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The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs

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Now I know
An insightful analysis for those who take a deep interest in American foreign policy
The Choir will nod, but how about others?
Easy to read book on a deep subject
Fascinating, but frustrating

The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs
Madeleine Albright
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis

ASIN: 0060892587
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Book Description

Does America, as George W. Bush has proclaimed, have a special mission, derived from God, to bring liberty and democracy to the world? How much influence does the Christian right have over U.S. foreign policy? And how should America deal with violent Islamist extremists?

Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state and bestselling author of Madam Secretary, offers a thoughtful and often surprising look at the role of religion in shaping America's approach to the world. Drawing upon her experiences while in office and her own deepest beliefs about morality, the United States, and the present state of world affairs, a woman noted for plain speaking offers her thoughts about the most controversial topics of our time.

Customer Reviews:

Now I know.......2007-05-19

This is a great history of the Middle East and it's troubles (for all of us).
It's even better at giving us some ideas and hopes for solutions. We all need to think about these things and begin to change the way we act. Remember, most Arabs are not terrorists and wish to live in peace just as we do.
Read Learn Remember!

An insightful analysis for those who take a deep interest in American foreign policy.......2007-05-13

For the record and pertinency, I am a conservative centrist. I am not nor have I ever been either a Democrat or a Republican. This is the 4th in a series of books written by former SecStates, two by Mr. Baker and two by Ms. Albright. I find them all intriguing in their own way. This text, "The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs," brings into focus the realities of the world from the world's perspective, how American actions are perceived by the world, and the direction America can and must take to rebuild that which as been lost. What sets this work apart is the analysis of the relationships among people from secular, cultural, and religious perspectives as they are interwoven in various patterns around the world. It is a refreshing book which I fully expect will have increasing relevance as we make the transition from the current to the future administration. I strongly endorse Ms. Albright's most recent book for anyone who takes a deep interest in American foreign policy.

The Choir will nod, but how about others?.......2007-05-04

Madam Albright's thoughts would definitely resonate well with those who see the world as a complicated place with multiple faiths mingled in complex ideologies that some times take the wrong turns and become extreme. But how many of those who think "other" ideologies are "bad" would get this message? Will Al-Qaeda get it? Will President Bush get it? Unfortunately we have two camps in this world with "extreme" ideologies that think "my god" is better than "your god".

Unless until we realize that ideologies are so complex that people cannot be "forced" to adopt a new path, we will never make this earth a better place to live.

I'm in the choir with Madam Albright and nodding, but I doubt those who ought to be in the choir are not even reading this comment, let alone the book.

America Misunderstood: What a Second Bush Victory Meant to the Rest of the World

Easy to read book on a deep subject.......2007-05-03

In this day and age of partisanship I found this book to be a refreshing change. I've read some of the reviews and I guess when you are talking religion and politics that you will step on peoples toes. They want you to agree with them and attack the other side. I felt this book walked the line pretty well giving both sides praise and criticism. She is a Democrat after all and may give her side a sleight edge.
The first section of the book speaks mainly to diplomacy and her views as to how it should be done using examples from history. How and why we did things right and why some of the things we did went wrong. It gave me more in site into areas like Vietnam, Bosnia and Kosovo.
The real value of the book begins in the second section with her depth of understanding of foreign policy and Islamic Nations in particular. Madeleine Albright starts out by describing the history and beliefs of the Islamic faith. For those of you who haven't read anything about Islam you may be surprised how close it is to Christianity. She also covers some aspects of what is written in the Quran as well as the difference between Shiites and Sunni beliefs. She also covers how the Kurds fit in all of this. While this is a very deep subject she keeps it interesting and understandable.
To give a better understanding of the Middle-East situation she then covers the area country by country and how the Muslim faith affects each in their decision making. She also mentions the effect of the Muslim faith in Europe and the United States. The book wouldn't be complete without covering Al Qaeda and terrorism and it does a very good job explaining the problem.
If you are looking for a book with all the answers or to agree with one side or the other this isn't the one but if you want an easy to read book to give you a better understanding of some of the problems this is an excellent book.

Fascinating, but frustrating.......2007-04-08

Like her memoir, Albright shows herself to be as good of a writer as she is a statesman. She speaks the truth here about many things regarding world policy and religion as well as the missteps of the current administration. The frustrating thing about this book is that its really written to the choir. I nodded my head often - and realized that the people who should read this book never will. So read this book then loan it to someone who still doesn't get it.

Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude

Average customer rating:

Required Reading For All Voters
A great overview of shared corruption
Compelling non-fiction
This book will be out of date soon...
Sleeping with the Devel

Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
Robert Baer
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400052688
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Amazon.com

According to Robert Baer, the center of the global economy is a "kingdom built on thievery, one that nurtures terrorism, destroys any possibility of a middle class based on property rights, and promotes slavery and prostitution." This kingdom also sits on one quarter of the world's oil reserves, thus ensuring that it receives the full support and protection of the U.S. government. Sleeping With the Devil details the hypocritical and corrupt relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and the potentially calamitous economic consequences of maintaining this Faustian bargain.

As Baer makes clear, the U.S. has been aware of problems within the bitterly divided Al Sa'ud family for years, but has ignored the facts in order to keep lucrative business deals afloat. (The amount of money the royal family spends to influence powerful American politicians and lobbyists is staggering.) Particularly damning are his details regarding Saudi Arabia's support of militant Islamic groups, including al Qaeda. The ruling family funnels millions of dollars to such groups in order to dissuade them from overthrowing the monarchy--a protection scheme that is shaky at best, given the hatred most citizens feel for the ruling family. To prevent economic disaster that could come from either a local uprising or an interruption in the flow of oil due to terrorism, Baer raises the possibility of the U.S. seizing the Saudi oil fields and forcing a regime change on its own terms: "An invasion and a revolution might be the only things that can save the industrial West from a prolonged, wrenching depression," he warns.

Baer spent 21 years with the CIA, much of it in the Middle East, so he is an informed guide to this complex subject. His alarming book deserves to be read for raising many important and troubling questions. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

“Saudi Arabia is more and more an irrational state—a place that spawns global terrorism even as it succumbs to an ancient and deeply seated isolationism, a kingdom led by a royal family that can’t get out of the way of its own greed. Is this the fulcrum we want the global economy to balance on?”

In his explosive New York Times bestseller, See No Evil, former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA’s efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government’s cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America’s dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism.

For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a “harmony of interests.” America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom’s vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa’ud family. But the rot at the core of our “friendship” with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens.

