Stanik, a retired naval officer and Middle East scholar, provides a detailed account of the raid as well as an in-depth analysis of its causes and effects. He also describes three other hostile encounters between U.S. and Libyan forces during Reagan's presidency and details U.S. covert operations. From a bombing in Berlin, West Germany, to terrorism in the skies over Lockerbie, Scotland, from the halls of power in Washington to airbases in England and the decks of American warships in the Mediterranean, Stanik has woven a truly international thriller that is all too real and forebodingly relevant to current events. A study in diplomacy, strategy, high-level policy, deck-plate operations, and the unique challenges offered by a new brand of evil, this book is required reading for a better understanding of the ongoing war on terrorism.
Book Description
America's war on terrorism did not start on 11 September. Long before the overt war in Afghanistan and the covert war against al-Qaida, U.S. forces struck at one of the hotbeds of terrorism in the world. On 15 April 1986, in the dead of night, American strike aircraft roared into the very heart of Muammar Qaddafi's Libya, attacking carefully selected targets and nearly killing the "brother leader" himself. Code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, the raid was in direct response to Qaddafi's support of a terrorist act against U.S. service personnel stationed in Europe and was a result of President Ronald Reagan's pledge to respond to terrorism with "swift and effective retribution."
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"...a fine study in combating terrorism...deserves a place on the shelf of anyone interested in America's current conflict." -- Naval War College Review, Winter 2004
"...an impressive work. It will stand for some time to come as the definitive study on the subject." -- The New York Militray Affairs Symposium Review, Autumn 2003
"...chilling similarities between U.S. foreign policy with Libya in 1986 and Iraq in 2003." -- Marine Corps Gazette, August 2003
"A study in diplomacy, strategy, and the unique challenges involved when dealing with terrorists." -- Sea Power, May 2003
"A valuable book... Highly recommended." -- Choice, May 2003
"[A] thoroughly researched and even-handed account." -- Air Power History, Winter 2003
"...an impressive work. It will stand for some time to come as the definitive study on the subject." -- The New York Militray Affairs Symposium Review, Autumn 2003
"...chilling similarities between U.S. foreign policy with Libya in 1986 and Iraq in 2003." -- Marine Corps Gazette, August 2003
"A study in diplomacy, strategy, and the unique challenges involved when dealing with terrorists." -- Sea Power, May 2003
"A valuable book... Highly recommended." -- Choice, May 2003
"[A] thoroughly researched and even-handed account." -- Air Power History, Winter 2003
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
the first battle in America's war on terrorism,
By
This review is from: El Dorado Canyon: Reagan's Undeclared War With Qaddafi (Hardcover)
Stanik, a former navy officer, has written a careful account of the jousting between Ronald Reagan and Muammar Qaddafi. Over the course of six years, Qaddafi sponsored terrorist strikes at American and other interests, and the U.S. responded with naval maneuvers in the Gulf of Sidra and proxy wars in Africa. (France was involved with the U.S., Egypt, and others.) The cover shows one of these minor but bloody skirmishes, in which a Libyan gunboat was blown out of the water. They did nothing to slow Qaddafi, who in 1986 masterminded an explosion in a Berlin disco frequented by American soldiers. Within hours, the U.S. was planning a military strike. True to form, France refused overflight rights, so the Britain-based bombers had to fly a 3,000-mile route out over the Atlantic and back into the Mediterranean. Did it work? Not entirely. Libyan then sponsored the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103--only to pay reparations later. After that last defiant display of terrorist power, Qaddafi seems to have mended his ways. This is a solid book, especially interesting in the detail of that fantastic raid on Libya from bases in Britain. -- Dan Ford
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful History for today's events in the middle east,
By A Customer
This review is from: El Dorado Canyon: Reagan's Undeclared War With Qaddafi (Hardcover)
Joseph Stanik, a retired naval officer and former history instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy, provides readers with a well-researched political and military history of U.S.-Libyan relations from the start of Reagans presidency through the aftermath of Operation El Dorado Canyon, the precision air strike aimed at Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi's terror apparatus. He chronicles the development of administration policies to confront international terrorism and its most prominent advocate, Colonel Qaddafi, and carefully describes the political and economic strategies, diplomatic initiatives, covert actions, and military operations aimed at the Qaddafi regime. A major asset of Stanik's book is his clear analysis of those policies. Along the way, he explains why it took Reagan so long to retaliate against horrendous acts of terrorism directed against American citizens. Disagreement within the administration over the application of military force and unsupportive allies--Sound familiar?--are among the reasons. Four times during Reagans presidency, hostilities erupted between American and Libyan forces; therefore, Stanik devotes considerable space to operational planning, descriptions of military equipment and tactics, and accounts of combat action. He provides thrilling accounts of two dogfights between U.S. Navy and Libyan fighters, naval surface action in the Gulf of Sidra, and tension inside the cockpits of U.S. Air Force F-111Fs as the planes bore down on Qaddafi's compound in downtown Tripoli. Stanik also takes readers through the Lockerbie affair and relates our current war against global terrorism to Reagans controversial pledge to strike terrorists with swift and effective retribution.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
opening round in the war on terror,
By
This review is from: El Dorado Canyon: Reagan's Undeclared War With Qaddafi (Hardcover)
As the U.S. ramps up toward war with Iraq, Mr. Stanik's book assumes new interest. He tells the story of the six-year confrontation between the Reagan administration and the secular Islamic dictator Muammur Qaddafi of Libya. It's hard slogging through the first half of the book, which details in sometimes confusing terms Qaddafi's terrorist games and the American responses. But the second half--the chapters involving Operation El Dorado Canyon--are fascinating because they illustrate the first use of the type of warfare that has since become the hallmark of American arms: a precision strike, at night, with split-second timing and guided bombs, over incredible distances. Well worth reading. -- Dan Ford
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
