeat or subordination, perhaps a better word, is defined by the enemy or conforms to their belief system. Afterall, both victory and defeat must be acknowledged by all sides.
In 2004, Major General Robert Scales went before the House Armed Services committee and recounted a conversation he had with a commander from the Third Infantry Division (then) recently returned from Iraq. Scales had asked about the improved situational awareness worked during the march to Baghdad. The response foretold the future, as well as described the past: "I knew where every enemy tank was dug in on the outskirts of Tallil. Only problem was my soldiers had to fight fanatics charging on foot or in pickups and firing AK 47s and RPGs. I had perfect situational awareness. What I lacked was cultural awareness. Great technical intelligence....wrong enemy." This book not only helps lay the ground work to identify the enemy, but also makes us look at their motivation from a different angle.
The authors, Richard H. Shultz and Andrea J. Dew, lay out the framework and goals of the book at the very beginning. This book is not out tactics or even strategy, but "operational art", the middle ground between Strategy (big "S") and Tactics (big "T"). Using case studies of Somali, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the authors demonstrate their theories through both recent and historical encounters. Some of their analysis is interesting as elements of previous success were clearly not understood and led to later failures.
The authors submit the following framework, all explicitly or implicitly found in Sun Tzu's 33 paragraphs on Offensive Strategy (which includes the advice to Know the Enemy and Know Yourself), as a means of better understanding the questions how and why that are critical to success.
1. What is the concept of warfare?
2. What is the Organization and Command and Control?
3. What are the Areas of Operations?
4. What are the Types and Targets of Operations?
5. Are there any Constraints and Limitations to the use of force?
6. Do they receive support and assistance from Outside Actors? If so, who are these Actors and in what form does the help come?
These are seemingly basic questions that go unasked, let alone answered.
In addressing American operational art, the combination of time and tempo (popular example: "Shock and Awe"), the authors don't make specific prescriptives but suggest incorporating new (to us) understandings of how the enemy organizes and operates. Shultz and Dew show that OODA loops don't matter when the invaded don't see war as "organized violence" requiring "paper, forms, and documents", don't mirror our hierarchy, and have different priorities. The behavior of the enemy is far different from modern Western principles and thus has different levers and pressures points for manipulation. Our focus on whether or not the engine of insurgency is religious or socio-political may ignore the underlying realities of the why and how in specific instances. Like in the West, religion may be a Gramscian distraction and our focus on it blinds us to the levers and pressure points necessary for successful operations.
The case studies note strong martial traditions and historical features that checked internecine violence. In Somali, for example, the authors show how these mechanisms were purposely broken to intentionally foster internal conflict, leading the path to disintegration of the state. They also show how our tactics empowered our target instead of breaking his support system. The enemy in Afghanistan and elsewhere know how their people organize and exploit it while we doom ourselves by imposing our own organizing and motivating principles on them. With parallels to the motivators of modern suicide terrorism, the authors look at warrior traditions and legacies, as opposed to cultural and social structures to reframe the perception of our Other.
Modern, West-centric theories such as "Fourth Generation Warfare" look at conflict with the "Gap" countries as a new way of warfare when the reality is quite the opposite. Likewise, simplifying insurgencies as monolithic or based in religion potentially blind us from opportunities to co-op and disaggregate and even to know how to define victory.
The authors are critical of both the US intelligence services and its endemic mirroring and of the shortcomings or military analysis. A case in point on the latter is the example of the USMC case study of Chechnya that looks at Russian failures in the 1994-1996 war and the study's absence of any analysis of the Chechens themselves.
Insurgents, Terrorists, And Militias does a good job demonstrating the value of knowing the enemy and showing how we don't. More importantly, it shows that our lack of understanding is counterproductive and fuels the engine of opposition. This should be on any counterinsurgency and irregular warfare reading list, as well as readings on the Gap. Be prepared to scribble in the margins as you read.
