Customer Reviews

The Politics of Truth: A Diplomat's Memoir: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

While I have tried to remain neutral during this war of words between the left and right, Joseph Wilson's insightful book invoked a rage aginst everything that this current administration stands for and against. This book demonstrates in no uncertain terms that the right wing of the republican party will resort to any length to destroy the career of anyone who stands in their way no matter how fruitful and loyal one's tenure while working as a government servant has been.

President George H. W. Bush, our current President's father, called Joe Wilson "A True American Hero" for his actions saving American lives at the beginning of the first Gulf War. Mr. Wilson's heroism continues with this engaging and enlightening book that tells "Truth to Power" and stands up against the current Administration's, and the Republican Party's, attack machine. A career political centrist, Mr. Wilson only to be spoke out against this Administration after their deception in the reasons they took us to war and after they attacked his family. In his words, "Anything less would be Un-American." Bravo, Mr. Wilson.

It was Joseph Wilson's July, 2003 New York Times op-ed piece that stated the great unraveling. Former ambassador Wilson revealed that despite George W. Bush's contrary claim in his state of the union address, Iraq never took steps to import yellow cake uranium and revitalize a program of manufacturing nuclear weapons. Wilson, in short, caught the Bush administration in an outright lie (one of many). The administration then retaliated, attempting to slime Wilson, and breaking federal law by revealing that his wife was a CIA operative.

When the history of this perilous period in our national life is finally written, Joe Wilson and his book The Politics of Truth may receive credit for shedding a bright light on dark and disturbing behavior by George W. Bush and his handlers. It is worth recalling that George H. W. Bush had praised Wilson as an American hero for his work as acting ambassador to Iraq before the Gulf War. Yesterday's hero, however, becomes today's villain, under the end-justifies-the-means policies of the second Bush White House.

Three cheers!

Ambassador Joseph Wilson's book is an absorbing, engaging read, covering a wide range of topics: from his wild youth, to his stints in various diplomatic posts for both Democratic and Republican presidents, and his current dealings with the nefarious G.W. Bush Administration and their leaking of his wife as an undercover CIA operative.

If you're curious about the behind-the-scenes games--both abroad and domestic--that get played every day, I highly recommend this book.

I have read a number of Bush books recently, and I seem to be devouring them at an ever increasing clip. As an independent fundamentally uncomfortable with highly partisan politics, I have found Paul O'Neill's book (The Price of Loyalty, actually written by Ron Suskind about O'Neill) to be one of the best. Richard Clarke's "Against All Enemies" is also chilling and insightful. Both these books were written by conservative, Republican mavericks with close insight into this administration, and the stories they tell are frightening: a White House run by ideologues surrounding a President whose experience and intellect could not possibly support the level of conviction he brings to the weighty issues confronting our great nation.

Wilson's book belongs on any shelf with Suskind's and Clarke's. One obvious parallel: Bush '41 - a moderate and intelligent man - felt great fondness for O'Neill, Clarke, and Wilson. Bush '43 disdains and disrespects them. Wilson gives us an account from the outside: how does the Administration glimpsed by insiders like Clarke and O'Neill affect "outsiders" like Wilson? Or Valerie Plame? Or you? Wilson's account is fired by anger and disappointment, not partisan rage. He comes across as a dedicated civil servant, non-partisan, astute. It should be read by all who care deeply for our country, and are wondering what the hell is happening to it.

One final note: The few reviewers who rate this book with one star have clearly a) not read it, or b) ... well, there is no other option, except perhaps that they work for Karl Rove.

Anyone who cares about the future of our country ought to read this book. It should be required reading for all new diplomats and others contemplating a career in government service.

It is not news to those who have been paying attention that the Bush administration values loyalty far more than integrity or ability. That is why a convicted Iran Contra felon runs Middle East policy (which is such a great success) and Paul O'Neil was the first to leave the cabinet.

