Book Description
Brigitte Gabriel lost her childhood to militant Islam. In 1975 she was ten years old and living in Southern Lebanon when militant Muslims from throughout the Middle East poured into her country and declared jihad against the Lebanese Christians. Lebanon was the only Christian influenced country in the Middle East, and the Lebanese Civil War was the first front in what has become the worldwide jihad of fundamentalist Islam against non-Muslim peoples. For seven years, Brigitte and her parents lived in an underground bomb shelter. They had no running water or electricity and very little food; at times they were reduced to boiling grass to survive. Because They Hate is a political wake-up call told through a very personal memoir frame. Brigitte warns that the US is threatened by fundamentalist Islamic theology in the same way Lebanon was- radical Islam will stop at nothing short of domination of all non-Muslim countries. Gabriel saw this mission start in Lebanon, and she refuses to stand silently by while it happens here. Gabriel sees in the West a lack of understanding and a blatant ignorance of the ways and thinking of the Middle East. She also points out mistakes the West has made in consistently underestimating the single-mindedness with which fundamentalist Islam has pursued its goals over the past thirty years. Fiercely articulate and passionately committed, Gabriel tells her own story as well as outlines the history, social movements, and religious divisions that have led to this critical historical conflict.
Customer Reviews:
Truly Informed!!!.......2007-10-19
It is refreshing to read a book that is written by a person who experienced first-hand the things to which she addressed. I consider myself a person who is well educated (3 masters degrees), well traveled (67 countries), and a lifetime of experience (approaching 80 years). Brigette's book should be read by every person who appreciates living in the United States. The book is truly an "eye-opener!" I encourage you to get the book, read it, and take the time to comprehend what it says. It will probably change your life!!! Rev. Floyd Lewis
Arresting autobiography and a warning to the West.......2007-10-18
This disturbing book is similar in structure to Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Now They Call Me Infidel by Nonie Darwish, being part autobiography and part warning to the West. The autobiographical section deals with the author's childhood in Lebanon which was happy and idyllic until the war broke out in 1975. Her family experienced seven years of hell as the political war soon became a religious war against Christians waged by the PLO and Lebanese radical Islamists.
It became a nightmare of murder, atrocity and destruction. She also witnessed at first hand how the terrorists manipulate the media, for example by deliberately launching missiles from amongst civilians then blaming Israel for the retaliation that followed. They played the victim card very well, exploiting the clueless or complicit mass media at every turn. A good analysis of this phenomenon is available in The Other War: Israelis, Palestinians and the Struggle for Media Supremacy by Stephanie Gutmann. When the Israelis invaded in 1982, the family finally managed to escape the horror by finding refuge in Israel. There they experienced kindness and compassion; she eventually became a journalist, married an American and moved to the USA.
The second part examines the history of the global jihad and how its hydra heads are sprouting in the West. The author considers Lebanon the early testing ground for the global ambitions of the Jihadis. In this section she delves into the Koran and compares the Western with the Islamist concepts of, among others: truth, life and human dignity. Pointing out the major differences, she shows how the radicals are using Western values like tolerance, the rule of law and free speech against the West. What happened in Lebanon is starting to happen in Europe and the USA while the demonization of Israel and the USA is getting worse in the mass media of the Islamic world. For gruesome examples of this, please see Peace: The Arabian Caricature of Anti-Semitic Imagery by Arieh Stav.
Ignorance and political correctness are contributing to the escalating danger and the fifth column in our midst are those self-loathing westerners - mostly tenured termites in academia - who blame the democracies and talk piously of the "legitimate" grievances of the terrorists. The author says we must not appease but face facts: their grievances include our freedom of speech and religion, democracy, the rule of law and the gender equality in our societies. She also claims that moderate Muslim organizations in the USA are not as moderate as they pretend. A very important point Gabriel makes is that although most Muslims are peaceful, the religion is not. Islamic Imperialism: A History by Efraim Karsh and The Truth About Muhammad by Robert Spencer explore the historical facts in more detail.
The book concludes with recommendations for policymakers in the West, such as the banning of hate education where it is occurring now, vigilant border and immigration controls, security profiling of radical organizations and a serious effort to find and harness alternative energy sources. Other warnings to the West include The Force of Reason by Oriana Fallaci, Londonistan by Melanie Phillips, Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left by David Horowitz, Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski and While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within by Bruce Bawer. On account of her first hand experience, Brigitte Gabriel's book is a must-read for all those who care about the future of our civilization.
A MUST read for every American who lives his country!.......2007-10-17
I challenge every American to view this book diligently with an open mind as to how quickly this hate has invaded our country already and now that it's here how sudden an attack will happen. We must stand up and do our part to stop this subtle killer by making our voice heard in our government, our schools our churches. This message MUST be heard! Briggett tells her story without fancy proper grammar, but with simplicity for any age to read. There's no doubt she is real, her story is real and her heart is not about selling a book, it's about you, your family and this country. May we wake up and take back our freedom to love and live.
Glad I Don't Live In A Moslem Country.......2007-10-14
"Because They Hate" is one eye opening book regarding the real agenda of the militant Moslems. The Koran is not now and never was a peaceful book and neither was the Moslem faith ever a peaceful religion.The "militant" Moslems are out to conquor the whole world and make it Moslem. The big Satan (the United States) and the Little Satan (Israel) are first on it's list to destroy.
A women definately doesn't want to live in a radical Moslem country. They can't go anywhere with out their husband's approval. Also, they have to have their whole body covered when in public. Beating your wife black and blue when she disobeys you is endorsed by the clerics or religeous leaders and is often shown on television as a good thing to do. Also, if a women is suspected of not being a virgin, she is to be killed to save the family's honor.
The author, Brigette Gabriel is a Southern Lebonese Christian, who married an American and now lives in the United States. The author lived amongst the Moslems in Lebonon, which makes the book an insider's look at the Moslem agenda. That fact alone made it the best book I have read on the subject of the Moslem religion. The well written readable style of the book added to it's appeal.
Gabriel tells about the horrors of the cival war in Lebonon and how she lived with her parents in a bomb shelter for seven years. She tells how the kind but naive Lebonese tried to help the Palestinian Moslem refugees only to have them go through Christian towns slaughtering Christians and bombing their homes. Finally the Christians had enough and fought back, which stated the Cival War. When Israel came to the aid of the Lebonese Christians and brought an end to the war, most of the world criticised her humanitarian actions.
This book made me to glad to be an American. While we haven't been perfect on the cival rights front, we have had our plantations and still have reservations, which are not to be downplayed, our worst abuses are nothing in comparison to the hate filled brutality of the Moslems who follow the Koran. As the author makes so clear, Americans with our western civilized way of thinking and value system, have a very difficult time understanding the insanely brutal mindset of the militant Moslems. When giving the reason for their brutality, the author explained that it was becuase they are taught to hate from the moment of birth that they are so sadistic. Even though many Moslems claim to be more moderate in their beliefs, they rarely if ever oppose the radical's viewpoints or actions. This is true even of the moderate Moslems who live in American where it would be safe to take stand.
good, impressive story.......2007-10-14
Brigitte makes an outstandig job telling about what happened, to her, her family and the christian communities in South Lebanon. I always knew the story as the christian being the mean and holding the economics, this what we have been told in Italy in the 70's and 80's. There is much more behind all this, Brigitte brings some facts and accounts in such a natural and practical way. What happened in Lebanon in the 70's is the natural birth of the wave of hate and killing that caused the infamous 9/11.
Book Description
Donald Rumsfeld, who as secretary of defense oversaw the army, navy, air force, and marines from 2001 to December 2006, is widely blamed for the catastrophic state of America's involvement in Iraq. In his groundbreaking book Rumsfeld, Washington insider Andrew Cockburn details Rumsfeld's decisions in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and also shows how his political legacy stretches back decades and will reach far into the future.
