Product Description

“You make a mistake, there are dead people.”
—FBI Special Agent Art Cummings, head of international counterterrorism operations

Drawing on unprecedented access to FBI and CIA counterterrorism operatives, New York Times bestselling author Ronald Kessler presents the chilling story of terrorists’ relentless efforts to mount another devastating attack on the United States and of the heroic efforts being made to stop those plots.

Kessler takes you inside the war rooms of this battle—from the newly created National Counterterrorism Center to FBI headquarters, from the CIA to the National Security Agency, from the Pentagon to the Oval Office—to explain why we have gone so long since 9/11 without a successful attack and to reveal the many close calls we never hear about. The race to stop the terrorists, Kessler shows, is more desperate than ever.

Based on exclusive interviews with FBI Director Robert Mueller, CIA Director Michael Hayden, White House Counterterrorism Chief Fran Townsend, and dozens of key intelligence operatives at all levels, The Terrorist Watch:

• tells the previously unreported story of how the United States helped thwart the 2006 London terrorist plot, broke up terrorist cells in Canada, and prevented numerous other attacks
• reveals how the CIA and FBI have rolled up more than 5,000 terrorists worldwide since 9/11
• provides a stunning insider’s account from the FBI agent
who spent eight months debriefing Saddam Hussein after his capture
• pinpoints press leaks that have resulted in CIA agents’ deaths, caused foreign countries to stop cooperating on key investigations, and even tipped off Osama bin Laden to U.S. surveillance
• destroys numerous media myths, such as the canard that the FBI and CIA still don’t cooperate on investigations
• discloses the truth about the number of U.S. mosques where imans preach jihad
• shows how the intelligence community has radically changed its mission—and how the media have misled the public about those changes

Never before has a journalist gained such access to the FBI, the CIA, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the other agencies that are doing the unheralded work of finding and capturing terrorists.

Ronald Kessler’s you-are-there narrative tells the real story of the war on terror and will transform the way you view the greatest problem of our age.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127896 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-13
• Released on: 2007-11-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From AudioFile
Biographer and political writer Ronald Kessler tackles the hot political topic of national security, analyzing the 9/11 attacks and explaining just how the nation is defeating its enemies. Narrator Alan Sklar offers a poignant and gripping reading through his terse, firm delivery. With a pitch-perfect, clear narration, SklarÕs gritty tone brings an urgency to the book, his deep voice commanding the listenerÕs attention from the very beginning. Sklar knows the material inside and out, particularly where to emphasize certain points. The result is a taut performance dealing with extremely sensitive material that will appeal to a wide range of listeners. L.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
“A powerful and brave book. Kessler makes it clear that if we win this war, it will be because of the FBI and CIA professionals who have protected America since 9/11. If we lose the war, it will be because of distortions by the mainstream media, those who leak operational secrets to them, and politicians who undermine those who are trying to protect us.”
—R. James Woolsey, former director of Central Intelligence

“Ronald Kessler vividly tells the important story of the extraordinary efforts of those Americans who stand on guard protecting our nation in the war against Islamist extremism.”
—Senator Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

“Ron Kessler is unique in his ability and willingness to tell the unvarnished truth about what it will take to protect America from the next major terrorist attack. This is a book which every informed and responsible American should read.”
—Robert Grenier, former director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center

“Ron Kessler destroys myths about the war on terror and provides an unprecedented inside look at how the FBI and CIA go about the tough task of defeating terrorism and preserving our freedom.”
—William H. Webster, former director of Central Intelligence and former director of the FBI

About the Author
Ronald Kessler is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen nonfiction books, including The Bureau: The Secret History of the FBI; Inside the CIA; Inside the White House; A Matter of Character; and Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady. A former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, Kessler has won sixteen journalism awards, including two George Polk Awards. He is chief Washington correspondent of NewsMax.com. Kessler lives in Potomac, Maryland, with his wife, Pamela. His website is www.RonaldKessler.com.

Customer Reviews

Very Interesting, but strong bias hurts credibility
There is a lot of interesting material in Kessler's book. I enjoyed the look inside the government's counterterrorism efforts, and the interviews and data from FBI and CIA agents/officers provide a great perspective on how things have unfolded over the past six or eight years.

However, I was shocked at how clearly biased Kessler's work is. You expect any writer/journalist will have a bias, but Kessler is almost non-stop in his unmitigated praise of Mueller/Tenet/Bush and he misses no opportunity to take shots at Clinton, Freeh, and the "media elite." This is not to say that his opinions are wrong or misguided, it's just hard to swallow the idea that Mueller/Bush/et. al. have been 100% right and effective in everything they've done while nearly all failures are attributable to "liberals" and "the media."

Kessler defends every policy and action of the current administration without any critique at all. Everything from Homeland Security to the Patriot Act to the outing of Valerie Plame, is discussed and supported without question or critical analysis. It's as though the book was written strictly from notes provided by the White House Press Secretary.

Another area of concern is Kessler's use of statistics. He is happy to quote statistics printed in the NY Times or Washington Post and then tear them apart as misleading or representative of "liberal media bias." That's fine - statistics are a dangerous tool, so hearing multiple interpretations of them is always valuable. However, Kessler then goes on to cite his own sweeping statistics (e.g. FBI "terrorist" arrests in recent years) in support of his views but does not explain or analyze them in any critical manner.

Don't get me wrong, I like the book, and it is refreshing to get a perspective on these issues from a source other than politicians and their spokesmen. It just makes me question the otherwise sensible-sounding data and conclusions in the book given the authors uncompromising bias. Kessler often comes across less like a journalist / investigative writer and more like a political hack / windbag like Limbaugh or Franken.

Excellent evaluation of counterterrorism efforts
Kessler takes the reader into the world of counterterrorism and paints a realistic picture of today's world. I learned a lot about the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the National Counterterrorism Center.

The book contains the good, the bad, and the ugly of the evolution of the U.S.'s effort to counter Islamic terrorism.

The bad begins on page 12 when Robert Muller gave Bob Dies a list of software he would require upon becoming Director of the FBI--Microsoft Office for example. Dies informed him that none of it would work on the FBI's current (ancient) computers. It seems the current director, Louis Freeh did not like computers and never used them. This is but one example of what had gone wrong in the 1990s. The FBI was unable to process information and could not communicate with each other or other agencies.

The ugly is "the wall" created by Richard Scruggs in a 1995 memo. Instead of realizing Scruggs was an ill-informed idiot, Deputy AG Jamie Gorelick and the AG, Janet Reno approved Scruggs memo.

The remainder of the book is devoted to the good, how things have improved. The wall has been torn down and the CIA, FBI and other agencies are communicating.

Before making any type of judgment on how well, or how poorly, the U.S. is doing in combating terrorism, read this book.

FBI Special Agent Piro's eight months interview with Saddam Hussain is work the price of the book. Saddam confirmed that he had fooled his generals, Iran, and the West into thinking he had WMDs. He did not think the U.S. would invade, and his fear was Iran. Should be ours too.

Lee Boyland author of two alternative reality books dealing with current events: The Rings of Allah and Behold, an Ashen Horse.

The Terrorist Watch
Wake up America! This book is a must read. It reveals the truth about what the press does not want us to know.