Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Against All Enemies
**** Against All Enemies by Richard A. Clarke. Non-fiction.
I can't give this book 5 stars--horror really isn't my genre, and I'm not a fan of depressing endings.
Richard A. Clarke was a counterterrorism expert who served under 4 administrations--from Reagan through G. W. Bush. Against All Enemies tells about the war on terror, focusing primarily on what led up to 9/11 and the response to it.
Otto von Bismarck said "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." (or something like that--I've seen it quoted several ways) and that's certainly true in this case. An even better quote might be the daffynition of Politics, n: Poly "many" + tics "blood-sucking parasites".
It's ugly. Very ugly. Politicians pursuing their own agendas, refusing to listen to advice that doesn't fit, being distracted from or prevented from taking action because of politics, etc., etc.
One last quote:
"It is not in the nature of politics that the best men should be elected. The best men do not want to govern their fellowmen." ~George E. MacDonald.True, but does it have to be so far in the other direction?
If I had it to do over again, I'd read this in small doses instead of straight through. It was way too infuriating and depressing to read all at once.
...more
Categories: Books, 4stars, Nonfiction
Labels: 4 stars, books, nonfiction