Relying on sources that include high-ranking officials in the Pentagon and the White House, Rumsfeld goes far beyond previous accounts to reveal a man consumed with the urge to dominate each and every human encounter, and whose aggressive ambition has long been matched by his inability to display genuine leadership or accept responsibility for egregious error. Cockburn exposes Rumsfeld's early career as an Illinois congressman, his rise to prominence as an official in the Nixon White House, his careful maneuvering to avoid the fallout of the Watergate scandal, and his skillful infighting as secretary of defense under President Ford. Cockburn also chronicles for the very first time Rumsfeld's subsequent tenure as CEO of G. D. Searle (and his devoted efforts to get governmental approval for the controversial artificial sweetener aspartame) as well as his interesting behavior in secret high-level government nuclear war games in the years he was out of power.
President George W. Bush's hasty elevation of Rumsfeld as his secretary of defense proved historic, for it was the triumvirate of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Rumsfeld who plunged America into the disastrous quagmire of the war in Iraq. Cockburn reveals how Rumsfeld's habits of intimidation, indecision, ignoring awkward realities, destructive micromanagement, and bureaucratic manipulation all helped doom America's military adventure. The book challenges the notion that Rumsfeld was an effective manager driven to transform the American military, examines the reasons that Rumsfeld was removed from office, and shows how his second appointment as secretary of defense reflects a deep conflict between President Bush and his father, former president George H. W. Bush.
Brimming with powerful revelations, Rumsfeld is sure to emerge as the must-have piece of investigative journalism as America grapples with its difficult involvement in Iraq and the uncertain path the country faces today.
Customer Reviews:
Rumsfeld.......2007-10-10
An excellent book describing the egomaniac called Donald Rumsfeld, he is just one of the crimminals that have taken over control of the United States and should be tried for being a war crimminal. America wake up you are ruled by gangsters-he is just one of them. Does RICCO apply here?
Sadly Accurate.......2007-09-11
What have we become as a nation, when a man as insidious as Rumsfeld can attain such power and cause such damage and harm? It is perhaps time that we as a people pay closer attention to the politics of the day, and not concern ourselves with Brittany's paunch. Democracy requires a well informed, literate, and discriminating citizenry. We do not live on ANIMAL FARM, and we do not have to mindlessly accept and bleat the mantra of the Neo-Cons.
Rumsfeld = Nazi by another name.......2007-09-07
Rumsfeld would have made Hitler so proud. America is much less of a nation thanks to him and the other malicious pirates in the Oval Office.
Republocrat zombies on the march
Heil Bush! they chant with glassy eyes
Subvert the Constitution for their corporate masters
Force their fascist god-book down everybody's throats
Stare at the tv, it'll all be ok they say
Turn off your mind and be a good zombie
Become infantile like us
Soulless neo-con automatons
Mindless Flag wavers
Hypnotized by the endless drone of propaganda
Memetic slaves of the Dark Lord Bush
Fine study of a 'ruthless little b******' and failure.......2007-07-20
Investigative journalist Andrew Cockburn shows how Rumsfeld has helped to push the US state into political and military disaster.
Cockburn introduces us to Rumsfeld's business career, which depended on promoting aspartame, a sweetener suspected of causing brain tumours. He swung a compliant Food and Drug Administration into approving it anyway and bought enough Senators to amend the Drug Act to extend its patent, yielding the company $3 billion extra revenue.
Rumsfeld played a key role in fixing the intelligence to fit the policy of attacking Iraq. Saddam's son-in-law Hussein Kamel told US officials about Iraq's arms build-up in the 1980s and also told them that in 1991 "all weapons - biological, chemical, missile, nuclear - were destroyed." The US state shouted worldwide about the build-up, but hid the destruction.
Bush appointed Rumsfeld the US Secretary for Defense in January 2001. Cockburn details Rumsfeld's catastrophic decisions in the disastrous wars against Iraq and Afghanistan. The US state has failed to focus on defeating Al Qa'ida, widening the wars into attacks on the Iraqi and Afghan peoples. So Iraq lost to the invader but is defeating the occupier. The Taliban lost Kabul but is winning the war.
Rumsfeld claimed that he could occupy Iraq with a small force. He apparently believed the crook Chalabi who told him there would be no postwar guerrilla resistance and that Iraq would quickly become a stable capitalist ally.
The US has the largest military spending ever and has spent $500 billion so far on the Iraq war, yet US soldiers' families have to buy them body armour and the soldiers try to protect their unarmoured Humvees with salvaged bits of plywood. No wonder the US army is at breaking point.
What was Secretary for Defense Rumsfeld doing meanwhile? He was calling Guantanamo Bay every week for reports on the torture of Mohammed al-Qahtani. He was personally specifying the torture techniques at Abu Ghraib - the use of dogs, stress positions, and deprivation of food and sleep.
Throughout his squalid career, Rumsfeld bullied, lied and cheated to get his own way. Richard Nixon, no mean judge, called him `a ruthless little bastard'. But as with all reactionaries, his scheming has brought only disaster to his cause.
It Proved It Was Worse Than Thought........2007-07-08
I'm sure the publisher blanched with the use of the word "Catastrophic" in the title, but it is a true description of the legacy, as noted and well-laid out in the book.
A definite keeper to help bridge gaps of other writings about the Bush Administration and its concept of what "Republic" and "Government" mean.
Rumsfeld was there from the beginning of the "Neo-Con Coupe" and following his many "snowflakes" in life will definitely bring the whole "grand plan" to light of public scrutiny.
It leaves the feeling of knowing you know now definitely what you really know you now don't know.
Book Description
In his explosive New York Times bestseller, top CIA operative Robert Baer paints a chilling picture of how terrorism works on the inside and provides startling evidence of how Washington politics sabotaged the CIA’s efforts to root out the world’s deadliest terrorists, allowing for the rise of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda and the continued entrenchment of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
A veteran case officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in the Middle East, Baer witnessed the rise of terrorism first hand and the CIA’s inadequate response to it, leading to the attacks of September 11, 2001. This riveting book is both an indictment of an agency that lost its way and an unprecedented look at the roots of modern terrorism, and includes a new afterword in which Baer speaks out about the American war on terrorism and its profound implications throughout the Middle East.
“Robert Baer was considered perhaps the best on-the-ground field
officer in the Middle East.”
–Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker
From The Preface
This book is a memoir of one foot soldier’s career in the other cold war, the one against terrorist networks. It’s a story about places most Americans will never travel to, about people many Americans would prefer to think we don’t need to do business with.
This memoir, I hope, will show the reader how spying is supposed to work, where the CIA lost its way, and how we can bring it back again. But I hope this book will accomplish one more purpose as well: I hope it will show why I am angry about what happened to the CIA. And I want to show why every American and everyone who cares about the preservation of this country should be angry and alarmed, too.
The CIA was systematically destroyed by political correctness, by petty Beltway wars, by careerism, and much more. At a time when terrorist threats were compounding globally, the agency that should have been monitoring them was being scrubbed clean instead. Americans were making too much money to bother. Life was good. The White House and the National Security Council became cathedrals of commerce where the interests of big business outweighed the interests of protecting American citizens at home and abroad. Defanged and dispirited, the CIA went along for the ride. And then on September 11, 2001, the reckoning for such vast carelessness was presented for all the world to see.
Download Description
In See No Evil, one of the CIA's top field officers of the past quarter century recounts his career running agents in the back alleys of the Middle East. In the process, Robert Baer paints a chilling picture of how terrorism works on the inside and provides compelling evidence about how Washington politics sabotaged the CIA's efforts to root out the world's deadliest terrorists.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, the world witnessed the terrible result of that intelligence failure with the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In the wake of those attacks, Americans were left wondering how such an obviously long-term, globally coordinated plot could have escaped detection by the CIA and taken the nation by surprise. Robert Baer was not surprised. A twenty-one-year veteran of the CIA's Directorate of Operations who had left the agency in 1997, Baer observed firsthand how an increasingly bureaucratic CIA lost its way in the post-cold war world and refused to adequately acknowledge and neutralize the growing threat of Islamic fundamentalist terror in the Middle East and elsewhere.
