Rating: 
Summary: Third of Three "Must Reads" on Bin Laden and Threat to USA
Review:
This is the third of three books that I am reviewing today and that I strongly recommend be read by every adult in America. The first two, in order of priority, are Mahmood Mamdani's "Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror," and CIA Anonymous Executive Analyst, "IMPERIAL HUBRIS: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror."
What this book does is piece together all of the English-language reports over the past ten years or so regarding the probabilities and specifics of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda's having acquired several forms or portable nuclear devices. Although some reviewers have slammed this book for being fictional, they do not know what they are talking about. The FACTS are that the Soviet general officer responsible for the 100 suitcase nuclear bombs designed for Spetznatz use, some pre-positioned in the USA, has said publicly, in writing, and on more than one occasion that 66 of those are unaccounted for.
I took one star off for excessive reliance on two secondary sources, both excellent but never-the-less cited too often, and the commensurate lack of attention to foreign language materials that could have deepened this study considerably, especially when one takes into account the CIA executive analyst's comments in IMPERIAL HUBRIS regarding the straight truth-telling that can be found in Bin Laden's Arabic-language postings. "Nuclear hell storm" is out there (the author does cite this), and we had better take this more seriously than our government has.
The author opens with a notional "letter to America" from Bin Laden that is based on Bin Laden's actual statements (as itemized in IMPERIAL HUBRIS) and is alone worth the price of the book. If we don't take a long hard look at ourselves and correct the misbehavior that is radicalizing over a billion Muslims, we will not (not!) win this war.
The author does a really fine job, not just of amassing and stringing together a coherent story of Bin Laden's likely possession of nuclear capabilities, but also of showing the inter-relationship between the Afghanistan drug fields that the U.S. Government has stupidly allowed to flourish, the Pakistani production facilities that take the opium to a "Number 4" level of quality, and criminal organizations as well as corrupt governments everywhere that facilitate Bin Laden's operations. The roles of Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan (especially Pakistan) in facilitating the storage, refurbishment, and technical maintenance of the purchased nuclear elements are covered in a manner that persuades me--this is a very real threat.
The book is a useful compilation of both mistakes by the US, and events taking place from 2002-2004, and it ends with full translated copies of the 23 Aug 96 Fatwa and the related 23 Feb 98 World Islamic Statement. Within the book are some extracts from Al Qaeda training manuals, one portion of which make it clear that the "sleepers" now in the US are specifically forbidden to go to mosques or appear Islamic in any way.
Bottom line, totally consistent with the other two books I recommend: the US needs to meet Bin Laden's reasonable demands, and redirect its focus from occupying Islamic countries toward cleaning up its own homeland. [I realize that calling Bin Laden's demands "reasonable" in going to infuriate many people, but I have to say, based on all three books taken as a whole, that all three authors agree on this point, and they have persuaded me. We cannot win if we persist in supporting 44 dictators, occupying Muslim lands, demanding cheap oil at the expense of the Muslim populations, and supporting an Israel that is racist as well as terrorist in nature toward the Palestinians. It is what it is--the sooner we stop deceiving ourselves, and demand that our government get back to the ideals of moral capitalism and truly representative democracy, the sooner we have a chance to avoid this "nuclear hellstorm" that I believe this book credibly documents as a very real possibility.]
Rating:
Summary: BEHOLD THE 6'6" PALE HORSE ...........
Review: As someone who is accused of "reading too much," I have read piles of books on this and related subjects. But this one stands out not because of any original thesis or fact finding: almost all of this information is buried somewhere on the internet. However, the author has put together a madman's game plan and it rings too loudly of possibility. The one thing Williams does not cover is just how big a member of the Flat Earth Society Osama Bin Laden might be. To inflict this amount of damage on the world would have consequences. Our atomosphere is a planetary one and therefore what starts here will float there. But unfortunately given the as yet unproven tenets of Islam and its great belief in heaven, I suspect it wouldn't matter to Osama if he destroyed everything. The only smaller threat that he might be encouraged to look at is that he should be confident that the US and other nations would most likely retaliate by the guaranteed wiping of that Holy Real Estate off the map: there will be no Mecca for him to lead his followers to - in the presence of Jesus, no less -- because it, too, will be a mushroom clouded wasteland hit by the very western technology he lusts after.