Academia Only Goes So Far.......2007-01-21
As a former Marine who has had experience in dealing with unconventional operations and counter-insurgency warfare, I agree with fellow Marine, D.A. Leonard "devintvi", below. The book does make some valid points, specifically that US leaders do need to understand the enemy before jumping into the odd quagmire that may seem feasible at the time. In recent history, both the US and Britain have been involved in unconventional warfare at least since the 1950s - for the US, we can go back to 1920s Haiti, Guatamala, Nicaragua, the Philippines, etc. However, even after all that experience with unconventional warfare, our leaders, planners and policy-makers still don't seem to have learned any lessons on the simple fact that I was taught in Boot Camp: "KNOW YOUR ENEMY."
That said, however, simply reading or "researching" what other writers and academics have said about unconventional warfare, or playing "game theory" about clans, cults, cells, or whatever, can only give an academic so much information. There is considerable difference between theory and practice, so for a valid analysis on current aspects of asymetric warfare, the analyst/academic needs to get out of their ivory tower and view the game up close and personal. At least do the research a basic combat journalist does when he or she is imbedded with a unit conducting such operations.
Simply arguing the same old liberal (read academic) saw that the government is inept in the current war, something with which I agree, just doesn't wash in and of itself. There needs to be more indepth analysis to make the argument, which has been going on for generations, more valid. For example, how many actual terrorists, insurgents, guerrillas, clan members, etc., have the authors interviewed? Evern been to Gitmo?
When discussing terrorists, insurgents, etc. in the current context, unlike previous, possibly more logical foe, it might also be feasible to identify the current Islamic combatants, not as mere clan members, but as the religious fanatics they are, who are actually willing to die for their rabid beliefs and, in doing so, hope to help anihilate the West.
Overall, an interesting, but ACADEMIC, view of the issue of the modern warfare we face. Certainly some useful information, but also "game theory" that doesn't really help the Grunt in the field who is dealing with a hopped up fanatic with explosives and an automatic weapon. I guess the book's attraction will depend from what side of the fence the reader is actually looking.
Book Description
This seminal work on modern terrorism is the one book to read in order to truly understand the reasons why radical Muslims such as Osama bin Laden and his followers have declared war on America and the West. In order to win the war against terrorism, argues Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden Unit, we must first stop dismissing militant Muslims as "extremists" or "religious fanatics." Formulating a successful military strategy requires that we see the enemy as they perceive themselve—highly trained and motivated soldiers who believe their cause is righteous.
This revised paperback edition provides a more extensive study of Osama bin Laden and the sources of his thought. Scheuer has added a good deal of bin Laden’s words, focusing on those issues that have been most misunderstood or ignored and therefore are most in need of exposition. These include bin Laden’s personality; his early years as a nonviolent Saudi dissident and reformer; the causes motivating al Qaeda and its allies, especially their perception that U.S. foreign policy threatens Islam’s survival; bin Laden’s long history of interest in and support for the Palestinian cause against Israel; his evolutionary growth as an Islamic hero and leader between 1996 and 2001; and the profound impact the Afghan-Soviet War had and continues to have on bin Laden, al Qaeda, and worldwide Sunni Islamic militancy. Only by understanding these words can the West appreciate the threat it faces and formulate a strategy to defeat it.
Customer Reviews:
Required Reading.......2007-10-10
A phenomenal perspective and one every citizen of the US should read (especially the idiots in the Bush Administration).
Wake up America!.......2007-09-02
Fabulous book, well written, eye opening. Every Christian in America needs to read this Scheuer book. The future is frightening, and Scheuer explains why in no uncertain terms.
Understanding our opponents.......2007-07-03
Mr. Scheuer has rendered an invaluable service by writing this book. We have to understand what motivates al Queda in order to find a way to make peace with them... I'm three quarters of the way through the book and I wish there was some way to make every member of Congress and the Administration to read it. Whatever you think about the war in Iraq, you cannot help but learn some of the backstory that we in the West don't know about "radical" Islam and why our efforts there may be doomed to failure. My thanks to the soldier who recommended it to me.
Confused Analysis, Unclear Message.......2007-02-02
While I did not read this book, I did attend a 1 1/2 hour lecture given by Scheuer at a local college. I found myself agreeing with the some of his conclusions, but found that he arrived at most of them for all the wrong reasons. I will give here a brief critique of his lecture.
