Customer Reviews

Reckless Disregard: How Liberal Democrats Undercut Our Military, Endanger Our Soldiers And Jeopardize Our Security

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

Although Reckless Disregard has the look and feel of a political hit piece, it should not be dismissed without careful reading. Patterson paints a chorus of liberal Democrats as consistently viewing the US military as increasingly unnecessary in the modern world. Hit piece or not, American voters of all stripes will be well served by reading Reckless Disregard and asking whether a strong US military is more likely with Kerry or Bush residing in the White House? Under which man's leadership will America be safer today and tomorrow?

Author Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson, USAF, Retired, is passionate about his respect for the USA military. From his perspective liberal Democrats - Carter, Clintons, Gore, Kerry and Ted Kennedy - are dangerous leaders in that they either do not understand or care about the military, or both.

Considering Reckless Disregard as a whole, the book is worth reading. However, it is a bit disappointing when compared to Patterson's Dereliction Of Duty (reviewed 8/16/2004). Patterson's earlier book is a first person account whereas Reckless Disregard has significant portions either authored by others or is reprinted material.

I found the appendix to be a valuable addition to the book, although the font size of the reprint of President Bush's National Security Strategy is too small and the quality of the print of John Kerry's testimony makes the reading tedious. This is unfortunate and careless editing.

JMO

I will make this review very short... It is about time that SOMEONE pulls the wool off our collective eyes, and exposes the liberals for who they really are! You should purchase this book.

A great book and basically exposes the Democrats and the uneviable position they have put themselves in of hoping for bad things to happen to the U.S. in the hopes that they can grab power.

I recommend this book to anyone who is objective, because the facts are there.

Bill Clinton and the Democrats have gutted the military. There is no question of that. Any objective review of the facts comes to the conclusion that the military is a shell of what it was in the Reagan years and ultimately at the end of Gulf War 1. Thank goodness George Bush is trying to rebuild it to somewhat of its former power.

And now we have a senator running for President who votes against funding the military to "make a point" about tax cuts. Do we really think we can survive another President like Clinton who was "asleep at the wheel"? No.

Thank you for this book, Colonel Patterson.

In his first book, "Dereliction of Duty," Buzz Patterson divulged his eyewitness account of the many ways Bill Clinton compromised America's national security. Buzz was, after all, one of Clinton's senior aides and entrusted with carrying the "nuclear suitcase."

In this book, which is even better, Buzz takes the gloves off. He calls John Kerry a traitor for his post-Vietnam War activities. He even reproduces the entire manuscript of Kerry's testimony before congress in 1971 in which Kerry calls his "brothers in arms" war criminals, murderers and rapists. But he doesn't stop there. He calls Hillary Clinton a traitor for using her visit to the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq as a political podium for selfish personal political gain.

Similarly, he's not done with Clinton yet. He squarely challenges the Clinton administration, and Richard Clarke in particular, on their many failures in meeting the threat of terror.

Buzz Patterson is a gifted writer, a retired military officer, a commercial airline pilot, and a national security expert. This is the book to buy to educate yourself for not only this election but elections to come. Buzz hits another home run!

Please look at all the one and two star reviews...not a single one has read the book. The attack Col Patterson, they attack President Bush, they attack consrevatives. They don't address a specific issue or content of this outstanding book. It's typical liberal emotion over substance. It's, quite simply, the problem with the Democrat Party today.

Patterson does a tremendous job of connecting the dots. During the Vietnam War, the liberal left took control of the party and drove it way left. They based their ideology on the anti-war, peace movement. In doing so, they also spawned a generation of liberal polticians in the likes of Jimmy Carter, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Teddy Kennedy and, most notably, John Kerry. Their track record in terms of the military and national security since then has been pathetic. Patterson hits the nail squarely on the head.

Jimmy Carter's presidency cut the military dramatically and devastated morale. He was woefully weak in dealing with the Soviets and gave us the embarrassment of the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Ronald Reagan built the military back up and, in doing so, won the Cold War.

Bill Clinton followed the Carter approach and again severely cut the military and, through his personal shenanigans, destroyed military morale again. He, Richard Clarke (who Patterson served with and calls a "fraud), and Sand Berger refused to fight a war on terror, passing on 8 separate terrorist attacks on Americans. Clinton then handed George W. Bush a military mess and 9-11.

The bottom line: can we go back to the failed policies of Carter and Clinton during a war on terror? That would be Kerry. Absolutely not! This is a extremely well-written, beautifully flowing work of non-fiction. You won't be able to put it down. Take a tip: ignore liberal "reviewers" who haven't had the gumption to actually pick up this book and read it. It OUTSTANDING! And you won't think of your vote this November the same.

This book is the primer for the war against terrorists. Lieutenant Colonel Buzz Patterson was born a Democrat and served directly for the Clinton administration. He also served his country as a pilot in military engagements around the world. He's no politico and those who cast aspersions should take notice. This book's theme is this: this upcoming election is hugely important, do we want to re-elect a commander in chief who aggressively fights against our enemy, pre-empts when possible, and who has earned the respect of our military? Or do we want to elect John Forbes Kerry who lied about his Vietnam experience, perjured himself in testimony to congress, joined forces with Jane Fonda to undermine our troops overseas, and who has not voted for a single defense department budget increase, military pay raise, and voted against the CIA and FBI consistently during the 90s? Buzz's take? Liberals are not equipped to lead this country right now. More importantly, John Kerry is not the answer.

