Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror

Rating:
Summary: These guys "get it"
Review: "Endgame" by McInerny and Vallely is a very important read which lays out the facts on all of the regimes that are players in the axis of terror. The writers suggest a variety of strategies for each and every member of that group, using everything from political pressure to possible military strategies. They also explain in detail why we are in this fight and the nature and goals of our enemy.

Outstanding!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book from two Generals who have not been wrong yet!
Review: .

Lt General McInerney and Maj. General Vallely are the only two commentators who got Afghanistan and Iraq right from the beginning. The real hidden jewel in this book is the introduction by Col. Oliver North. It is the best 32 pages I have read in a very long time and should be required reading for every American no matter what their politics.

Rating:
Summary: The 3rd Most Ignorant Book of 467 Books I Have Reviewed
Review:

Of the 3,000 or so volumes in my current library, I have only reviewed 467 so far, in part because I only got started on Amazon three years ago, in part because I do not write negative reviews as a rule. This is my third exception to the latter rule. The most ignorant book was one on predicting revolution, the second most ignorant book was one on sources of conflict, and this is the third.

The authors, who demonstrate how far one could get in the Cold War military without reading or thinking, call this a military assessment. It is not. It is a one-track discourse on why we need to use our heavy metal military to wipe out Syria and Iran and intimidate Libya and Pakistan. It avoids discussing Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Central Asia, Muslim Africa, and Muslim Pacifica. This is not analysis, this is flim-flam.

By way of context in my specific criticism of this book, let me just note that the bibliography does not reflect any appreciation for strategy, e.g. Colin Gray's "Modern Strategy", or Col Dr. Max Manwaring and Ambassadors Corr and Dorff's "The Search for Security", or Willard Matthias "America's Strategic Blunders" or Adda Bozeman's "Strategic Intelligence & Statecraft" or Jonathan Schell's "Unconquerable World." I looked in vain for any sign the authors might comprehend the strategic context in which their specific beliefs and recommendations can only be seen as ill-advised. For example, a reference to Shultz, Godson, and Quester (at least one of whom is a neo-conservative), "Security Studies for the 21st Century", or Robert McNamara and James Blight "Wilson's Ghost", or Dean Jeffrey Garten's "The Politics of Fortune", or Republican and conservative Clyde Prestowitz's "Rogue Nation", or Ambassador Mark Palmer's "Breaking the Real Axis of Evil". No cognizance of Kissinger, even.

Never mind all those *democratic* thought leaders, like Senator David Boren et al (and including Bob Gates), "Preparing America's Foreign Policy for the 21st Century", or Joesph Nye on "The Paradox of American Power" or William Shawcross (a Brit) on "Deliver Us From Evil: Peacekeepers, Warlords and a World of Endless Conflict", or Paul Krugman's "The Great Unraveling."

I did not expect to find, but mention as a final setting of the stage for a very critical review, just a sampling of books relevant to getting the war on terror right: books like Chalmer's Johnson, "The Sorrors of Empire" or Derek Leebaert's "The Fifty Year Wound: The True Price of America's Cold War Victory" or Ziauddin Sardar and Merry Wyn Davies on "Why Do People Hate America" (which could be sub-titled, most relevantly for the authors under review, "and why doesn't America understand the real world"), or any of the last 100 non-fiction books on national security that I have reviewed here, generally to very favorable judgements by Amazon visitors.

Finally, I contrast this book with Richard Clarke's book "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" which I recommend very highly. Clarke is real, these people are not.

I finally figured it out. This is a puff piece of, by, and for FOX Cable News viewers.

There are no footnotes in this book. It is a rambling opinion piece. Let us not confuse rank with brains, or opinions with thought. This is a double-spaced book that could probably be distilled to 30 pages of core reading, all summed up as "we're always right, no matter the cost." This book also adopts the Richard Perle neoconservative game plan of using terrorism as a pretext to invade Syria and Iran. I assure each and every one of you, a universal draft is planned for after the election. Your sons and daughters will be sacrificed to the lack of strategic thinking that this book represents.

The book ends on two false notes. Although the authors demonstrate a semblance of balance in calling for better public diplomacy and especially the restoration of the US Information Agency, they continue to emphasize money for guns and the early use of the military in expeditionary mode, rather that a truly transformative strategy that begins with understanding the full range of threats facing us (bacteria are more dangerous than terrorists), devising a strategy for dealing with those threats by using *all* of the instruments of national power, and then a balanced budget that achieves all of that without sacrificing the earning potential of future generations.