In Sleeping with the Devil, Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa’ud’s culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa’ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups—an end game just waiting to play out.

Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi Arabia: to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa’ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand—and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa’ud’s money—we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.

From the Hardcover edition.

Download Description

Saudi Arabia is more and more an irrational state -- a place that spawns global terrorism even as it succumbs to an ancient and deeply seated isolationism, a kingdom led by a royal family that can't get out of the way of its own greed. Is this the fulcrum we want the global economy to balance on?"

In his explosive New York Times bestseller, See No Evil, former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA's efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government's cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America's dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism.

For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a "harmony of interests." America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom's vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa'ud family. But the rot at the core of our "friendship" with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens.

In Sleeping with the Devil, Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa'ud's culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa'ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups -- an end game just waiting to play out.

Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi Arabia: to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa'ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand -- and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa'ud's money -- we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.

Customer Reviews:

Required Reading For All Voters.......2007-06-24

Sleeping with the Devil is written from Baer's own perspective as an intell and ex-intell officer. After having read portions of some academic books on this subject, this is one of the easiest and most compelling reads you're going to get on it, exactly because it approaches it from a personal standpoint of emotional reactions upon acquiring each bit of information. He is clearly not happy about the conclusions this information forces him to, but trudges on for the sake of truth and possible solutions.

What's the gist of this book? The U.S. political system, our intelligence & counterintelligence apparatus, the energy economy, the defense industry, and policy towards the Middle East are sinfully broken. Our officials have increased their standard of living and that of their friends by consorting with oil Arabs. Those Arabs have made huge defense contracts they cannot afford that fill U.S. elites' pockets. They also pump as much oil as possible to drive prices down to keep these U.S. officials elected.

The same Arabs are surrounded by radicals who want to overthrow them, so they fund them but force the terrorists overseas to funnel their hatred towards the West. All this time, the said wealthy Arabs are taking bribes and skimming off the top in order to live a life of debauchery, thus inciting even more fundamentalists inside their own country to hate them, causing an even greater need to appease them with more funds and push them out of the country towards us.

The United States has manipulated its way into getting our troops into the region in order to ensure this status quo. A concerted and bipartisan effort has been made to use the FBI and other agencies to help dissuade investigation of our Arab allies and help quiet descent. Americans are dying, the common Arab is poor and oppressed, but U.S. and Arab elites are staying influential and getting rich off it.

There is much, much more to it, but you need to read it for yourself. I will tell you the conclusions are not pretty. The United States is facing a crisis. We have political powers who are keeping information classified for the purpose of, at the worst, covering up corruption, or at the very least, severe impropriety in both southwestern Arabia and back home. The solutions suggested by Baer were self-reform by the politicians and corporate big-wigs, and, brace yourself, an outright invasion of a 400 mile stretch of oil real estate that includes Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

While the self-reform was always unlikely, the invasion was not. However, it is a downright impossibility now. If we did, Muslims everywhere would turn against us, not just ideologically, but in a material sense. A third invasion of an Arab country, especially the one with the two most holy of Islam's sites, would not go well in light of the disaster in Iraq. It doesn't matter how sparsely populated that 400 mile stretch is. Furthermore, the American elites would have to be complicit in something they have a vested interest in preventing. Without the Sheikhs and Saudi royalty in the loop, the current scheme would dissolve. It'd be great for the average American and Arab, but if the politicians didn't have an incentive to stop this before, they don't have one now. They'll just keep milking this until the bitter end.

But the bitter end is coming whether we like it or not. The House of Saud will fall. Oil prices will rocket. The American economy will tank. We do not have the oil the public seems to think we have. We are not a Russia. China is a non-issue. They are a dependent and have almost no internal energy production infrastructure. Whoever needs cheep, cut-throat goods, they'll do business with. Russia, on the other hand, has enormous reserves and has the potential to regain its status in such a scenario.

So we can't invade that 400 mile strip. The politicians won't reform. There will be no required alliance with the Shiites, as shown with all the rhetoric towards Iran. And the inevitable is on the way. What do we have left? I would posit that the only solution left is to bring 'em home...all of them. It's unfortunate. I hate having to say this. However, it's clear the USA needs to protect our boarders, ports, and airports and hunker down. All the money we save from halting further major military exploits should be pumped into pure electric cars, fission nuclear power plants, and fusion nuclear power research. Domestically-produced oil products should be used only for heavy machinery, aircraft, and smaller machines like lawn mowers.

I do not think this is a similar situation to Japan at the end of WWII. They kept their emperor, police, and enough of their infrastructure to meet the basic necessities of life and prevent civil unrest. The Japanese government was part of the transfer. Iraq is almost complete anarchy. At this point, we are a distraction. The Sunnis and Shia should be fighting against Al Queda, not against us. They'll fight against each other regardless of what we do because we are not willing to commit the war crimes necessary to bring them under control...thank God. Someone else will fill that role. He'll likely be another Sunni, because a Shiite leader would have no reason not to just exterminate the minority.

Stopping terrorism should be a law enforcement and intelligence mission, with the military playing only a support role. The purpose of the U.S. military is to defend us, not invade countries and idiotically attempt to force democracy on people. Remember, it's "of the people, by the people", not "of a foreign nation, and by a foreign nation". This new fixation on counterinsurgency is a sickness that will ruin the military culture and rot its strategic defense capabilities from the inside out. Baer's correct that forcing democracy in the region will only cause more problems, but military action there of any kind is now outdated.

I fear that none of what we say matters, though. Those in power will keep exploiting this situation until the end. And when the crash occurs, they'll be the ones least affected. The rich Arabs will have their resorts and prostitutes, the Americans will have their seats on various corporate boards and lucrative speaking engagements. It doesn't even matter whether they're an exile from their kingdom, scapegoat, or red herring whistleblower. They'll all be taken care of.

Then again, maybe that's the best solution after all. If you just keep letting enough Americans die, the terrorists will avoid overthrowing their own governments and the rest of us will continue getting our cheap oil. Since the politicians are most likely to do exactly that, I am crossing my fingers that these deaths happen only in overseas war zones and not back here...and no one I know or love. I suppose the Bush mantra of "If we don't fight them over there we'll be fighting them at home" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Isn't it nice to know that doing your part comes down to nothing more than crossing your fingers?