A throwback to the days when CIA operatives got results by getting their hands dirty and running covert operations, Baer spent his career chasing down leads on suspected terrorists in the world's most volatile hot spots. As he and his agents risked their lives gathering intelligence, he watched as the CIA reduced drastically its operations overseas, failed to put in place people who knew local languages and customs, and rewarded workers who knew how to play the political games of the agency's suburban Washington headquarters but not how to recruit agents on the ground.
See No Evil is not only a candid memoir of the education and disillusionment of an intelligence operative but also an unprecedented look at the roots of modern terrorism. Baer reveals some of the disturbing details he uncovered in his work, including:
- In 1996, Osama bin Laden established a strategic alliance with Iran to coordinate terrorist attacks against the United States.
- In 1995, the National Security Council intentionally aborted a military coup d'etat against Saddam Hussein, forgoing the last opportunity to get rid of him.
- In 1991, the CIA intentionally shut down its operations in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, and ignored fundamentalists operating there.
When Baer left the agency in 1997 he received the Career Intelligence Medal, with a citation that says, "He repeatedly put himself in personal danger, working the hardest targets, in service to his country."
See No Evil is Baer's frank assessment of an agency that forgot that "service to country" must transcend politics and is a forceful plea for the CIA to return to its original mission -- the preservation of our national sovereignty and the American way of life.
"Robert Baer was considered perhaps the best on-the-ground field officer in the Middle East."
SEYMOUR M. HERSH, THE NEW YORKER
"Robert Baer [was] one of the most talented Middle East case officers of the past twenty years."
REUEL MARC GERECHT, THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
Customer Reviews:
Right Diagnosis Wrong Prescription.......2007-10-11
Bauer gives a compelling account of his exploits as a CIA agent. For the "ripping good yarn" three stars.
He also offers his take on the reasons for serious deficiencies by our intelligence services. No argument that there are shortcomings, but no stars for his analysis of the causes.
Why? Some major thematic defects with the book on this score.
First, the underlying genre is a familiar one: the single honest and courageous protagonist fighting against apathy, stupidity and venality. Perhaps, understandable given Mr. Bauer's experience with the Agency's appreciation of his service. But a plot line more suited to fiction than serious analysis.
Is there bureaucracy, stupidity and even venality in the CIA? No argument here. But equally there should be no argument that this condition exists in any human institution. So then the right question becomes one of degree rather than kind. Were these factors so pervasive as to compromise the mission of the Agency? Was Bauer the only dedicated, selfless intelligent operative in the Agency? Or, if not the only one, one of a mere handful of such individuals? All in all this seems a bit far fetched.
The book does shed some light on why our intelligence services may be working at a suboptimal level, particularly in the Middle East, though perhaps not in the way the author intended.
Bauer's career is in some ways a "poster child" for suboptimal behavior.
Intelligence work is a not a particularly glamorous craft. At its heart it's rather mundane meticulous analysis and the routine work of running agents rather than flamboyant action. The heroes of fiction - James Bonds or "Jack" Bauers - are not particularly useful. Grey anonymity - an absence of footprints - is the most desirable operational trait.
Intelligence work requires a cold discipline. Actions in the field are undertaken for concrete objectives. Many of Bauer's missions seem to have been highly visible personal adventures with little apparent (intelligence) utility. They exposed a valuable asset to capture or compromise. No doubt the trips to the Beka'a, the Pamirs or the Yaghob Valley were ripping good fun as was driving T-72s and parachuting with Russian troops. How these advanced US intelligence interests is questionable.
Intelligence is also a team sport, contrary to popular fiction. In this critical game, it's very important that the players let the coach call the plays. Policy is set in Washington not in the field. Bauer's disingenuous actions in Northern Iraq - his attempt to make his own foreign policy - were not appropriate and really didn't serve our national interests well.
Intelligence requires careful discretion. Agents associate with a variety of people, many of whom are rather unsavory. The trick is to use the contact rather than be used. How our national interest benefited from contact with Mr. Tamraz isn't immediately clear to me. There is another danger here: the contact spinning such association as an American imprimatur.
Bauer does highlight some structural and political problems which affect the Agency's performance. That the national interest of the USA is often conflated with business interests, particularly oil, is distressing but not surprising.
However, all these points are at the margin of the central issue.
A more fundamental failure needs to be addressed. It is the same one which dogs the crafting of our foreign policy - a failure to think coldly and rationally about issues.
When we analyze domestic policies, by and large we accept that our government is influenced by popular perceptions with results shaped by the interplay between competing groups. However, when we venture to lands foreign, we abandon this nuanced view for one much more simplistic and simple minded.
We see our own interests as the only legitimate ones. Competitors must then be evildoers. Or, if we are in a charitable mood, suffering from some other serious moral or intellectual defect. The impulse for discovering grand conspiracies follows in train. Often we fail to recognize groups of our antagonists for what they are - temporary tactical alliances of convenience among groups with disparate constituencies and often competing ideologies rather than unitary blocs controlled by some grandmaster of evil who can compel his subordinates to take actions against their own very real interests. Imagine ascribing master/servant relationships and unanimity on all points among the Allies in WWII - the USA the master, or if your politics differ, the servant of the USSR and you'll understand this fallacy.
We also fall prey to the "great man" theory. If only we can remove the wrong man or install the right one, we can engineer a change in policy even if it is contrary to the wishes of the majority of that country. To use a domestic analogy, this is equivalent to believing that Al Franken or Fred Thompson could persuade the NRA to embrace gun control. Or NOW to abandon Roe v. Wade. In some extreme cases we believe we can manufacture leaders and parachute them into power. Delusions of this sort doom our actions and also reflect the poverty of our strategic thinking. As a result, we often associate with leaders who do our cause no good. The choice of the former head of the INC - a man with no discernible political support in Iraq as well as with certain other considerable negatives - as that country's putative Thomas Jefferson is an example of this pathology. No surprise that we fail and wind up being used.
And sadly often we also fail to marry our long term strategic interests to appropriate foreign policy. Foreign policy or intelligence "quick" fixes result in unwelcome blowback as history demonstrates time and time again.
Finally, perhaps an obvious point: a rational foreign policy in the long term interests of the US will promote the work and thus the success of our intelligence services. Rowing against the tides of history while perhaps heroic is at the end of the day rather foolish and so destined for failure. This is really the issue for reflection.
Real behind the scenes of how the spy agency worked.......2007-10-02
Only halfway through, but this book is great. It shows you in depth how the agency worked. Reveals how training was done, how missions worked. Includes real stories not just analysis.
Dispatches From the Pre-9/11 War on Terror Front.......2007-09-30
The stories and experiences of real life are often more gripping than fiction. Given that celebrated novels receive greater fame and publicity, it is rare to come across a book that captures the adventure of a captivating adventure novel and the benefit of a knowledgeable nonfiction author. A medley of suspense, wisdom from years experience, and formidable lessons from around the globe abound in former CIA officer Bob Baer's veracious story from the forefront of the US's struggle against international terrorism.
Baer recounts his professional life in one of the most riveting, true-life spy tales around. His first book is easy to follow and lively; even if you're not a James Bond suspense-novel junkie you'll likely appreciate "See No Evil." Baer's insight on the past and the state of current intelligence operations in a post 9/11 world with admonition for, what he sees as, the most potent gambit in the war against Middle Eastern terrorism, is vital for composing a winning strategy in the region.
The reputability of being the basis for George Clooney's character in the film "Syriana." shouldn't deter readers who actually watched the risible movie. George Clooney's Bob Barnes never amounted to the valorous character we become acquainted with in the book; his pitiful role is a real injustice to the real life Baer. There are no real parallels between the fictional movie`s plot and the book based on Baer's firsthand experiences.
With such a furtive job like a case officer, it is rare for an author to lift the shroud of secrecy for the public to behold some of these highly-speculated operations. An ordinary American youngster, full of guilelessness and vitality, finds himself leading an anything but ordinary life in an abstruse field that eventually takes him to the forefront of the nation`s interests in the Middle East. Ultimately departing an agency hampered by politicalization and putrefied by scandals, Bob holds back nothing in sharing passionate convictions, doubts, and solicitude in an earnest reflection of his entire espionage career. From the young operative's tribulation of his first assignment in India up to senior liaison orchestrating a coup against Saddam His story is gripping, his insight and perception on the challenges we face is indispensable.