Finally, we have thirteen pages of photographs where the authors proudly display their field trip photos, and what leaps out to the veteran's eye is that they were always in air-conditioned rooms and cars and never broke a sweat. As my good friend Robert Young Pelton likes to say (he is author of "The World's Most Dangerous Places"--you should all read it), these guys live and think in a bubble--they don't get into the gutter, they don't smell the shit, and they have no idea how close their fantasy world is to destruction from forces that are beyond their comprehension.

Iraq, and the planned war on Syria and Iran, are indeed a recurrence of Vietnam in the sense that ignorance and arrogance among the elite in power, and apathy among the public and within Congress, are creating a most costly global quagmire that will shortly explode in Australia, Thailand, Central Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The authors have learned nothing from history nor from the many non-partisan American strategists and scholars available to advise them.

I don't think this book is worth the purchase price, except as an example of the kinds of books, and kinds of people, that place loyalty to ideology above and apart from the public interest.

The authors have one thing right: this is a battle of wills. They do not appear to realize that there are not enough guns on the planet to execute their strategy, and that legitimacy is an intangible value that was lost to America from 2001 to date. This book is a blueprint for a nuclear winter in which America self-immolates.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking Exposure of Ignorance at Highest Levels
Review:

This book is a puff piece sponsored by FOX News ("fair and balanced", but only if you are white, rich, and loosely-educated), and I wish I could say I am shocked by the ignorance these two retired general display, but sadly, having known over 60 general officers in my lifetime, I can only think of five with truly top-notch minds. Most generals (and politicans) get to the top ranks by going along, not by thinking for themselves. We need to change that.

I am going to be very hard on this book (I only have five negative reviews out of 468--most books I do not like simply do not get reviewed) because it is dangeous in its ignorance. This is the kind of book that fuels a crusade when the only thing you have going for you is ignorance, and you are sacrificing future generations to your egotistical arrogance. I am the #1 reviewer on Amazon for national security and global issues non-fiction, and I am willing to risk my ranking to all the hate votes that I expect to get, because of the importance of this matter. With the exception of two books by Robert Baer, most of the books listed in the irrelevant bibliography are neoconservative puff pieces lacking in both scholarship and historial depth.

If you are willing to open your mind to the thoughts of others, follow "see more about me" (it should say "see my other reviews" and consider the depth of knowledge that is offered by all those other books--Dr. and Col Max Manwaring on the Search for Security, Ambassador Robert Oakley on Policing the New World Disorder, Ambassador Mark Palmer on Breaking the Real Axis of Evil (dictators), books on disease, poverty, water scarcity, etcetera. There is no other way to put this: this book is trash, and the fact that Jim Woolsey, one of the worst Directors of Central Intelligence in our history, endorses it, confirms Woolsey's desperate lack of judgement.

These guys are delusional. Viet-Nam, where I lived from 1964-1967, was a battle of wills, and the strategic culture of the North Vietnamese not only proved superior to that of the USA, but in the end the North Vietnamese were proven to be in the right. The same will happen in Iraq.

There are no footnotes in this book. It is a rambling opinion piece that was probably not written by the authors, but by a FOX team of unsung poorly-p[aid interns. Let us not confuse rank with brains, or opinions with thought. It is a double-spaced book that could probably be distilled to 30 pages of core reading, all summed up as "we're always right, no matter the cost." This book also adopts the Richard Perle neoconservative game plan of using terrorism as a pretext to invade Syria and Iran. I assure each and every one of you, a universal draft is planned for after the election. Your sons and daughters will be sacrificed to the lunacy that this book represents.

I had planned to take down this book page by page, but any viewer of CNN will recognize that the current quagmire in Iraq is everything the authors claim that it is not. On page 122 they blow hard on "actionable intelligence" and this one sentence represents to complete lack of intellectual or professional reality in the book: "Thanks to the efforts of the CIA, special operations forces, and the Iraqi National Congress, there was no shortage of actionable intelligence and it was of exceptionally high quality, helping the allied forces to keep Saddam Hussein's regime off-balance thoroughout Operation Iraqi Freedom." Utter nonsense.

