Customer Reviews

Cover Up: What the Government Is Still Hiding About the War on Terror

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read "Cover Up" because I heard the author (PL) on a very popular
nationally-syndicated radio show. He was part of a panel discussing
9-11, of course. I really couldn't decide whether PL thought that 9-11
was a govt. conspiracy, but he was very critical of a very "strident"
conspiracy radio host/film maker. PL claimed that he wrote only what
he could prove, and that the "powers that be" actually want people to
believe in vague, high-level conspiracies rather than getting at the "real"
facts. Having read many books on 9/11 that indeed point to a high-level
govt. conspiracy, I wanted to read "Cover Up" to get another point of
view about 9-11, this despite the scoffs from my friends!

I found "Cover Up" interesting for the most part, also quite
informative, as if a short primer on domestic terrorism (I will assume
that PL got his facts straight), though as I'll discuss below, I am still
not certain what PL really thinks about 9-11.

"Cover Up" depicts shocking, outrageous corruption, perhaps the most
egregious corruption is the FBI/Justice Dept.'s cover up of the relationship
between a fairly high-level agent and a Mafia hitman who killed many people
in a war among "families." While a large element of organized crime is
apparently eliminated, laws are broken at every turn, and when the FBI
man is prosecuted, he answers "I can't remember" 44 times, and is allowed
to retire on full pension, and to make sure the corruption is never revealed,
an honest cop's reputation is ruined, and he is stripped of his pension.

If you read "Cover Up," and I recommend that you do, you will get the
tie-in between the son of the Mafia hitman and Ramzi Yousef, whom PL
claims devised the bomb that killed a young engineer in the so-called
"Bojinka" plane bombing, which the author connects to the TWA 800 disaster,
in a convincing way. PL also connects all of this, along with incredible
negligence on the FBI's part, with terrorism and 9-11, and the details are
quite Interesting.

PL clearly spent a great deal of time interviewing the wives of the
9-11 victims, who pressed for a very long time before the govt. agreed to
have a commission, and he shows many aspects of blatant, deliberate
suppression of evidence by the commission, many members of which were very
compromised, and had much to lose by getting at the real truth.

Yet I found the book lacking in certain aspects of 9-11, esp.
the lack of a deeper analysis of what exactly happened on 9-11. PL asks
exactly the same questions that those who think that the govt. at the very
least knew in advance of the attacks, yet he makes no attempt to answer
them, and cites not one of the "conspiracy" books that do try to answer
the difficult questions.

A very key part of 9-11, as discussed in "Cover Up," is simply reported
and nothing more. Repeatedly we are told that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Yousef's
uncle, is the mastermind beind 9-11, yet I remember no evidence or further
details in the book, just a reference to PL's prior book on 9-11. Also KSM's
arrest and interrogation are kept secret, yet again we are not told anything
beyond this, and conspiracy researchers would obviously wonder what the real
story is?!

So what we get is an interesting read but I was left wondering if what
is presented in "Cover Up" is just a shadow of the deeper truth. Still, I
recommend reading the book.

Since 9/11, I have watched our leaders expend human and material resources in an obviously wasteful and non-productive manner. It is clear that they did not take adequate measures to insure our national security. We have and continue to pay a dear price for their negligence. Appropriate, necessary action can only be taken if we know the truth about what happened and who the players were and are. Official government channels have not been forthcoming with this information. We have been left misinformed and vulnerable. We must know the truth in order to plan intelligently. Peter Lance has provided us with a great resource. He has presented us with chilling new information in a well documented, dispationate, non-partisan manner. We are all in his debt. I urge you to read this book and become active in getting you elected leaders to do the same.

This book is a absolute MUST READ for anyone who is interested in the facts behind 9/11. Peter Lance does a excellent in depth expose' on the planning behind what happend on 9/11. The book reads like a unbelieveable fiction novel that just happens to have 30 pages of footnotes. I bought the book for my brother for christmas after I read Peter Lance's other book "1000 Years for Revenge". While I was at the bookstore getting my brothers present, I recomended to a woman there what a fantastic read the "1000 Years for Revenge" was. After I got the "9/11 Coverup" I finished it in 2 days. I want to thank Peter Lance for doing such in depth investigative journalism on this world changing topic.

I'd say that we live in a time of conspiracy theories, except that they have been around seemingly forever. Certainly there were a bunch of them surrounding Lincoln's death, and Kennedy and Roswell. In this book, Peter Lance an award winning investigative reporter looks carefully into the TWA 800 case and the 9/11 incident.

He brings up a lot of interesting points. But I'm not sure just what to believe. For instance, he asks the question 'Why wasn't NORAD (the Air Force) alerted to the hijackings until eighteen minutes after air traffic controllers realized a hijacking was in progress.' I think that's pretty easy to answer. The controllers weren't sure it was a hijacking, they are government employees, they had to get permission first. And the boss was probably in the bathroom, in a meeting, on the phone. There are all kinds of reasons to use up 18 minutes. You don't want to charge conspiracy when simple incompetance may account for it.

You may accept, or reject his conclusions, (or like me, admit you don't know) but if you don't have the information, you can't even make that decision. Mr. Lynch has exhaustively researched the files, studies and news reports. The resulting book is an excellent summary of what happened. I was particularly impressed with the TWA 800 information as this has been less available than 9/11 information.

