The New War: The Web of Crime That Threatens America's Security [Hardcover]

Senator John Kerry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 1997

In a groundbreaking indictment, the nation's foremost expert on international crime describes global crime organizations from Asia to South America, Europe to Africa, and shows why they are the single greatest threat to our nation's security.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In a cursory overview of international crime, Senator Kerry (D-Mass.) implausibly calls for foreign criminal law to be imported into the United States to prosecute nationals of other countries who plan crimes here then conduct them abroad. His rationale is that weak or corrupt countries cannot effectively prosecute crimes committed within their jurisdictions. At the same time, he suggests that crimes committed against Americans abroad be prosecuted here in "special courts." He also calls for transnational asset forfeiture, in which victimized countries would share in the forfeiture of assets seized in cooperating jurisdictions. While well intentioned, the book is short on specifics and contains no revelations about international crime. For general audiences.?Harry Charles, Attorney at Law, St. Louis, Mo.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Fresh from a hard-fought win over Governor William Weld in the 1996 Massachusetts senatorial race, Kerry pulls together information he gathered as chairman and ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations (1987^-97). "Crime still seems only a local phenomenon to most of us," Kerry notes, but crime has globalized, with international groupings--"the Italian Mafia, the Russian mobs, the Japanese yakuza, the Chinese triads, and the Colombian cartels"--working with smaller, specialized groups in "Nigeria, Poland, Jamaica, and Panama," and banks and businesses that enable such criminal enterprises to handle the vast wealth they generate. Kerry describes this network's key players, spotlighting the drug trade, terrorism, "human contraband," and money laundering, and suggesting globalized law enforcement that would seize global criminals' assets and share them (and criminal intelligence) with nations willing to cooperate. Civil libertarians will resist, but Kerry makes a disturbing case for his position. Mary Carroll

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (June 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684818159
• ISBN-13: 978-0684818153
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,400,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book, January 25, 2000

By 

Michael J. Berquist - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New War: The Web of Crime That Threatens America's Security (Hardcover)

With the end of the Cold War and the growing globalization of the world marketplace there has been a marked increase in the last decade of terrorist activities, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, being just two of the more conspicuous examples. In his book "The New War", Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts lays out a complete picture of the international crime syndicates which now threaten America's security and way of life. Senator Kerry lays out a compelling argument for America to take steps to protect our infrastructure from outside threats.

A must read for anyone concerned about America's place in the world.

91 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thinking about International Crime, May 11, 2004

By 

Peter Shulman (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New War: The Web of Crime That Threatens America's Security (Paperback)

Hindsight, we all know is 20-20, but John Kerry does a pretty credible job showing foresight in this book. The central thesis is that failed stated threaten the international order and thus threaten the security of the United States. Kerry did not indeed connect all of the dots to AL Qaeda in this book, but that's not his specific target. Essentially, he argues that there must be far more international cooperation in stopping crime, as criminals often operate outside the nation which they are devestating. Anyone who has read about the impact of international criminal syndicates on state authority (in Burma, Kosovo, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand, Nigeria, N. Ireland, Yugoslavia, and Russia, for a short list) knows that Kerry's call was common sense; not brilliant, but common sense that wasn't very common in the isolationist 90s. When GWB came to office, he worked against international conventions on money laundering and diamond smuggling right up to the time that the WTC was bombed. This book, on the other hand, shows clear evidence that Kerry was attuned to the international tenacles of terrorism and its links to organized crime. Given that he had earlier unraveled the BCCI banking scandal and the secret Iran-Contra network as a Senator, one can see a clear theme: Kerry has a prosecutor's nose for the behind-the-scenes networks that the US must go after to be successful in the war on terrorism. The prose isn't particularly compelling, but the ideas, on the other hand, showed a man asking the right questions. Indeed, a president who not only reads, but writes and asks questions; it's a far cry from the president who took a month's vacation in August, 2001, with what little work being done focused on killing stem cell research in the US. Don't take my word for it; read it for yourself. It is common-sensical, and indeed, has become something of standard thinking in the post-9/11 era.

47 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The New War, August 6, 2003

By 

greenovation "Matt" (ann arbor, mi United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New War: The Web of Crime That Threatens America's Security (Hardcover)

Extraordinary book. It will give you chills. 5 years before
9/11 the author talked about the threat of terrorism. With prescience and intelligence he stated that "It will take only one mega-terrorist event in any of the great cities of the world to change the world in a single day." This guy is going to make a wonderful president.