I went through the book very carefully, looking for any sign that these authors had considered the ideas of others. They have not. This is an opinion piece that is so far removed from reality that it must be considered disinformation.

The book ends on two false notes. Although the authors demonstrate a semblance of balance in calling for better public diplomacy and especially the restoration of the US Information Agency, they continue to emphasize money for guns and the early use of the military in expeditioanary mode, rather that a truly transformative strategy that begins with understanding the full range of threats facing us (bacteria are more dangerous than terrorists), devising a strategy for dealing with those threats by using *all* of the instruments of national power, and then a balanced budget that achieves all of that without sacrificing the earning potential of future generations.

Finally, we have thirteen pages of photographs where the authors proudly display their field trip photos, and what leaps out to the veteran's eye is that they were always in air-conditioned rooms and cars and never broke a sweat. As my good friend Robert Young Pelton likes to say (he is author of "The World's Most Dangerous Places"--you should all read it), these guys live and think in a bubble--they don't get into the gutter, they don't smell the shit, and they have no idea how close their fantasy world is to destruction from forces that are beyond their comprehension.

I don't think this book is worth the purchase price, except as an example of the kinds of books, and kinds of people, that place loyalty to ideology above and apart from the public interest.

Rating:
Summary: Endgame
Review: A very well written book on ending terrorism and the fight it will take to end it. This book will make you think and take you into the heart of all the players of the endgame. The authors are very well up on whats at work the world over, who to watch and what needs to be done before its to late. The list of players is a long list and the list could grow longer if the blueprint for victory isn't followed. A book every one should read-Larry Hobson-Author- The Day Of The Rose

Rating:
Summary: The generals know their struff
Review: As an airline pilot and retired AF 3 time combat vet I can tell you that the generals know their stuff. Read and heed. As the two generals so clearly point out we are in a war that we must win. Losing is not an option. This is without a doubt the best book written on why we fight and why we absolutely must win. The time for politics and political correctness is over. This book should be required reading for anyone who thinks the Iraqi war was a mistake or politically motivated. Thank you General McInerney and General Vallely for this excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: NeoCon-Likud and Southern Evangelical Fanatics in Uniform
Review: Don't read this book because its authors are highly qualified (an Asst. Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force and a deputy commanding general of the U.S Army, respectively). And don't read it just because their analysis for Fox News has been spot on so far (when others were predicting military disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq, they correctly predicted the military campaigns). Instead, read it as if your life depends on it. Because it probably does.

The authors first describe the gravity of the war against terror. They demonstrate that fundamentalist extremists -- in many countries -- have repeatedly demonstrated that they have no qualms about using any and all means necessary to slaughter innocent civilians. In escalating, nightmarish scenarios, they describe the outcomes of a failure to quickly and completely deal with the "Web of Terror". At the top of the heap, of course, is the very real scenario involving the simultaneous detonation of nuclear weapons in multiple U.S. cities.

The second section of the book describes how we fight: both defensively and offensively. The campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq are described in excellent detail. And for those who claim that the Iraq campaign was simply a distraction in the war against terror, the authors beg to differ:

"Saddam Hussein's Iraq kept bad company -- as one might expect of a regime that practiced mass executions, torture, and arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and used chemical weapons against its own people. Iraq had extensive dealings with terrorists. Two Palestinians at the top many ... "most wanted" lists in the 1980's and ... 1990's -- Abu Nidal... and Abu Abbas -- were given sanctuary by Saddam Hussein... Nidal led an organization that committed a number of bloody attacks... [and] masterminded the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro, a crime that included the murder of [an]... American passenger. Iraq provided training camps for terrorists, most notoriously at Salman Pak... where an obsolescent Boeing 707 was used to train terrorists to hijack airliners. Iraq made cash payments to the families of ... suicide bombers. [Iraq's] vice president... was specifically tasked with supporting... the PLO, Hamas, and ... Islamic Jihad... in addition, the al-Qaeda affiliate, Ansar al-Islam, was based in Northern Iraq..."

Thus, Hussein's massive human rights violations, support of terrorism world-wide, and development and use of WMD's made him a first-tier target in the war on terror. The authors rejected a continuance of the containment policy because sanctions had been subverted by regimes like Syria; international support was wavering; and French, German, and Russion businesses continued to stoke Saddam's massive weapons programs.