1. Scheuer believes that militant Islam's grievances are valid (to some unspecified extent) and should be addressed. He suggested that the problems with Islamism stem in part from the Arab-Israeli conflict, but then, confusingly, explained that Islamic terror is a global phenomenon [true], citing as an example the Muslim terrorism against Thai Buddhists and the military coup there which recently transpired. Scheuer thinks the "clash of civilizations" would be mitigated if we ceased all support for Israel. Curiously, he thinks it would be desirable to let Israel pursue the harsh measures required to defeat terror without US intervention. But this is odd, coming from a man who thinks US support for Israel is one of the roots of the problem. Does he believe that US restraint of Israel is the problem, or does he think that US involvement with Israel, largely supportive, is the problem? In the lecture, Scheuer stated that America pussyfoots by trying to win "hearts and minds", and openly stated that militant Islam will require the same unambiguously decisive defeat that America inflicted on the Japanese. I don't entirely disagree with that conclusion, but then Scheuer criticizes Israel for being too harsh in its war against Hizballah. Scheuer accuses Israel of barbarously leveling buildings but ignores the thousands of Hizballah rockets that killed hundreds of Israelis. In other words, does Scheuer think that America was justified to exhort Israel to use "proportionate force" when dealing with Hizballah, or does he think Israel should have employed the same overwhelming force that he recommends the US employ in Iraq? Does he think that only the US is entitled to employ overwhelming force and that Israel alone should be prevented from doing so? Which is it?
2. Scheuer repeatedly made the analogy that Bin Laden is a modern incarnation of the Civil War's Stonewall Jackson. I find this fawning comparison to be ahistorical, morally equivalent, and almost offensive. Jackson was not a murderer. Jackson wore a uniform and actually led his men in battle. Jackson was simply a brilliant military commander, like many before and after him. Scheuer's analogy reminds me of a similar one by Yassir Arafat, who stated, "I am like George Washington". Patton was a brilliant tactical commander -- was he like Bin Laden, too?
3. Indeed, it seems that Scheuer ignores 1300 years of history. His analysis of global Islamic militancy starts, more or less, with Khomeini. While a case can be made (a difficult one) that Khomeini initiated a total change in the Islamic weltanschauung, this contention would require significant bolstering on Scheuer's part, given that Islamic conflict with the West hearkens back almost to its inception, and has been waged almost without respite ever since. It can be argued that our clash with Islam represents a discontinuous break from, say, the Ottoman clashes with Russia and Austria, or the Moor's conquest of Spain, or the Saracen invasion of Sicily, and so on -- but he does not provide that argument. Indeed, Scheuer's historiography, while glib and seductive, is rather amateurish and spotty. It doesn't seem to go further than his recommendation that America resuscitate the spirit of General Sherman -- a recommendation that, while not without its merits, is founded on a rather superficial historical comparison.
4. Scheuer's explanation for why (he assumes?) Bin Laden is alive was utterly unconvincing. "We would know if he was dead," he stated. When asked why Bin Laden has not seized the rich propaganda opportunity to taunt the West by making new video appearances, Scheuer asserted - incredibly - that Bin Laden does not desire to taunt the West. He contends, therefore, that Bin Laden does not relish propaganda opportunities. His is certainly an interesting theory, but not convincing in my view.
5. Scheuer characterized the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as "infantile". Scheuer fails to mention if there are any other conflicts around the world, or in history, that he regards as infantile. He apparently feels that calling the conflict "infantile" is helpful. Scheuer suffers from the disease of moral equivalency here, treating both sides as equally responsible for the conflict. Any recognition of Israel's peace overtures at the Camp David accords and at Oslo was absent.
6. Scheuer stated that no nation, including the US, has a "right" to exist. He did not explain this comment in greater detail, but by implication, he therefore believes that the last victor in a struggle is by definition, legitimate -- that is, that might makes right.
