Posted on 09/27/2009 6:36:44 PM PDT by Saije
On Aug. 6, 2001, our vacationing president was warned by the CIA for the 36th time in eight months that Osama bin Laden was determined to strike in the United States and that recent intelligence had suggested an attack might be imminent. There were at that moment, George W. Bush was told, 70 bin-Laden-related field investigations being conducted in the country. “All right,’’ our president told the CIA officer, “you’ve covered your ass.’’
On one level, Jon Krakauer’s “Where Men Win Glory’’ represents a detailed look at the tragic tale of Pat Tillman, the football star who quit the NFL to enlist in the Army and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.
But Krakauer’s book is also an exhaustive examination of America’s political and military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. Krakauer documents an unsettling history of miscalculation and mismanagement, of tactical blunders, deliberate deceit, and stunning incompetence at the highest levels of leadership. He finds no shortage of examples of the brand of blind arrogance and bad judgment reflected in Bush’s dismissal of the warnings by intelligence officers of a possible bin Laden attack. It all makes for painful, infuriating, and required reading. Truth, we learn, is the first casualty of war, and betrayal is a rule of the game.
In July 2002, Tillman, an Arizona Cardinal strong safety, walked away from a $3.6 million contract to become a grunt in the Army. In light of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, Tillman no longer felt that his role as an athlete was important. “My voice is calling me in a different direction,’’ he wrote in his journal. “It is up to me whether or not to listen.’’
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Hey. Krakauer was one of the idiots on Everest when all those people died, and showed how self-centered he is by his actions.
Sleep well, Jon.
I don’t know anything, I just read the paper, and I knew Bin Ladin was planning to attack the United States. And I knew from the paper that there was a sudden uptick in “chatter” in August.
The problem was knowing when and how. And doing it with pre-patriot-act laws. Gorelick’s “wall”.
Ya think this moron libtard who wrote the review does anything else except slobber all over Oliver Stone movies in his spare time?
Just another reason the Globe is going down, thank goodness.
I almost bought this book the other day when I saw that it was supposed to be about Pat Tillman. I then realized who the author was and bought Beck’s “Arguing With Idiots” instead.
The first paragraph has nothing to do with the rest of the story, just gratuitous swipes at Bush the “vacationing” President who was dismissive of a threat brief which lacked any specifics....the hallmark of the IC.
So, if we follow Krakauer's logic, bill clinton should be in jail because he and his admin neglected to take bin laden into custody five times, from two different governments
Between this richard cranium, Matthews, Olberman, Schultz etc., the entire left is doing nothing more than mentally masturbating.
5.56mm
I await the book on Obama that details these things.
Waiting ...
Waiting ...
Waiting ...
“The first paragraph has nothing to do with the rest of the story, just gratuitous swipes at Bush...”
No, I think we’re supposed to believe that Bush could have stopped 9/11 and if he had then Pat Tillman wouldn’t have left the NFL and joined the Army and wouldn’t have ended up dying on that mountain in Afghanistan.
The writer of this article is right. Truth is the first casualty of war.
Krakauer's book is also an exhaustive examination of America's political and military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. Krakauer documents an unsettling history of miscalculation and mismanagement, of tactical blunders, deliberate deceit, and stunning incompetence at the highest levels of leadership. He finds no shortage of examples of the brand of blind arrogance and bad judgment...IOW, another in a long line of left wing screed.
Does he suggest that our current naive, appeasing president is somehow an improvement in national security? Give me a break.
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