The Jericho Sanction

Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 Stars...A Team That's Hard to Beat
Review: Does Iraq have weapons of mass destruction? With that question still lurking, "The Jericho Sanction" is a pertinent thriller. Through the eyes of Peter Newman, Marine, we see once again the subterfuge and lies of Middle East politics--not to mention the politics of western capitalism and moral relativity.

Although the book stands alone, it will be particularly gratifying for those who have read the first novel, "Mission Compromised." We witness the events of the Newman family's survival, and the subsequent troubles they face when Mrs. Newman is kidnapped from a street in Jerusalem. The attack is more than a personal vendetta; it is a ploy to sell nuclear weapons and track down embedded double agents. Once again, a renegade Russian diplomat is at the helm, steering the story toward a conclusion that is realistic, but without any real surprises.

For readable, yet credible military thrillers, North and Musser form a team that's hard to beat. North's background lends eye-opening insights into the political and military process, while Musser's prose brings the story to life. With the loose ends left at the end of this book, I have no doubt that we'll be seeing a third book soon. I can't wait.

Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 Stars...A Team That's Hard to Beat
Review: Does Iraq have weapons of mass destruction? With that question still lurking, "The Jericho Sanction" is a pertinent thriller. Through the eyes of Peter Newman, Marine, we see once again the subterfuge and lies of Middle East politics--not to mention the politics of western capitalism and moral relativity.

Although the book stands alone, it will be particularly gratifying for those who have read the first novel, "Mission Compromised." We witness the events of the Newman family's survival, and the subsequent troubles they face when Mrs. Newman is kidnapped from a street in Jerusalem. The attack is more than a personal vendetta; it is a ploy to sell nuclear weapons and track down embedded double agents. Once again, a renegade Russian diplomat is at the helm, steering the story toward a conclusion that is realistic, but without any real surprises.

For readable, yet credible military thrillers, North and Musser form a team that's hard to beat. North's background lends eye-opening insights into the political and military process, while Musser's prose brings the story to life. With the loose ends left at the end of this book, I have no doubt that we'll be seeing a third book soon. I can't wait.

Rating:
Summary: Family and Current Events
Review: I had a few sleepless nights and long days at the office because of this novel. It was hard to put down.
I enjoyed the fact that the author used family and events similiar to our current state. This would be post-Gulf War? Sadaam and his family are still in power. Mr. North makes good use of geography with emphasis on Israel, Turkey, and Iraq.
Mr. North also did a good job of "coordinating" a multi-national special forces raid.
I picked up this book at the Anderson's Restaurant bookshop in Santa Nella, CA while on the road last month. I plan to take the first book an another trip. I can't wait for book #3.

Thanks for the testimony, Mr. North.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book with very realistic characters
Review: I really enjoyed the book -- I didn't want to get interrupted once I started reading it. Ollie North realistically depicts the characters -- be it a US marine, an Israeli counter-terrorism expert, or a former KGB general, as well as the politician of the time of the book (though none referred by name) -- the Prime Minister of Israel, the Secretary of State, or the President caught in the midst of a sex scandal. It is also nice to read the book where the character is a US marine written by a Hero US Marine, a decorated war veteran, who can relate on the personal level what exactly is going through the mind of the main character. I also found the book very informative in many ways, both from Colonel North's explanations throughout the text and by the glossary of terms and abbreviations used throughout the book, provided in the beginning of the book (e.g., names of Israeli units such as Sayeret Duvdevan etc.). Enjoy this fantastic read!

Rating:
Summary: Above average techno-thriller with engaging characters
Review: Oliver North and Joe Musser have created an above average techno-thriller with a great cast of characters. The story revolves around Marine Lt. Colonel Peter Newman. There are three nuclear artillery shells hidden in Iraq, sold to one of Saddam Hussein's henchmen (long dead) by the traitorous Soviet general, Komulakov. American and Israeli intelligence are made aware of the weapons existence by the frantic search of the Iraqis to find the hidden weapons. Newman must go into Iraq and find the weapons before Israel unleashes a preemptive nuclear strike. Meanwhile, Newman's wife Rachael and friend Dyan are kidnapped and held hostage by Komulakov. Komulakov wants Newman to uncover a mole in the American intelligence service that can expose his treachery and ruin his chance of disrupting the election of Putin so he can grab the Russian presidency for himself. There are some great sequences of small unit covert actions and interesting information about satellite reconnaissance and electronic intercept capabilities.

Rating:
Summary: Misleading Reviews
Review: Sorry I bought this book. If I want religion, I will read the Bible.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, intriguing, and reality-based
Review: The Jericho Sanction is the second novel written by North and Musser. It follows the New York Times' Bestseller Mission Compromised as the second book in a three-book series. (If you haven't read Mission Compromised yet, it is now out in paperback.) In The Jericho Sanction, North continues the action-packed story of Peter Newman, a Marine lieutenant colonel whose covert operation against terrorists and Saddam Hussein was betrayed by United Nations' and U.S. government bureaucrats.

Newman and his wife Rachel go into hiding following an assassination attempt orchestrated by a renegade UN Deputy Secretary General with KGB ties. Although, he has been framed as an international terrorist, Newman is called out of hiding to help the US military find three soviet-era nuclear weapons that may have fallen into the hands of Saddam Hussein.

