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larry1138's review
4.0
I listened to the audiobook version from Audible.
I'm not sure how Jeremy Scahill did it, but he somehow crafted an immensely detailed look at the most secret part of U.S. foreign and military policy. I've already read much on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I've read "Relentless Strike" by Sean Naylor detailing the history of American special forces and the rise of JSOC. I've read "Kill Chain" by Andrew Cockburn detailing the deadly overconfidence of U.S. military technology's ability to win wars simply and quickly. But this book puts all of that into a cohesive and disturbing context set in the post 9/11 era up until about 2013.
The rise of Dick Cheney's neoconservative vision for a global shadow war promoting U.S. interests abroad and the development of a task force that could pull it off. The slow but steady radicalization and eventual assassination of American citizen turned radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. The use of drone strikes in Afghanistan and Yemen that actually hindered U.S. efforts at promoting peace. The shadow war between Ethiopia and Somalia that the U.S. helped orchestrate, resulting in the strengthening of terrorist organization al-Shabaab. The development of legal and philosophical justifications for torture, assassination, and the right for U.S. special forces to deploy anywhere to hunt down suspected terrorists. The solidification of the "world is a battlefield" philosophy from Bush to Obama. The transformation of JSOC into an efficient killing machine rivaling the intelligence capabilities of the CIA and augmented by private military corporations.
These are all the revelations you will explore deeply when you read this book. The Somalia chapters took me completely by surprise. The whole book though is eye opening, disturbing, and very important. There was so much I did not know even with my own extensive background in research on the War on Terror and modern military conflicts in the Middle East. Scahill provides an incredible overarching political, geographical, and contemporary historical context of each region he covers, from Washington to Afghanistan to Yemen to Somalia. And if you listen to the audiobook version, Tom Weiner has an excellent voice for the serious tone of this very long volume.
A high recommend from me even though many may find it quite dense, but that's kind of the point. There is so much to learn about in this book, and it's important that you do.
I'm not sure how Jeremy Scahill did it, but he somehow crafted an immensely detailed look at the most secret part of U.S. foreign and military policy. I've already read much on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I've read "Relentless Strike" by Sean Naylor detailing the history of American special forces and the rise of JSOC. I've read "Kill Chain" by Andrew Cockburn detailing the deadly overconfidence of U.S. military technology's ability to win wars simply and quickly. But this book puts all of that into a cohesive and disturbing context set in the post 9/11 era up until about 2013.
The rise of Dick Cheney's neoconservative vision for a global shadow war promoting U.S. interests abroad and the development of a task force that could pull it off. The slow but steady radicalization and eventual assassination of American citizen turned radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. The use of drone strikes in Afghanistan and Yemen that actually hindered U.S. efforts at promoting peace. The shadow war between Ethiopia and Somalia that the U.S. helped orchestrate, resulting in the strengthening of terrorist organization al-Shabaab. The development of legal and philosophical justifications for torture, assassination, and the right for U.S. special forces to deploy anywhere to hunt down suspected terrorists. The solidification of the "world is a battlefield" philosophy from Bush to Obama. The transformation of JSOC into an efficient killing machine rivaling the intelligence capabilities of the CIA and augmented by private military corporations.
These are all the revelations you will explore deeply when you read this book. The Somalia chapters took me completely by surprise. The whole book though is eye opening, disturbing, and very important. There was so much I did not know even with my own extensive background in research on the War on Terror and modern military conflicts in the Middle East. Scahill provides an incredible overarching political, geographical, and contemporary historical context of each region he covers, from Washington to Afghanistan to Yemen to Somalia. And if you listen to the audiobook version, Tom Weiner has an excellent voice for the serious tone of this very long volume.
A high recommend from me even though many may find it quite dense, but that's kind of the point. There is so much to learn about in this book, and it's important that you do.
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