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Countdown to Terror: The Top-Secret Information that Could Prevent the Next Terrorist Attack on America--and How the CIA Has Ignored It

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In "Countdown to Terror" we have a first person account of our failings in The War on Terror which are specifically described in light of the 12th Iman plot. It comes straight from the mouth of Curt Weldon, Congressman, and vice chairman of the House Armed Service Committee. He immediately states that a "politically correct" attitude towards intelligence has eroded our national security. I should state ahead of time that it is a partisan account (which doesn't bother me) as the Republican representative blames the Clinton Administration for much of what is wrong with our intelligence apparatus today. Also, Weldon provides documents revealing that the Iranian government actively desired a Democrat in the White House in 2004, and that they had businessmen channeling funds for this purpose.

Weldon is introduced to an Iranian revolutionary, counter-revolutionary as the case may be, to whom he gives the name "Ali." He goes to Paris to meet with him, and then forwards the information to the CIA who allegedly send a member of the French Interior Ministry to threaten Ali and demand that he keep quiet. Ali has well-developed sources in Iran who have told him all kinds of things which would shock the American public--and everybody else. Most important are:

1. At the present time, Osama bin Laden is being hidden and sheltered in Iran by the Iranian government.
2. Iran is sponsoring and planning an assassination attempt on the first President Bush.
3. The Iranian government's attempt to build a nuclear bomb is far more advanced than we know.
4. Iran is actively trying to purchase a nuclear weapon from North Korea.
5. Ayatollah Khameni put out a contract (so to speak) on Yassir Arafat due to his wish to derail "an American peace."

The overall theme of the book is "speak truth to bureaucracy." Weldon knows that it goes against tradition and his better judgment, but he wishes to take his case to the American people so that they can be fully informed of the information that he has, which the CIA does not regard as being accurate.

The impression that one has, after reading this account, of Ayatollah Khameni and his Committee of Nine is that they are completely mad. They anticipate an American invasion of Iran and are actively taking steps to prevent it. The leadership fully believes that they are not like Iraq and will win a showdown with the United States. They regard the first President Bush as being the real brains behind the W presidency and that is why they wish to eliminate him. Most intriguing to me, is that the Iranian government has created a Legion of Foreigners known as the "Fer de lance" which boasts 22,000 members from various countries.

The book is mostly comprised of letters and memoranda that the Congressman has received from Ali. For this reason, while the work is very interesting, I cannot recommend to you that you purchase its 200 pages for the price they're asking. Picking it up used, or at least in paperback, is best practice unless you are independently wealthy. Yet, for those who follow the behaviors of Islamofacist Iran, the story is infinitely believable.

I have now completed a majority of this book. However, I have also read the article at the American Prospect website which other reviewers and the magazine itself claim totally discredits Congressman Weldon on the subject of this book. After reading this article, I am far from prepared to dismiss the congressman's claims. The writers of the American Prospect claim that a man named Mahdavi is actually the intelligence source named Ali in Weldon's book. They give nothing to back this up except the claims of an elderly man from Iran who claims that Weldon stole the story from him. Also, the article says that the reporters spoke to the CIA official who Weldon says disregarded the information from Ali. It is well known that there exists a defensive and protective culture in the CIA. It is natural that a retired official of the CIA would desire retaliation after receiving such a scathing condemnation against himself as well as the CIA. I see no reason to believe these individuals over the word of Congressman Weldon. The American Prospect clearly seeks to give a sinister portrayal of a Republican congressman. Keep in mind that this is a liberal/progressive magazine. However, I would encourage you to take some initiative and read the article yourself at prospect.org. It is titled "Curt Weldon's Deep Throat."

As far as the content of the book goes, I must say that if Congressman Weldon is right, we all have reason to be aware of a possible impending nuclear terrorist attack. If the book is true, we have all been disgustingly unaware of the danger facing our country. I would recommend atleast reading the book through once to judge its credibility for yourself.

I can't decide whether Congressman Weldon is a lousy writer or a devilishly clever one. Given the conversations that I have heard about the book, perhaps it is the latter.

The point of this book is not the intelligence that Weldon received from "Ali." It cannot be. The intelligence is -- at the time of the book's release -- either common knowledge or common suspicion. Apparently "Ali" was (is?) a pretty good source, since most of his predictions about Iranian moves against the U.S. proved accurate after the predictions were passed to Weldon. In fact, one of "Ali's" predictions has been fulfilled in the weeks AFTER the book's release ... namely that the Iranian election would be rigged to elect as president not only an extreme hard-liner but one who is non-clerical.