Rating: 
Summary: Clear and frightening thoughts
Review: Base don facts and reasonable conclusions, the book goes a step further from the simple hypothesis that Al Qaeda may have acquired nuclear weapons in the past decade. The author presents many sources from which the reader can draw the near certainty that militant Islam has already many nuclear suitcase-bombs in its possesion and has hired the Soviet and Pakistani experts to maintain and operate them, along with thousands of willing suicide bombers who long to detonate them. Even more terrifying is the quite high possibility that such weapons have already been smuggled insiede the USA and Al Qaeda awaits with exemplary patience the right moment to produce a horrible "American Hiroshima". One can not avoid the thought that Osama bin Laden would not have dared to provoke the US colossus in such a way as with the 9/11 attacks, if he didn't have a mightier weapon in stock for the next and more catastrophic strike. "Osama's Revenge" is full of evidence and data concerning this apalling evenduality but also presents a short and marvellous overview of the campaign in Afghanistan and the many mistakes and clumsy operations of US and British forces there. Of special historic value are also the full texts of the declarations of war from Osama bin Laden against the West in August 1996 and February 1998, included in the Appentices.
Rating: 
Summary: Bush couldn't get rid of Osama
Review: More than 3 years after Osama Bin Laden and his gang attacked us we still are having to deal with his threats. We need a president who will not lose sight of our true enemies. After losing so many of our young men and women and spending so much money we are no safer than we were on 9/11!
What was the point?
Please vote for John Kerry.
Rating:
Summary: Loose nukes?
Review: Mr. Williams fills an important void here with his book exploring the implications of tactical nuclear proliferation today. There are few books that deal with this subject (perhaps because of the murky nature of the nuclear smuggling world) and fewer still that are up-to-date. Yet the likelihood of a tactical strike in America by Islamic radicals has never seemed stronger. Certainly this important if terrifying topic deserves awareness and careful attention from policymakers and the general public alike. This is not to say his work is without substantial flaws, however.Mr. Williams does provide sources for many of the eye-opening assertions in this book, but more than a few of them are of dubious credibility. The role of Bin Laden in international heroin smuggling, for example, is treated with a tone of bedrock certainty, when much about this connection remains controversial. As another example, of what value are the claims of various Russian mobsters he talks to? Hard to say. Mr. Williams also falls into the trap of regarding Al Qaeda as a single, monolithic block controlled from the top by Bin Laden and others. In reality, the lines of control seem to be much looser: "Al Qaeda" may be more of a "franchisable" process than a true organization, as one radical Islamist put it, with Bin Laden as a figure of inspiration rather than a tactical leader in firm control. Yet despite these and other shortcomings (such as occasional lapses into painfully melodramatic prose), I consider it a book worth reading. There is certainly credible evidence that Soviet-era tactical nuclear arms are missing, as admitted by top-level Russian authorities such as Alexander Lebed. And let there be no doubt that there exist many who would use such weapons to damage America. This book should be taken with a grain of salt, but hopefully it will incite debate and raise awareness about this pressing issue.
Rating: 
Summary: Inaccuracies Cloud Credibility
Review: Osama's Revenge raises some harrowing potentials. Mr. Williams reports that al Qaeda has obtained numerous functional weapons, weapons grade fuel, and non-weapons grade materials which would be useful in Radiological Dispersion Devices (dirty bombs). He reports that Israel intercepted a backpack nuke being smuggled into that nation. He reports that President Bush entered into an agreement with President Putin, just prior to the invasion of Afghanistan, to permit US use of nuclear weapons should certain circumstances occur, and the US, in turn, permitting Russian use of nuclear weapons in Cheknya. All serious items of intelligence, never revealed as such before.
Unfortunately, his credibility with me suffered as I looked at little details throughout the book. He refers to weapons incorrectly, uses improper terms to describe organizations. Speaks of the "Green Beret commandos," certainly not the term a journalistic endeavor should use to refer to Special Forces. Speaking of the Soldier of Fortune Convention in Las Vegas, he states that one can obtain "an unregistered Saturday Night Special - a .38 Harrington and Richardson." Saturday Night Special?? And being in Las Vegas, not New York, there is no registration. If he means a private sale, no there is no ATF paperwork...nor is any mandated by federal law. "Vietcong K-50Ms", whatever they are supposed to be. The firearm often referred to as a "Swedish K" was popular with both the VC and American Special Forces...
