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Summary: Clarke is a Whistleblower Hero
Review: Clarke reminds me of the whistleblower Roger Bojalais, the Morton-Thikol engineer who tried to speak up about the defective O-rings that led to the Space Challenger shuttle disaster. Bojalais was also discredited and even fired for blowing the whistle on Morton Thikol and NASA. The Bush Administration suffers severely from groupthink; where anyone who disagrees is immediately branded a traitor and liar. I rarely have much patience for politics, but Clarke's book reveals just how dysfunctional the Bush administration, and government bureaucracy is....the whole machine is set up to squelch dissent, and discredit anyone who, like Clarke, attempts to tell a different point of view of events. This book is worth pondering; it certainly prodded me to write a letter to my senators calling for Condoleeza Rice's resignation.
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Summary: Getting Real
Review: First off, let's head off any partisan attacks. Reactionaries are understandably upset with Clarke and will be upset with me for praising his book. Let's be clear though that this is NOT a political book. Clarke is NOT a "liberal" or a Democrat. He is a Republican who worked for Reagan and Bush Sr. and was held over, as a number of Republcians were, by the Clinton administration. So despite the sudden rush by the Bush Administration to discredit Clarke, he is not politically motivated. Clarke does have an axe to grind. As a career government bureaucrat who had risen to a post of significant responsibility, he had a vested interest in seeing that he was allowed to do what he was paid to do. What person wouldn't, after spending so many years of diligent work, be annoyed at suddenly being ignored by the very people who need to listen to him? So, while Clark is definitely writing from a biased perspective, it is an honest bias that comes from experience - from conclusion rather than prejudice. What Clarke gives in his book is a valuable perspective on the intersection of intelligence and politics. This is not a "tell all" book as we are used to seeing from former officials but is a well reasoned and fair appraisal of the inner workings of the highest levels of government. It is well written, well defended, and highly educational. Clarke confirms what many people have long suspected, that the reactionary agenda of the Bush Administration was cast by a small number of key officials and advisors before taking office. That agenda, toppling Hussein in Iraq being a major component, was dogmatically held to without regard to realities or intelligence information. One gets the distinct impression that the 9/11 attacks were seen by the administration as a boon and a justification of pre-set aims. Clarke's criticism is especially poignant when pointing to how the administration has been seeking to run a political campaign based on the tragedy of the terrorist attacks - the same administartion who cared so little about terrorism before the attacks. He is seeking to raise the alarm and tell the truth, and all but the most politically extreme will be alarmed at what Clarke reveals. Clarke writes the book not as an atatck on Bush and the "vulcans" in his admininistration, but as an experienced person who knows of what he speaks and is trying to alert the country. "Against All Enemies" will rank in history as an important book written by a true public servant.
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Summary: The spin machine is at max speed
Review: Richard Clarke is a highly respected Washington insider, a registered Republican and deserves to be heard. I think the man is honorable, but I'm sure he knew what would be thrown at him for speaking up. The present administration will not tolerate anyone disagreeing with them. I think people have gone insane the way they try to prop Bush up and put a reverse spin on anything that comes out on him that reveals him maybe not to the the knight in shining armor they envision.
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Summary: Poll: Clarke Testimony is Blow to Bush
Review: Blow For Bush Public confidence in the president's handling of homeland security has been damaged by the testimony of former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke to the 9/11 panel this week, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll.
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Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: This has to be the best book ever written exposing Bush's most important failures driven by his idealogy.
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Summary: Revelations from a patriot and a brave man
Review: This book is an eye opener. Clarke is probably the nation's leading expert on fighting terrorism. The book is full of relevant, chilling detail about how America dropped the ball. Naturally the Bush people are attacking it, since they are up for re-election, but the book does Clinton no favors either. Clarke has written a masterpiece. It should be required reading for all college freshmen.
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Summary: A clear, concise and wholly believable indictment of Bush
Review: The book is a page turner that is stunning in the detail of just how horribly the Bush administration has handled intelligence information and advice before and after 9/11. Exceptional! I haven't enjoyed reading a kiss and tell book as much as this since reading the Pentagon Papers.
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Summary: Clarke Tells the Truth...and Gets Pummelled for It
Review: Did the Republican National Committee, Fox News or right-wing talk radio arrange this savaging of Richard Clarke on Amazon's web site? Richard Clarke is to be commended for exposing the mistakes and misdeeds of the Bush administration. America is less safe today than it was before September 11 because Bush and his team decided to divert resources from the war on terrorism to his war on Iraq. The administration and the right wing cannot win on the merits of the policy discussion, so of course you all can't wait to launch the ad hominem attacks on Clarke to divert attention from the real issues. Did any of you even read the book?
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Summary: Mr. Clarke's Revelations
Review: I took at wait and see attitude prior to reading this book. I am not a fan of Junior (Bush) and for the life of me how the Republicans could ordain a fool and idiot in lieu of the likes of Sen. McCain is beyond my comprehension, so we got what we were asking for. To simply discount 30 years of experience on this specific subject, especially since the WH is now back tracking on their previous attacks, in realistic in every sense. I have noted nothing in this perception of what Mr. Clarke experienced during his tenure in mostly Republican administrations that would suggest any partisanhip on his part. In fact, the turf wars he exposes are not new to anyone who has any understanding of human nature and in politics. I applaud Mr. Clarke for giving us HIS insight into the inner workings of past administrations. Remember, this is his writing of what he experienced. No one, not the FBI or CIA have come forward to question what he has written. Only the WH is guilty of slandering an American patriot for what he believes is the truth. As for one readers suggestion that Mr. Clarke is a traitor, remember that Mr. Armitage and Colin Powell were involved with the illegal Iran Contra affair, Mr Armitage slipping out of the perjury noose by the skin of his teeth.
www.flipthemoff.com
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Summary: Finally -The Truth
Review: I am glad someone had the nerve to stand up to the Right Wing Machine which now appears to be leaking oil, and will probably blow a gasket soon due to the intense pressure coming from all sides. It is our constitutional right to find out what happened prior to and right after September 11, 2001, since contrary to their beliefs, they happen to work for US. If the radical right wing can prove that they were utilizing every method available to deter and eliminate terrorism, then that is acceptable. So far, they have not, so Richard Clarke's book is the only testimony we have to base our beliefs of what happened behind closed doors at the White House during this historic time.
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