War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism (edit title)

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Liked It Rated 4 stars “Inside story of the Bush administrations reaction to the World Trade Center attach of September 11. Interesting in that Douglas argues that the decision was right given the context. Enlightening on the logic of where Saddam was coming from on hiding status of WMD (Iran and US seen as conflicting...” see full review » see other reviews »

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  • Rated 4 stars

  “Inside story of the Bush administrations reaction to the World Trade Center attach of September 11. Interesting in that Douglas argues that the decision was right given the context. Enlightening on the logic of where Saddam was coming from on hiding status of WMD (Iran and US seen as conflicting threats with Iran being the bigger issue to Iraq). Compelling in some logic but missing in some key aspects. For Doug the paradigm changed with the attack and therefore justified extreme measures. My argument would be that the attack was an anomoly and our response beyond Afganistan changed everything.”

  Jim G wrote this review Friday, October 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 5 stars

  “This is an unusual work of scholarship and documentary. Instead of the droll recountings of a senior bureaucrat's term in office, Feith excels in conveying how decisions can, are and must be made in unusual situations.
  
  Whatever your view of Sec Def Donald Rumsfeld, you cannot but be impressed by his intellectual abilities and the rigour of his processes in making judgements and arriving at decisions. Similarly, his ability to think critically and have his staff respond in kind is remarkable.
  
  The contrast with the fecklnessness of Sec State Colin Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage, could not be starker. Unfortunately, it also speaks to President Bush's failure to bring Powell to heel, and he was repaid for that weakness with the Joe Wilson fiasco and the CIA's counter ops.
  
  Perhaps the most notable feature of the book is how successful those counter operations were in frustrating and overturning Pentagon initiatives that would have improved the post Iraq war situation, made Abu Ghraib less likely, and prevented Guantanamo from being a long-term problem. The media was used very effectively to create a litany about Rumsfeld's Pentagon, and 99% of the false litany survives to this day.
  
  The book is also superb for Feith's scrupulous footnoting and referencing. Compare it with the sham book by CIA Director George Tenet (Center of the Storm) among others.
  
  Apart from its historical significance, this book should also be essential reading for corporate managers, most of whom would fail any test of their strategic thinking and tactical application. Feith reveals a lot of the disciplines used to arrive at valid conclusions.”

  Tim W wrote this review Wednesday, August 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 0 stars

  “Hard ti say right now. Is this simply a defense of Rumsfeldet al or something more?”

  Mike S wrote this review Wednesday, June 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 3 stars

  “A great look at the inside story of the bush white house and the difficulties of decisions to go to war and doing the worlds toughest job.
  
  Quite detailed in its look at the steps to going into Iraq.”

  Joe M wrote this review Monday, April 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No