America's Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between the United States and Its...

America's Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between the United States and Its Enemies | George Friedman | Stratfor analysis at a bargain price

books:

America's Secret W...

	America's Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between the United States and Its Enemies George Friedman Broadway, 2005 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 68 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Very Informative

This book is the best overview of the current situation regarding the US war on terror and the war in Iraq (the two are part of the same.) At some 350 pages or so it can't be hugely in depth, but it packs in a lot of punch, epxlaining all the major and important trends. The writing is concise, straight to the point and lucid. For me it wasn't boring at all, although at times the seriousness of our situation was more than sobering.

The book attempts to explain, in as unbiased a manner as possible, the strategic reasoning behind both America's and the terrorist's actions, how the war had its origins in the end of the Cold War, and how the two sides' strategies are playing out. It's an excellent primer for anyone who wants to know such things as:

- What is Al-Qaeda, how did it start, and what does it want? (Basically a reinstating of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Afghanistan victory against the Soviets convinced radical Islam that it had the power to do this.)

- What is Al-Qaeda's strategy for obtaining what it wants? (Don't expect any quarter or any scruples, their capabilities are limited so they make up for it with extremism, trying to provoke America into a much larger war with Islam in general. It's hard to deny someone a war when they want to kill you and try extremely hard to do so.)

- What is America's strategy for dealing with Al-Qaeda? (Al-Qaeda is designed to be extremely survivable. Defeating it won't be easy or quick and will require a large amount of sacrifice and patience. Its survivability limits its effectiveness though, ensuring a long campaign.)

- What role does the Iraq campaig play in the struggle? (It's become the equivalent of the Solomons campaign in the Pacific in WWII, or the battle of Stalingrad. It's losing its original strategic significance with both US and Al-Qaeda objectives being left unfulfilled, but it is becoming the campaign where the victor -although not the victory- is determined.)

- What role do the Saudis play? (They have to fight Al-Qaeda since that's where Al-Qaeda's funding comes from. This would mean a civil war in the country. The Government, which is very detached from the highly Wahabi population, is trying to avoid this at all costs dragging the problem along even more. Stagnation and failure in Iraq means the Saudis won't stand up to Al-Qaeda because they will feel Al-Qaeda is more powerful / has stronger will to fight than America.)

- What role does Iran play? (They hate us and want us destroyed. They hate Al-Qaeda too and want them destroyed. They are developing nuclear weapons. Worst case scenario? Play Al-Qaeda and America off each other, supporting both, one with weapons and the other with intelligence, and then step into the power vacuum.)

The book is history and analysis rolled into one, starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and going to the present day. As such the parts explaining the more distant past are better than the parts explaining the present, since hindsight is 20/20 and there is some significant uncertainty as to the current situation. This is certainly understandable and excusable, if not outright unavoidable. It's also a very realpolitik explanation, which at times can be a bit depressing since there's not much to be said about the human spirit in the realpolitik view. However, one should hope for the best but plan for the worst, and realpolitik certainly forces you to do the latter.

Americans should read this book so that they can understand just how difficult an enemy Al-Qaeda is, how limited America's choices really are, how effective our actions have been or have not been, and what the geo-politics of the mideast are. Once you have this necessary knowledge you'll be far more able to critically analyze the news and America's actions for fighting Al-Qaeda.

Definitely recommended.

for more information click here

Stratfor analysis at a bargain price

America's secret war provides the reader with Stratfor's analysis of the current struggle in a sort of "executive summary" fashion at a fraction of the cost their subscribers pay. The book is an honest assessment of the situation. Several critics have called it biased but I don't think so.

I was in Macedonia working with NATO during the Kosovo campaign. This was when Stratfor was just getting its feet wet and it did a bangup job. I worked in intel collection, recovering German made drones and analyzing data to provide to the decision makers. I received classified intelligence briefings twice daily. I was getting the military side of things. I was also reading Stratfor constantly and conversing via E-mail with them to get the political side of things. In every case, their analysis was clear, concise and unbiased. Many of NATO's senior military leaders found it to be timely and extremely useful.