His footnotes, referring to the intelligence he notes, refer almost exclusively to news stories, many from small, little known news sources. Respecting the fact that the major media can, far too well, get it wrong (ala CBS and the Bush faxes...)still, would not a story about purloined nuclear devices, or secret agreements, reported by some small, NET based site, be located and expanded upon by some member of the major media?
If the sources of the book are true and accurate (and web based reporting is often questionable), it is indeed a bleak and frightening report. However, it is still marred by the inaccuracies, as minor as they are in regards to his subject, which then call into question all aspects of his report.
Rating:
Summary: Life or Death Information
Review: The story of the suitcase nukes by itself is not new. It has been reported for years, with a detailed story by CNN on 1/28/2000 and Time Magazine on 10/29/2001. The threat of Osama Bin Laden getting ahold of these is the focus of the author's input here, and he provides information / rumor that Chechen terrorists have traded black market suitcase nukes for Afghanistan heroin. Several of the reviewers ask if Osama had these why hasn't he used them yet? The assumption is that a Western mind can logically follow a mad religious terrorist. Perhaps Osama is indeed saving something for some mad timeline that he has concluded. Perhaps there has been difficulty, including radiation poisoning in getting some of the briefcases into operational status. Those reviewers who view this as "fearmongering" need to wake up. 9/11 was JUST the first shot in the War against USA. Those determined to destroy USA will stop at nothing, including nuclear devices. Moreover, how do we know they have not already TRIED to detonate such a device unsuccessfully?
Rating: 
Summary: Alarmist but unlikely
Review: There is very little real intelligence in this missive. Essentially, it's a Nash-like assembly of paranoid implications strewn in a media bent on dethroning a Republican president. The bottom line is: anyone can cash in and get $2M+ for giving the US government information that leads to a component of a nuclear bomb, let alone a full one. We also know that the Russian mafia ripped off Al Qaeda in the early 90s and didn't give them anything (but it was reported that they had). On the one hand, it's good to be vigilant. But we need to cover the bases that make sense. If Al Qaeda has a nuclear bomb and it was in the US, they wouldn't be able to keep it a secret (they know that) so they'd use it almost immediately (under 6 weeks). As for them owning 12 suitcase bombs, that's a well exaggerated figure and could only be proposed by someone infected with delusion on a Michael Moore scale.
Rating:
Summary: A terrifying must read
Review: This book may really terrify you.
Even the possibility that al Qaeda may have obtained "suitcase nukes" and have already smuggled them into the US, ready to set off in multiple cities at the same time, is enough to shake you to your very foundation.
How ever did we come to this juncture? The author portrays the whole situation in a clear, readable, and succinct fashion. His research seems impeccable, his conclusions undeniable. I suggest that other reviewers who nitpick the details may be having an allergic reaction to the political implications of the information offered. But the evidence is everywhere: bin Laden and other Islamic leaders have been stating their intentions for many years.
Hitler made clear what he was going to do to Europe and the Jews in "Mein Kampf", but most people in Germany did not read his book and so did not protect themselves against him. Similarly, this book includes the chilling thoughts of bin Laden in his own words. It is likely too late to protect ourselves against what may happen when his nuclear attack is carried out -- except perhaps psychologically. If the author is correct, the time is very near.
Read this book, if you consider yourself a responsible citizen, especially if you live or work in New York City or Washington D.C. Our media and government have failed to raise the alarm.
Rating:
Summary: Frightening and Puzzling
Review: This book was both frightening and puzzling. It made me wonder about the efficacy of our war in Afghanistan and if we accomplished what we really intended to - a body-blow to Al Qaeda. It also made me wonder why in the world we expended so many of our resources in Iraq if the greatest danger was planted in our cities ready to explode. It would seem that a super-human effort would be going on to root out the terrorists on our own soil rather than chasing them around the globe, creating more and more of them. Puzzling, truly puzzling. Is anybody out there handling this threat?
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