Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror

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Summary: Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War
Review: Despite The rhetoric of election-year Democrats, America is silently and deliberately taking down al Qaeda cell by cell. But The media isn't reporting on this covert war-nor The near-misses we have experienced since 9/11. New York Times bestselling author and investigative reporter Richard Miniter (Losing Bin Laden) taps his exclusive sources and on-the-spot global reporting to reveal America's unheralded successes in The war on terror. Shadow War includes: * The never-before-reported story of a plot to assassinate President Bush in 2002 and why it failed * Why The White House feared that al Qaeda had Air Force One's secret transponder codes on September 11 * How brave U.S. customs officials uncovered and defeated an al Qaeda plot to smuggle terrorists and bombs into one of America's busiest harbors * The startling number of al Qaeda ``officers'' The United States has already caught, and * How corrupt Philippine generals are betraying America by accepting U.S. weapons to fight terrorists-and then selling them to al Qaeda-affiliated groups Shadow War is The startling report of how President Bush is bringing retribution to The enemy, and keeping America safe.



Rating:
Summary: Rivetting Book
Review: I read this book over the weekend. I found his appendix D, on the connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq to be very compelling. Yet, the case against O.J. Simpson was strong too, and he got acquitted, so I guess I can't blame the media for leaving the story untold. The author's case on the Iran threat is serious, considering that less than 2 months ago they held parades in Iran displaying banners on their new long-range missles that said "We will Crush America" and "These will be used to wipe Israel off the map." So, anyone that automatically writes this author off to the right wing conspiracy needs to really be honest with themselves and make sure their prejudice against George Bush and conservatives is clouding their opinion of this fine book. However, crediting Bush in the title of winning the war, is extremely misleading and a major goof of the Publisher. The author clearly shows how its the shadow warriors of the U.S., our allies, and extremely brave citizens in terror ridden countries that are winning the war. I just finished this book and all 1000+ pages of the Duefler report before I voted. I had questioned our aggressive stance last year, now I see that I was wrong in questioning such an aggressive position. I disagree that it is a "war on terror", but rather a war against people that use terrorism as a form of warfare to oppress good people and the ideals of democracy. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." The author shows and documents people that aren't doing 'nothing', but rather taking a stance against evil. Mistakes in war are common, and we all can be monday morning QBs and critize decisions. This author's book is good, he shows mistakes as well as strong and valorous deeds. He did a great job in documenting the last 3 years of this war.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting read but flawed this early in the game....
Review: My disagreement is with the suggestion that President Bush is actually winning the war on terrorism rather than fighting a war on terrorism. I say this simply because we were first attacked in '93 during the first WTC bombings, and then it was eight years later that with a better plan the OBL gang hit again, and bigger. They have the patience to wait for the right time and the sheer numbers and no fear of death to do what they want.

Then there are the 'facts' that suggest that terrorists are not only alive and well but hitting American targets/citizens in countries from Afghanistan, Iraq, other Moslem countries and even Australia. With more to come I am sure.

The author seems to ignore the fact that with hundreds of millions of under and/or un-educated poor young Moslem men and women in countries the United States funnels mega dollars into, including Saudi Arabia which is so corrupt, who have no hope and crave decent living conditions, being a walking bomb and martyr is nothing to them. And what about the members of the Saudi royal family and other radical Moslems who are picking up where Sadaam of Iraq left off, in paying suicide bombers in the Gaza, or American occupied Arab countries?

Heck bin Laden is able to use Arab TV to get his message out, days before the 2004 election. One man who has avoided getting caught by the United States which claims to have the best counter intelligence in the world. Fact is Al-Queda has ten young Arab supporters willing to die for every 1 American who signs up for military service. The sheer numbers speak volumes. They are willing to die and have the numbers. We have neither the will to die nor the numbers.

Fighting the war on terror, yes. Winning, I am not so sure this early in the game.