This book seems to have all those traits, save perhaps timely - tough to do in a book. As soon as it's published, it's out of date. If you want timely, subscribe to Stratfor for about $350 per year. Otherwise, enjoy the bargain you're getting with this book.

for more information click here

Honest and Factual account of our real reasons for war on terror and Iraq

This book was superbly written, it was very refreshing to read an honest account of our motives in pursuing a war with Iraq (and the larger area of the "war on terror". Although I disagree with several of George Friedman's main points, he makes a convincing argument for the war(s) that greatly surpasses most other accounts.

Friedman believes that these wars are essential to our national security, and does not bother with the standard nonsense of "liberation" or "regime change". I believe that anyone seeking an intelligent position on our current foreign policy owes it to themselves to read this book. People on either end of the political will find this book greatly informative.

As a counterpoint to Friedman's main beliefs I would recomend Blowback by Chalmers Johnson. In America's Secret War, Friedman claims that our safety depends on the use of our military power, in Blowback Johnson shows that the use of said power is likely to decrease our safety.

As a counterpoint to Friedman's main beliefs I would recommend Blowback by Chalmers Johnson. In America's Secret War, Friedman claims that our safety depends on the use of our military power, in Blowback Johnson shows that the use of said power is likely to decrease our safety.

for more information click here

Vital Information for Understanding the World Today

We Americans are generally misinformed and perplexed about the causes and goals of our "war on terror," and this book does a great job of cutting through the propoganda and pointing toward what seems to be the foundations of the conflict. Basically, this book helps us to understand that the conflict that escalated with 9/11 is a geo-political chess game for control of a whole region, from the Arab Peninsula to Central Asia and beyond. It presents a good overview of the timeline of events and their significance, starting with roots in the 1980s Afghan conflicts, through the strange and mishandled relationship the US has with Saudi Arabia, and continuing through the war in Iraq. While most of us will learn plenty from this book, and author George Friedman is unbiased in the sense that he points out plenty of cases where US officials have made serious blunders, he does not question the basic assumptions that our administration is operating under.
We learn from this book that the key to understanding the war is in that relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. We learn that Al Qaeda's goal of the attacks of 9/11 was to draw the U.S. into a war that would galvanize the entire Islamic world. Friedman makes the case that the U.S. had no choice but to strike back in Afghanistan, and to continue to show strength throughout the region. The invasion of Iraq then became an American retreat and re-offensive move to get our military out of Saudi Arabia but surround the Saudis and establish a new base for operations around the region.
Friedman's concluding analysis is weak, however. He concludes that the war, for all the mistakes in prosecution, has been a general success for the U.S. because Al Qaeda has failed to galvanize the pan-Islamic war it wants. But neither has the U.S. won much influence, loyalty or transformation of the region. From Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and Uzbekistan and Iran, governments have not transformed their policies, become strong U.S. allies and gone after Al Qaeda themselves. As in just about every serious war, we instead see the general theme of a shifting standoff where both sides are playing destructive chess on a board of hundreds of thousands of square miles of territory and with hundreds of thousands of people as pawns.

for more information click here

A must read

Friedman immediately states that America has been forced into the world's largest chess match. Both sides, Al Qaeda and America, are extremely intelligent and have an obvious goal they are trying to achieve. One side is adamant in resurrecting the Caliphate (the Muslim world as one) and ultimately raising it the greatness it once had while the other side will do everything within its power to destroy Al Qaeda. America was forced into this war (a war we have yet to name) through September 11. He delivers important information on understanding where this war came from. The forth global war is a direct result of the ending of the Cold War. "You cannot understand September 11 unless you understand the Cold War". He gives an important history lesson on how Sept 11 developed over the years and how it led to us invading Iraq.

The amount of information the author offers through this book is amazing. The history of Al Qaeda and the goals they are trying to achieve. To believe that they attacked the US because of the capitalistic society we live in and the lifestyles we choose to enjoy is "ignorant". There is a much larger objective they are trying to achieve and will stop at nothing in achieving it. Reading this book will give you a new perspective on the war on terror. How difficult this war is for the US and how we are actually winning this war. The end result of this war is the destruction of Al Qaeda, Iraq is a substantial means to that end. WMD had very little to do with us invading Iraq according to Friedman. The Middle East viewed the US as weak and we needed to change that.

Before reading this book I would suggest researching the company Friedman founded, STRATFOR. He does not cite any of his sources but according to some, "it is not in one's nature to cite sources when in the intelligence business".

for more information click here