Useful Stuff.......2007-08-28
After reading the book one can never be so ignorant!!!
It's pretty sad to watch these guys risk their lives for such dangerous missions and let go in the end...
"Why don't they listen to me?".......2007-07-27
Robert Baer
See No Evil
book review
The first half of this book is a great adventure story. The second reveals a personality.
We are treated to a sampling of the adventures of a vigorous, energetic, productive young case officer's (we learn that a CIA "agent" is the local who does the actual spying, "case officer" being the term for the professional recruiter and manager of agents) experiences during the birth and maturation of his productive years in southern Asia and the Middle East. For those of us interested in espionage procedurals, this part of the book is exhilarating. I couldn't put it down. It is written with vim and a touch of humor.
The second half of the book is in some ways more interesting, as it reveals through a change of style a man who needs rest. Mr. Baer's supervisors should have recognized it and brought him "in from the cold" from time to time, so that he could adjust in a healthy way back to normal life with a normal perspective. I saw this happen more than once in my own law enforcement career. Such seems to me what Robert Baer reveals to us, consciously or not, in the second half of his book.
The transition is marked by a curious re-call, which Robert Baer ("Robert Pope"?) resists vehemently, during which he is investigated as a suspect in a murder for hire. The portrayal of the burned out case officer in the movie Syriana, based on See No Evil, seems to be Robert Baer himself. The fictional character, Wilson, knows too much, or thinks he does. The fictional character in the movie blows up some bad guys, acting on his own authority in secret. The real Robert Baer in See No Evil is accused of plotting to assassinate Saddam Hussein, a weird story in itself. By is own admission, there are things he does not write up in reports.
It is as though he has arrived in the insane hell of Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (a movie Mr. Baer refers to in his book). He wonders why "they" back at headquarters don't pay more respect to his on-the-spot reporting. As the fictional character, Captain Willard, says to himself in Apocalypse Now, "They didn't know I wasn't even in their f...ing army anymore."
But, you see, Robert Baer has been in the field so long and left alone to do pretty much as he sees fit, and it begins to tell. When he and his team are sent to northern Iraq, he interprets whole world scenarios through his team's emplacement. The whole course of world history depends on him and his team's mission. He blows their role out of proportion and takes on the role of the representative of the United States. He writes that the local Kurds think of him as the Untied States Ambassador.
He is turning into Colonel Kurtz. It is he whom they rely on, and he tells them lies about what Washington thinks and commitments he thinks they should make. Whether the Kurdish leaders really believe him or not is a matter of speculation. Robert Baer seems to think they do. Everything rests on Robert Baer, and Washington just won't do what he tells them needs to be done. It is time to be brought "in from the cold." He's gone over the edge, out of control, and control is what secret operations rely on most. He needs closer supervision. He needs to be watched. (Cf. the latter career of James J. Angleton.) His bosses order him back to the home office in Washington.
From there we get a phantasmagoria of life in the most unfathomable world imaginable, Washington, D.C. Robert Baer is out of his environment. He admittedly does not understand how it works. He is still "out in the field." He proceeds to engage this strange new world in the context of what he knows how to do. He runs into roadblocks wherever he turns. Why won't they listen to me?
In sum, read this book. Mr. Baer the author is a good writer and deserves a loyal audience for this and the other books he has written. For those interested in good-humored, adventurous spy stories, it is A-number-one. For those interested in the questionable practices and questionable values of unsupervised operators left to assume roles they should not, this is a perfect example of it.
Gary Berntsen, too, in his revelation, Jawbreaker, shows us another example of self-exaggerated importance among field people. Why does the CIA allow these people to publish and appear on television? In other recent histories written about these circumstances, nary a word is mentioned about the Gary Bernstsens' or Robert Baers's exploits. "Why won't they listen to me?" "I could've got Saddam Hussein." "I could've got Osama bin Laden." "If only I had two divisions of men with the will to cut off the arms of inoculated children ...." (Colonel Kurtz)
Maybe the operational side of the CIA should be abandoned. Maybe they are loose cannons. Maybe the CIA should be kept strictly to the business of gathering and analyzing information. Mr. Baer alludes to the establishment of FBI offices overseas. Maybe the CIA or at least its operational side should be folded into the FBI. There are just too many intelligence agencies. There is nothing central about the Central Intelligence Agency. There is not enough control. There are too many Robert Baers and Gary Berntsens out there doing too many things on their own.
I say all of this with all respect due to Robert Baer, Gary Berntsen, and those like them. As young men they enter into an adventurous world and ripen into the most sincere patriots one can find. They work hard and do good things. However, as mature men, they begin to think they know more than they do and that those with other responsibility know less. "Why don't they listen to us?" Why, indeed.
Book Description
The inspiring account of one man's campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti- American reaches of Asia
In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan's Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson's one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.
Award-winning journalist David Oliver Relin has collaborated on this spellbinding account of Mortenson's incredible accomplishments in a region where Americans are often feared and hated. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. But his success speaks for itself. At last count, his Central Asia Institute had built fifty-five schools. Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time.
Customer Reviews:
Nobel Quality.......2007-10-22
Greg Mortensen represents my America and he does so in vivid contrast to the politician's America that tolerates the corruption and misuse of foreign aid. This story is a must read for anyone who will ever pretend to have an opinion about how the United States of America should use its resources to make the world a better place to live.
Excellent Read.......2007-10-21
OK, so I'm an ex-Peace Corps Volunteer from the sixties; and I could be a trifle prejudiced. Regardless, this is an engrossing book. Greg Mortensen is, in many respects, Everyman. If it CAN be screwed up, ... he screws it up; but he "hangs in there" in extraordinary fashion - and works miracles. I think the guy is a perfect candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - and was inspired enough to contribute to his foundation.
Three Cups of Tea.......2007-10-21
I haven't heard a story this inspiring--ever! I have found my Christmas present for everyone high school age or over.
Three Cups of Tea Review.......2007-10-20
The account described in "Three Cups of Tea" was very effectively presented. The reader truly experiences the passion Mr. Mortenson feels about educating young people in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The narrative is convincing in its argument that only through education will we have a true opportunity to experience peace.
READ THIS BOOK TODAY!.......2007-10-20
As a little girl, my dad used to tell me there were only two things that I needed to do in this world. I needed to save my soul and I needed to make the world a better place for others to live. To this date i've been struggling with what this means and how I am to go about applying these principles in my day to day life. After reading this book I have never felt more inspired to take action. Greg Mortenson's story shows us how with vision and perseverance one can make a difference. It has the power to encourage you to do more, to question how little you've done to date and urges you to think globally and act now. This book should be mandatory reading and I will go above and beyond in recommending it to every single person I know. Without a doubt, the key to peace is sound education, in providing the opportunity of knowledge and encouraging children to think for themselves. There couldn't be a better book on the shelf today. READ THIS.
Book Description
One woman's story of why she left the culture of Islamic Jihad to support American liberty and tolerance
Why are so many Muslims embracing jihad and cheering for al-Qaeda and Hamas? Why are even the modern, secularized Arab states such as Egypt producing a generation of angry young extremists?
Nonie Darwish knows why. When she was eight, her father died while leading Fedayeen raids into Israel. Her family moved from Gaza back to Cairo, where they were honored as survivors of a “shahid”—a martyr for jihad. She grew up learning the same lessons as millions of Muslim children: to hate Jews, destroy Israel, oppose America, and submit to dictatorship.
But Darwish became increasingly appalled by the anger and hatred in her culture, and in 1978 she emigrated to America. Since 9/11 she has been lecturing and writing on behalf of moderate Arabs and Arab-Americans. Extremists have denounced her as an infidel and threatened her life.
