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The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
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List Price: $27.50
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Manufacturer: Doubleday
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931
EAN: 9780385526395
ISBN: 0385526393
Label: Doubleday
Manufacturer: Doubleday
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2008-07-15
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: 2008-07-15
Studio: Doubleday
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Editorial Reviews:
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A dramatic and damning narrative account of how America has fought the
"War on Terror"
In the days immediately following September 11th, the most powerful people in the country were panic-stricken. The radical decisions about how to combat terrorists and strengthen national security were made in a state of utter chaos and fear, but the key players, Vice President Dick Cheney and his powerful, secretive adviser David Addington, used the crisis to further a long held agenda to enhance Presidential powers to a degree never known in U.S. history, and obliterate Constitutional protections that define the very essence of the American experiment.
THE DARK SIDE is a dramatic, riveting, and definitive narrative account of how the United States made terrible decisions in the pursuit of terrorists around the world-- decisions that not only violated the Constitution to which White House officials took an oath to uphold, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, acclaimed New Yorker writer and bestselling author, Jane Mayer, relates the impact of these decisions—U.S.-held prisoners, some of them completely innocent, were subjected to treatment more reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition than the twenty-first century.
THE DARK SIDE will chronicle real, specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of what was happening in Washington, looking at the intelligence gained—or not—and the price paid. In some instances, torture worked. In many more, it led to false information, sometimes with devastating results. For instance, there is the stunning admission of one of the detainees, Sheikh Ibn al-Libi, that the confession he gave under duress—which provided a key piece of evidence buttressing congressional support of going to war against Iraq--was in fact fabricated, to make the torture stop.
In all cases, whatever the short term gains, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, and our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself. THE DARK SIDE chronicles one of the most disturbing chapters in American history, one that will serve as the lasting legacy of the George W. Bush presidency.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but not essential
Comment: The book is incredibly well researched and sheds light on many of the questionable actions of the Bush administration. It is especially informative concerning the activities of one of the most clandestine and powerful vice presidents this country has ever had. Ms. Mayer goes through the gradual process of circumventing the agreements of the Geneva Convention as well as how the Constitution was re-interpreted to the benefit of executive power. However, most of the important facts and names have circulated in the popular press as of lately and to a well informed reader the book may fill-in items of interest but may not be of absolute essence. Overall, anyone who follows politics and is fascinated by the addictiveness of power should take the time to read "The Dark Side".
Customer Rating:
Summary: very important book
Comment: this is a very important book about what happens when the rule and role of law are ignored. when Shakespeare said "first, kill all the lawyers", he was not dissing lawyers, he was commenting on how power hungry rulers can wreak havoc when the lawyers and their lawyerly advice has been extinguished. exactly what happened here. yes, there were several lawyers, of hack quality, involved, but they were hand selected because they would say what cheney, et al. wanted to hear, and if anyone doubts the role that cheney plays in this administration and its disastrous policies, your doubts will be allayed by this book. should be number one on the best seller list, should win every non-fiction award out there, should be required reading for members of congress and should be read by everyone interested in politics and modern history.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bush didn't get it - nor could he comprehend - the dumbing down that lead to war
Comment: Bush and Rice had the information they needed to "perhaps" prevent 9/11. However, they failed to listen. In addition, the CIA and FBI didn't share critical information. The government, the bureaucracy blundered. This book tells it all. It tells how people failed. How agencies failed. And, above all, how a dumbed-down president could not comprehend the dangers that were already in this country and could have been stopped before they killed some 3000 people and brought a great country to its knees. This is, as other reviewers said, a frightening book. It's a book you should read.
- Susanna K. Hutcheson
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent and frightening
Comment: The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
An eye-opening, well documented look into the Bush administration. The facts outlined will keep you awake at night, or at least it did me.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Without Liberty and Justice for All
Comment: History is supposed to teach us lessons from the past. From the Alien and Sedition Act, the "Red Scare" of 1919, the detention of thousands of Americans during World War II because of their Japanese ancestry, we were supposed to learn that even through the most dire threat to our safety, the rule of law ennobles us and protects us from tyranny. In "The Dark Side," Jane Mayer explains how easy it is for history to repeat itself in the name of security.
By September 11, 2001, the President of the United States had already spent fifty days of his first eight months in office, on vacation. In spite of several warnings of an impending attack from several foreign intelligence sources, as well as our own, the administration never quite understands the threat.
