Rating: Summary: Someone slept through Vietnam Review: "Al Qaeda's Great Escape" (AQGE) is a must-read for all who have forgotten the confusion of the war in Afghanistan. The first half of the book is a day-by-day account of journalist Philip Smucker's travels to and through the Afghani war zone, beginning just after the war began. The second half of the book is a third-person chronicle of the fight for Tora Bora and of Project Anaconda, taken mostly from interviews with the Special Forces commanders involved in the fighting. This change of mode results in a bit of disjointedness. Luckily, the subject is fascinating and vital, allowing that shortcoming to be overlooked.AQGE chronicles how the war, fought with unreliable Pakistani and Afghan proxies, never had a chance of defeating Al Quaeda. That the US allowed bin Laden to escape is either a sign that we are not serious about fighting terrorism, or that our military and governmental leaders are too stupid to run a real war. We had thousands of al Qaeda fighters bottled up at Tora Bora. Yet we chose not to lay siege and flush them out. Also, we hugely underestimated the resolve, tenacity and ingenuity of the Al Quaeda fighters. Fighting on while vastly outgunned and outnumbered, they held off the larger and better-equipped US forces and inflicted serious casualties. Was this the "fog of war" or the fogginess of mind in the Pentagon and the White House? AQGE also offers a comic look at the media buffoons who used the war to bolster their own egos and ratings. Geraldo Rivera comes in for a special raking. His moving, from-the-scene "report" on the aftermath of an attack on American troops was complicated by the fact that he was never there. Media mockery aside, AQGE stays within journalistic bounds by refusing to indict the perpetrators of the mismanagement of the war. Yet the problem was not the lack of bravery on the part of American fighting men and women. Political timidity and naiveté, even with the American public fully committed to war after 9/11, played a large part in failing to commit sufficient men and materiel to the battle. Given bin Laden's mindset, he probably sees his escape as deliverance by God. Far from showing our strength and will, the inept prosecution of the Afghan War will only embolden bin Laden and his followers. AQGE is a valuable tool for bringing out the truth about the current adminstration's ability and willingness to wage war on terror.
Rating: Summary: Someone slept through Vietnam Review: "Al Qaeda's Great Escape" (AQGE) is a must-read for all who have forgotten the confusion of the war in Afghanistan. The first half of the book is a day-by-day account of journalist Philip Smucker's travels to and through the Afghani war zone, beginning just after the war began. The second half of the book is a third-person chronicle of the fight for Tora Bora and of Project Anaconda, taken mostly from interviews with the Special Forces commanders involved in the fighting. This change of mode results in a bit of disjointedness. Luckily, the subject is fascinating and vital, allowing that shortcoming to be overlooked.
AQGE chronicles how the war, fought with unreliable Pakistani and Afghan proxies, never had a chance of defeating Al Quaeda. That the US allowed bin Laden to escape is either a sign that we are not serious about fighting terrorism, or that our military and governmental leaders are too stupid to run a real war. We had thousands of al Qaeda fighters bottled up at Tora Bora. Yet we chose not to lay siege and flush them out. Also, we hugely underestimated the resolve, tenacity and ingenuity of the Al Quaeda fighters. Fighting on while vastly outgunned and outnumbered, they held off the larger and better-equipped US forces and inflicted serious casualties. Was this the "fog of war" or the fogginess of mind in the Pentagon and the White House?
AQGE also offers a comic look at the media buffoons who used the war to bolster their own egos and ratings. Geraldo Rivera comes in for a special raking. His moving, from-the-scene "report" on the aftermath of an attack on American troops was complicated by the fact that he was never there.
Media mockery aside, AQGE stays within journalistic bounds by refusing to indict the perpetrators of the mismanagement of the war. Yet the problem was not the lack of bravery on the part of American fighting men and women. Political timidity and naivete, even with the American public fully committed to war after 9/11, played a large part in failing to commit sufficient men and materiel to the battle.
Given bin Laden's mindset, he probably sees his escape as deliverance by God. Far from showing our strength and will, the inept prosecution of the Afghan War will only embolden bin Laden and his followers. AQGE is a valuable tool for bringing out the truth about the current adminstration's ability and willingness to wage war on terror.
Rating: Summary: Very balanced Review: A bit to the left but probably one of the most balanced presentations on this topic in print. Very well writen and a smooth read.
Rating: Summary: And He Was There Review: A wonderful rendition of the battle at Tora Bora and our mistakes that allowed Osama bin Laden to escape, from someone who was actually there. A great story teller who weaves the personalities of the terrorists, warlords, correspondents and goverment officials into a book that is almost impossible to put down. A great read!
