Shadow War: The Untold Story of How America is Winning the War on Terror [Paperback]

Richard Miniter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2005

Miniter taps his exclusive sources and on-thespot global reporting to reveal America's unheralded successes in the War on Terror. Accounts ranging from failed assassination plots to the successful capture of al Qaeda officers make Shadow War a riveting and enlightening read about how America is beating radical Islamic terrorism.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The three vital, unanswered questions of the War on Terror are:

Where is Osama bin Laden?

Why hasn’t there been another terrorist strike inside America since September 11, 2001?

Is President Bush winning the war?

Shadow War answers these questions. It unfolds during the first nine hundred eleven days of President Bush’s War on Terror, from the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., to the March 11, 2004 bomb blasts in Madrid, Spain. It is a story of sleeper cells and patient plots, phone intercepts and covert operations, boldly triumphant captures and heartbreakingly close escapes.

There have been many clandestine victories against al Qaeda. More than 3,000 al Qaeda operatives have been seized or slain in 102 countries since September 11, 2001.

In Shadow War, Richard Miniter, author of the New York Times bestseller Losing bin Laden, files from the front lines in Baghdad, Bangkok, Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, Khartoum, Cairo, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, New York, and Washington, D.C.—uncovering the triumphs and tragedies the media establishment refuses to report.

Inside Shadow War, you’ll discover:

· New intelligence about Osama bin Laden’s secret refuge. The location will surprise you—and has shocking implications for national security.

· The Bush administration’s secret plan to hit al Qaeda before September 11, 2001.

· A never before reported plot to assassinate President Bush in 2002—and the embarrassing intelligence failure it revealed.

· How the 2000 election fiasco left our nation open to terror attacks.

· How America captured the "al Qaeda admiral" and stopped his fifteen-ship fleet from being used as floating bombs.

· Why Iran is financing attacks against American and allied forces in Afghanistan and Iraq

· Why al Qaeda has been sending operatives to scuba school to learn how to dive—but not to resurface

The major media has missed some of the biggest developments in the War on Terror—we get only headlines, sound bites, and snapshots. No record of victories, defeats, or draws. No big picture. Shadow War brings the big picture to life: The unreported story of the War on Terror is that we can win it, and that victories are being won every single day.

Richard Miniter is the author of the New York Times bestseller Losing bin Laden: How Bill Clinton’s Failures Unleashed Global Terror. Losing bin Laden was cited on NBC’s "Meet the Press," when host Tim Russert read from the book and questioned former secretary of state Madeleine Albright. It was also featured in columns by Robert Novak, George F. Will, and many others.

A veteran investigative journalist, Miniter was a member of the award-winning Sunday Times (London) investigative team whose four-part series traced the secret war between Clinton and bin Laden. Formerly, Miniter was an editorial page writer at the Wall Street Journal Europe and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal’s OpinionJournal.com. He appears regularly on television and radio to discuss al Qaeda and global terrorism. He has appeared on every major cable news network including CNN, FOX News Channel, C-SPAN, and MSNBC. In addition, he has been a featured guest on more than three hundred talk radio shows, including talk giants Sean Hannity, G. Gordon Liddy, Jim Bohannon, Alan Colmes, and Laura Ingraham.

Miniter’s articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, the Atlantic Monthly, the New Republic, National Review, and Reader’s Digest. Miniter graduated from Vassar College. He divides his time between Brussels, Belgium, and Washington, D.C. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (October 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895260107
• ISBN-13: 978-0895260109
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,658,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tells more of what the press doesn't tell you, October 23, 2004

By 

Shock Writer (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror (Hardcover)

An interesting book about activities and decisions made during the "war on terror" that won't show up in detail on television for years and if they do at all it will be within late night documentaries. The section on the attempted but mostly thwarted terrorist war at sea was fascinating. Amazon reviews vary based on the politics of the reviewers. As with many decisions of war they are brilliant or stupid depending on your point of view. I must comment that I rate the book highly as a current source of information that I don't want to miss since these type of books go out of print and are seldom reprinted due to the "hear and now news" flavor of the writing. So buy now for the current information and hold your nose if you don't like the politics. I give a 4 instead of 5 since history will likely provide 20/20 hindsight that could change some of the conclusions so a 4 is likely my best rating for any "current news" type book.