When his wife is kidnapped in Israel, along with an Israeli woman, Newman teams up with the Israeli military to find them and the nuclear weapons. The events that follow bring the middle-east to the brink of nuclear war, as Israel considers a proactive nuclear strike as its necessary action of defense.

Like Mission Compromised, this book is a gripping story of international intrigue, conflict, violence, betrayal and faith. It is an entertaining and intelligently written page-turner that the reader is sure to appreciate.

As President Reagan's coordinator of US counter-terrorism efforts in the mid-1980's, North was involved in highly-classified covert operations, including the 1985 interception of the Achille Laura cruise ship hijackers and the bombing of Libyan terrorists' bases.

As this novel was going through the finishing touches prior to publication, North was embedded with US Marines as they stormed Baghdad as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He uses his first-hand knowledge of the region, the governments, conflicts, and of US military operations to write a realistic story about the war on terrorism. This novel reveals the murderous hatred of terrorists and the faithful courage of the soldiers who oppose them.

North said in an interview about the book that he spent significant time with the Israeli military in order to write accurately about it. He also says that all of the descriptions of the equipment and weaponry in The Jericho Sanction (and there are several high-tech gadgets used in it) are all "dead-on accurate."

The action in this book is fast-paced and moves from scene to scene before you can blink your eyes. It lacks in-depth character development, as the characters play their roles too neatly--exactly the way you would imagine without any surprises. Even so, by reading this book, you become familiar with the caliber and commitment of those men and women of the Israeli, British, and US militaries who are unselfishly risking their lives to prevent more atrocities like the September 11th attack.

The book ends with one of the three nuclear weapons missing, and the weapon may eventually find its way to the United States. North offers a glimpse of the third and final book of the trilogy. He says that the upcoming book will be about the US capabilities to deal with the nuclear threat from terrorists and from countries like Iran that may already posses nuclear weapons.

Rating:
Summary: The Story Flows Like a River - Great Stuff
Review: The second book of the "Peter Newman" trilogy is several cuts above the first effort, Mission Compromised. Where that book sometimes wandered or got distracted from the plot line, this one is a true page turner which will cost you some sleep. Peter Newman and his wife Rachel, who one would have thought were murdered in a yacht explosion near the end of the first book, are alive and well and living in Jerusalem - under assumed names and in grave danger thanks to a traitorous FBI agent. General Kumulakov, a villian from the first book has also survived and re-enters the Newman's lives in a most unpleasant way. He has political aspirations to become the President of Russia, but he needs to find and eliminate the FBI traitor who has supplied him with many US secrets over the years that he was with the KGB and who knows of his involvement with the compromising of Newman's mission to Iraq when Kumulakov was Deputy Secretary General of the UN. The traitor could be a huge political liability to him.

Kumulakov believes that Newman can identify and eliminate the agent if properly motivated, so he has Rachel kidnapped. The price of her freedom is Newman's compliance. The kidnapping also snared a neighbor of Rachael's, Dyan Rotem who's husband Ze'em is a major in the Israeli Defense Forces.

The kidnapping takes place shortly after Newman agrees to accept an assignment from the head of Gen. Grisham, the head of CENTCOM to be involved with locating three nuclear war heads that Iraq had purchased from Kumulakov and an associate and which were hidden in Iraq. Not even Sadaam or his sons can find them as the man that hid them was murdered by them.

So, the story takes on the task of finding the nukes and rescuing the women and how that weaves together is fascinating stuff. This is fiction that reads a lot like what has been happening in the world. It is clear that Madeline Albright will probably not appreciate her role in the story, but the vignettes in which she appears are classic.

If the third installment improves as much as the second did, it will be well worth waiting for.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting, Useful and Realistic: A Solid Novel
Review: This is an interesting and useful novel about weapons of mass destruction, an international arms market in illegal weapons, the potential for rogue regimes to acquire extraordinarily dangerous weapons and the absolute requirement for both covert operations and preemptive actions.

As an Army brat I think North is a little too Marine centric but then, as a Marine, he has to be.

Additionally, North's understanding of the slow, ponderous and clumsy nature of Washington bureaucratic politics, the requirement for allies both overt and covert and the need for leaders to follow their instincts is all too accurate. (In a sense that is what a lifetime of leadership training and experience is all about--creating leaders who can determine which hunches they have to follow and which they should avoid.)

America can project a lot of power because countries like Turkey, Britain, Israel and individual people in many of other countries are willing to work with us. The morning this is not true, we will be a dramatically weaker and more vulnerable nation.

As you read in the daily papers about the level of surprise in the 17 years that Iranians have been lying about their nuclear program or the revelation that Libya was much closer to building a nuclear bomb than experts had projected, you will find the Jericho Sanction reads a little more like daily events and a little less like fiction

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Read
Review: This novel kept me interested all the way through and I thought it was just short of a "masterpiece". I enjoyed it even more than his first book in this series, Mission Compromised. I enjoyed the "main plot", but there were a couple of well written sub plots that all came together in the final chapter. I can just imigine that life in the Middle East, during these troubled times, is very close to what is portrayed in the book. I enjoyed the parallels to present day government and kept saying that this is a work of fiction. It was refreshing to read a decent book without profanity, and yet he got his point across. The door was left open for a third book and I look forward to the next installment and adventures of LtCol Peter Newman.