Once again, Peter Lance delivers. I stumbled across "1000 Years for Revenge" 2 months ago because the cover caught my eye. It was one of the best books I have ever read. "Cover Up" is an amazing follow up to Lance's first look at the real face of terrorism that we are facing. Much like his first book on terrorism, this book leaves you with a very disturbing taste in your mouth in regards to our national security. The first half of the book basically revolves around the crash of TWA flight 800, and how new evidence that Lance was introduced to in early 2004 indicates that the plane did not crash as a result of a "mechanical failure", but rather as a direct result of one Ramzi Yousef as he sat in his prison cell in New York City. With his amazing ability to tell a story and keep you on the edge of your seat, Lance paints a fascinating picture of international terrorism, the mafia, corrupt cops, and even the murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964 that would later become the focus of the movie "Mississippi Burning".

The second half of the book is dedicated to breaking down the 9/11 commission report piece by piece and cross examining it, exposing the Commission for the half-truths that it produced in its 18-month "investigation". Many questions are brought up, with too few answers.

This book, along with "1000 Years for Revenge" are must reads for anyone. I have recommended these books to every friend I have.

You will not be able to put the book down. In part due to Lance's amazing ability to make a story based on facts read like a fiction novel. But also because much of what you will be reading will astonish you.

This is an extremely well-written and documented book. I especially liked the foot-noted references that allow the reader to check the facts for themselves. If the average citizen thinks the FBI and CIA are providing meaningful security to the USA, this book will make one think again. After reading this book, I also read "1000 Years for Revenge". That book finished filling in the blanks. I suggest they both be read to get the whole picture. There is no doubt in my mind that the US will be attacked again, and that government agencies have been put under so many constraints that they will never be able to stop it. Read these two books. Your hair will stand on end.

COVER UP would be fascinating reading any time, but it's must reading right now while Congress is focusing on improving U.S. intelligence. This book opens up a whole new aspect about who the FBI was working with prior to 9/11, as if Lance's first book, 1000 YEARS FOR REVENGE (now in paperback) wasn't astounding enough. You'll find out what the 9/11 Commission ignored and left out of its report. If you are looking for accountability and the truth behind the 9/11 failures, you'll find that Lance's powerful investigative reporting makes a unique and critical contribution to your search.

I really like Peter Lance. I enjoy his writing style and he has researched his topics well. However, I thought 1000 Years for Revenge was better. He seemed a little stressed and frustrated while writing this book. However, I would still recommend Cover Up. Without this book and 1000 Years for Revenge I would have been clueless as to the flaws of the 9/11 Commission.

When the 9/11 Commission report came out I ran down to the bookstore and got 2 copies 45 minutes before the oficial release time. I had read over 2,000 articles on 9/11, and was eager to find out what the official report admitted, and what it omitted. Although it added many facts that had not been revealed before, I was disgusted to find that many facts showing government incompetence were left out entirely, and no accountability was demanded of those who incompetence cost hundreds of lives, and those who lied about it.
Did you know that:
[1] Condoleezza Rice perjured herself before the 9/11 Commission, and was not challenged?
[2] Two U.S. generals, including the now-famous General Myers, stated that when multiple aircraft were reported hijacked on 9/11 they did not think it was a COORDINATED PLOT until the first jet crashed into the World Trade center? Despite the fact that there had been only 1 hijacking in the U.S. in 15 years before that morning. Neither general has been fired or brought up on charges.
[3] In September 2001 The federal government released a timeline of the NORAD and FAA response to the news of the hijackings on 9/11 and the failure to scramble fighter jets in time to stop any of the attacks. This Spring (2004), in front of the live 9/11 Commission hearings, the government released an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TIMELINE. As to which one, if either, is true we don't know. No one has been fired or brought up on charges for this coverup.
[4] In 2001 the French and Russian and other allied intelligence services and many CIA and FBI agents tried to warn our leadership of an imminent large terror attack against the United States. (Senator Feinstein of California even stated on Meet the Press on July 1, 2001 that a large terrorist attack against the U.S. was likely within 60 days - she was off by only 12 days.) Despite this, and despite an August 6 memo Bush received stating that Bin Laden wants to attack Washington, D.C. and preparations for hijackings are now underway, neither Bush or Cheney treated it urgently. A week before 9/11 the White House finally held a meeting about the threat, but neither Bush nor Cheney bothered to show up. In August Senator Feinstein sent Cheney information about the threat, and she was told that Cheney will take a look at it within 6 months.
[5] An FBI agent in Minnesota who had a terrorist named Zakarias Moussaoui in custody in August 2001 said to FBI HQ in Washington,

Cover Up By Peter Lance dives into the 9/11 terrorist attacks and what happened leading up to the attacks and what happened during the attacks. We have all heard about the conspiracies of 9/11 and how some people believe that the government was involved in these attacks. But what Peter Lance shares in this book is what the government didn't do to prevent these attacks.

I never really was informed about the events leading up to the 9/11 attacks until I read this book. It really showed how 9/11 could have been prevented by the government if the right actions were taken to strengthen our security system. The second part of this book talks about what happened after 9/11 and what the government failed to do during 9/11. After reading the events and how they took place it is unbelievable to see how President Bush (Jr.) and the rest of his staff handled these attacks.

The reason for my 4 out 5 star rating was because it was overall a very enjoyable and informative book to read. It taught me so much more about the 9/11 terrorist attacks and completely changed my viewpoint on the topic. I went from knowing very little about this topic and ended with a completely new mindset. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a historical book to read and anyone who is looking to become a more informed citizen.