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Summary: The Borg is coming; resistance is futile
Review: This book is basically self-serving garbage. It tells us that the Islamic al-qaeda front is the Borg and the West is powerless to stop it so we shouldn't but instead allow it to run amok or with their very Clinton-esque methods co-exist with it. Forget Reagan and SDI, it never happened not because the Left would not spend money on defense & Star Wars but because it's never mentioned. Easy way to debate your opponents; don't mention them. Clinton was the first and only to see this threat; he knew. Didn't tell us but that was because he was truly presidential, not like these little people today or those old war-mongers who just saw Cold War.There is little fact here, lots of polemic. Lots of polemic. I expected more facts on the hows but I got more on the why's the Muslims hate the West and how their 'mindfulness' is something we can never understand or beat. And yes the poor grammar, 'more important' drags on. A good editor should have gotten some of these slang terms but perhaps she fell asleep. Overlong.
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Summary: Making sense out of a world of madness
Review: This book will be of interest to those in and outside Government, because if like me you want to look a little deeper into the events of September the 11th then this book as the saying goes connects the dots. It began as a piece of work prior to 9/11 however once that event had taken place it became a more straightforward task to describe the emerging threat against the background of the previous 8-10 years since the world trade centre bombing of 1993. The book looks in depth at the rise of Islamic trans-national terror groups since the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and traces the rising religious based pressure inside many of the countries that were the origin of many of the mujihadeen fighters throughout the period of soviet action. The book also deals with the Islamic perception of the west in terms of how many of our basic values and social order represent all that is wrong particularly in their part of the world and in a more general sense globally. Close scrutiny is also given to the failure of US intelligence in not only the months but also the years leading to September 11th. Many of the incidents, which have become synonymous with Usama Bin Laden like the African Embassy bombing, and the USS Cole attack are examined. A very important point which has continued to inform my thinking and which I, as a European believe, is lost on most European audiences is that fact that many of the regimes in the middle east are willing to permit and tolerate the rise of this religious based anti western sentiment in communities and states which exist in poverty relative to the west. They do this in order to distract from their own failures at social and economic development but are quite willing when the circumstances demand deal with west as a means of maintaining their position within their states or kingdoms. The book covers a great deal as to the challenges ahead for these governments including the choices they face from the threat of these fundamentalist groups. In short the book is quite correct in many of its conclusions around the future of theses states and the clock may already be ticking not as a result of pressure from without but from within. At some point these governments, who were on the one hand dealing with the west on the basis of real politick while at the same time giving room to fanatics within who were preaching that the source of Islamic suffering was none other than the great Satan of the west, had to have asked themselves at what point do they come after us we who have dealt with the west and received its benefits since the creation of the modern middle east. One thing is very clear from the book and that is the fact that there are no easy solutions to a threat, which lurks in the shadows only to emerge, wreak the most appalling destruction and recede back into the shadows once more. Excellent Work
Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating insider's view from the Clinton White House
Review: This is a carefully researched account by two former Clinton aides. It fairly convincingly makes the argument that quarreling amongst the various Clinton administration agencies involved in assessing the dangers of the growing al Qaeda prevented much being done about it. The major players seem to have been the Treasury Department, the Pentagon, and the State Department, each protecting its own turf and thus blocking cooperation that might have led to effective measures being activated. The book is superb at outlining the rise of Bin Laden and radical Islam. It also explains why Clinton wasn't able to use the bully pulpit to warn against what he'd been told was happening in that quarter, namely that the punditocracy were already charging him with diverting attention from his own problems by talking about external dangers to national security.
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Summary: Why Character Matters
Review: This is a fairly good book that gives the Clinton Administrations view of Americas struggle with Islamic terrorism in the late 90's. The one insight I took away from the book was that President Clinton REALLY wanted to catch Bin-Laden but was unable to convince those around him to act decisively. After reading this worthwile book you will understand why character in our President matters.
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Summary: The Age of Sacred Terror
Review: Unfortunately the book spends too much time making excuses for Bill Clinton's failure to bring down Bin Laden and too little time focusing what really went wrong in the Clinton Whitehouse. Claims Clinton was obsessed with Bin Laden but fails to mention or explain why Clinton never met with the head of the CIA during his entire Presidency. Cites the Military's and FBI's hatred of Clinton as a big reason for Clinton's failure. If you are looking for a Clinton apology piece, you will like this book. If you are looking for real answers, look elsewhere.
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