7. Scheuer dredges up the favorite bogeyman of the Left and of America-Last conservatives -- Neocons! He stated (and I quote) that "Neoconservatives manufactured the Islamic Caliphate." Given that the caliphate first appeared during 7-8th century Islamic conquest, I find his assertion hard to swallow. Love Neocons or hate them, it is hard to take Scheuer seriously when he makes comments so obviously absurd. In general, Scheuer claims that many of our current problems with Islamic militancy is our fault. He derides US foreign policy for supporting dictators, like Mubarak, but did not adequately address the alternative, in this case the Muslim Brotherhood. If not Mubarak, then what? Scheuer apparently believes that Muslims are justified in rioting around the world because of cartoons in a Danish newspaper. It is not clear how Scheuer would attack these difficulties -- should we stop publishing cartoons? Should there be censorship? Should we bow and scrape whenever Muslims are offended?
8. Scheuer neglects to mention that the US rescued Muslims in Kosovo, saved Shia and Kurds in Iraq, and helped Bin Laden's own Mujaheddin repulse the Soviet aggression in Afghanistan, and yet, somehow, asserts that we are still responsible for the (valid?) negative perception of the US among Muslims. He feels that terror will decrease if we take steps to make us more popular with terrorists.
9. Scheuer resigned from the CIA to protest the Bush Administration's handling of the War on Terror, or rather, its mishandling at the hands of the dreaded Neocons. But Scheuer does not explain why he opted not to resign under Clinton, who did not act to kill Bin Laden when he had the chance. Scheuer himself harshly condemns Clinton for that decision, but fails to explain why Clinton's errors did not merit a resignation but Bush's alleged errors do. This leads the listener to wonder if his resignation wasn't motivated by some mysterious personal reason. More to the point, if Scheuer has so much vitriol for the alleged mismanagement of the War on Terror by Neoconservatives, why does he also berate the Clinton administration for mismanagement -- an administration which did not contain Neoconservatives?
10. Scheuer derides the media's hand wringing and "whining" about the war, yet he himself, as the CBS "Terrorism Expert", seems part of the problem. I have not seen him forcefully take his own network to task (let alone the media as a whole) for glorifying failure, ignoring successes, and furthering its own demonstrably Leftist bias.
11. Scheuer decries President Bush and his alleged Neocon cabal for involving us in Iraq. Certainly, I would not argue his Presidency is free of mistakes. Yet Bush's decision was based on intelligence furnished not only by the CIA, but by the British MI5 and also French intelligence. If the intelligence made available to Bush was flawed, it seems unfair, in the absence of other details, to criticize the White House for its decision to go to war.
Some of Michael Scheuer's recommendations seem correct -- use overwhelming force, cease support for dictators, or jettison Europe, for example. But he appears to arrive at them via a twisted path of factual omissions and contradictions. Scheuer seems to suffer from a type of analytical schizophrenia, or cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, he adopts the rather Leftist positions that we are responsible for Islamic antipathy toward us, that Israel is the problem, that we have inflamed the Muslim world, and that Iraq has created more terrorists. On the other, he regards US military actions as timid. Indeed, Scheuer's lecture left me not only dismayed by his apparently romantic attachment to Bin Laden as an anti-hero, but wondering, simply, whether Scheuer himself contributed to the ineffectiveness of the CIA during his tenure. Until Scheuer can answer these and other questions, I will refrain from spending time and money on his books.
To See Ourselves as Others See Us........2006-03-15
The Scottish poet Robert Burns once said, "Oh would some power the gift give us, To see ourselves as others see us!
And in this day and age, the 'others' that really concern me include Osama bin Laden and the people in al Queda. This book does just that. It quotes bin Laden and associates to see what they are really saying rather than the quick thirty second news bite so favored by the news organizations when they can't find any blood to photograph.
This book takes bin Laden's statements, and in an interesting turn-about compares them with statements of a very similar nature made by Americans related to our revolution. He then goes on to show how bin Laden views the Americans not too differently from the way the American Patriots viewed England in 1776. (Strange how patriot or terrorist may be the same people depending on the eye of the looker.)