Wilson's book is so valuable because it so clearly demonstrates that administration strategy consists not just of defensive measures like hiding behind a veil of secrecy and surrounding itself with loyalists. It shows they are such extremists that there is an offensive strategy that is unprecedented in its viciousness. Anyone who dares speak the truth does so at his or her own peril as the White House is not above violating the law and harming national security in order to retaliate against those who do not parrot the party line.

The book is also extremely useful because it describes what many a diplomatic career is really like. It is not all cookie pushing by stripped pants diplomats in European capitals. It is hard, often unglamorous and dangerous work in the remote corners of the third world. There are those, like Joe Wilson, who are proud to serve their country in this manner and willingly accepted the risks and hardships in order to do so.

Some may be discouraged by the reaction of the White House to Wilson's revelation that the story of Iraq buying uranium from Niger was a lie. The president could have fired those who put the falsehood into his State of the Union speech or have insisted on a serious investigation to find out who in the White House revealed the name of a covert CIA officer placing anyone she ever talked to overseas at risk. Instead the administration chose to try to discredit Wilson and when that failed they went after his family. Let's hope others may be inspired to show the courage he has shown rather than be discouraged by the fact that this is how the current administration rewards government service and telling the truth.

An engaging personal and political history culminating in one of the most notorious scandals of the Bush presidency. Ambassador Joseph Wilson embodies the honesty, the morality, and the courage we idealize putting into government office. After over two decades of service in the U.S. Foreign Service, the Bush presidency now attempts to demean this devotion with public attacks against both Wilson and his wife in an effort to conceal Bush's lie in the State of the Union address. That Wilson is able to reveal the source of the leak (that resulted in the outing of his wife as a CIA Operative) and yet still retain his faith in the American ideals he has so long served is a testament to this nation. We are lucky to have such a voice.

This is a great book, and in my opinion was written in an HONEST matter. It was not written as a political attack, and this is obvious to anyone that reads it. I truly enjoyed the history in this book, including the accounts of Iraq and Africa.

Joseph Wilson's book is great. If you really read it, and are not influenced by 'conservative vs liberal' foolishness, his professionalism and patriotism are quite obvious. In short, if you are an American first and foremost, what you will get out of this book among other things, is an inside expose of the program of deliberate lies used by the Bush administration to take us to war with Iraq. This is clearly not a case of 'liberal vs 'conservative', but a case of whether government by the people, and for the people, will remain in these United States.

Bush's whitehouse is the most dictatorial since that of Richard Nixon. When Nixon's crimes came to light in the Watergate Scandal, the system of checks and balances kicked in, to regulate him. Joseph Wilson has brought to light one more serious scandal involving the Bush Administration, but unlike Watergate, the system of checks and balances has been so subverted by ideological politics, only the very brave dare challenge the Whitehouse. The ruthless retaliation on Joe Wilson's Wife and other whistleblowers, are clear examples why. In truth, the political climate in America today is ironically close to that of our old adversary, the Soviet Union.

Joe Wilson has given us the facts of his battle with the White House over Iraq, and clear reasons to be alarmed about Bush's dictatorial behavior. The question is, are we as a nation going to stand for this? I certainly hope not!

Before George W. Bush accused Saddam Hussein of trying to buy uranium yellowcake from Africa, Ambassador Joseph Wilson was tasked by the CIA to investigate. Wilson found that the claim rested on one incident: a high ranking official from Niger, attending a regional conference, was approached by an Iraqi official who, in the course of conversation, expressed the wish that Iraq and Niger establish commercial relations. Afterwards, the official from Niger suspected that Saddam was seeking uranium, although uranium was never mentioned and nothing ever came of it. But on the basis of this highly inconclusive bit of speculation, Bush declared, as if it were established fact, that Saddam tried to buy uranium from Africa. Even after the CIA repeatedly warned the Bush administration that American intell did not support the claim, the administration insisted on repeating it. Finally, the CIA agreed to greenlight it when the Bush administration chose to cite UK intelligence instead of US.

