America's Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between America and Its Enemies |  | Author: George Friedman
Publisher: Anchor
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Rating:  72 reviews
Sales Rank: 43291
Media: Paperback
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0767917855
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.730090511
EAN: 9780767917858
ASIN: 0767917855
Publication Date: October 11, 2005
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Product Description
Dubbed by Barron’s as “The Shadow CIA,” George Friedman’s global intelligence company, Stratfor, has provided analysis to Fortune 500 companies, news outlets, and even the U.S. government. Now Friedman delivers the geopolitical story that the mainstream media has been unable to uncover — the startling truth behind America’s foreign policy and war effort in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.
Stratfor, one of the world’s most respected private global intelligence firms, has an unmatched ability to provide clear perspective on the current geopolitical map. In America's Secret War, George Friedman identifies the United States’ most dangerous enemies, delves into presidential strategies of the last quarter century, and reveals the real reasons behind the attack of 9/11—and the Bush administration’s motivation for the war in Iraq. It describes in eye-opening detail America’s covert and overt efforts in the global war against terrorism: Not only are U.S. armies in combat on every continent, but since 9/11 the intelligence services of dozens of nations have been operating in close partnership with the CIA.
Drawing on Stratfor’s vast information-gathering network, Friedman presents an insightful picture of today’s world that goes far beyond what is reported on television and in other news media.
Al Qaeda’s war plans and how they led to 9/11
The threat of a suitcase nuclear bomb in New York and how that changed the course of the war.
The deal the U.S. made with Russia and Iran which made the invasion of Afghanistan possible – and how those deals affect the United States today.
How fear and suspicion of the Saudis after 9-11 tore apart the Bush-Saudi relationship and why Saudi Arabia’s closest friends in the administration became the Saudi’s worst enemies.
The real reasons behind George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq and how WMD became the cover for a much deeper game.
How the CIA miscalculated about Saddam Hussein’s and Iran’s real plans, leaving the U.S. bogged down in the war.
How the war in Iraq began with a ruse, pretending that a “target of opportunity” attack on Saddam Hussein had presented itself.
The real story about why the U.S. raises and lowers its alert status and why the United States can’t find and destroy al Qaeda.
The strategic successes that are slowly leading the United States to victory
America's Secret War is an unprecedented look at the new world war being waged behind-the-scenes today. It is sure to stir debate and capture headlines around the world.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 72
 An unsatisfying work, could have been better... June 17, 2009
P. Andrews (United Kingdom)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My previous review of this book was not apparently accepted by Amazon so perhaps this will be.
I'm a member of Dr. Friedman's Stratfor, and I find it an excellent source of information and analyses. So this book comes as a considerable let down.
Essentially it reads like Bush Administration propaganda about 9/11 and beyond, but, as Dr. Friedman points out, propaganda made more readable by good editorial advice.
He ignores so much evidence about 9/11 being an 'own goal', and all that has been written about Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001/2003.
It is as if he has put the considerable reputation of Stratfor as a reliable organisation for information and analysis into the service of this propaganda to make it more 'believable'.
I won't go into detail; there is enough of that in some of the previous 71 reviews of this book. I will say just this; while I'm happy to stay with Stratfor for their quality of their services, this book will go either to a charity shop-or in the bin.
 Perhaps one man's perspective, but a very well thought out perspective... June 1, 2009
James A. Scott (Lexington, MA USA)
This is an engrossing and well-thought out book that will expand the context of all but the most obsessed consumers of Foreign Affairs writing, regardless of political persuasion. Most opinion and analysis of the Middle East today takes place along the lines of the pre-digested CNN "sound bite," creating an extraordinarly limited yet equally self-confident statement of what is "in fact" happening. Thus it is not only refreshing, but highly useful to have at hand the kind of thoughtful, in depth analysis provided by Mr. Friedman, to whom I am personally grateful for having expanded my own understanding of United States foreign affairs.
Excellent insight; Lacks much needed critique. May 29, 2009
Jaewoo Kim (Santa Monica, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
One of the realizations I had after reading this book is how little of the world's events are reported on the news. Most news agencies do not have the sophistication or the means to provide a precise and a detailed coverage of many of the important world events. If you want to know the illuminating details on Al Queda, Iraq, and the middle east politics, then this book will fit your needs.
The author has a PhD in Political Science from Cornell University. He also has a military and military intelligence background with many years of military strategy experience under his belt. His combination of geopolitical and military expertise provides insights that few others can and he shares many of his knowledgeable and valuable insights in this book.
This book is mostly about 9\11 and the subsequent events, including the invasion of Iraq.