This book is the knife turning very quietly into the sides of liberals everywhere. "Anybody but Bush" is not a wise tactic. How about "let's defend America?"

As a former member of the US armed forces, I very much enjoyed and completely agreed with Col Patterson's first book. This book is a "bigger picture" look at the requirements Americans must (and should) demand from our commander-in-chief and how he (or she) directly impacts our military capabilities. Col Patterson hits the nail squarely on the head. With conviction and marvelous prose, he very accurately portrays the life of the soldier, sailor, airman and marine. And he does so within the context of military leadership. To wit, Presidents Carter and Clinton failed, and Kerry most certainly will (if we are ignorant enough to give him the opportunity). Told without malice nor personal vendetta, Col Patterson meticulously builds his argument within the framework of what it means (and requires) to be a commander of men and women. Just as with Dereliction of Duty, he turns out another page turning quick read. You won't want to put it down. My only criticism would be that his books, to this point, end too quickly. He moves you through expeditiously but I am left wanting more.

Buzz is someone who has never been partisan nor would have ever written anything had it not been his experiences flying support for Clinton's peacekeeping missions and especially had he not been posted inside the White House. After his first book, Dereliction of Duty, became a best seller, a shocking portrayal of the unprofessionalism and scorn he witnessed in just TWO YEARS of eight, he went on to write this sequal to show that this behavior has happened before, continues to happen, and will invariably happen in the future should the members of the "Democratic-wing-of-the-Democratic-Party" (as Al Sharpton put it) continue to hold key positions in Congress and especially the Presidency itself.

Though not really as thorough and wide-scoped as Ann Coulter's TREASON (another great read) or Mona Charen's USEFUL IDIOTS, I read it in one sitting of a couple of hours lying on the couch. The main reason for this lack of scope is that he is particularly concerned about--and thus "targeting"--John Kerry, for he definitely sees him as a McGovern-Carter-Clinton democrat that will repeat the same mistakes and lead to similar catastrophes.

He details Kerry's service record (including how he got his 3 P-Hearts and his Silver Star), his VVAW activities (including a plot to assasinate a number of pro-war senators), and his continued anti-war record in the senate (such as proposals to cut intel spending by 300M with each budget in the 1990's and all the systems he has voted against in his some 20 years in the Senate). Had he succeeded in voting down the systems, our forces would have more than a lack of BODY ARMOR to worry about (incidently, the 87M he famously "voted for, until he voted against" included significant funds to rectify the armor problem).

Beyond Kerry, it reviews some examples from Dereliction of Duty and also looks at other Democrats--such as Dean, Kucinich, and Ted Kennedy, who evidently did quite a bit of work with/for the KGB during his tenure as Soviet Archives reveal (see pages 10-11)--to show that it is not an isolated problem with a couple of former Presidets/candidates but a whole demographic within the legislative branch.

Col. Patterson does an excellent job of providing important factual data to allow us to make informed decisions before November. Democrats and Republicans alike need to read this book and then decide which party best represents their view on how to protect our nation from the ever present dangers we now face. This is not a book that bashes a person or party, but does present a solid arguement for our safety from a military prospective, and from someone who has been in the White House and behind the scenes.

If you're on the fence about the coming election and need something to convince you one way or the other, this is the book. I vote for the individual not along party lines. I read "Unfit for Command" first and was intrigued but still didn't know how to resolve Kerry's service with the requirements of the presidency. In "Reckless Disregard," Buzz Patterson connects all the dots.

This is not your typical polemic. Patterson has some definite opinions but, as a former Democrat turned conservative, he makes a compelling case. He interviews former Vietnam vets and Kerry peers. He has end-noted each point specifically and clearly. He leaves no doubt, unlike others who cut and paste (see Michael Moore) with obvious intent to deceive.

It amazes me how liberals will consistently resort to Moevon.org talking points. Bush dodged Vietnam by flying fighter jets in the Air National Guard. Did you know that Bush volunteered for Vietnam but didn't have the requisite flying hours? Did you know that ANG units were not activated for service in VN (although they could have been at any moment) because Democrat President Lyndon Johnson chose not to for political reasons? Do you seriously equate service in the ANG with being AWOL or dodging the draft? Be careful with that one Terry McAuliffe!! Do you seriously believe that Saddam Hussein was not another domino in the war on terror? Do you really believe that Bush has agreed with Shinseki (a Clinton appointee by the way) that 250,000 troops was the right number for Iraq? He's done no such thing. It's amazing the military service didn't matter when we elected draft-dodging Bill Clinton twice (and yes, I voted for him).

People on both sides of the fence should read this book. These and other issues are described and answered completely and effectively. Don't call yourself an American patriot and resort to the tired chants of Michael Moore and Terry McAuliffe. We as Americans can do better than that. This book is invaluable in that regard.