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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Phenomenal book. It reads like a spy novel, though, sadly, it was true.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Engaging, if distressing, read. Clarke's take on the post-9/11 actions were pretty damning of the Bush administration (and his account was surprisingly redeeming of Clinton's White House). This turned out to be an interesting (and unintentional) companion piece to "Idiot America", which I was also reading at the time. Taken together, the books paint a picture of an America that is uninterested in logic or facts, and more given to emotional responses. Not the most uplifting material, but interesting nonetheless.”
Keisha Monique wrote this review Tuesday, November 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“An excellent, educational and sometimes disturbing account of world events through the eyes of a superpower”
Justin P wrote this review Thursday, November 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Well. It certainly brought to life for me the way the White House functioned. No doubt Clarke was angry at being dismissed from his job, but angry too at the way his input was dismissed out of hand. A useful insight into the Bush administration.”
Carol M wrote this review Monday, July 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Shocking. I'd want to see a reasoned rebuttal to his charges. If what he says is true, this is shocking.”
Darryl T wrote this review Wednesday, May 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Intresting insight into the government's campaign against Osama bin Laden.”
Brad H wrote this review Friday, May 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A little ego-centric, with a lot of spelling and grammar errors. The major problem was that this book assumes too much--that the reader knows about Islam, the Afghan mujahideen, the nature of Saudi Arabian politics, etc. An interesting book in that it shows in detail what members of the government were doing or trying to do, in contrast to other books out on the 9/11 era, like The Looming Tower and The Cell, which focus more on the terrorists themselves or specific investigators. A good read to supplement your knowledge, but not good for someone not already well-versed in the topic.”
Daniel S wrote this review Thursday, March 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I can't give this book 5 stars--horror really isn't my genre, and I'm not a fan of depressing endings.
DKayeS wrote this review Sunday, November 23 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Richard A. Clarke was a counterterrorism expert who served under 4 administrations--from Reagan through G. W. Bush. Against All Enemies tells about the war on terror, focusing primarily on what led up to 9/11 and the response to it.
Otto von Bismarck said "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." (or something like that--I've seen it quoted several ways) and that's certainly true in this case. An even better quote might be the daffynition of Politics, n: Poly "many" + tics "blood-sucking parasites".
It's ugly. Very ugly. Politicians pursuing their own agendas, refusing to listen to advice that doesn't fit, being distracted from or prevented from taking action because of politics, etc., etc.
One last quote:
"It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen." ~George E. MacDonald.
True, but does it have to be so far in the other direction?
If I had it to do over again, I'd read this in small doses instead of straight through. It was way too infuriating and depressing to read all at once.”
“Clarke took over the emergency response to 9/11, while Condoleezza Rice stood back and watched. Although he is magnanimous towards her, it is clear from his account that Rice was totally out of her depth. As a nation, we are lucky that we have a man like Clarke, and we would have been luckier if we had chosen to listen to his warnings.”
Yuri G wrote this review Thursday, November 13 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Richard Clarke has worked in the area of national security for the past 30 years. He was head of counterterrorism affairs for Presidents Clinton and Bush II. In this book, he severely criticizes the current Bush Administration for its lack of interest in terrorism and al Qaeda before 9/11, and its disastrous decisions afterwards.
plappen wrote this review Sunday, November 2 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
He first explores the Reagan and Bush I reactions to events like Lockerbie, TWA 800, and the Beirut bombing that killed over 200 American soldiers. The word "terrorism" had not yet entered the American lexicon. Whatever else is said about the Clinton Administration, at least President Clinton took the threat from al Qaeda very seriously, and tried to do something about it.
There were several opportunities to get Osama bin Laden during the Clinton years. Unfortunately, the reports that he was in a certain building at a certain time were never rock solid. Even if they were totally reliable, it takes time to get the report from Afghanistan to Washington, and for the appropriate orders to be sent to the ships or planes in the area. No senior al Qaeda figure, especially bin Laden, was going to stay in one place for any length of time. If the US had bombed innocent people, it would have been a public relations disaster.
The second Bush Administration came into office much more concerned about Iraqi terrorism than about al Qaeda (according to Clarke, for no good reason). When he tried to impress upon senior White House officials the seriousness of the threat from al Qaeda, he was met with bureaucratic delay after delay. Bush's decision to invade Iraq (again, according to Clarke, for no good reason) gave al Qaeda a propaganda coup of immense proportions.
After 9/11, the Bush Administration should have worked to improve relations with the frontline states, like Iran and Saudi Arabia, that are most vulnerable to al Qaeda. It should also have worked to improve relations with Islam, in general. These things were not done. Officially, there was no federal money available to fix the gaping holes in America's domestic vulnerability to terrorist attack, but there was plenty of money to invade Iraq.
Could 9/11 have been prevented, even if all parts of the intelligence community were running like a well-oiled machine (another area of criticism from Clarke)? Perhaps not. If a major attack didn't happen on that particular day, it would have happened some other day. This book is a huge wake-up call, and it is very highly recommended for all Americans. If I could, I would give this book three thumbs up.
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