The final section of the book discusses how we must wage the war on terror... country by country. In some cases, diplomacy is recommended. In others, quick military action is advocated. The rationale, strategies and tactics are all discussed in compelling detail. Wrapping up, the authors state:

"Our fight, however, is not against a religion. The vast majority of Muslims are obviously peacable people. Our fight is against those who... [would] ... turn Islam into a terrorist creed preaching global violence and revolution. What we can and must do is act against those regimes that train, shelter, and support the terrorists who are bent on killing us (Iran and Syria); put further pressure on Muslim states to curtail radical Islam within their own borders (Egypt, Pakistan); stop Muslim states from subsidizing intolerant religous beliefs around the world (Saudi Arabia); and demand, and bring about, an end to the WMD programs of rogue states (North Korea). We must declare a "no sanctuary for terrorists" policy and enforce it. [We] must be a faithful ally to those Muslim countries that openly oppose Islamist terror and ... stand for tolerance and liberalization... like Morocco, Qatar and Bahrain... [We] must promote economic, political, religious and social freedom through the entire Muslim world..."

It is only in the book's afterword that politics are discussed. The authors state that they have purposely written the book from a military perspective.... not political. However, the Democratic primaries -- in which nearly every candidate denied the existence of a terror network and stated that only "al-Qaeda" is the enemy. The fallacy of that denial is described in great detail throughout the book. The corruption of the UN's "oil-for-food program", the intrinsic monetary links between Hussein and Europe, make relying upon either the UN or conflicted countries like France, Germany and Russia, a foolhardy and dangerous exercise. Unfortunately, the apparent Democratic candidate for President was one of these candidates.

"The Web of Terror will want to influence America's presidential elections because [it] will not survive four more years of George W. Bush." At stake is nothing less than the survival of the United States. Overstatement? The authors clearly demonstrate otherwise. Read this book. And get your friends and family to read it as well. It's simply that important.

Rating:
Summary: Live in America? Then read this book TODAY.
Review: Don't read this book because its authors are highly qualified (an Asst. Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force and a deputy commanding general of the U.S Army, respectively). And don't read it just because their analysis for Fox News has been spot on so far (when others were predicting military disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq, they correctly predicted the military campaigns). Instead, read it as if your life depends on it. Because it probably does.

The authors first describe the gravity of the war against terror. They demonstrate that fundamentalist extremists -- in many countries -- have repeatedly demonstrated that they have no qualms about using any and all means necessary to slaughter innocent civilians. In escalating, nightmarish scenarios, they describe the outcomes of a failure to quickly and completely deal with the "Web of Terror". At the top of the heap, of course, is the very real scenario involving the simultaneous detonation of nuclear weapons in multiple U.S. cities.

The second section of the book describes how we fight: both defensively and offensively. The campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq are described in excellent detail. And for those who claim that the Iraq campaign was simply a distraction in the war against terror, the authors beg to differ:

"Saddam Hussein's Iraq kept bad company -- as one might expect of a regime that practiced mass executions, torture, and arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and used chemical weapons against its own people. Iraq had extensive dealings with terrorists. Two Palestinians at the top many ... "most wanted" lists in the 1980's and ... 1990's -- Abu Nidal... and Abu Abbas -- were given sanctuary by Saddam Hussein... Nidal led an organization that committed a number of bloody attacks... [and] masterminded the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro, a crime that included the murder of [an]... American passenger. Iraq provided training camps for terrorists, most notoriously at Salman Pak... where an obsolescent Boeing 707 was used to train terrorists to hijack airliners. Iraq made cash payments to the families of ... suicide bombers. [Iraq's] vice president... was specifically tasked with supporting... the PLO, Hamas, and ... Islamic Jihad... in addition, the al-Qaeda affiliate, Ansar al-Islam, was based in Northern Iraq..."

Thus, Hussein's massive human rights violations, support of terrorism world-wide, and development and use of WMD's made him a first-tier target in the war on terror. The authors rejected a continuance of the containment policy because sanctions had been subverted by regimes like Syria; international support was wavering; and French, German, and Russion businesses continued to stoke Saddam's massive weapons programs.