In this fascinating book, she speaks out against the dark side of her native culture—women abused by Islamic traditions; the poor and uneducated mistreated by the elites; bribery and corruption as a way of life. Her former friends and neighbors blamed all the their troubles on Jews and Americans, but Darwish rejects their bigotry and calls for the Arab world to make peace with the West.
The only hope for the future, she writes, is for America to continue waging its War on Terror, seeding the Middle East with the values of democracy, respect for women, and tolerance for all religions.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome autobiography and cultural analysis.......2007-10-17
Now They Call Me Infidel is a gripping narrative of the author's journey from the upper echelons of Egyptian society to a staunch defender of the West. Like Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel, the book is part autobiography and part analysis of a severely dysfunctional culture. Unlike Ayaan, Darwish is not against the Muslim religion per se, focusing mainly on the destructive aspects of polygamy. This primitive practice harms women, men, the family and ultimately the whole culture.
She further examines the nature of modern Arab society showing how the ruling classes exploit religion in order to advance their oppressive agendas. Darwish confirms the existence of the pervasive Antisemitism that Hirsi Ali observed as a child in places like Saudi-Arabia. For examples of the Anti-Jewish hatred in the mainstream Arab press, please consult Peace: The Arabian Caricature of Anti-Semitic Imagery by Arieh Stav.
On a 2001 visit to Egypt, she noticed the illiteracy, anger and unemployment amongst ordinary people. They blame all of these problems on Israel, obviously brainwashed by the Egyptian media. There is a lack of self-criticism in Arab culture - a taboo against criticizing the family, religion or their leaders. But there's no denying that the constant drumbeat of propaganda against Israel and the USA emanates from, and has totally corrupted the educated segments of Egyptian society.
Observing how many Muslim immigrants do not appreciate Western values, the author warms against radicalism on campus and in mosques funded by petrodollars. Long ago she became aware of the two-faced behavior of Islamist radicals in the West: they speak soothing words to the clueless Western mass media whilst spewing forth hatred in their sermons and the Arab media. To Darwish, the terrorists are pirates who are intent on robbing Western democracies of their soul. She dismisses the misleading portrayal of Jihad as a "personal spiritual struggle," stating bluntly that it has always meant a religious holy war against non-Muslims.
There are many beautiful moments in the book, like her account of experiencing Christian worship for the first time, and her moving description of a visit to Israel and how it altered her perception of that brave little country. And this is the most important message of the book; for Nonie, the most valuable reward of moving to the USA was religious freedom and learning to love: "I had turned from a culture of hatred to one of love." May she be blessed.
Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America by Brigitte Gabriel
The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
The Force of Reason by Oriana Fallaci
Light in the Shadow of Jihad: The Struggle for Truth by Ravi Zacharias
Londonistan by Melanie Phillips
Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis Is America's Too by Claire Berlinski
Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left by David Horowitz
While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within by Bruce Bawer
An Informative Perspective.......2007-09-15
If you're like me, you might know very little about Mideastern culture and life. This book is a highly readable and personal account of one woman's life, experiences and views on Muslim culture. I'm enjoying it; she puts a "human face" on this part of the world and it's issues.
Eye-opening insights into the causes of Islamic extremism........2007-09-11
The author grew up in Egypt under Nasser's dictatorship, but later moved to America. Her father was an Egyptian military officer killed in Gaza by Israel because he organized raids to cause mayhem inside Israel. She reports on the problems in Egypt and Gaza, and on the government and religious propaganda which is polarizing the Islamic world to the point of Jihad. This is an eye-opening read, and it gives insight into how difficult it will be to ever correct this problem.
EXCELLENT BOOK.......2007-09-01
THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO TRULY UNDERSTAND HOW THE MIDDLE EAST FEALS ABOUT AMERICA AND WHY. NONIE DARWISH IS A VERY BRAVE WOMAN AND I THANK GOD SHE HAD THE GUTS TO WRITE THE TRUTH.
Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I renounced Jihad for America, Israel and the War on Terror.......2007-08-25
This is an excellen book for those seeking to understand Arab Muslim perspectives. The culture is based on a background, history and value system entirely foreign to our way of thinking. The author relates her life from early childhood, through her school years and early adulthood living first in Gaza then Cairo. She is from the upper middle class, the daughter of a high ranking military officer who is martyred. She describes what it is like to be a woman in the arab muslim world. She raises the issuesleading to a lack of trust both within the society and in relation to other societies. She discusses the inner thinking and the daily propaganda regarding Israel. She also gives important information on the Arab view of Palestines role in the conflict. She distinguishes between the radical Islamic movements and moderate Islam. She notes the purpose and intent of fundalmentalist Islam is the eventual overtaking the world. She discusses how this is being taken to countries throughout the world to bring about this change. We need to understand those with whom we are dealing. This is a book that is easy to read, direct and highly informative.
Customer Reviews:
A gripping story that tells itself........2007-10-19
Like other reviewers, I flew through this book very quickly. The story itself is gripping and tragic, and I appreciate the author's gritty honesty at the end as he deals with despair and many unanswered questions. I hope this book inspires and challenges many. However, throughout most of the book there is nothing special about the writing; the story seems to tell itself. This isn't a reason not to read the book, of course, but you might be disappointed if you are expecting a five star instant classic.
Great Book!.......2007-07-07
This book was not only exciting, it was also toucning and deeply moving. It also wasn't too "Christiany". It was an honest look at one man's faith and it didn't end like you want it to, but that's how life is. This was one of the best books I've read in a while.
An Honest Story.......2007-06-11
This is a well written recounting of a great adventure, an adventure that ends in tradjedy. While the majority of the book is the story preceeding the horrific events, it is the story that portrays life, adventure, and faith that doesn't look like typical cookie-cutter Christianity. It is filled with questions and real struggles...and this is how the story concludes with the terrorist events in Cairo. A gripping story, one that will challenge and comfort all at the same time. A very worthwhile read.
Unsettled.......2007-06-06
Many "Christian" books today offer too much of a formulaic approach while addressing popular topics such as "3 keys to become a better Christian"..."creating a more effective prayer life"...or even..."7 steps to realizing God's plan for your life". I am not pointing this out to say these types of books are wrong or bad. Rather, my intention is to contrast these with "The Only Road North". I recommend this book to anyone, like me, that has an easier time relating to real life examples. Erik's story will challenge you to seek Truth, and help you grow in ways only possible by asking the hard questions associated with tragic experiences. As a reader, I am left unsettled. Unsettled and asking questions that can only lead toward a greater understanding of God's Truth.
But, if you absolutely must follow a formula to seek truth in your own life, than try this...
1)read this book
2)imagine yourself in Erik's situation
3)allow yourself to become unsettled
4)ask tough questions
Moving.......2007-05-22
This is an excellent book that causes one to respond with wonder and action.
Book Description
My Year Inside Radical Islam is a memoir of first a spiritual and then a political seduction. Raised in liberal Ashland, Oregon, by parents who were Jewish by birth but dismissive of strict dogma, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross yearned for a religion that would suit all his ideals. At college in the late nineties he met a charismatic Muslim student who grounded his political activism with thoughtful religious conviction. Gartenstein-Ross reflects on his experience of converting to Islam-a process that began with a desire to connect with both a religious community and a spiritual practice, and eventually led him to sympathize with the most extreme interpretations of the faith, with the most radical political implications.
In the year following graduation, Gartenstein-Ross went to work for the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a charity dedicated to fostering Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia's austere form of Islam-a theological inspiration for many terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda. Shortly after he left al-Haramain-when his own fan-aticism had waned-the foundation was charged by the U.S. government as being a source of funds for terrorist organizations. Gartenstein-Ross, by this time a lawyer at a prominent firm, volunteered to be questioned by the FBI. They already knew who he was.
The story of how a good faith can be distorted and a decent soul can be seduced away from its principles, My Year Inside Radical Islam provides a rare glimpse into the personal interface between religion and politics.