Rating:
Summary: Not too impressed
Review: So secretly America is winning the war on terror. What does this mean? Terrorism is alive and well in Russia, Nigeria, Sudan, Thailand, India, Philippines, Indonesia and Europe. Terror training camps still exist. Bin Laden is free. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and Iran is making them. Civilians heads are being cut off amid jeering on Al Jazeera. If this is winning, then what is losing? Although this book, like a few recent ones, claims that the secret hand of America is putting the `beat down' on terror, the evidence seems to be to the contrary. Any reader of a newspaper can tell you that the world is full of terrorists on every continent, killing hundreds daily. The problem is Americans tunnel vision on terror and inability to create a real world policy of containment against terror.

One major gap in this book is thus: Most of the 9/11 terrorists came from Europe, learned their hate and intolerance in Europe before being trained in Afghanistan. So if America wants to `dismantle the terrorist infrastructure' then the front line is in Europe, not Iraq. But this book doesn't seem to tackle these more disturbing growths of intolerance and hatred. This book doesn't even address why America has been o far unable and unwilling to crush the insurgents in Iraq or find those what have beheaded so many civilians. While it is nice and through this book one can, imagine that we are winning, the opposite is in fact true. But the reader maybe interested in at least understanding some of the aspects of the war on terror that we are not aware of and the secret work being don't to stop terrorism.

Seth J. Frantzman


Rating:
Summary: Interesting reports into which the media rarely delves
Review: The other reviews inspire me to write one.

A number of the single star reviewers are from "Blue" states (some from CA, a hotbed of Bush-haters). It makes me wonder if any of them actually read more than just the book cover. The author does not really defame anyone. That could be a turn-off for somebody who's blind with hate.

I'm a skeptic and it's hard to give an average or less than average 2 to 3-star review without further cross-referencing to see if any of this stuff is true. Due to its nature, it's hard to; but it also makes me think twice about being a tourist in East Africa or Southeast Asia any time soon.

The problem with accuracy is moreso when there are some typos in this book...like Admiral Yamato being shot down in WW2 over the Philippines. Correction: That was Admiral Yamamoto. Did anyone proofread the information in this book? I'd think that someone would be much more careful with their information when they present claims like those in this book.

However, I give it 4 stars (a good rating) merely because it reviews lots of things that the US media seems too lazy to look at. When was the last time it mentioned anything about Pakistan's economy?

Richard Miniter appears to have entered a review himself. This looks interesting. However, in cyberspace, who knows if it's really him? It would indeed be nice if a sequel was published to get past the Spanish bombings/elections. That did absorb quite a bit of attention, so much that the book should probably be retitled more accurately.

Rating:
Summary: Successes in the 9/11 Aftermath
Review: The sub-title give you a pretty good idea of what this book is all about. It's the story of the successes the governments of the world have had against ben Ladin and his al Qaeda organization.

The author has collected stories of incidents where governments have found and attacked the terriorists from Afghanistan to Iraq, the Philippines to Europe.

The author contends that the lack of major al Qaeda acts in the United States is a result of successful actions against them. He attributes this to President Bush's determination after 9/11. He reports on a number of incidents that have not been well publized in the US press. It makes for fascinating reading, and if true says that we are indeed being poorly served by the media.

For instance his Appendix D covers the connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq, reports of dozens of meetings, reported one at a time, that make up a far more compelling story than I've seen anywhere else.