A great overview of shared corruption.......2007-06-13

Robert Baer has a very easy style and good anecdotes, which is helpful when entering the briar-patch of financial back-scratching relationships between US corporate leaders and politicians (all of them), with Saudi royals and businessmen, and the trickle-down of money and protection to terrorists.

Other (newer) books examine some of the specific relationships more extensively, and where Baer suggests possible unhealthy connections, he's usually understating the reality. What his book paints far more vividly than any of the others is the pervasiveness and severity of the ethical rot at the very core of both our government, and the Saudi government.

In 'See No Evil' he lambasted the Clinton White House for selling our security and our foreign policy for oil largesse -- in this book he has realized that the Bush WH is at least as bad, if not worse, and indeed all the administrations since Nixon have been up to their eyeballs in totally bipartisan oil-for-US policy trades. AIPAC can only dream.

He does have one oddly naive aspect, it seems to me -- he talks as if we introduced corruption to the Saudis. Perhaps he hangs on to the romantic fantasy of the Bedouin, but bribery, plundering, extortion and graft were part of the Arab tribal warlord culture for a thousand years before we showed up, and still is. Look at Arafat, Asad, Hariri, Mubarak, the Shah, Saddam -- we didn't teach the Arabs anything about corruption except more sophisticated banking and money-laundering techniques -- which, btw, they are now much better at than we are. If we hadn't been there, the French, Germans, Russians, or Brits would have gleefully wallowed in the same obscene level of corruption.

He makes an important point in his two non-fiction books that al Qaeda is essentially a PR front, something that gives name/face recognition to a truly vast, loose network of 'franchises.' They are all derived from and guided by the subtle, incredibly dangerous Muslim Brotherhood, which is funded by the Gulf States. AQ and Hamas are the above-ground mushrooms; MB is the vast subterranean web. The Sunni MB at times has worked very closely with Shia Iran, which directly runs Hizbullah, a group I think Baer underestimates somewhat as to global terrorist influence and impact.

Compelling non-fiction.......2007-05-21

Mr. Baer gives a very readable account of the ties that form an almost incestuous U.S. - Saudi relationship, in which America has for years pretended to neither see nor hear - and hence speak - no evil about the dark side of the Saudi kingdom's rulers.

Mr. Baer's book came out at the time of the second war with Iraq when many must have been wondering how the events of September 11th, 2001 justified the invasion. Fifteen of the 18 hijackers that attacked U.S. targets that day were Saudis. The other three were Egyptian.

For a fictionalized story that posits a very different U.S. - Saudi relationship, take a look at SAUDI MATCH POINT, a story that has America taking off the kid gloves in its treatment of the Saudis. In fact, the U.S. goes overboard, and in a twist, uses an impending hostage-taking as a convenient excuse to invade and seize control of Saudi Arabia's vast oil facilities and reserves. The novel is available online from Blacksmith Books.

This book will be out of date soon..........2007-05-13

This book will be out of date soon, because the Middle East and America's involvement in it simply cannot continue the way it's been, and we're all beginning to realize it. This book could serve as a big eye-opener if you don't know much about Saudi Arabia, oil and politics. It's probably a little shrill, but then again, the US clearly needs to review and reconsider our policies, and Baer is on-target for many reasons.

Baer has a number of interesting anecdotes you won't find anywhere else, but for information about oil policy, I recommend two books ahead of this one. One is Yergin's prize-winning The Prize : The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power, which is much thicker, but I dare to say you don't know half the truth about 20th century history until you've read this book. The other book I recommend, though it's a little dated now, is Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia as well as any of Ahmed Rashid's other books. Even though he focuses on Central Asia rather than the Middle East, most of the cast is the same, featuring among them Aramco, the Muhajideen, al Qaeda...

Oil, energy, the Middle East--besides the rise of China and India, these are definitely the greatest issues of our time. Baer's book is one of a nubmer to deal with them, but it is currently the best look at Saudi Arabia that I know of.

Sleeping with the Devel.......2007-04-06

I order 3 copies, which came from 3 different vendors. They was all supposed to be Hard copy books. However, the one whose order 3 is:103-70949528-1499011 was a soft cover.

All books arrived.

They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby

Average customer rating:

Very interesting book
Anti-Semites need to read Mein Kamph first.
With Friends Like Israel, Who Needs Enemies?
Congressman Tells the Truth
Let the blind see!!!

They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby
Paul Findley
Manufacturer: Lawrence Hill Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 155652482X

Book Description

The first book to speak out against the pervasive influence of the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on American politics, policy, and institutions resonates today as never before. With careful documentation and specific case histories, former congressman Paul Findley demonstrates how the Israel lobby helps to shape important aspects of U.S. foreign policy and influences congressional, senatorial, and even presidential elections. Described are the undue influence AIPAC exerts in the Senate and the House and the pressure AIPAC brings to bear on university professors and journalists who seem too sympathetic to Arab and Islamic states and too critical of Israel and its policies. Along with many longtime outspoken critics, new voices speaking out include former President Jimmy Carter, U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney, Senator Robert Byrd, prominent Arab-American Dr. Ziad Asali, Rabbi Michael Lerner, and journalist Charles Reese. In addition, the lack of open debate among politicians with regard to the U.S. policy in the Middle East is lamented, and AIPAC is blamed in part for this censorship. Connections are drawn between America’s unconditional support of Israel and the raging anti-American passions around the world—and ultimately the tragic events of 9/11. This replaces 1556520735.

Customer Reviews:

Very interesting book.......2007-05-26

Reading this was an eye-opening experience. If you are interested in the Middle East, I would highly recommend this.

Anti-Semites need to read Mein Kamph first........2007-04-28

There are no shortage of books in which anti-Semites may find comfort for their base emotions. But before tackling this book by Paul Findley or the other books by such Jew-haters as Jimmy Carter or David Duke, I would suggest that readers who truly wish to saturate themselves in virulent anti-Semitism start with Adolph Schicklgruber's Mein Kamph. Here, you can indulge in the unbridled perversity of anti-Semitism without having to concern yourself with using Israel as a mask for your base emotions. In Mein Kamph you will learn how young Adolph discovered that "pudgy" Jewish men were still winning the affections of young German women, even though the Jews were "pudgy," because of their skills in using fashionable clothing to appeal to the female sex drive. Let Adolph guide you through these and other revelations. Once you've completed your course in anti-Semitism 101, you can graduate to other forms of fear and hatred of Jews, such as the Findley or Carter books, which are framed in a psuedo-historical context. But whatever you do, I would suggest that you stay away from serious study of history and psychology. Such study, assuming you are capable of it, will only interfere with your primal, obsessive need to indulge in vitriol toward Jews.