Customer Reviews:
Liked Islam, then found Jesus.......2007-10-10
I thought this book was going to be great, because the first page was so interesting; but, with the exception of one or two compelling details about Islam, it was all downhill from there. College boy gets involved with Islam, then finds Jesus. Borrrrrrrrrr-ing. If you think you can take another "Why I Accepted Jesus Christ As My Personal Savior" monologue, go ahead and read it.
My Year Inside Radical Islam.......2007-10-01
"My Year Inside Radical Islam" is an autobiography of the author's spiritual journey from his upbringing in a liberal Jewish-hippy family, to his conversion to moderate Islam and subsequent movement into radical Islam, to his conversion to Christianity. I couldn't put it down. The book is fascinating and reads like a novel.
Radical Writing.......2007-08-03
It's seldom that one comes across such a ground-breaking book. I was very impressed at David's story, and how realistically he writes it. He completely captured the nuances of characters and conversations, and I felt like I was there in the room with him. Yes, he has an unfortunate tendency to telegraph his foreshadowing too much, in every chapter ending with a "little did I know". But this is outweighed by an amazing story, one that is simply too unbelievable to be true.
But I know it to be true from my studies of Islam. Everything he writes about I have come across in different degrees, in different Muslims. Further, David graduated from the same high school as me but five years later, and was part of the same debate team under Mr. Treadway, leading Ashland High to debate glory for two decades. It was simply amazing (and rather eery) to read about the town I spent so much time in, as David described a radical Islamist cell there, masquerading under the guise of peace, in the midst of Lithia Park, Immigrant Lake, and the South I-5 exit. (Though I'm not sure what he means by calling Amazon a "hippie town"- the liberal bastion of Southern Oregon, famed for it's arts and world-famous Shakespearean Festival.) I know David is speaking truth because I've been to the places he talks of, and I've met people just like those he worked with.
This story is a search for spiritual enlightenment, and a commentary on the brave new world we now live in. For all those who blindly reject Muslims without understanding where they're coming from, this book is a must-read. For all those who think Islam is a religion of peace, because some Imam has once told them that name of the religion means "peace"- this book is for you. If you want to be enlightened by someone who has lived the dream and the nightmare of radical Protestant Islam, of someone who has the bravery, integrity, and the authority to speak on the subject, you have come to the write book.
Not So Much Inside as On the Fringes.......2007-05-03
It is more accurate to characterize this as a memoir of the author's flirtation with radical Islam: a flirtation that burgeoned over the course of a year or so but really blossomed only for the three months he worked for an Ashland foundation dedicated to the spread of Wahhabism. The book starts with the author recounting a New Age spiritual upbringing dedicated more to seeking spiritual fulfillment than to living with answers once they're found. When he drifts into Islam, he finds himself drawn to the idea of an end to the quest for answers: the more fundamentalists he hangs out with, the more decisions he finds God has already made for him. But as he competes with his co-religionists for the honor of being considered the most orthodox, he finds his increasingly rigid life and attitudes at odds with his freewheeling and liberal upbringing. He begins drifting away from the fundamentalist life as soon as he leaves employment at the foundation. Eventually he converts to Christianity.
This book is most useful as a candid autobiography of one man's spiritual quest and the dead end it nearly reached in fundamentalism. The author describes the increasing conservatism of his mindset during his weeks at the foundation with objectivity and plausibility. As the author remarks, this mindset is important to understand, because it contradicts both liberal and conservative dogma about what motivates America's Islamist enemies.
But those who hope for a real look "inside radical Islam" will be disappointed, as this is much more a personal account than a journalistic one. For the real "inside" of radical Islam, we would have to look substantially farther east than the liberal enclave of Ashland, Oregon. The title oversells the book, but it is a quick read and besides its value as the account of one callow youth's spiritual journey, it will be useful to any reader with traditional assumptions about why the Islamists fight.
How to make "radical" Islam boring in 280 agonizing pages.......2007-04-27
Don't bother with this one, there are about 8000 other better books about Islam. Gartenstein-Ross is a terrible writer who uses lame shortcuts and hackneyed techniques that would earn him a D- in English 101 at any junior college. On top of that, his story is unremarkable. His ties to "radical Islam" are weak and insignificant, and the bulk of the book is dedicated to him whining about the unbearable distress of a faith-hopping Ashland trustafarian. At any other point in history, this lifeless story never would have made it out of Gartenstein-Ross's diary.
Average customer rating:
- Yeah, coolest book ever.
- Books 1 & 2 are spectacular, but the rest are forgettable
- Awesome!!! If you're into that sort of thing
- I CANNOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!
- Richard Marcinko is my hero!
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Rogue Warrior
Richard Marcinko
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ASIN: 0671795937 |
Book Description
A brilliant virtuoso of violence, Richard Marcinko rose through Navy ranks to create and command one of this country's most elite and classified counterterrorist units, SEAL TEAM SIX. Now this thirty-year veteran recounts the secret missions and Special Warfare madness of his worldwide military career -- and the riveting truth about the top-secret Navy SEALs.
Marcinko was almost inhumanly tough, and proved it on hair-raising missions across Vietnam and a war-torn world: blowing up supply junks, charging through minefields, jumping at 19,000 feet with a chute that wouldn't open, fighting hand-to-hand in a hellhole
jungle. For the Pentagon, he organized the Navy's first counterterrorist unit: the legendary SEAL TEAM SIX, which went on classified missions from Central America to the Middle East, the North Sea, Africa and beyond.
Then Marcinko was tapped to create Red Cell, a dirty-dozen team of the military's most accomplished and decorated counterterrorists. Their unbelievable job was to test the defenses of the Navy's most secure facilities and installations. The result was predictable: all hell broke loose.
Here is the hero who saw beyond the blood to ultimate justice -- and the decorated warrior who became such a maverick that the Navy brass wanted his head on a pole, and for a time, got it. Richard Marcinko -- ROGUE WARRIOR.
Customer Reviews:
Yeah, coolest book ever........2007-10-03
Rogue Warrior is by far one of the best auto-biographies I have ever read, Commander Richard Marcinko is a hero, and a patriot by any definition of either word. He is the reason our enemies fear us. Once you read this book you will be wondering why our government doesn't have him as the commander of the joint cheifs of staff.
Books 1 & 2 are spectacular, but the rest are forgettable.......2007-08-20
Series review: Rogue Warrior [Written Mar 2005]
Last I checked, there are 9 books in this series:
1. Rogue Warrior (Autobiography)
2. Rogue Warrior: Red Cell (Autobiography)
3. Rogue Warrior: Green Team (Fiction)
4. Rogue Warrior: Task Force Blue (Fiction)
5. Rogue Warrior: Designation Gold (Fiction)
6. Rogue Warrior: Seal Force Alpha (Fiction)
7. Rogue Warrior: The Real Team (Quasi-Fiction)
8. Rogue Warrior: Option Delta (Fiction)
9. Rogue Warrior: Echo Platoon (Fiction)
Books one and two are autobiographical (about Richard Marcinko's career as commander of a US Navy Seal Team). Book 1 details his transformation of Seal 6 into an elite counter-terrorist unit. Book 2 details his formation of "Red Cell", which was used (in real life) to test the security at various US Military installations. Red Cell was a smashing success, but it was a pyrrhic victory that ultimately resulted in total failure ... mostly because Marcinko was his own worst enemy. He did his job too well, and (unwisely) took unholy glee in flouting authority and humiliating upper brass in the process ... and he paid the price for it ... and we, as a nation, paid the price for ignoring the results of Operation Red Cell, when terrorists, using exactly the sort of unconventional tactics Marcinko used, destroyed the WTC on 9/11. In hind sight, it's one big, fat, ugly "I TOLD YO SO", written before the actual fact.
Ok, moving right along. In book 3, the co-authors (and co-author) suddenly switch gears to FICTION, and stay there for the rest of the series.
My impression: Books 1 and 2 are excellent, high-intensity reading ... offering an insider's look into how Marcinko transformed Seal 6 into one of the most elite counter terrorist units in the world, and how he later was tasked with forming Red Cell, to test US Military Security at installations around the world. His findings at the time, many of which were not acted on by the higher ups in the pentagon, later became prophetic on Sept 11, 2001, when terrorists using exactly the sort of unconventional tactics Marcinko wrote about, destroyed the WTC.
