Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terrorism

Against All Enemies is Richard A. Clarke’s disturbingly detailed 278-page assessment of the Bush administration’s myopic infatuation with waging war on Iraq while consistently ignoring a myriad of other terrorist threats, including Al-Qaeda. A lifelong Republican, Clarke’s anti-terrorism expertise afforded him a front-row seat at the inner circle of the past four presidents. While Enemies does not exude excess rancor, it does reflect the author’s deep frustration with his inability to penetrate Bush’s reluctance to consider matters of consequence. Though his estimation of the current White House cabinet is less than complimentary, he paints a particularly distressing picture of National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, an expert on the Soviet Union, but someone who was essentially walking around blind without a cane when it came to the Middle East. If, understandably, your psyche remains fragile after 9/11, you may want to steer clear of Enemies. But trust me: You won’t be able to avoid its incontrovertible message anytime soon.