All in all, this is a very frightening book. It says that the anger from bin Laden is real, based on actual events, and not an isolated case, but spread throughout the Muslim world. Perhaps all Muslims would not be willing to go to the extremes to crash into the World Trade Center. It is clear however, that there are enough holding these views to provide the ocean in which the 'extremists,' 'religious fanatics,' 'terrorists,' 'guerrillas,' or 'patriots' can swim.
All in all, I rank this book as one of the three 'must reads,' anyone interested in what happens now must read. The other two are 'The 9/11 Commission Report,' and 'The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order' by Samuel P. Huntington.
There are a lot of reviewers of all three of these books who seem so rabidly angry at President Bush that they reject everything that these books have to say. I really like one review of 'Clash' who asked what a bunch of people living in a backward country like Afghanistan could possibly do to hurt the United States. That was before 9/11.
Book Description
On the morning of September 11, 2001, two hijacked airplanes destroyed New York's World Trade Center Towers. Thus began the extraordinary story of a great city coping with the worst disaster in its history. As shock and amazement gave way to grief for the victims and their families, New Yorkers reached deep inside themselves to discover a sense of civic nobility, exemplified by the heroism of firefighters, police, and rescue units.
In this new book from Abrams, the editors of New York magazine provide a visual record of the city in the week after the attack, through the images of several superb photographers and the words of prominent New Yorkers, including Mayor Giuliani. The book begins with the attack itself, documenting the panic and chaos it caused, and goes on to chronicle the rescue efforts by firefighters, police, and construction workers at Ground Zero and the attempts of the city's leaders to maintain morale. Color photos record a vast emotional upheaval of grief, rage, and patriotism, and display the many memorials created by private citizens, at hospitals, parks, firehouses, and in the streets.
All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the September 11th Fund, which has been created by the United Way and the New York Community Trust to respond to the immediate and long-term needs of the victims, their families, and the communities affected by the events of September 11.
Customer Reviews:
Magnific photos........2002-03-14
Very good book. I would recommend to anybody interested about the tragedy of september 11, 2001. The money raised from the sale of this book goes to the September 11 Fund. Help the families of New York...
An American Tragedy 9.11.01.......2002-02-06
This book grabs you.
I had watched the events take place on television at work, with my coworkers, one could look out the window and see the smoke in the distance. Being a New Yorker everyone I know has either lost someone or knows someone who did.
I had seen the book in a store before Christmas, but it was too close to 9/11 to buy it. Since that time it has been sold out everywhere.
If you want to see hell on earth in book form this is it. But more importantly, buy it and keep it so that we never forget 9/11/2001 or let it happen again.
rewview not purchased.......2002-01-31
I have never received this book and I was actually ordering a different book when I ordered. I wanted to order the 9/11 book by LIFE magazine, not this one. Like I said; I wouldn't be able to critique this anyway because I never received it.
Please let me know how to delete this order and re-order the one by LIFE magazine instead.
Thank you
Nora Bartman
Rivoting!!.......2001-12-12
As I leafed through the pages of this keepsake book, goosebumps appeared on my skin as well as tears. It brings back the horific day in clear view.
I'm ordering three more for my childrens hope chests.
A superb photohraphic account of that terrible day..........2001-12-03
This superb pictorial remembrance of the events of September 11 comes to us from the editors of New York magazine. Rather than focusing on all of the events of that day, this book simply focuses on the attacks on the World Trade Center. What results is a wonderful photographic record, with an emphasis not on the attacks themselves, but rather on the post-attack heroism and recovery efforts.
If you are looking for a book that will anger you and yet still manage to raise your spirits, get this book. The strength of the American people and the savagery of the Islamic terrorists is well displayed in this work.
Books:
- Design for Ecological Democracy
- Duck for President (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards))
- Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit
- Encyclopedia of Stress, Four-Volume Set, Volume 1-4, Second Edition
- Environment and Humanity. (DANTES series # 72) (Dantes Subject Standardized Tests)
- Environmental Geography: Science, Land Use, and Earth Systems, 3rd Edition
- Everglades
- Flying South: A Pilot's Inner Journey
- Forest Health and Protection
- Golden Tree (Guardians Of Ga'hoole)
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