6 Nightmares: The Real Threats to American Security... [Paperback]

Anthony Lake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2001

From high-tech terrorism at home to political instability abroad, the United States cannot afford to be lax about its security in today's world. In this book, former National Security Advisor, Anthony Lake, examines six very real scenarios - each one a threat to America's safety - and lays out what steps can be taken to prevent them. Is the United States prepared to counter sophisticated cyberterrorists? How do they prevent peacekeeping operations from spiralling out of control and turning into wars? With years of experience on the front lines of American foreign policy, Lake predicts the regions that will likely be tomorrow's Balkans (Indonesia, Colombia and the Caspian Sea) and analyzes America's level of preparedness in the event of biological or chemical terrorism (which is, in fact, surprisingly low). Not just another foreign policy book, the author aims to reveal the threats that Americans may face tomorrow and show what can be done to avoid them today.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Former national security advisor Anthony Lake examines major security threats facing the United States at the start of the 21st century: biological terrorism, cybercrime, the perils of peacekeeping, and so on. Each of the scenarios he describes in Six Nightmares begins with a fictional introduction to the topic; one, for instance, is a transcript of a conversation between the presidents of the United States and South Korea, discussing a civil war in North Korea and worrying about what China intends. The best parts of the book read like a memoir. Lake served under President Clinton for four years before he was nominated to head the CIA. When it became clear the GOP-controlled Senate was not likely to confirm him, Lake withdrew his name. The experience left him disappointed with "a Washington obsessed with political gamesmanship"--and also eager to settle a few scores, which he does between these covers. He strives for evenhandedness in a critique of Congress, but he's also quick to attack Republicans. The Senate's rejection of the comprehensive test-ban treaty in 1998, he writes, showed that "a handful of Republicans cared more about their hatred of the President than about their undoubted love for their country." He also takes digs at Clinton political advisor Dick Morris (for believing, he says, in poll-driven foreign policy) and The Washington Times (for breaking sensitive stories that he thinks hurt the national interest).

His view of modern journalism is tempered by his own failed CIA confirmation experience, and he pointedly describes how a scandalmongering press goes about its destructive business: "Take the charge, call the alleged miscreant and get the denial or explanation, and print both. Let the reader decide which is true." He does have fond memories of his time serving under Clinton, recalling, for instance, the aftermath of a decision to bomb Baghdad: "Years later, the President was to remember the name of one of those who died, with concern for the loss of life but not, I believe, regret for having ordered the attack." Moments like these make one wish the book were more autobiographical than it is. Yet it is a fine volume nonetheless, and a good introduction to the foreign-policy headaches America is likely to face in the years ahead. --John J. Miller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

"Our military and diplomatic strategy has not kept pace with our hardware," warns former Clinton national security adviser Lake in a book that is part memoir, part cautionary tale about the dangers the U.S. faces in the 21st century. Lake attributes our government's current lack of preparedness for possible military crises to the country's false sense of security based on its present economic strength and unprecedented wealth. In response, Lake offers a clarion call for international involvement and global cooperation. He convincingly outlines six possible disaster scenariosAincluding a poison gas attack and a cyber-terrorist threatAand what America might do to prevent them. In between, he offers refreshing insight into the American national security network and the personalities who make the tough decisions. Lake also retraces, somewhat defensively, the foreign policy challengesAIreland, Bosnia, SomaliaAthat the Clinton administration faced in its first term. Lake's answers to the problems of the "New World Order"Amore money for the military, increased global cooperation with nations that share U.S. goals, use of the West's information superiority for military purposes, among themAare unlikely to calm anxious readers. But he has provided, in a surprisingly readable form, a Western expert's analysis of the global dangers that lie ahead.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (December 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316561479
• ISBN-13: 978-0316561471
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,791,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Analysis From Someone Who Has Been There, December 8, 2001

By 

N. Cooley (Gilbert, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 6 Nightmares: The Real Threats to American Security... (Paperback)

Anthony Lake's book outlines six potential threats to our nation's national security. Unfortunately the reality of ambigious warfare (chapter 3) has already reared its ugly head...Anthony Lake has unfortunately made himself into somewhat of a prophet. The other chapters are incredibly pertinent also.