With Friends Like Israel, Who Needs Enemies?.......2007-03-19

I bought and read the first edition ten years ago, and it really blew my mind. My eyes were opened and the scales removed. I had an epiphany regarding Israel and Zionism. Over the last ten years, I've watched and listened to what's been happening in world politics by supplementing the borscht spewed from the mouths of our evening news talking-empty-heads with real-world foriegn news reports and internet-based news sources. I've paid particular attention to American government and Middle-East events. My conclusion is that as a direct result of having a Zionist occupied and controlled government, our country has become morally corrupt, financially bankrupt, and loathed by the rest of the world. As an honorably discharged former U.S. Marine sergeant, my question is this:
With friends like Zionist Israel, who needs enemies?

Congressman Tells the Truth.......2007-01-21

I read this book many years ago when I was a student of Middle East Politics at UC Berkeley. I recently took it down to compare it with other recent works on the subject. I now appreciate that former Congressman Findley's book was truly a trail blazer in exposing the systematic attempt by Israeli supporters to stifle all dissent. What Findley documents are individual examples of blatant intimidation to publicly humiliate and demean anyone in this country that has the audacity to question the United States' blind policy in supporting Israel. This book should be read by every American who is concerned about the "closing of the American mind" on debate about Israel and US policies in the MIddle East. Given the perilous times that we now live in, it is vital that this country engage in a vigorous national debate. In addition to Findley's book, I would also recommend everyone read James Petras' "The Power of Israel in the United States" and President Jimmy Carter's recent book.

Let the blind see!!!.......2006-12-14

Paul Findley has written an excellent book about how the Israeli lobby operates in our government. I have a question for all those greedy, fearful, spineless, gutless wonders of lawmakers who are selling their souls for filthy lucre and putting the interest of America last. How many times must pigs eat out of the trough before they are full? Please buy this book and read it with an open mind. Israel has a right to exist and be safe and also the Palestinians has a right to exist and be safe.

A Republic, Not an Empire: Reclaiming America's Destiny

Average customer rating:

Someone who reads history....
Well written, eloquent, and insightful
Right on the Mark
Read the bad reviews...
another excellant book by Pat

A Republic, Not an Empire: Reclaiming America's Destiny
Patrick J. Buchanan
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0895261596

Amazon.com

Anyone who has caught Pat Buchanan's television appearances, or heard his campaign rhetoric, will be surprised at his relatively evenhanded and thoughtful tone as he writes--often quite persuasively--in favor of the restoration of the political, military, and economic independence that largely drove U.S. foreign policy in the 19th century. At the heart of A Republic, Not an Empire is a well-written history of U.S. foreign policy beginning with the end of the American Revolution, going through the First and Second World Wars, Vietnam, and the end of the cold war, up to the superpower's involvement in the Persian Gulf and the former Yugoslavia. This section is bookended by, essentially, two very long op-ed pieces that lay out Buchanan's view of U.S. foreign policy: American interests should determine all foreign-policy decisions.

The twin foreign-policy goals of interventionism and free trade that seem to drive the Clinton administration's foreign policy are, Buchanan argues, the same pursuits "that brought the British Empire to ruin." Empires fall, he reminds us, through war and too many foreign commitments. With the end of the cold war, he suggests, U.S. foreign policy has become chaotic, driven by special interests; the sum of U.S. global commitments has become greater than the country's ability to defend them. In the end, A Republic, Not an Empire proposes, the only country the United States can completely rely on and trust is itself. --Linda Killian

Book Description

All but predicting the September 11 attacks, Pat Buchanan warns that America is inviting terrorist attacks and conflict by engaging in an interventionist foreign policy that is costly, dangerous, and does not serve our own interests.

Customer Reviews:

Someone who reads history...........2007-06-26

A sobering reminder of the original ideals behind America's founding, and how far we've strayed. Writing long before our current GWOT travails, Buchanan was the Cassandra of our time....

Well written, eloquent, and insightful.......2007-05-08

The purpose here is to "revisit the history of American foreign policy, its successes, triumphs, and failures". From that we can "expose the myths and identify the true traditions".

Well written, eloquent, and insightful. Although labeled an isolationist, Buchanan would not see us weakened militarily. He delivers a bold history lesson of our presidents and the nations foreign affairs; the domestic policy is all but ignored. He has been proven right on future scenarios, but has been proven wrong by underestimating the U.S.

Buchanan writes: All great empires were crushed because of wars, we are the last remaining superpower and we are headed for destruction. Our military is overextended and we are issuing dangerous guarantees. Through NATO: We are becoming more the defense of the world; other nations rely on us, so they spend less on defense; who will protect us? NATO is becoming more and more a U.S. organization; this is viewed as a take-over. There is a distinction between American expansion (Manifest Destiny) and naked aggression on other soils. Other nations are now joining up against us, who normally would not. If we stayed out of W.W.I, there may have never been a Hitler or a W.W.II. Cause and effect issued in W.W.I, W.W.II, China, Korea, and the Cold War. Not only does Buchanan warn us of foreign wars and occupation, but also the threat to our south--Mexico.

What's the cost of intervention? What did our founding fathers envision for us? What is the right foreign policy for America?

A democracy will eventually fail and a democracy without God will surely fail.

Wish you well
Scott

Right on the Mark.......2006-09-05

A good title, but State of Emergency is just as solid. Read them both.

Read the bad reviews..........2006-07-03

You have only to read the bad reviews to know why you should buy this book immediatley!

another excellant book by Pat.......2006-06-15

Pat uses a lot of history in this book to get his point across,thus if you like history it is quite good, but be warned that if you don't like to read history, you may find yourself skimming through parts of the book where the history is particularly heavy,but he gets his point across.This is not to say this is a history book,but there is a lot of history reading in this book.This book is an excellant example of showing how we have gone too far trying to protect the world.

The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11

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Reasoned
Terrifying Justice Department Double Think
Yoo has no clue!
This book's point about constitutional checks and balances were once taught in 8th grade civics class.
Important to understand Constitution after 9/11

The Powers of War and Peace: The Constitution and Foreign Affairs after 9/11
John Yoo
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Presidential War Power

ASIN: 0226960323

Book Description

Since the September 11 attacks on the United States, the Bush administration has come under fire for its methods of combating terrorism. Waging war against al Qaeda has proven to be a legal quagmire, with critics claiming that the administration's response in Afghanistan and Iraq is unconstitutional. The war on terror—and, in a larger sense, the administration's decision to withdraw from the ABM Treaty and the Kyoto accords—has many wondering whether the constitutional framework for making foreign affairs decisions has been discarded by the present administration.