The author successfully put us in the minds of Al Queda. You will have a far greater understanding of Al Queda's motives, abilities, and reasons behind the 9\11 attack. Don't assume Al Queda is a mindless and barbaric terrorist organization. They are far more sophisticated than that.
The author also writes with detailed understanding about Saudi Arabia. He asserts that the US Iraq invasion was about Saud Arabia and its refusal to cooperate with America against Al Queda, and namely, its refusal to cut off Al Queda's funding.
The author refuses, however, to fully address the obvious deficiencies in the US government. For example, it is obvious that the US intelligence and President Bush were negligent, if not derelict, in their duties to protect America from events such as 9\11, which will not go down as a shining moment in America's intelligence community nor the Bush presidency. The US intelligence knew something was going on, and even had someone warn about an impending attack and gave those reports to President Bush, who famously ignored those reports and did nothing.
What is the author's explanation? He says the US intelligence community is great at gathering facts, but is very poor in analyzing those facts and coming to a meaningful conclusion. I thought that was a rather poor excuse for their handling of 9\11. He does, however, strongly imply that the US intelligence community needs a lot of improvement. Six months after 9\11, we had no better intelligence on Al Queda than we did on 9\10.
How about the Bush handling of Iraq? There is hardly any criticism of Bush and his adminitration's incompetence on Iraq and foreign policy. To be fair, Iraq was not quite the disaster when this book was written (2005) than it is now. Rather, the author seems to blame our failures in Iraq on Saudi Arabia's intransigence, and he gives much credit to Al Queda's cleverness and sophistication.
What an education! What a book! March 6, 2009
Geoff Puterbaugh (Chiang Mai, T. Suthep, A. Muang Thailand)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
After reading the first few chapters of this book, I was forced to change my mind about a number of things. Just one of them was the old question: "Did the United States finance Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan?" For years, I gave the "Richard Miniter Answer": "No, the US only gave money to the Afghan nationals, not to the foreign Arab warriors." After reading Friedman, I tend to think that: Yes, this answer is "correct," but only if you fall for the window dressing. Saudi Arabia financed the Arab mujahideen, yes. But it did so while hand-in-glove with the USA: the two countries were allied in trying (successfully) to create a quagmire for the USSR. It began with the Peanut Farmer, and was intensified under Reagan. And it worked!
The problem was that, typically enough, once the USSR collapsed, we "lost interest" in our former allies and simply abandoned them in Afghanistan. Of course, there may have been some not-so-subtle prodding from Arab regimes (such as Egypt, S.A., and Morocco) to do just that.
Also VERY interesting: 9/11 was not really "all about America." The target was the Arab states just mentioned. Al Qaeda was attempting to provoke the United States into a massive attack on the Arab world as a whole, leading to a pan-Arab Islamic revolution in which the U.S. would simply have been a patsy.
It didn't work. And understanding the strategy of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, Bill Clinton suddenly seems a lot less "lackadaisical." Like all American presidents, he was stuck with a dilemma. If we don't do ANYTHING, Americans will hate us. If we attack the Arabs, we've just been played for suckers. Clinton chose an "in-between" strategy of "ineffective response."
This book is a cram course in current geopolitics, and it is excellent. I would feel a lot more comfortable if the author were our National Security Advisor, or Secretary of State.
The usual ending: "everyone should read this book." But with a special note: "especially the 'Truthers'." This book lays it all out in open view, and shows exactly how the 9/11 hijackers came mostly from Saudi Arabia, but did not represent the WILL of the Saudi Arabian government.
No: they were trying to overthrow the Saudi Arabian government.
As a result, one comes to view the attempted charitable gift of $10 million from a Saudi royal to NYC in a very different light. Mayor Rudy was "right" to follow his guts and refuse the gift, but, like almost everyone else, he did not understand what had just happened. The Saudi royal quite likely did, and so one of the strangest moments of modern history suddenly becomes a whole lot clearer.
By the way, this book only takes the story to 2004, where the author quite rightly calls the war undecided, although looking bad for Al Qaeda. If you want the rest of the story, you'll need to look at a book like "The Gamble."
One of the best books I have ever read!
Birds Eye View November 23, 2008
Lodge2 (Texas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A very well written analysis of our involvement in the Middle East. This is foreign policy for grownups. Friedman has a way of connecting the dots and giving a birds eye view of events on the ground that is both fast moving and logical. He makes sense as opposed to the static coming from the media and politicians.
If you enjoy Friedman's work, I highly recommend checking out Stratfor.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 72
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