Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror

Written by:
Richard A. Clarke
Narrated by:
Richard A. Clarke

Abridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
80
Narrator
Release Date
March 2004
Duration
6 hours 15 minutes
Summary
The real war on terror has happened largely behind closed doors, run by the White House, drawing on secret intelligence and operations around the world. There is no man who knows more about it than Richard Clarke, the former Counterterrorism Czar for both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the man who has led our efforts against al Qaeda and all other terrorist enemies for years, serving under seven presidents and in the White House for George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, until he resigned in March 2003. He has had a front-row seat at every major battle in this war, from the first World Trade Center bombing, to 9/11, to Afghanistan, to Iraq.
Clarke knows the secret stories of Bill Clinton's great victories -- shutting down anti-U.S. terrorism sponsored by Iran and Iraq -- and his great frustrations -- failing to kill Usama Bin Laden despite many attempts. When President Bush took office, Clarke was ready to present him with a master plan to roll back and destroy al Qaeda -- yet the president did not grant a briefing for months. His aides had little interest in Usama Bin Laden, preferring to talk about Saddam Hussein at every turn. Clarke knows why we failed to shut down terrorist financing within our borders prior to 2001.
After ignoring existing plans to attack al Qaeda when he first took office, George Bush made disastrous decisions when he finally did pay attention. Thanks to the determined, even conspiratorial views of Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, and Bush, we went after the wrong enemy.
The charges Clarke levels against the current administration must be taken seriously by every American, Democrat or Republican. Our security depends upon it.
Reviews
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doc

Bias in presentation, narrator is good, information is debatable

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Dion

Great book. Brings you inside the fight against terror and myriad problems and the history leading up to 911. Clarke has an "agenda" but I found he kept his opinions separate from his factual retelling.

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Clarence Johnson

Great Book. Outstanding analysis and insight into to Bush administration policy guidance and reaction to 9/11.

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Anonymous

Of all the post-9/11 books, this one does the best to summarize the successes and failures in trying to prevent the terrorist attacks. While any author involved in the events would be somewhat self-serving, it's easy to see through Clarke's biases and distill the truth. His recounting of the events of 9/11 itself were perhaps the most riveting, and the failings of the Bush Administration and Clinton Administration in having the imagination to prevent the attacks is telling.

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Dennis Fahlstrom

Clarke has laid out this political tale like a well spun Tom Clancy yarn. He grabs you in the first few minutes and doesn't let go. I kind of expected it to be a more scathing indictment of the mess the current administration has made of affairs by dropping the ball in Afghanistan rather than remaining focused there. To some extent this is done - there is enough blame to go around -but not to the detriment of the rest of the story. This is frightening stuff. It's spell binding and very well read by author Richard Clarke. Put this one on your "must hear" list.

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Martin

Strictly a Bush basher -- has an agenda that he is pushing in his book. Facts are fuzzy and credibility is low.

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Lee Werley

Great book. I do not give many 5 stars so I gave it 4. I wanted to take notes. I did not think I could think less of George W. but now I do. I can't believe that there are so many people who actually voted for him, or maybe not. I just wonder why Clark stayed in his administration so long.

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Mandi Chestler

Richard Clarke's book is a real eye-opener. His writing is precise and his ideas well supported with facts. A professional who has worked for 7 presidents from both parties, he is an expert that can be believed to present the real non-partisan truth behind our policies on terrorism. A must-read book for any American who wants be informed about events leading to 9/11.

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Michael Scott

WOW! I knew I liked this guy!!! One can only hope that in the next LEGAL election, someone brings this guy back. I can sleep better at night, knowing that people like this 'got my back'. It's a pity that this current faux-administration didn't try to take advantage of his expertise, both before, and especially AFTER 9/11.

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Anonymous

You will become ever frustrated with Federal Government, especially that of the Bush Administration. While you picture Richard Clarke reading this book while wearing a Superman costume (the ego does show through) you will be facinated at the events before, during and after September 11th.

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William Bozeman

Great book, great read, and excellent information. Won't go into the details of the text, but I found it to be a very frustrating book in many ways, which I am sure Richard Clarke would agree too. I'll be buying the book very soon, and read the full text of this one. Highly recommend to everyone.

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Vidhya Vaitheeswaran

A window into the whilte house on 9/11. Though the book is Clark's view of events that took place on 9/11,the whitehouse approved the manuscript. So it can very well serve as a good history book for future generations.

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Anonymous

Wow--we are entering a very frightening period in US history. Our government has made so many mistakes--especially the Bush administration. I think if Bush had been our president during WWII, we'd all be speaking German now. I did get the sense that Richard Clark is a bit full of himself. It seemed like he was the only one who had a brain. We all know that is not true, but he does accurately point out that governments, like businesses, are too easily led astray by "groupthink." We really need change in this country. You'll enjoy this book. Clark speaks well. But, if you are like me, the future he paints will make you sad. I do not think that future generations will ever refer to our time as "the good old days."

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Anonymous

I liked it so much I went out and bought the CD's. I listened to it a second time and I am now lending it out. Mary

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