John Yoo, formerly a lawyer in the Department of Justice, here makes the case for a completely new approach to understanding what the Constitution says about foreign affairs, particularly the powers of war and peace. Looking to American history, Yoo points out that from Truman and Korea to Clinton's intervention in Kosovo, American presidents have had to act decisively on the world stage without a declaration of war. They are able to do so, Yoo argues, because the Constitution grants the president, Congress, and the courts very different powers, requiring them to negotiate the country's foreign policy. Yoo roots his controversial analysis in a brilliant reconstruction of the original understanding of the foreign affairs power and supplements it with arguments based on constitutional text, structure, and history.

Accessibly blending historical arguments with current policy debates, The Powers of War and Peace will no doubt be hotly debated. And while the questions it addresses are as old and fundamental as the Constitution itself, America's response to the September 11 attacks has renewed them with even greater force and urgency.

“Can the president of the United States do whatever he likes in wartime without oversight from Congress or the courts? This year, the issue came to a head as the Bush administration struggled to maintain its aggressive approach to the detention and interrogation of suspected enemy combatants in the war on terrorism. But this was also the year that the administration’s claims about presidential supremacy received their most sustained intellectual defense [in] The Powers of War and Peace.”—Jeffrey Rosen, New York Times

“Yoo’s theory promotes frank discussion of the national interest and makes it harder for politicians to parade policy conflicts as constitutional crises. Most important, Yoo’s approach offers a way to renew our political system’s democratic vigor.”—David B. Rivkin Jr. and Carlos Ramos-Mrosovsky, National Review

Customer Reviews:

Reasoned.......2007-05-13

John Yoo's book makes cogent arguments based upon a careful legal analysis and established constitutional principles. A fine contribution to the debate of our times.

Terrifying Justice Department Double Think.......2006-10-06

Mr Yoo moves on from his earlier arguments that torture falls at a point slightly short of physical death, organ failure or loss of limb. Mr Yoo makes some interesting if devastating points with his new theories. The President's war powers, he argues, allow him to do, basically, whatever he wants. The President may, if he chooses, crush the genitals of children, maim, torture or kill civilians. In this respect one might remember that Bush ordered an air strike on the house occupied by the infant grandchildren of Saddam Hussein AFTER the end of the Iraq war and even though the house was surrounded by US troops. The President is limited, according to Mr Yoo, only by how he CHOOSES to interpret International Treaties and as he has the power to repudiate such treaties or ignore them entirely (as in the International Human Rights for the Child Treaty, the Geneva Convention or the Treaty of Vienna,) then, this means that presidential power is absolute EVEN if despotic criminal or tyrannical. Mr Yoo appears now to say that the President and his henchmen, cronies and agencies MAY indeed use indiscriminant torture. Mr Yoo however does not adequately explain how the President can thus overturn congressional treaty ratification. As what constitutes a 'time of war' is also up to the President and does not rely on any 'legal' declaration of war (which is a matter of international law to which the US is thus not subject,) then the US may have, effectively, a Despot Emperor for President. Does the 'War on Drugs' thus give the President the same wartime powers as he asserts for his 'War on Terror' - an undeclared war on no particular nation state? Is the US thus always in a state of war? This is interesting, not just semantically, as the District and Supreme Courts appear to agree with Mr Yoo's interpretation, blocking cases connected with this on grounds of national security whilst Congress does not appear to care. Perhaps Clinton should have used Mr Yoo's arguments in the Monical Lewinsky scandal and impeachment hearings. War powers might have thus allowed him to do whatever he wanted with his cigar and to lie about it in the national interest. The problem with Mr Yoo's argument is that Checks and Balances thus no longer appear to exist. Interestingly if one applies Mr Yoo's arguments to their logical end he becomes an eloquent advocate for terrorism or for the Holocaust where the ends justify the use of any means, however horrible. Of course, either this is pretty much nonsense and makes toilet paper of the Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, democracy and human rights OR the truth is more terrifying and the US is now a Stalinist or Nazi state. I suspect Mr Yoo could be subject to arrest as a war criminal should he ever leave the United States and visit a civilised country???

Yoo has no clue!.......2006-06-23

The 2 biggest mistakes made by government in my lifetime are Congress giving away war powers in 1965 and 2002. The constitution holds that declaring war is the responsibility of the Congress. If the Executive has grounds for war let him/her present them and Ccongress vote. Twice I have seen Congress abdicate this important power with disasterous results. This is just one of many examples why Yoo has no clue.

This book's point about constitutional checks and balances were once taught in 8th grade civics class........2006-05-26

The outrage this book caused on publication is a sign of the incredible ignorance so prevalent these days about was once common knowledge--that the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches exist in parallel under the elegant system of checks and balances of the Constitution, each with their separate skill set and functions. This book is a necessary defense of the traditional constitutional idea that the executive branch has primacy in matters of war, national security, and foreign policy. It is sad that otherwise sensible people like Neal Katyal and Stuart Taylor should tout outre ideas about the Constitution as a big sandbag over the head of the President most especially in war, national security and foreign policy, as if this idea, which is strictly the invention of the left, were Con Law 101. It is so Nixon era. But there you go. The "me generation" took over the academy, threw out all the Rembrandts, and filled it up with their Hello Kitty and Marilyn tchotchkes.

Important to understand Constitution after 9/11.......2006-02-01

This is an important book in order to understand the Constitution and the response to 9/11. The attacks on this book here are ridiculous. Even liberal critics of the Bush administration and Yoo think this is an important book. Cass Sunstein, a famous liberal law professor, wrote a review in the New Republic that said: "The most important theorist of the 9/11 Constitution is John Yoo." He says "Yoo has offered an inventive and provocative set of arguments about fundamental questions, and he presents his arguments with unmistakable determination and all the skill of a good lawyer."

America Unrivaled: The Future of the Balance of Power (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)

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The Unipolar Moment?

America Unrivaled: The Future of the Balance of Power (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)

Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Grand Strategy For America (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)

ASIN: 0801488028

Book Description

American power today is without historical precedent, dominating the world system. No other nation has enjoyed such formidable advantages in military, economic, technological, cultural, and political capabilities. How stable is this unipolar American order? Will the age-old dynamic of the balance of power reemerge as the other great powers rise up to challenge American preeminence? America Unrivaled examines these questions. The experts in this volume contend that full-scale balancing in this new world order has not yet occurred. They ask if a backlash against American dominance is just around the corner, or if characteristics of the current situation alter or eliminate the entire logic of power balancing.