58 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars reviewing the reviewers, November 2, 2004

By 

Richard Tobin Miniter "richard miniter" (alexandria, va) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror (Hardcover)

Today is Nov.2, so perhaps a measure of this hyper-partisanship will burn off as the vote count trickles in, but I doubt it. I know that bare-knuckles political infighting means that we still have a vibrant democracy here, unlike the caustic conformity that infects Belgium, where I spend a chunk of time, but I do wish people would at least be fairminded and evaluate things carefully before jumping to conclusions.
As the author of "Shadow War," let me say a few things to the one-star reviewers:
1) Authors do not pick titles, substitles, or cover designs. Publishers and marketers do. So judging a book or its author by book's cover or title or publishing house is a fool's game. Read a few pages in chapter one, at least, and then make up your mind. If you're feeling brave, actually read the book.
2) I am not a registered Republican. I have never voted for a Republican for president. For those of you who think I am some kind of Bush shill, sorry, you're wrong. During the 2000 primaries, I even wrote articles for the New Hampshire and Iowa papers trying to educate voters about his Texas record of puny tax cuts and giant spending binges as governor. I predicted that he would do the same as president--and I was right.
3) So why do I think Bush is winning the war on terror? Because I travelled to the front lines of the war on terror--including Iraq, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Israel, Sudan, Egypt--and interviewed non-American intelligence and military officials as well as their European and American counterparts. More than 3000 al Qaeda have been captured or killed since 9-11 in 102 countries. The war is a lot bigger than Iraq and Afghanistan. If you want to find out, read the book.

In Shadow War, I give very specific information with footnotes, named sources, and even reprint intelligence documents in the appendix.

336 of 398 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Book John Kerry - or Osama - Doesn't Want You to Read, October 6, 2004

By 

Alan Rockman (Upland, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror (Hardcover)

As Mr. Miniter points out, over 3,000 Al Qaeda operatives have been killed, 75% of the Al Qaeda leadership, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed have either been captured or better yet, killed, and numerous terror plans have been disrupted.

Ever hear of the "Baltic Sky"? Probably not, as the mainstream press won't report this, and neither will Richard Clarke. But the "Baltic Sky" was part of a 15-ship floating bomb factory. It was heading for Greece, and if it had blown, the results would have been worse than Hiroshima. American intelligence and other sources, alerted the Greek Navy, so they were able to stop the vessel before it docked at Athens.

In fact, this Al Qaeda fleet has been effectively decommissioned.

Are we safe? Of course not. Should we be complacent. No, and Miniter tells you why. He points out what really happened in Spain - failures in security, a government that did not tell the populace the truth, and just plain appeasement. He points out that what happened in Spain could take place here, and why it hasn't happened isn't due to Al Qaeda not trying.

Miniter also warns us about Iran - an Iran that wants very much to be a nuclear power, an Iran that not only is a terrorist state, but also an Iran that supports groups like Al Qaeda. Miniter implies that Osama could very well be in Iran - an assertion that is backed by Iranian defectors. If that is truly the case, and President Bush will need to act, he might not be able to do so, thanks to those who have questioned why he went into Iraq (which by the way, Miniter points out the ties Osama and Al Qaeda had with the Saddam regime).

Because some of the information that Miniter reports has not yet been substantiated, this reviewer gives the book 4 stars. But even if most of it is true, and Miniter has been right on regarding the destruction of the Al Qaeda leadership and terror cells, this is a book our policymakers, our people, and even those who subscribe to the Kerry-Moore-Richard Clarke worldview had better read.