As for books 3-9 ... MEDIOCRE PAP. Marcinko's autobiographical books are spectacular, but his fiction offerings rapidly parachute into a trite, repetative and self-hyping free fire zone. If you read one, you've read them all.
My advice is to read the first 2 books, and then resist the overpowering urge to buy more ... you're not really missing anything, because the author (after leaving his autobiographical home turf) quickly transforms himself from a decorated, innovative and truly scary ex-commando who served his nation well into a hack writer, relying on past glories for creative fictional fodder.
Books 1 & 2 are highly recommended, but the rest of the series is entirely forgettable.
Awesome!!! If you're into that sort of thing.......2007-08-18
Rogue Warrior is an amazing account of the physical and mental toughness of Navy SEALs. I read the book in less than 2 days and was upset when I finished. If you are in the mood for a fast paced, action packed black ops story, this is the book for you.
However...
If you would like to read an excellent piece of literature, please look some place else. Rogue Warrior is the equivalent of a Danielle Steele novel for men. Dick Marcinko brags incessantly about his military and romantic conquests, which becomes tiresome (no matter how well deserved it is). This is a fun read, no more, no less.
WARNING!
Steer clear of the other novels in the Rogue Warrior series! Marcinko found success with this edition and simply repeated the formula time and time again. If you continue with the books, it will get old and sour you on Demo Dick.
I CANNOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!.......2007-07-22
This is one of the most captivating books I have ever read. From the very beginning to the very end I was hooked. I could not wait to come home from work just so that i can keep reading and find out what happens next. I highly recommend this book to anybody who is interested in Military, SpecOps. A "must have" for any military book collection.
As for those who comment on how macho and egotistical Marcinko is... They have never been in the Military. If they were they were probably had a desk job. As a former Marine myself, I can tell you that most infantry units are just like Marcinko. They have huge egos. They have to! Im just glad Marcinko is on our side!!
GET THIS BOOK!!!!!
Richard Marcinko is my hero!.......2007-05-21
If you like real combat reading then you'll love this book. This is the first book in a long line of the Rogue Warrior series. You must start with this book, then you'll read the rest as fast as you get them. I couldn't put the book down. I have read all his books in sequential order and they are by-far the best written of this genre. He writes from real experience and real situations. The names and places have been changed for obvious reasons, but its REAL. I HIGHLY recommend this book and the rest of the series!!!
Book Description
Craig Murray was the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan until he was removed from his post in October 2004 after exposing appalling human rights abuses by the US-funded regime of President Islam Karimov. In this candid and at times shocking memoir, he lays bare the dark and dirty underside of the War on Terror.
In Uzbekistan, the land of Alexander the Great and Tamburlaine, lurks one of the most hideous tyrannies on earth – one founded on cotton slavery and brutal torture. As neighbouring 'liberated’ Afghanistan produces record levels of heroin, the Uzbek rulers cash in on massive trafficking. They are even involved in trafficking their own women to prostitution in the West. But this did not prevent Karimov being viewed as a key US ally in the War on Terror.
When Craig Murray arrived in Uzbekistan, he was a young Ambassador with a brilliant career and a taste for whisky and women. But after hearing accounts of dissident prisoners being boiled to death and innocent people being raped and murdered by agents of the state, he started to question both his role and that of his country in so-called 'democratising’ states.
When Murray decided to go public with his shocking findings, Washington and 10 Downing Street reached the conclusion that he had to go. But Uzbekistan had changed the high-living diplomat and there was no way he was going to go quietly.
Customer Reviews:
Buyer Beware.......2006-12-31
I note that the favorable reviews of this book, both on Amazon and on the book cover, seem to come from people already convinced that Murray is a victim and a hero and that Uzbekistan (and the United States) are evil.
I don't know whether what Murray alleges can be taken fully or partially at face value or should be rejected outright. I do think he has a point of view that should be heard. A few points for the debate, however:
1. This is a poorly, probably hastily written and edited book which is sloppy and contains internal inconsistencies.
In spite of the bad writing it is highly entertaining (and disturbing) to read.
2. This is clearly written to justify and promote the author--nothing wrong with that, especially if he his telling the truth. But it's worth keeping in mind that there are multiple points of view here
3. He is clearly very disingenuous about his motivation and the evolution of his thinking, even if the rest of his allegations are true: a close reading reveals a bias against both the Karimov regime and the US before he ever reached the country.
4. He has a deep-seated anti-Americanism that goes far beyond a normal European hatred of President Bush or doubt about the Iraq war--in fact, he criticizes the British government for standing firm with the USA after 9/11--on the grounds that the US did not enter WWII until it was attacked itself. This doesn't mean what he says is untrue--but it does suggest he had at least a strong point of view before the events in the book unfold.
5. At various times in the book he accuses the same US officials of a) being totally complicit with the Uzbek regime and b) being totally naive in believing that the regime was reforming. One of these allegations might be true. Both are highly unlikely.
6. While the allegations of the horrors of the Karimov regime ring true, his explanation of the campaign against him starts to wander into the real of highly implausible conspiracy theory: a phone call from the White House to London asking his removal sounds possible. A campaign by (who?) to set him up for the variety of allegations...a poisoning? If we were really all that bad, wouldn't it have just been easier to have him shot?
7. For a diplomat, Murray shows a surprisingly simplistic view of diplomatic policy and priorities. The air base the U.S. was using in Uzbekistan--which he argued was so vital that we were "backing" the regime--was subsequently abandoned, after Murray's time, with little or no consequence on the war on terror.
8. While his descriptions of his highly immoral personal behavior might serve to lend a further air of truth...the fact remains that he is a self-confessed serial adulterer and very heavy drinker. A man with a family who had a time consuming job but chose to spend his free time in strip clubs...none of this means he's lying...but it does, at least in my mind, make it plausible that he may not have totally come clean. He deceived his wife for decades, but he wouldn't deceive us?
Look, this is a fascinating story--I would just counsel that it be read with a healthy amount of skepticism given the source. And that the author not be awarded hero status just because of the enemies he picked...
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.......2006-07-13
Allegations of visas in exchange for sex against a British ambassador to some ex-Soviet republic; subsequently cleared on all counts but forced out nonetheless. Like many in Britain that was all that really remained in my memory of the lurid headlines and media reports of a year or so ago - and life carried on.
Anyone for whom that rings bells owes it to themselves to read this book, as does anyone wondering about the true nature of the West's so called 'War on Terror'. It is deeply disturbing on two levels:
1. It documents the appalling nature of the 20 year Uzbek Regime of Islam Karimov. A regime which spans the pre and post-to-date Soviet era. Not in some dry academic fashion either but through the exploits of the Ambassador who, at considerable risk to his own safety, intervened in numerous cases of offical brutality. The reader is left in no doubt that the Karimov regime of Uzbekistan is on a par with the very worst of the worlds self-serving and brutal dictatorships. It was during this period that controversy about US/UK willingness to 'make use of evidence obtained under torture' and US so called 'rendition flights' became public. The ambassador reported that any such 'evidence' from Uzbekistan was useless since the regime was simply in the business of forcing 'dissidents to confirm what the regime wanted the West to hear. His reports were unwelcome.
2. To have the true nature of one the then principal strategic allies in the West's 'War on Terror' exposed to scrutiny was judged by the Foreign Office top brass to be (euphemistically) 'counterproductive'. In spite of him having overwhelming support from human rights organisations and the Ex-Pat British business community, not to mention achieving more genuine influence with the Karimov regime than any of his predecessors, he had to be stopped. The methods employed to stop him were the inspiration of those headlines which hid a myriad of other kafkaesque stratagems . They bring shame on both the British government and the upper echelons of a politicised civil service which even now is doing all it can to prevent both the sale of this book and publication of documents which prove its authenticity.