American power poses threats, as do the likely responses to that power, the experts argue in America Unrivaled. The definition of these threats is critical to understanding future political trends and learning whether an original (and stable) world system has already come into existence. Most of the contributors agree that novel features of the American hegemony and the wider global order make an automatic return to a traditional balance of power order unlikely.

Customer Reviews:

The Unipolar Moment?.......2003-06-16

This collection of essays seeks to explain why, despite its overwhelming power, the world has not balanced against the United States. Several well-noted authors give varying answers. The first essay, appropriately enough, is written by the founder of Structural Realism, Kenneth Waltz. Waltz answer is simply that the world will eventually balance against American power, and in fact has started to do so already. Waltz explains that in an anarchic system,"overwhelming power repels, and leads others to balance against it." Furthermore, Waltz sees Unipolarity as unstable, as the hegemon may be tempted to overexpand. Waltz concludes that the unipolar moment is exactly that, a brief time in history that will be over the blink of an eye. But Waltz made much the same case in 1993. The world has not yet balanced against the US, and history has yet to prove him right. Taking the opposite approach, William C. Wohlforth argues that the current unipolar system is actually very stable. This is so due to several factors. First, Wohlforth notes that balancing is very difficult to successfully execute. Also, unlike previous hegemons, America's power is so great that it crosses the threshold where balancing against it becomes impossible. Also unlike previous hegemons, the US is not located geographically nearby the other powers. Therefore, it does not directly threaten most states as much as their neighbors do. It is therefore better for states to rely on the US for protection from its own neighbors, than to balance against America. Wohlforth thus sees a continuation of the peaceful relations that have existed since the end of the Cold War. These two essays are most likely the ones that will receive the most attention since they predict future events based on structure. But somewhat dissapointingly, neither addresses the argument made by John Mearsheimer in his book that other states will not necessarily balance against the United States itself, but against the United States in their respective regions. Mearsheimer, unlike Wohlforth, does not see the system as global but regional. Therefore China will balance against US power in the Far East, not against global US power and interests. Mearsheimers's argument fall somewhere between Waltz and Wohlforth. Its a shame neither one addresses it.

The other articles in this book are more policy-oriented. Charles Kupchan claims that it will be very hard to sustain domestic support in America for the resources necessary to maintain unipolarity. He also believes the EU to be much farther along the road to unity than most realize, and he sees a balance of power between the US and EU in the future. Stephen Walt, advancing his balance of threat hypothesis, urges American policymakers to act and speak in a restrained manner, which will convince the world that the US does not have aggressive designs. Josef Joffe praises the US policy of overlapping alliances as a copy of Bismark's hub and spoke system, which he believes will serve to create a peaceful world, due to America's overwhelming capabilities. There are also some non-realist authors who make the case for other variables. John Ikenberry advances the importance of international institutions in creating a peaceful world, arguing that the "Western order has a structure of institutions and open polities that bind states together, thereby mitigating the implications of power assymetries and reducing the possibilities of the United States to abandon or dominate other states." Ikenberry argues that insitutions have a life of their own and make it difficult for states to do other than what the institutions specify. Its not a new theory, and realist critiques will most likely be the same: Instiutions do what states want them to do, not vice-versa. Although there are no realist critiques of the Ikenberry piece in this volume, it is hard to imagine any realist worth his weight in salt arguing otherwise.

The United States and the Rule of Law in International Affairs
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The United States and the Rule of Law in International Affairs
John F. Murphy
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521822564

Book Description

The U.S. has often proclaimed its support for the rule of law in international affairs, but has found it increasingly difficult to adhere to it in practice. John Murphy demonstrates the wide-ranging difficulties obstructing U.S. adherence to the rule of law. He also examines the reasons for the declining U.S. support for the international institutions it was instrumental in creating, as well as U.S. unwillingness to support new popular initiatives in international law.

Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire

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Somewhat Dated, but Worth a Read
Put politics aside and read this
Eye Opener
Blowback: The Cost and Consequences of American Empire
An angry book

Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire
Chalmers Johnson
Manufacturer: Metropolitan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (American Empire Project)
Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror
Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy

ASIN: 0805062386

Amazon.com

If the 20th century was the American century, the 21st century may be a time of reckoning for the United States. Chalmers Johnson, an authority on Japan and its economy, offers a troubling prognosis of what's to come. Blowback--the title refers to a CIA neologism describing the unintended consequences of American activity--is a call for the United States to rethink its position in the world. "The evidence is building up that in the decade following the end of the Cold War, the United States largely abandoned a reliance on diplomacy, economic aid, international law, and multilateral institutions in carrying out its foreign policies and resorted much of the time to bluster, military force, and financial manipulation," writes Johnson. "The world is not a safer place as a result." Individual chapters focus on Okinawa (where American servicemen were accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in "Asia's last colony"), the two Koreas, China, and Japan. The result is a liberal-leaning (and Asia-centric) call for the United States to disengage from many of its global commitments. Critics will call Johnson an isolationist, but friends (perhaps admirers of Patrick Buchanan's A Republic, Not an Empire) will say he simply speaks good sense. All will agree he is an earnest voice: "I believe our very hubris ensures our undoing." --John J. Miller

Book Description

An explosive account of the resentments American policies are sowing around the world and of the payback that will be our harvest in the twenty-first century.

Blowback, a term invented by the CIA, refers to the uninted consequences of American policies. In this sure-to-be-controversial book, Chalmers Johnson lays out in vivid detail the dangers faced by our overexted empire, which insists on projecting its military power to every corner of the earth and using American capital and markets to force global economic integration on its own terms. From a case of rape by U.S. servicemen in Okinawa to our role in Asia's financial crisis, from our early support for Saddam Hussein to our actions in the Balkans, Johnson reveals the ways in which our misguided policies are planting the seeds of future disaster.

In the wake of the Cold War, the United States has imprudently expanded the commitments it made over the previous forty years, argues Johnson. In Blowback, he issues a warning we would do well to consider: it is time for our empire to demobilize before our bills come due.