The final section of the book discusses how we must wage the war on terror... country by country. In some cases, diplomacy is recommended. In others, quick military action is advocated. The rationale, strategies and tactics are all discussed in compelling detail. Wrapping up, the authors state:

"Our fight, however, is not against a religion. The vast majority of Muslims are obviously peacable people. Our fight is against those who... [would] ... turn Islam into a terrorist creed preaching global violence and revolution. What we can and must do is act against those regimes that train, shelter, and support the terrorists who are bent on killing us (Iran and Syria); put further pressure on Muslim states to curtail radical Islam within their own borders (Egypt, Pakistan); stop Muslim states from subsidizing intolerant religous beliefs around the world (Saudi Arabia); and demand, and bring about, an end to the WMD programs of rogue states (North Korea). We must declare a "no sanctuary for terrorists" policy and enforce it. [We] must be a faithful ally to those Muslim countries that openly oppose Islamist terror and ... stand for tolerance and liberalization... like Morocco, Qatar and Bahrain... [We] must promote economic, political, religious and social freedom through the entire Muslim world..."

It is only in the book's afterword that politics are discussed. The authors state that they have purposely written the book from a military perspective.... not political. However, the Democratic primaries -- in which nearly every candidate denied the existence of a terror network and stated that only "al-Qaeda" is the enemy. The fallacy of that denial is described in great detail throughout the book. The corruption of the UN's "oil-for-food program", the intrinsic monetary links between Hussein and Europe, make relying upon either the UN or conflicted countries like France, Germany and Russia, a foolhardy and dangerous exercise. Unfortunately, the apparent Democratic candidate for President was one of these candidates.

"The Web of Terror will want to influence America's presidential elections because [it] will not survive four more years of George W. Bush." At stake is nothing less than the survival of the United States. Overstatement? The authors clearly demonstrate otherwise. Read this book. And get your friends and family to read it as well. It's simply that important.

Rating:
Summary: Clear and Concise
Review: Endgame is a very well done review of America's challanges and opportunities in the post 9-11 era. McInerney and Vallely know thier stuff and pull no punches, no political correctness, just thier informed opinion of what has worked in the past and the direction America should go to defeat globel terrorism. It is a relatively short book, but like them or hate them, they will make you think and wish it was a longer book.

Rating:
Summary: Dismantling the Web of Terror
Review: Endgame is an excellent book and an easy, factual, and quick read. Unlike numerous other political analysts and pundits, Lt. General Thomas McInerney (Ret) and Maj. General Paul Vallely (Ret.) know what they're talking about and actually provide real world solutions the problems we face. The Generals provide solutions to defeating the "Web of Terror" through economic actions, tough and blunt negotiations, and, if necessary, joint military force.

"Jack in Toronto" had it all wrong. Oliver North wrote a section about the UN Quagmire and the UN's failure to take a serious approach to dealing with the "The Web of Terror" and insufficient weapons inspections. Oliver North NEVER said anything about "UN loving liberals that hate American." That fictional propoganda came soley from the mouth of "jack in toronto." Ollie North exposed the corruption behind the UN's programs, the UN's refusal to take action against terrorist attacks even to defend itself, and that Kofi Annan is not better equiped or more commited to fighting terrorism and dismantling the "Web of Terror" than George W. Bush.

Fundamentalist Muslims in the Arab World justify the perceived necessity of totalitarian regimes, which block freedom at every turn, by pointing towards incidents like the Super Bowl, claiming that the influences of the Western World will result in the decadence and destruction of morality. As explained in this book, that is simply not true. The book explains that "we cannot defeat the Web of Terror soley by military means." In order for the oppressed peoples of the Arab World to embrace democratic change, we must send them a message of liberation and hope, particularly, through the Five Freedoms outlined at the end of the book. Most of the book outlines a clear strategy to ending the War on Terror by targeting the regimes that enable them.

"Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror" is a really important book that I hope all Americans will read.
The War (on Terror) can't be lost on the battlefied, but it can be lost if the will of the Ameican people falters.

"We won the War, but whether we stay the course to win the peace won't be decided in Baghdad, Barsa, or Mosul. That's going to be determined on our television screens, newspapers, and in the corridors of power in Washington. I sure hope we don't leave it up to the media, Hollywood, the UN, or overly ambitious politicians....I hope they don't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, like they did with Vietnam." - a young Marine.