A Diplomat Tells the Truth for His Country.......2006-07-11
Few of us have done battle with a murderous dictator. "Murder in Samarkand" tells how a British Ambassador did so and survived, only to be stabbed in the back by his own Prime Minister. Tony Blair ignored diplomatic advice if it complicated his relations with George W. Bush. How the British Foreign Office tried but failed to dismiss Ambassador Murray for invented disciplinary offences is an individual tale of injustice. However, the gripping core of this story is of a young and studious Ambassador driven to take absurd risks in remote parts of Uzbekistan as he builds up a dossier of incontrovertible brutalities by his host government. Those who try to obstruct him find this experienced and slightly overweight scholar is no patsy. He disputes the lies of petty bureaucrats. He storms into a corrupt procurator's office and dismisses him as a criminal - a risky way to use an Ambassador's "full and plenipotentiary" powers. But it works. The bully is exposed as a coward in front of those he has bullied. There is even a snow-shrouded chase with President Karimov's goons in pursuit - no wonder film rights are under discussion.
The shocking part of this story - narrated with skill and honesty - is that, at heart, much of the British Foreign Office valued Ambassador Murray's reporting from his Embassy in Tashkent. Dealing with human rights abuses is never easy. Murray knew his way around the policy heavyweights at home well enough to make sure that a controversial speech critical of Uzbekistan had support from the human rights desks. But when the White House complained to Tony Blair and he passed this down the line, spines crumpled - from Foreign Secretary Jack Straw down. This book shows how diplomats can bring shame or honor to their country. There is a simple lesson for Tony Blair (and George Bush) to learn. If you ask diplomats who are trained to report truthfully, to tell lies, the lasting problems will come from the ones who obey you, not the ones who stick to their professional calling.
Book Description
The riveting, action-packed true story of the first soldier to challenge the war in Iraq.
As a 1st Lieutenant and Infantry Platoon Leader for the U.S. Army, charged with leading 38 young men in Iraq, Paul Rieckhoff was proud to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who served during Vietnam and WWII respectively. He and his soldiers spent almost a year in one of the most dangerous and volatile areas of Baghdad. And what they encountered there was chaos: not nearly enough troops, no humanitarian aid, no body armor, no radios, and no real plan for what to do after Baghdad fell.
Rieckhoff was shocked to see that sometimes the greatest challenges his platoon faced did not come from enemy combatants. He saw fi rsthand the disastrous results of disbanding the Iraqi army, sending thousands of armed, angry, and unemployed men out into the streets. And he saw what happened when we tried to conduct a war on the cheap, by bestowing government contracts to the lowest bidder and sending our military into battle inadequately protected and armed. What followed, over the next ten months, set him on a course that would forever change his life.
When he fi nally came home from his tour of duty, Rieckhoff vowed to tell Americans the truth about what was going on in Iraq. He demanded accountability from elected officials and was the first Iraq veteran to do so publicly. He created Operation Truth, the first and largest veterans' group specifically for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through this organization, he has become a leading spokesman for troops, veterans, and their families, and a critical voice in the ongoing debate surrounding this conflict.
What is really happening in Iraq? Should we be there? Should we stay? Rieckhoff is in a unique position to answer these crucial questions. Not only was he on the ground in the heat of battle but he is also on the front lines politically at home. He provides a grunt's-eye view of the harrowing, bloody battles on the streets of Baghdad and a patriot's vision of where America has gone wrong and how it can reset its path.
Customer Reviews:
Honesty will get you nowhere.......2007-10-14
I had a hard time putting this book down. Sure, we are getting bombarded with Iraq War memoirs and most are worthy of a glance, but this one, with its predictable end, still is one of the better ones. I have not heard of one person who spoke galiantly of Paul Bremer (except for GWB) and this author is no exception. What he endured is embarrassing for the military and the people who were all for this war in the end.
From armcahir warriors in the rear to high-ranking officers behind air-conditioned offices safely protected by SCUD bunkers and the like, this book gives a very good perspective of the army in 2003, Baghdad in 2003 and the general feelings of the Iraqis at the time. This book is not perfect, though (sometimes the pages are filled with anger and malice). But I grant the author that because he risked his life and the life of his platoon to carry out his mission. He has the right to feel the way he does, and I respect him for that. I'd rather read an honest portrayal about a war than an embellished report written with an agenda in mind.
Still, it makes one wonder how we can ever succeed in Iraq with the things described in this book. I finished it wondering if the officers were for this war to get their careers punched; in 2003 many thought the war would take three to nine months. Three months into the war, that view no longer existed. The author made a point throughout the book to remind us of the senselessness of this operation. This book is definitely not a book found in a recruiting office.
A book befitting our time.......2007-09-21
The J Affect
Paul Rieckoff is a true patriot. His book, Chasing Ghosts, shows a soldier amidst the chaos of war and puts the reader as close to the front lines in the war on terror as you can be without being there. As we sit back home, comfortable in our easy chair and watch the news, we see stories second and third hand concerning the war. Paul places the reader with his troop, giving a remarkable, educated, and honest recall of the war from the front. When we hear a story, briefly describing the latest guffaws and blunders from our leadership who never served, Paul gives us the direct affect it has on the soldiers on the front lines of this unique battle as well as what affect it may have in the near future back home. While reading, you have to wonder what might happen if all our soldiers were his equal. From his pre-war training, through his time on the battlefield of Baghdad, to his reaction upon returning home, Paul keeps his story open, without political agenda. His only agenda is for the accountability of leadership and the ability to recognize what supporting our troops really means. His arrogance is delightful. His prose keep his story moving well. This is a good recommendation to anyone watching the flapping heads on television and want to know the real story from the front.
Chasing Ghosts-Not enough stars to accurately rate this one.......2007-09-19
Incredibly written. One of thew best books I've read in years. Whether you are for or against the war, you leave this book with a whole new respect for the men and women that have put their lives on ther line for us!
Reviewed by John D. Merrill.......2007-08-21
Chasing ghosts is the recounting of the first fourteen months of the US invasion of Iraq and the personal results of one soldier's life. Running chronologically, the book describes the expectations of this skeptic and how his sense of purpose in the invasion was tenuous to begin with and waned when the reports of WMDs were not valid and there was not clear way out once Saddam fell.
Paul continues with the growing insurgency and the bonds of American soldiers who were fighting them. He outlines the policy ideas and changes that directly affect the troops on the ground. He describes the experiences with the invasion and how their roles turn to peacekeepers and police for the volatile parts of Iraq. He was clear to include the specific details of when his company and platoon first noticed organized insurgency and when the first one of his company was killed by insurgents. Paul describes the high tensions of keeping the peace, dealing with thieves and opportunists, and worst of all; the American Media. He wraps up his time in Iraq with recounting his, self-described, movie like departure from Iraq.
Once out of Iraq, his story continues in his quest to be heard about his concerns for the troops in Iraq and America in general. He describes the problems for soldiers returning home. One of his friends from Iraq had returned home and suffered from post traumatic stress and after he had returned home had gone missing. Paul's frustrations were not from post-war trauma as much as the posturing and politics behind the home front. He makes it clear that the power that be in Washington, both Republican and Democrat, have show their interests in the welfare of the troops are more lip-service than anything else. He begins to speak on behalf of the servicemen he considers family. Much like his tour in Iraq, he chronicles his progress working with "Operation Truth," the non-profit organization for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans. He has spoken to the President and several Senators, including Kerry and Clinton. He is trying to be heard and in this book he gets his message across.
An adept glimpse of the myth of war.......2007-08-19
Rieckoff has captured the spirit of urban combat and humanizes the humanitarian ideals of American forces and Iraqis alike with his heartfelt memoir. His work is an important addition to a reader's understanding of an environment laced with ideological undertones which combine religion, politics, ethics and morality. Distant observers of a little understood war will gain an insider's view of horrific events, yet not be overly subjected to gory details. When the last page is read, the real costs of war will be better understood, and this will lead to knowing why it is important to support our troops abroad and at home. As a Vietnam vet, I can relate to the writer's views. I salute him and the men he led during their deployment.
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