Customer Reviews:

Somewhat Dated, but Worth a Read.......2007-05-27

"Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson sets forth the theory that the United States is overextended. In Johnson's view, the spending on military hardware is a harmful drag on the budget. Additionally, the American public is unaware of many of the covert acts being carried out in its name, and these acts contribute to blowback, a term for unintended policies of imperialism. The imperialism of which he speaks is not in a traditional sense. Resources are not directly exploited for the nation. Instead, powerful corporations are married to the government and the military, creating what President Eisenhower called "the Military-Industrial Complex."

Johnson is a former CIA consultant, as well as a scholar in East Asian affairs. Hence, most of the content of the book deals with that area. North Korea, South Korea, China and Japan are examined closely, and Johnson details US policy towards those countries, finding much fault with the resulting policies. There is some mention of Afghanistan, and some of Iraq, but since the book was written well before recent watershed events, those countries do not receive as much attention as others. Nonetheless, despite the book being slightly outdated, Johnson's theories are prophetic. I have decided that, though I was slightly disappointed with the book, I am reading the follow up: "the Sorrows of Empire."

Put politics aside and read this.......2007-05-27

Far from being any sort of "conspiracy" tale or a political rant, this is a well documented and sober offering from a reputable and qualified author. This edition includes an updated introduction due to the fact that the book was written before 9/11 and was not warmly received in our country at that time, but suddenly seemed relevant after things it warned about did indeed happen. "Blowback" is not specifically about middle east terrorism at all, in fact it mostly covers Asian issues. It is however, hugely relevant and Americans should be apprised of the issues being presented here.
It is really time for Americans of all backgrounds to start realizing some of the things carried out in our name in other parts of the world, actions we are mostly kept oblivious of and would most likely not approve of. It is also time to address what exactly our role in the world is, taking into account points of view we are rarely exposed to. Mr. Johnson is not anti-American at all - quite to the contrary he holds out hope for our democracy working as it should. The main issue here is the abuse of power by certain parts of our government and economy which hold themselves above public scrutiny and accountability... the Founders of our nation are surely spinning in their graves at this point.

Eye Opener.......2007-03-09

Good read. It is most certainly not as easy to read as a Harry Potter Book, but I recommend it.

Blowback: The Cost and Consequences of American Empire.......2007-01-10

A must read for those who have an avid interest in U.S. foreign policy and its consequences in the different corners of the world. Johnson paints a damaging picture of the problems associated with the United States expansion of military bases across the globe. Especially enlightening is Johnson't concept of blowback. Specifically, how policies enacted on behalf of the U.S. government that result in economic downfalls and collatoral damage in other nations can impact their attitude towards the United States. The negative effect of these policies result in blowback where those affected may plot or continue to resist the United States military and political machine. The more famous examples include the Afghan freedom fighters, including Osama Bin laden who were abandoned by the CIA in Afghanistan during the 1980s and turned their attention to U.S. targets as a form of revenge. More simplistic forms of blowback include civilians whose loved ones die in military strikes. If they pick up a gun in retaliation Johnson considers it a form of blowback as well. This book is meticulously researched and well documented and will make even the most avid supporter of U.S. foreign policy question our official intentions.

An angry book.......2006-11-12

Blowback, according to author Chalmers Johnson, is a term invented by the CIA to (page ix) ". . .describe the likelihood that our covert operations in other people's countries could result in retaliation against Americans, civilian and military, at home and abroad." At another point, he notes that (page xi) ". . .blowback is another way of saying that a nation sows what it reaps." It results in unintended consequences of actions.

This is an angry book, with Johnson not pretending to take an academic perspective or a neutral analytical viewpoint. One simple example: The United States provided assistance to the resistance in Afghanistan against the old Soviet Union. One of the beneficiaries was Osama bin Laden. The result (page xiv):

It was only after the Russians had bombed Afghanistan back to the
stone age and suffered a Vietnam-like defeat, and the United States
had walked away from the death and destruction the CIA had helped
cause, that Osama bin Laden turned against his American supporters.

Blowback. We supported--and then abandoned the resistance; according to Johnson, this led to blowback later on.

The book examines a number of instances of what Johnson considers blowback--Okinawa, North and South Korea, China, Indonesia, Japan, and so on. The reader may not be fully convinced of one or another of these examples. He also noted, on page 26, the variety of dictators that the United States has supported to achieve foreign policy goals and, in the process, often angering local populations and producing negative effects for American goals.

In the concluding section, he says (page 217): ". . .the evidence is building that in the decade following the end of the Cold War, the United States largely abandoned a reliance on diplomacy, economic aid, international law, and multilateral institutions in carrying out its foreign policies and resported much of the time to bluster, military force, and financial manipulation." The end result? "The world is not a safer place as a result" (page 217). He argued that the United States has become an empire and is in danger of "imperial overreach."

All in all, this is an angry book. Johnson does not always successfully connect the dots; not all of his examples necessarily prove convincing. Nonetheless, this is a thought-provoking discussion.

The War on Freedom: How and Why America was Attacked, September 11, 2001

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THE 11th COMMANDMENT: "Thou Shalt Not Beat A Dead Horse."
Morons never learn
Love it, read it,
Astounding research into 9/11 - possibly the best
THE FIRST and STILL the REFERENCE

The War on Freedom: How and Why America was Attacked, September 11, 2001
Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed , and John Leonard
Manufacturer: Progressive Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0930852400

Book Description

A disturbing exposé of the American government's hidden agenda, before and after the Sept.11, 2001 terrorist attacks. A wide range of documents show U.S. officials knew in advance of the "Boeing bombing" plot, yet did nothing. Did the attacks fit in with plans for a more aggressive U.S. foreign policy? Nafeez Ahmed examines the evidence, direct and circumstantial, and lays it before the public in chilling detail: how FBI agents who uncovered the hijacking plot were muzzled, how CIA agents trained Al Qaeda members in terror tactics, how the Bush family profited from its business connections to the Bin Ladens, and from the Afghan war. A "must read" for anyone seeking to understand America's New War on Terror.

Customer Reviews:

THE 11th COMMANDMENT: "Thou Shalt Not Beat A Dead Horse.".......2006-09-15

This is one reviewer who needs no convincing that our two most recent presidents (one an egg-sucking Democrat and the other an egg-sucking Republican) are accessories after the fact to murder (at the very least). OK? I'm already on-board - bought my ticket, checked my luggage, waited in the infinite security check queue, found my seat, buckled my seatbelt, restored my tray into the locked upright position, pulled out the sticky in-flight magazine from the pouch of the seat in front of me: Ready for takeoff. This is one true American patriot who has already removed the rose-colored executioner's sack from his head and done his homework. I know the score (and we're getting shutout!)