The issue of "Ali" and the treatment of his intelligence -- in particular by the CIA -- is the hook on which the Congressman chooses to hang his continuing justifiable outrage over the bungling bureaucratic structure of U.S. intelligence. It is Weldon's contention (probably a sound one!) that the "feel-good" reforms of the four years since 9/11 have skirted around dealing with the real problem. The real problem, he says, is a set of precepts and ways of doing business that protect the least competent and penalize enterprising agents and analysts at lower levels. The worst of these practices is "groupthink" that dumbs intelligence down to something that even the lead-heads will agree with and does not allow competing views to filter up to policy-makers. The solution, he says, is to fire some folks. OK, Congressman. It works for me!

So what are the problems with the book?

First, "Ali" brings up all the perennial problems of HUMINT. As a former member of the Shah's government and an avowed active promoter of the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, "Ali" has an axe to grind and an agenda of his own. "Ali" also wants money in order to keep the information coming. (Quelle surprise!) Finally, he has been associated with Gorbanifar. (Remember Iran-Contra?) None of these facts obviates the significance of "Ali's" information. They just mean that a) if CIA bureaucrats want to discredit him they have obvious starting-points and b) "Ali's" information -- like all HUMINT -- cries out for independent confirmation or some measure of skepticism.

Second, to those of us who try to follow this stuff, "Ali's" inconsistent transliteration of Arabic names should really have some explanation imbedded in the text. It takes a second look sometimes to figure out who we are talking about. e.g. Alzavaheri (Ayman Al-Zawaheri), Alzrghavi (Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi), and Emad Mognie (Imad Mugniyeh, one of the bloodiest and most dangerous terrorists in Iran's Hizb'allah stable).

Still, despite the flaws, the book is a great read and ought not be passed up.

Congressman Weldon's book has something for everyone - it is a must read!

Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA) has written an outstanding book, Countdown to Terror, which focuses on the threat posed by the Iranian Mullahs and their minions, and should be taken very, very seriously. Congressman Weldon is right on target when unmasking the prospect of an Iranian inspired and sponsored nuclear attack on the US, the completion or near completion of an Iranian nuclear device, and Iranian support for the insurgency in Iraq and international terrorism.

One operation the Congressman lays bare is "Operation Mahdi" - codename for an Islamic apocalypse, where the faithful are rewarded, and infidels are punished, perhaps with nuclear weapons. Given the fact the Mullahs have a seventh century mindset, no doubt some of them relish the prospect of America in nuclear flames. (What they may have in mind this time makes the American flag going up in flames at the US Embassy in 1979 look like child's play.)

Central to Congressman Weldon's book is his reliance on a source known as "Ali". Weldon, and his resourceful assistant, Dr. Peter Pry, base their assessment of threat primarily on information provided by Ali, a native of Iran, who is a former high level government official in the Shah's regime and has been and is active in seeking to overthrow the Mullah's regime. The book must be read to grasp the depth and breadth of intelligence provided by Ali.

Congressman Weldon calls the CIA to account for canceling a meeting with he, Dr. Pry and Ali in Paris and trying to silence Ali. Further, the Congressman offers a substantial critique of the Agency on a number of fronts.

All this taken together is why you must read this book. If you are even remotely concerned about the Mullah's trying to sneak a nuke in on the US, it's a must read. If you love conspiracy theories and think fact is often more interesting than fiction, pick it up. If you think the CIA is being unfairly maligned by Congressman Weldon, get the book, so you can see his side of the argument. If, alternatively, you figure the Congressman may just be right, or at least partially right, get the book - it's a treasure trove.

Lastly, if you are one of the Mullah's reading this review and harboring nuclear or other ill will toward America, look out, Curt Weldon from Pennsylvania has your number. Oh, and one more point for the Mullahs, when you read Congressman Weldon's book (yes, you have to buy it, too), the "tempest in a teapot" you may think you are observing, with undoubted glee, between the Congressman, the CIA, the New York Times, and Washington Post is an intramural squabble, relatively speaking, a difference amongst friends.