As someone who participated in and helped craft major U.S. foreign policy initiatives and decisions, Lake is able to share anecdotal snipets which really bring his subject into focus. I especially enjoyed the chapters on peacekeeping and Washington politics and the experiences Lake was able to share to illustrate his points.

The only negative aspect of the book is that sometimes he can delve into examples where it seems as if he is more interested in vindicating himself than staying focused on the topic. I truly however feel and it is evident in the book that Lake was able (and desired) to remain non-political while writing the book and when he was the National Security Advisor. As he suggests in the book, national security is one issue in which politics and ideology should have the least influence.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The 7th Nightmare Being this Book, March 26, 2004

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 6 Nightmares: The Real Threats to American Security... (Paperback)

Ok so the title I used for this review was a bit harsh in relation to this book. This review could be titled the tail of two books. The book that was advertised in the title and dust jacket is a review by a Clinton Administration National Security Advisor of what he thinks are six negative situations that could face the United States and the responses we should take. Similar to the old Nixon book Six Crises. Unfortunately for Mr. Lake, unlike his name he takes a rather shallow approach to his writing. The situations he chooses are interesting and with merit, it is just that all he gives the reader is a rather light, fat free, skim the top version. It really read almost like a magazine article and if you pulled this section out of the book it would probably be no more the 80 pages. This was disappointing, because the book dust jacket lead me to believe the reader was going to get a detailed book full of insight from an inside guy.

The second book was a split between what the Clinton Administration did in relation to similar issues to the six highlighted by the author and a sudo memoir that is a good outline, but not much else. Again, the author just did not develop either of these two directions. I kept finish sections and chapters saying to myself . . . and then what. The Clinton Administration had some interesting foreign affairs issues, Ireland, the Middle East, Bosnia, Haiti, Terrorism, China etc, how this author and inside player managed to miss half of the detail is beyond me. And while I am on a role, there was the authors overriding and unending positive verse. This guy needs to write self-help books, because even though I was disappointed in the substance, the writing had an almost pick me up vibe to it. The author is a very positive guy.

I do not want to be all negative about this book. He did touch on some threats to the US. He gave a brief overview of what would need to take place if any of the crises came to pass, and the items I found most interesting were his comments on terrorism. With all that is going on today with the 9-11 commission and the election, it was interesting to her his thoughts on the terrorism threat. Although I did not come across any smoking guns, I get the feeling that if this book had come out after 9-11, the section on terrorism and the efforts of the Clinton Administration would have been beefed up some. Overall the book is a light, easy to read overview of some Clinton Administration foreign affairs issues. If you are looking for a quick read on a weekend it will serve the purpose.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nightmares We Can't Afford Not to Know About, November 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Six Nightmares: Real Threats in a Dangerous World and How America Can Meet Them (Hardcover)

Anthony Lake's Six Nightmares is an exciting and important treatment of the most pressing threats to U.S. national security. The book portrays six potential threats to our way of life ranging from terrorism employing weapons of mass destruction and information warfare to partisan politics dividing our government from the people and against itself. Each chapter begins with an actual nightmare, a short fictional premise that unfolds events that many would consider unthinkable but which Lake, who served as President Clinton's National Security Advisor from 1993 to 1996 and now teaches at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, is in a position to know are possible. Reflections on Lake's own extensive government service round out this rousing cautionary work that prescribes urgent change to safeguard the United States. While making complex issues accessible to most readers, Six Nightmares also draws the attention of the national security policy community in Washington to issues that Lake believes are not being addressed. A useful as an intriguing primer or refresher, or as a textbook supporting serious study, Six Nightmares is well worth reading.