Rating: Summary: Rummy /CIA dropped the ball!!! Review: An awesome, fascinating tale with an unhappy ending. Mr. Smucker's book, a high-stakes account from the trenches, rightly focuses on the crucial few weeks in the Afghan campaign when Pentagon and White House officials had bin Laden in their sights. The uncalculated plan of attack at Tora Bora (and beyond) should have given us all fair warning of the blunders that lay ahead for the Bush team. One reason we never found out was due to shoddy reporting driven by Pentagon spin doctors, aka Rummy and company. Read this book and bear witness to the indecision, the blind faith in our so-called Afghan "allies" and the unconvincing cover up of bin Laden's escape. Bush's security team has failed the American public and brought shame to the treasured institution of the US military, but it all started in Afghanistan. Required reading for the general public and military buffs the world over. Mr. Smucker calls it down the middle. Alas, he leaves the last decision to the reader. You're Fired, RUMMY!!!
Rating: Summary: Great book Review: I won't spend much time saying why this book is good because the other reviews do a good job of that.
If you are considering this book pick it up and you won't be able to put it down. (sorry for the lame pun)
Rating: Summary: Osama Yo Mama! Review: The hunt for Bin Laden, post 9-11, was the featured media story during the Oct. - Dec. 2001 timeframe. As much media coverage as the "Bin Laden" hunt garnered at that time - this book takes the reader to the next level of understanding, on the scene, in the scene, about what was taking place in Afghanistan. Mr. Smucker offers an account that is interesting, fast-paced and insightful. It provides a vivid recording of his movements through the wild and rugged terrain of Afghanistan, and will introduce a cast of characters more interesting than a year's worth of so-called "TV Reality" shows. Fasten your seatbelt, and enjoy the ride!
Rating: Summary: Osama Yo Mama! Review: The hunt for Bin Laden, post 9-11, was the featured media story during the Oct. - Dec. 2001 timeframe. As much media coverage as the "Bin Laden" hunt garnered at that time - this book takes the reader to the next level of understanding, on the scene, in the scene, about what was taking place in Afghanistan. Mr. Smucker offers an account that is interesting, fast-paced and insightful. It provides a vivid recording of his movements through the wild and rugged terrain of Afghanistan, and will introduce a cast of characters more interesting than a year's worth of so-called "TV Reality" shows. Fasten your seatbelt, and enjoy the ride!
Rating: Summary: Osama Yo Mama! Review: The hunt for Bin Laden, post 9-11, was the featured media story during the Oct. - Dec. 2001 timeframe. As much media coverage as the "Bin Laden" hunt garnered at that time - this book takes the reader to the next level of understanding, on the scene, in the scene, about what was taking place in Afghanistan. Mr. Smucker offers an account that is interesting, fast-paced and insightful. It provides a vivid recording of his movements through the wild and rugged terrain of Afghanistan, and will introduce a cast of characters more interesting than a year's worth of so-called "TV Reality" shows. Fasten your seatbelt, and enjoy the ride!
Rating: Summary: I read the review in Wash Post Review: This book is a gem. I picked it up in Detroit after I read the below review on the web in the Washington Post. I must agree that the author makes reading about the Bush Admin's massive strategic mistakes at Tora Bora both fascinating and, {Allah forbid,}FUN.
Wash Post Book World wrote:
The book is a devastating critique of Bush, Rumsfeld, other politically oriented strategists imposing their will on U.S. military forces and -- as the subtitle suggests -- quite a few of Smucker's fellow journalists. The critique is delivered with such humor and irony, however, that casual readers could easily underestimate its full impact. For all but the most avid Bush-Rumsfeld detractors, the humor and irony will be welcome. Smucker is a superb stylist; it is difficult to grasp how reading about something so depressing can be so much fun.
The book instructs pleasurably from the first page, as Smucker and his Afghan guide explore a remote tribal area of Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan. Smucker notices a sign reading "Winston Churchill's Picket." Winston Churchill, later to become the renowned British statesman? Yes, it turns out that just before 1900, Churchill spent time as a journalist in that very spot, writing about a frontier war dear to the empire. When Smucker learns that Churchill published a book about his experiences -- "The Story of the Malakand Field Force" (1898) -- he obtains and just about memorizes it. Then, in a brilliant touch, he opens his own chapters with apt quotations from Churchill's book. It is as if almost nothing has changed in that part of the world for more than a hundred years.
But the news reported by Churchill is not the same as the news Smucker reports. Churchill knew something about indigenous warriors from Pakistan, Afghanistan and other seemingly exotic territories whose thought patterns were so different from those found in the ruling U.S. and British citizens. He also knew quite a bit about government propaganda -- trying to make a losing cause seem not so bad. But Churchill knew nothing about airplanes flown into two New York skyscrapers and the Pentagon. Everything Smucker writes must be read in the shadow of Sept. 11, 2001.
When he wrote that al Qaeda terrorists had escaped their Tora Bora hideaway despite the vaunted U.S. military combining with native warriors to stop just that eventuality, Bush administration spokesmen all the way up to Rumsfeld said otherwise. As Smucker notes, "If it had not been for the Pentagon's diligent efforts to deny that bin Laden could have slipped out the back door, the story might well have been lost among all the other stories, rumors and propaganda. Instead, the Pentagon's denial mode boosted interest in our story of bin Laden's slippery moves."
Read it to believe it. Six Stars
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