At the end of the day, you Mullahs and others who have ill designs on the US, need to know with crystal clarity the US has pulled together and is watching your every move. We're on to your game, and your dictatorial rule and support for terrorism is about over. You are surrounded by a free and Democratic Iraq and free and democratic Afghanistan. While your world view is 13 centuries old, your country is young, and the youth of Iran are smelling freedom. You may be able to suppress a "Prague Spring", like the Soviets did in 1968, but at the end of the day freedom prevailed and the Soviet Union was on the junk heap of History, just like you will be.

Regarding "Ali", Weldon's case is compelling, though it's tough for an outsider to fully judge his arguments and counter-arguments in the press. However, it doesn't matter whether it's Ali or Muhammed Ali, the intelligence provided by Congressman Weldon must be taken seriously, for not to do so may put the US and other nation's in grave peril.

In this hard cover 2005 Regnery Publishing copy, Rep Curt Weldon notes, p 183: "The gross incompetence in the intelligence community over the last decade, combined with the current rebellion of intelligence community leaders, especially at the CIA, justifies a dismissal of present leaders in all agencies and across the entire intelligence community. The straightforward solution would be to fire everybody above the level of GS-15."

The courageously outspoken Honorable Weldon is right. Leadership comes from the top -- and the senior mis-management of the intel agencies has given us 9-11 and whatever other Islamist horrors are bearing down upon us in the future. The fastest way to root out the treasonous incompetence and political correctness that Tenet and Freeh fostered in the senior levels of the intel agencies is a drastic purge of personnel. Weldon praises the CIA's Oehler and Deutch and Woolsey who tried to penetrate the Clintons' "flower child" fantasies with real world politics. Woolsey and company should be brought back to the Agency to help Porter Goss. Weldon is right to fear creating an intelligence czar -- it ties all the agencies into one big group and gives the end of the rope to one man. What if this one man is incompetent or evil? Better that intel agencies should compete with each other.

The key to a defensive and effective US foreign policy is knowing "who hates whom" in the rest of the world and why. In the US, tolerance of all ethnic groups is a characteristic absolutely unique to America. Unfortunately, America's unique situation ill-equips even our spies to recognize and analyze in a street-wise way the deep ethnic and religious hatreds and deceptions that fuel alliances and policies in the rest of the world. Weldon proposes that these ethnic hatreds can be defused by exporting democracy -- this is the one area in the book where Weldon seems to indulge in wishful thinking. Can democracy take root in a 13th century area of the world where the populations are mostly illiterate and even the educated five percent declare allegiance to a religion that enslaves women, chops off hands and heads, and promises 76 virgins to those who fly planes into buildings? Weldon's proposal for the US to unite with Russia against this barbaric threat -- and put an end to the State Dept's nonsense about supporting Chechnya [or Kosovo] -- is a good one. It is time for Western and Eastern Christians to mend the 1000 year old schism to present a united front against the latest Muslim attacks on Europe.

As a senior member of Congress, ten-term Congressman Curt Weldon has been contacted by many people who claim to have vital information for the United States government. And so, when Mr. Weldon met a Iranian exile in Paris who made a similar claim, he was convinced that the man was a fraud. However, as the man's "inside information" proved to be accurate, Congressman Weldon changed his opinion. Strangely enough, though, the CIA not only proved to be unwilling to listen to this informant, it even began to work against him.

This is the story of what Congressman Weldon learned from his source. Each chapter begins with the Congressman's analysis of each report he received, and follows up with the man's report as he gave it. Along the way, you will learn a great deal about what is actually happening in the Middle East: that Iran is providing key support to Osama bin Laden and the terrorists in Iraq, that it is terrified of the United States and its own citizens, and what it is doing.

Overall, I found this to be a fascinating book. Do I take all of the informant's information as Gospel truth? Really, I don't. But, a good deal of what he does say squares with what I have heard from other resources. So, I do think that this is an important book that will give the reader a clearer picture of what is actually happening in the Middle East, and why. I highly recommend this book.

This book is on a very timely and vital topic of international relations for the United States. On the positive side it points up the importance of Iran which has been a covert adversary of the US over the last 20 years. The book presents a lot of interesting information about what is happing in Iran today. However, one does not get the whole history of US relations with Iraq since the downfall of the Shah--much of which is undoubtedly secret. Also, a central contention of the book is that the CIA is ignoring a vital source of information about Iran, but we never get the CIA counterpoint to this contention or at least something approximating their reasoning. As a reader I felt I had gained some insight, but was missing importance perspective on the subject as a whole.

