Covert Action : The Roots of Terrorism

Rating:
Summary: Sharply, concisely bring to light turmoil abroad and at home
Review: Collaboratively compiled and edited by Ellen Ray and William H. Schaap (founding editors of "CovertAction Quarterly), Covert Action: The Roots Of Terrorism collects key articles from CovertAction Quarterly magazine, the better to assemble a background to the terrorist attacks of September 11th and strive to understand the current "war on terrorism". Ranging from assassination and death squads to narcotrafficking and regime change, individual insights emerge from a wide variety of learned authors who sharply and concisely bring to light turmoil abroad and at home in this highly recommended and informative resource for non-specialist general readers with an interest the currently "War on Terrorism" being pursued by the American government and its allies.

Rating:
Summary: Sharply, concisely bring to light turmoil abroad and at home
Review: Collaboratively compiled and edited by Ellen Ray and William H. Schaap (founding editors of "CovertAction Quarterly), Covert Action: The Roots Of Terrorism collects key articles from CovertAction Quarterly magazine, the better to assemble a background to the terrorist attacks of September 11th and strive to understand the current "war on terrorism". Ranging from assassination and death squads to narcotrafficking and regime change, individual insights emerge from a wide variety of learned authors who sharply and concisely bring to light turmoil abroad and at home in this highly recommended and informative resource for non-specialist general readers with an interest the currently "War on Terrorism" being pursued by the American government and its allies.

Rating:
Summary: Networks of information
Review: Cover Action collects many articles from the authors' Covert Action Quarterly publication that cover that hottest of topics, terrorism.

Spanning about 20 years, this book looks at events from the first 'war on terror' (declared by Reagan, though you never hear this in the news) to the current situation and the possible futures. The Middle East figures heavily (Israel, Palestine, the first Gulf War) as does Central America, Afria, Kosovo, etc.

This is a valuable release for anyone interested in something besides the evening news, say, to explain the origins of not only 9/11 but of international terrorism, wherever it pops up. The contributions of Schaap, Ray, Chomsky, and many others concerning US internvetion abroad provide quite a different version than the 'official' history that is often accepted without question (we spread 'democracy' to this country, ended 'communism' in this country, fought for 'humanitarian' reasons in this country, etc.)

The articles are all concise, and you can pick through this book as you see fit, focusing on specific regions and incidents. There is a lot of information and brain food here to help people navigate the media and the various histories that are embraced by those who have something to gain from one interpretation over another. Highly recommended over pundit books or partisan hack work.