But you know there's a problem when the preacher can't even deliver his sermon without losing the interest of his own choir members! If this was a war on boredom, Nafeez M. Ahmed's book, THE WAR ON FREEDOM, would have been the first casualty. (Dude, I was already a "believer", but if you couldn't even keep me awake, how did you expect to fire up the congregants with this somnambulistic sermon?)

How did Ahmed put me to sleep? Let me count the ways: First of all, once you've made a point and driven it home, stop beating that poor, dead horse! It ain't ever gonna whinny again, so drop that whip. The horse is dead already; can it and feed it to the dogs! I don't need to hear the same information over and over and over again.

Secondly, when one is quoting another source, it's always advantageous to find the pertinent point in the quotation, lift it out and let the rest go free. You don't need to arrest the whole mob of words if only a dozen or two are the prime suspects. Geez Louise! Ahmed has huge blocks of quoted passages throughout the book going well beyond the call of duty. I'll bet if we excised all the words of other people in this 384 page book, we'd be left with about 75 pages.

And talk about dry? You thought the Mojave desert was dry? You thought Bob Newhart was dry? You thought James Bond's martini was dry? You thought your wife's baked chicken was dry? Man, I could find more "moisture" in a piece of severely burnt toast! Granted this is a serious subject that needs to be dealt with accordingly, but still.....Ahmed must be the life of a party. You know, a little personality - even if it's only rented - can do wonders for a book. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

I also have problems with a book proposing a search for truth, but which relies so heavily on Socialistic, Left-wing sources. That's not to say that their Liberal bias automatically disqualifies them as a source, but quoting bastions of "truth, justice and the American way" such as Amnesty International, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the L.A. Times, the Economist, Newsweek, and members of the Council on Foreign Relations doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. And sometimes Ahmed repeats statements without digging deeper (e.g., he informs us that Counterpunch newsletter stated that Goldman Sachs in Tokyo sent an internal memo on Sept. 10th advising all employees of a possible terrorist attack and to avoid any American government buildings. Does he provide us with a copy of this memo? No. They said it, so it must be true? Why mention something that you haven't substantiated in any way?)

Then there's some pretty goofy stuff: Ahmed's inclusion of Barnett Rubin's complaint about "Congressional refusal to allocate funds for U.N. dues." (Pull up yer pants, Ahmed; yer Lefty credentials are showing!); his mention of "the vote fraud at Florida" (Whaddaya know? I've finally found someone whose math skills are worse than my own!); he mentions the escalation of widespread anti-globalisation protests illustrating increasing outrage with the Bush administration, and he also chastises the Bush foreign policy agenda for being in conflict with nominal allies on issues such as global warming and an international criminal court. (That's like beating a man for robbing a bank, and then beating him a second time for being a poor robber and leaving some cash in the vault!)

Personally, I believe that "W" should be impeached and then tried in a criminal court. And if there was really any justice in this country, he would be forced to share a prison cell with Bill Clinton until death do them part.

I've given this book 3 Stars because it does include plenty of valid information for the person who can manage to stay awake and sift through the pages. But this story has been told better. Try INSIDE JOB by Jim Marrs if you want "just the facts, ma'am" and without all the dead horse beatings. Or CROSSING THE RUBICON by Michael Ruppert if you want a heavy tome with all the details but without all the napping in between. But for all of those restless nights of tossing and turning, I recommend THE WAR ON INSOMNIA by Nafeez M. Ahmed. Take two chapters and call me in the morning.....if you wake up.

Morons never learn.......2006-07-30

Its a fact that more than 60% of americans are uneducated people who cannot reason very well, they make very good followers. People such as
===============
Manuel Alvarez
je "concerned-citizen"
Critical reader (
Nelson "The Bad One"
===============
Such people would never open their minds. I meet many such crazy extremist christians like the people above many times. Explaining them anything is impossible beacuse these people DO NOT have brain in them. They are pure robots who cannot think or reason on their own, they are hard wired and believe only what they have been hard wired to believe. If a guy who happens to be muslim tells that 2 + 2 is 4 they wouldnt believe him. But if their priest tells them 2 + 2 is 10 they would believe that. They were lucky to be born in states, where such mentally retarted people are well taken care of.

Love it, read it,.......2006-06-29

Great resource for the whole 9/11 situation. Good history, good resourcing, great for your library to see other connnections to the 'new pearl harbor'.

Astounding research into 9/11 - possibly the best.......2006-03-27

This book is very thoroughly researched! It reads a bit like a detective investigation and is every bit as gripping, using published sources (newspaper, interviews, testimony) to draw the reader beyond the official explanation of 9/11.

Suffice to say, Nafeez's conclusions are even more shocking than the thought of a terrorist net outwitting the CIA, FBI and military of the world's only superpower.

THE FIRST and STILL the REFERENCE.......2005-05-06

The reviews above say most all that can be said. What I feel I need to add is that (as John Dean mentioned in his book) events are moving so rapidly that many other books on the subject "fill in" extrapolative hypotheses which were not evident when this brilliant, young writer went to press. I must pay homage, though, to the book that ALL other authors refer to when writing about the non-official version of "the Day". "Forbidden Truth" was out there, but this book is much more coherent, and, as stated in the last review, does not Bush-bash - or even really focus on that. I have two things to lay out here that, to my knowledge, have not been commented upon by any author. First, watch the footage of Ramzi bin-Alshibh being led away by his captors in Karachi, Pakistan: What do you see that you SHOULDN'T see in a capture of this importance? Second, look at the picture of "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed" taken at the moment of his capture in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. What DON'T you see that you should see in a picture of an Islamic fundamentalist?

The Next Cold War?: American Alternatives for the Twenty-First Century

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The Next Cold War?: American Alternatives for the Twenty-First Century
Jim Hanson
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0275954730

Book Description

The Next Cold War? sounds a warning: the United States may be contributing to another cold war through its competitive unilateral and regional economic policies. Whereas wars of the past usually resulted from political conflict, Hanson warns that a new cold war may result from economic conflict. This raises important questions for American policymakers. Will the United States be a world leader that promotes cooperation and unity, or will it seek to create competition and division? Will the United States address the basic problems of population, environmental deterioration, and economic stagnation in concert with other nations, or will it pursue narrow geopolitical and geoeconomic power strategies? This fascinating work explores both sides of these questions and poses alternatives that will promote world cooperation and unity.

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