The attack on a clear summer morning changes that, and it changes things for the worse. The subsequent invasion of Afghanistan allows the military and the C.I.A. to round up hundreds of Taliban prisoners. An offer of a $5,000 bounty for the capture of al-Qaeda and Taliban nets them hundreds more. The administration screams for actionable intelligence from these detainees, but sorting them out and interrogating them is another matter. The assumption is that "enhanced interrogation techniques" will bring more accurate results in less amount of time. It also has to be justified.
The justification comes from John Yoo, the legal counsel for the Justice Department who provides just the argument Dick Cheney and his attorney, Dick Addington are looking for. It says the president can do essentially anything he wants, and ignore Congress, if it for the security of the country. Yoo also states that enhanced interrogation techniques are not torture unless it results in organ failure or death. Alberto Gonzalez joins in describing Afghanistan as a failed state, and their detainees as unlawful combatants. The state department is not consulted.
America's shame is just beginning.
With John Yoo's memo providing the green light, American military and C.I.A. begin to torture detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Saddam Hussein's Abu-Ghraib prison, and one in Afghanistan. The techniques they employ are sleep deprivation, standing for prolonged periods, the absence of light and irregular meal periods to enhance disorientation, water boarding, extreme cold and heat, constant loud music, humiliation, no toilet breaks, confined spaces, prolonged restraints, especially Palestinian hangings, irregular and insufficient periods of sleep, and threats. Other detainees are sent to countries for rendition, countries known for human rights abuses. People will die of exposure, heart attack, or from simply being beaten to death.
While the administration claims that the techniques work, there are too many instances where the tormented harden their resolve during harsh treatment, and cooperate when treated well. Many who are tortured provide false information that sends our intelligence assets on fools' errands. The most damaging disinformation comes from Sheikh Ibn als-Libi who gives evidence against Saddam Hussein while he is being tortured. This is the justification for going to war with Iraq. He only wanted his torturers to stop.
In 2003-4, the policy begins to unravel. Charges are reduced, dropped, or changed against John Walker Lindh, Yasser Hamdi, and Jose Padilla. Since they were tortured, their charges won't stand up in court. Justice Department lawyers begin to question John Yoo's legal precedents. The CIA Inspector General begins to investigate abuses. JAG officers begin refuse to prosecute or serve on military tribunals. In 2005, the Abu-Ghraib scandal will break. It is later estimated that most of the detainees at "Gitmo" are people who were rounded up when they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or were turned in for the generous bounty offered. They include an eighty-year old deaf man, and a wealthy Kuwaiti businessman who will indignantly refuse to buy another Cadillac after his mistreatment." A German and a Canadian citizen will be kidnapped and tortured before they are set free. Three hundred forty of 749 detainees held in Gitmo will remain there with only a handful being charged.
In spite of a growing rebellion inside the Departments of Defense and Justice, the President refuses to remove people he promised he would hold accountable for abuses. Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 600 U.S. military and civilian personnel were involved in torture.
The true leader of this policy holds a tight rein and his resistance to change is fierce. It is Dick Cheney and his loyal lawyer, Dave Addington. Even the new attorney general, Alberto Gonzalez refuses to go toe to toe with Dave, a tall, snarling bully. Cheney takes the unprecedented step of summoning the C.I.A.'s Inspector General to his office while he is conducting his investigation. The military holds a number of investigations that limit them to looking at the lower ranks. It is also clear by 2005, that Bush is fully aware that some of his senior officials believe that Gitmo should be closed and his detention policy changed. The dissenters and naysayers are excluded from any more discussion. To this day, Bush refuses to budge.
This is a powerful story. The author is holding a mirror to people who have long believed they were just and righteous. This is not just a bucket of cold water, it is being thrown into a river of ice. She tells us that we must look at ourselves if we ever hope to recapture our moral greatness. Even this she concedes will take years. Her book is a good place for our national introspection to begin.
She concludes this powerful report with the following: "Seven years after Al Qaeda's attacks on America, as the Bush Administration slips into history, it is clear that what began on September 11, 2001, as a battle for America's security became, and continues to be a battle for the country's soul."
"This country does not believe in torture." George W. Bush, March 16, 2005.
Also recommended:
Goldsmith, Jack L. "The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration,
Miles, Steve, M.D. "Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror, Random House, 2006.
Wolf, Naomi, "The End of America," Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007.
Wright, Anne, "Dissent: Voices of Conscience," Koa Books, 2008.
Greenwald, Glenn, "A Tragic: How a Good Vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency, Crown, 2007.
Greenwald, Glenn, "How Would a Patriot Act: Defending American Values From a President Run Amuck, Working Assets, 2006.
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