Ambassador Wilson further found that Saddam couldn't have gotten yellowcake from Niger under any circumstances since production is set and regulated by an international consortium that includes several US allies. Wilson also recounts how two other investigations, one by an American Marine Corps general and another by the US Ambassador to Niger, had already investigated the Bush claim and found that it was unfounded. Thus Wilson's findings merely confirmed what the US government already knew. But why did the CIA investigate the claim three times? Because Cheney did not like the truth and kept pushing the CIA to find "evidence" for it.

After Valerie Plame Wilson, Ambassador Wilson's wife, was outed as a CIA officer (Wilson suspects it was done to warn others to keep quiet, and also as revenge), Cheney's office claimed that it was forced to mention her in order to set the record straight. Wilson, they asserted, had lied by claiming that Cheney had chosen him for the mission. But Wilson never claimed he was sent by Cheney. In fact, as an appendix, the book includes Wilson's original New York Times op-ed piece that touched off the controversy. When you actually read the piece, you realize what Wilson actually said: "In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney's office had questions about a particular intelligence report. While I never saw the report, I was told that it referred to a memorandum of agreement that documented the sale of uranium yellowcake by Niger to Iraq in the late 1990s. The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a response to the vice president's office" (478). I checked this version of the op-ed piece with the one the NYTimes printed at the time, and it matches perfectly; Wilson hasn't changed a word. As you can see, he says officials at the CIA, not Cheney, sent him. However, it was Cheney who tasked the CIA to investigate, which is true according to the government investigation conducted by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. By the way, the report that Cheney tried to use as evidence turned out to be based on forged documents.

The book's biggest shortcoming is that it was published before key information about the case became available. Thanks to an expose by Italian journalists, we now know that the Italian government provided the Brits with the same forged documents about Niger that they gave the US. Moreover, they did so without informing either country that they had provided them to the other. Before the vote on whether to give Bush authority to declare war, his administration told Congress they had proof that Saddam tried to obtain uranium from Africa. But they refused to hand the documents over until after the vote. When the Bush administration finally gave copies to the UN, which had been demanding to see them, the UN determined that the documents were bogus. The Bush administration then admitted they were forgeries, claiming to have been "duped." But according to Italian media, the Italian government had, from the outset, warned both countries that the documents' authenticity could not be verified.

The investigation by Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald uncovered that Libby, Rove, and Armitage (all top Bush officials) leaked classified information about Plame to several reporters. Armitage happened to leak to Bob Novak, the reporter who ended up printing it. But according to the Fitz investigation it was Libby, not Armitage, who first outed Wilson's wife to reporters (Matt Cooper of Time Magazine, Tim Russert of NBC, and Judy Miller of the NYT). When the investigation began uncovering the role played by Bush officials, Republican operatives tried to cast doubt over the investigation by intimating that Fitzgerald was a closet liberal. In fact, Fitzgerald was DOUBLY selected by the Bush administration: once when Bush nominated him to be District Attorney, and again when he was selected (via a designee) to head the Plame investigation. Fitzgerald's Republican loyalties are made clear by the weak claim that Libby "threw sand in the umpire's face" (the umpire being Fitz himself). Based on that, Fitz claimed that the investigation couldn't continue to investigate Cheney's role in the affair. Basically, Fitz protected Cheney by using Libby as the scapegoat.

Since Republicans claimed that Wilson was unqualified for the mission to Niger, Wilson recounts his experience not only in Niger but in Iraq. Wilson personally knew the Niger officials involved, and he was the last American diplomat sent to Iraq by George H. W. Bush to meet with Saddam before the outbreak of the Gulf War. Hence he had important knowledge of and experience in the relevant countries. The book even contains a copy of a letter written by G. H. W. Bush praising Wilson's fine work. The book contains a section devoted to photographs. It recounts Wilson's entire professional history, not just the events surrounding the infamous "sixteen words."