If you think it is hard to get any kind of objective statement from anyone involved in politics, wait until you try to sort out all of the self-serving motives involved in providing, analyzing, and debating intelligence sources and the information they provide. This book is by ten term US Congressman Curt Weldon, who represents a district in Pennsylvania. Yes, he is a Republican. He also sits on several committees involved with intelligence, and military matters. As vice-chairman of the Armed Services Committee and he has a degree in Russian Studies.

While serving in his duties he came in contact with a source that he feels has been very credible in providing important intelligence about Iran's motives, behaviors, and intentions. He notes that he was more than dubious at first, but after several of this source's statements panned out he brought him into contact with the CIA. The CIA, for unstated reasons, was uninterested. More than that, they worked to undermine this source's credibility. Further investigation by Congressman Weldon proved the CIA explanation as incorrect.

This book provides a chapter of introduction and explanation by the author, Congressman Weldon, and then the bulk of the book's chapters provide an introduction by the author and reproductions of memos sent to Mr. Weldon. There is also a final chapter that provides the author's summary of what has been provided and what needs to happen in the future. It is fair to say that Mr. Weldon is no fan of the bureaucracy within the CIA that resists change and has sought to actively undermine the Bush administration. This resistance continues to this day.

So, by reading this book, if you believe it (it rings true to me but I have no way to verify anything the author says), you will get real insight into our pitiful efforts at intelligence, amazing insight into the hard line Iranian government and what they seek to do to harm the US and undermine our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and what Iran has tried to plan to harm us within our own borders.

Some have dismissed the book. However, those folks have their own agenda and disagree with the direction and recommendation Mr. Weldon outlines in this book. If you support the Bush administration, as I do, you will find this book alarming. The author wants to spark a national discussion and have us become actively involved in demanding that our government overhauls and improves our intelligence capability in order to better protect us from those who do mean us harm. Iran is not our friend and cannot be coaxed to stop its strenuous and multifaceted efforts against America by having a conversation with its tyrants over tea and biscuits.

Read it and decide for yourself.

Creepy...I finished the book last night and woke up to the aforementioned CBS News report, something that Rep. Weldon's insider "Ali" had been reporting all along.
Unfortunately, for Weldon's critics and all Americans, this is just one more example "Ali's" warnings being proven true. I can only pray that our geniuses in Intelligence will quit their posturing long enough to thwart Al Qaeda and their planned arrival of the "12th Imam", a scenario that is Islam's equivalent to Christianity's Apocolypse. As for the rest of us, it may be time to start practicing how to "dive and take cover"...

Hackworth is a good read also, great man!...

FOr those reviewers who bash the book, might I ask how you read it in such a short time, it just came out. I just bought it and have only read about an hour or two so far. Fact of the matter is, the man (weldon) has nothing to lose. It is an interesting book by the looks of it and I wouldn't be so quick to discredit it.
It is scathing in it's bashing of the cia. Intelligence only flows as far as the leaders allow it. I wouldn't condemn the whole agency, just makes the dinosaurs in charge extinct.

And for those of you with the same mind-set as talking about gitmo being a gulag and all this is just pure rubbish. How would you fight the war on terror? with police? with kind words? with european "allies"? pleeeeez, we cant even trust them with the UN oil for food program. If you don't have a better solution then stop whining. There is so much information behind close doors that would make your behind pucker, if anything they aren't scaring us enough!

Again full disclosure I admit I did not read the whole book but from my very thorough perusing of key sections I can tell you it is worth a read. I especially liked the part about the source ALI, talking about how 40% of the WMD went to Iran and 60% to Syria and lebanon with hizb-allah.

and lemme ask you this... Despite political leanings:
Which conspiracy makes more sense? Terrorists and baathists went about hiding deadly and expensive weapons in sympathetic terrorist supporting countries so they wouldn't be found ( and remember, they managed to COMPLETELY conceal MIG-29 Fulcrums in the sand!), or George W Bush who is supposedly so stupid managed to lie and trick all the foreign intel agencies, 75% of the american public, and the majority of congress for his evil dastardly plot of blood for oil and world imperialist domination, without thinking of maybe planting some anthrax in a basement somehwere in baghdad? Whoever believes the latter needs to lay of the the crank and get over the 2000 election and work on finding a better spokesman than a true fruit basket like howard dean... I am a libertarian by the way.