Customer Reviews

Study of Revenge: The First World Trade Center Attack and Saddam Hussein's War against America

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Mylroie does a tremendous job of systematically documenting the efforts of Saddam to resume his, "mother of all wars" against the U.S.through his role in masterminding the world trade center bombing. Her plea for Americans to consider the broader national security implications of 'isolated' or 'unrelated' acts of violence in this nation should be considered with even greater seriousness as another Bush takes the helm. She has broken fertile ground in urging us to exhaust all possible legal and investigative avenues in protecting citizens from acts of mass violence and destruction. Thorough explanation and description characterizes her outstanding style of narration. This is a must read work for mideast, international relations or comparative political studies.

Laurie Mylroie's amazingly lengthy and detailed research documentary of the real reason for the attempt to kill 250,000 people points squarely to Saddam Hussein. The American justice system, geared to appease Saddam as part of the current Administration's support structure for the status quo, represented in court that Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind, had fled to Afghanistan, when according to his plane ticket, he had gone to a pro-Iraqi haven. This immense book breaks the assumption of ignorance of the American public.

Iraq expert, Dr. Laurie Mylroie, presents a compelling case linking Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime to the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. Through painstaking and thorough research, Dr. Mylroie outlines the evidence and raises serious questions concerning the Clinton Administration's Iraq policy.
Her study also highlights the broader issue of US approaches to terrorism in general and state sponsored terrorism in particular.
This study has profound implications for US threat assessment in the post-September 11, 2001 environment.

Having read the diverse reviews of this book I'm further convinced that every one has an opinion, just like a certain part of the human anatomy. After reading this very interesting book I came away further convinced of the current danger, future threat and just how far Hussein may go to avenge his defeat in the Gulf War. Before the horrifying events of 9/11 this book was released under the titile "Study of Revenge." That is exactly the point Laurie Mylroie goes to extensive research to try and prove. The fact is she can't exactly pin Hussein down but she presents a credible case. Considering the CIA, Feds and Government have the same suspicions but haven't been able to prove it either, Mylroie ties some loose ends together for the reader to be the judge. One of the interesting parts of the book is how the various agencies seem to be their own worst enemy, each withholding information from one another instead of sharing for the common good. The information presented concerning the first WTC bombing is a fascinating study about an International conspiracy that quite possibly needed the intelligence of state sponsorship since some of these characters are little more than petty criminals prior to the bombing. Her point is that Hussein is able to discreetly sponsor without direct state involvement, thus placing any fingerprints on the dupes who carried out the actions. The information is presented complete with court documents, photographs and text from the trial of those responsible for the WTC bombing in 1993. The book is easy enough to follow, with a 2 year chronology of related events and a list of characters involved, including a mystery man who arrives to supervise the final stages of the bombing. Could this have been a member of Iraqi intelligence? Who really knows, what is clear is that Hussein feels there is unfinshed business to avenge the Gulf War. The author does have an agenda, presents her case, and maybe if someone in the governmnet had listened to her the WTC might be standing today. The warning signs appeared to have been everywhere. Mylroie sets the stage and takes the reader through a series of events that eventually lead up to the 1993 WTC bombing, all the while pointing in the direction of a greater evil. Even if you don't agree with her case, and the behind the scenes culprit being Hussein, the information provided concerning the 1993 conspiracy is concise, accurate and allows the reader to come to their own conclusion. Highly recommended for anyone interested in current events, terrorism or Saddam Hussein.

This book lays out step-by-step the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. There is a good attempt to link Al Qeada to Saddam Hussein. This book is prophetic considering it is written prior to Sept. 11 attack on the WTC. Considering many still have not grasped the state sponsorship aspect of terrorism, this book is a must read.

I have not read this book (though I did read an article published by the author that summarized the book). However, I am not writing this review about the book - just about the author.

I had this woman as a professor during college. She is far out on the right and is uncompromising in her views. Whether you agree with her thesis or not, know that about her before reading this book (or you'll be surprised).

I liked this book so much, I started a discussion list about it (Iraq911 at yahoogroups.com). I think it ought to be read in conjunction with Simon Reeve's THE NEW JACKALS, which contains a biography of Ramzi Yousef, the 1993 World Trade Center bomber. Mylroie argues that Yousef is an Iraqi agent, and that Reeve has fallen for his cover story. I'm not quite persuaded, but she does make a good circumstantial case for Iraqi sponsorship of the original attack.

Mylroie's book is flawed but nonetheless interesting. Her analysis of the first attack on the WTC is somewhat unconventional, and raises some interesting facts, like one of the plotters currently lives in Baghdad. Nonetheless the author fails to deliver real proof that Iraq was behind the bombing. She spends a lot of time trying to prove that Ramzi Yousef was not in fact Abdul Basit, but ultimately fails to do so. Wose she spends about 50 pages talking about Saddam's track record with UNSCOM, which detracts from the overall narrative on the bombing investigation. This book raises some important questions but ultimately comes far short of delivering proof. Could Iraq have been behind WTC bombing 1, Yes!!! Does this book prove it No!! Maybe the most interesting thing are the credits, Paul Wolfowitz is give a note of thanks, he's the Deputy SECDEF, if the author has his ear, thats important to know. Bottom line this book is long on speculation but fails to deliver a convincing, and coherent arugument to prove its thesis.

"Study of Revenge" presents an outstanding argument that Saddam Hussein is still America's #1 threat. Although the past few weeks have heightened the fear of other terrorists ..., Hussein was/is the great threat. "Revenge" is the follow-up to Mylroie's co-authored effort, "Saddam Hussein and the Crisis in the Gulf."

In "Revenge," Mylroie directly and indirectly asserts that Hussein had a hand in 1993 WTC bombing. This was, in part, due to the fact that he never "mentally" recovered from The Gulf War, that he was embarassed. (Perhaps the U.S.'s greatest folly in The Gulf War...not finishing the job.) The author's premise was that the ultimate plan would be to take both towers down like dominoes. It didn't happen but that didn't stop Hussein. Mylroie gives us additional theories of terror involving Hussein however, the "main idea" here is the WTC bombing.

Ramzi Yousef is Mylroie's villian. An Iraqi agent, Yousef is considered the figurehead in this terrorist act. While the political aspect of this act is germane to Mylroie's theories, I didn't necessarily agree with the spin. Mylroie asserts that Clinton's poor management of the issues and circumstances associated with the bombing led to the rise of a great western misconception regarding terrorism (specifically that based in the Middle East). This misconception centered around the theory that the majority of the terroism being carried out today is sponsored by splinter groups and individuals. In other words, state sponsorship of terrorism had all but ceased. While this has been proven false to a certain degree, it cannot be qualified as a general statement of fact.

The author tells a good story albeit fact-based. This is a very enjoyable read and quite timely.

This book directly contradicts virtually everything we've learned from "Dollars for Terror: The Us and Islam" by Richard Labeviere which was published a year BEFORE 9/11/2001. Mr. Labeviere is a journalist for Swiss TV and spent years researching the links between various Saudi royals, the bin Ladin family, al Qaeda and the CIA. He asserts that the CIA used al Qaeda in Macedonia, Kosovo, Chechnya and elsewhere at least up until 2000.