Rating:
Summary: Akin to the Cold War, successes against terror often hidden
Review: There's a reason why Mr Miniter calls this book of his Shadow War. In print & on television (especially on CNN) we are almost daily treated to a cavalcade of atrocities---homicide bombings, kidnappings, and the like. It's the same thing with local news. If you visit New York, Houston, Chicago---wherever, and immerse yourself in nothing but local news from within your hotel room for a few days, with what apprehension will you hit the pavement beyond your lobby, do you reckon? My point herein is that "news" is, almost by definition, catastrophic. And even if, say, New York is dangerous in some parts at some hours of the day, does that indicate that the NYPD is totally ineffective and/or incompetent? Mr. Miniter's argument herein is similar; in that terrorist cells do still exist all over the globe, and just because some of them have been successful (Bali, Madrid, Riyadh, et al.) doesn't mean progess isn't being made. Moreover, to say that the USA is WITHOUT DOUBT losing The War on Terror betrays an ideological unwillingness to see it any other way; for there have been, objectively speaking, more allied successes than failures since 9/11. Mr. Miniter's work only buttresses this point by publicizing a number of successes that heretofore haven't received much, if any, media coverage. One case in point, of many in this book: Some Moroccans interned in Guantanamo give up information to suggest that the Straits of Gibraltar could be in danger. CIA Director Tenet flies to see the King of Morocco in response. King Hassan sends some of his own intelligence officers to Cuba to question these prisoners on the notion that Moroccans can pick out a lot more information from Moroccans---relating to speech patterns, behavior, language stress & the like---than Americans can. These officers get the name of the terror-cell's wife, which in turn, leads them to this suspect's hideout. The Moroccans' then tail this man as he tries to procure Zodiac speedboats on the coast. He is later arrested & gives information about how the attack on Gibraltar's shipping lanes were to be blocked as well as information on the al-Qaeda strategist behind this plan. That man (Abdul al-Nashiri, who participated in the Cole bombing planning) was later nabbed in The United Arab Emirates while he planned another seaborne terrorist plot. Another operation led Greek forces to seize a cargo ship (flagged as the Baltic Sky) laden with 8,000 detonators & 680 tons of explosives stacked in boxes; and another uncovered a US Navy seaman passing operational information to parties suspected of terrorist ties. Admittedly, this book is rather short---only 168 of its approx. 250 pages relate to the topic at hand. The rest consists of documents, an index, and most significantly, an invaluable annotated bibliography which runs for 16 pages. For those interested in studying the issues of terrorism, the Middle East, intelligence operations, etc. this resource will serve you well. I, myself, have jotted down a half dozen books that look particulaly intriquing for further exploration. This book is thus but an appetizer of sorts, rather than the greatest or worst thing you'll ever read---as some other reviewers have lauded or criticized it above. Keep that in mind should you chose to give Mr. Miniter some of your time. Cheers!

Rating:
Summary: Where's the beef?
Review: This book is a big disappointment mainly because there is only enough material here for one good magazine article. The author goes on about tangential issues like the political atmosphere in Spain after the 3/11 bombings but has precious little to say about al Qaeda or the war on terror. It's only about 200 pages of large print, with maybe 3/4 of that in actual text, of which maybe 50 pages addresses the book's main theme. The author should have taken a little more time for research, maybe on the war in Afghanistan or the battle against the terrorists in Iraq now rather than rushing into print. There's some interesting stuff here, badly written and organized, but not enough to justify a book.

Rating:
Summary: Read this book if you want to know why Bush got re-elected
Review: This book was somewhat disappointing. I was hoping for more Tom Clancy cloak and dagger stuff. But there is a lot of interesting info about what has been going on since 9/11. For instance, the author claims that, on average, one or two terrorist plots are being stopped every day.
If you are a Bush supporter you will probably bang your head on the table asking, "Why didn't he come out and claim responsibility for any of this?" Apparently because he didn't need to. If you are a Kerry supporter this book just might make you wonder whether we are in fact living in a less than perfect world and whether sometimes good people have to fights wars like this.
Too much of this book had to do with the al quaeda Spanish train bombings and subsequent effect on their elections, where the socialist party took advantage of the catastrophe and ended up winning the election.
Overall, however, this book is very much worth reading. And you really have to hand it to the author, who trekked into dangerous territory to get a lot of this information.

Rating:
Summary: WOW - RIGHT ON THE MARK!
Review: This is a powerful book. In spite of the pasty, cowardly liberals (sorry, that is redundant) - this book takes the FACTS and actually makes a cogent case that (gasp!) the United States is actually doing something good in the world.

As you will read from the one-star crowd, these lily-livered nazis would not know decency if slapped them in their anti-American faces.

I LOVE to read their pitiful, hate-filled reviews.