28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Politics Of The 9-11 Commission, August 17, 2006
Two years ago, "The 9-11 Commission Report" was released and discussed the events leading up to and following the 9-11 attacks. This new book by the co-chairs of the 9-11 Commission is the story of their struggle to overcome bureaucratic obstacles and White House resistance (in the guise of White House counsel Alberto Gonzales). This account is a political one, not a fact-finding story of the actual attacks. Republican Thomas Kean and Democrat Lee Hamilton paint a damning picture of resistance at every corner and their use of PR to overcome many (but not all) of the obstacles. For those interested in the workings of Washington politics, this is an excellent read.
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15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A rare inside look at Washington political process, August 25, 2006
I found this book fascinating. There are rarely Washington insiders with the narrative talent and an appreciation for process, and in this case, we have a book that provides both. The careful negotiations, resistance and calculations by federal agencies, the push and pull of partisan politics and the unique friendly-adversarial role of the 911 families provide for absorbing reading. If nothing else, the use of careful diplomacy by the authors in knowing when to wheedle and when to subpoena is a lesson unto itself. The delicacy of diplomacy and the ham-handedness of security considerations provide a rare insight into the difficulties of maneuvering inside the beltway, and the differences amongst and amidst the commission itself are more than simple sniping -- they are in many ways a laboratory for American political struggles. Recommended for policy wonks and aspiring diplomats, and for those, like me, who'd rather get the inside scoop on the White House than Hollywood.
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16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Important Dimension is added, August 21, 2006
In all honesty, the book is a little dull, especially when compared with The Looming Tower, just published. There isn't a whole lot more revealed about the 9/11 coverup than what is in the official report. However, one very striking detail is highlighted and ought to be taken seriously by the lemmings who live below the 49th parallel and above the Mexican Border: Alberto Gonzales is the man who stood between the 9/11 Commission and what the Bush administration did, failed to do, and then covered up.
The US version of the Spanish Inquisitor is the architectural genius behind the current administration's efforts to dismantle the separation of powers encoded in the US Constitution, behind the US refusal to be held to the Geneva Convention in the detainment and treatment of prisoners, the chief interrogator in the gulag of secret prisons in Eastern European and Western Asian countries used by the CIA to torture Al-Qayeda suspects, and the one who has changed the make-up of the Civil Rights division of the Justice Department from a wing that essentially hired on merit attorneys with a proven track record enforcing civil rights, to politically appointing attorneys who worked in the private sector defending or attacking civil rights and affirmative action standards. In other words, kangaroo courts.
Through the course of Kean and Hamilton's book, you are confronted with repeated efforts by Gonzales to stonewall the 911 Commission from completeing its publicly stated and Congressionally mandated mission. Gonzales acts on "behalf of his client." Excuse me?!?! Kean and Hamilton stop short of accusing Gonzales of obstruction, but it's quite clear that every effort is being made to ensure that the "client" never testifies or is interviewed on his own. Meanwhile, scores of Muslims are tortured and interrogated whether or not they had any active role in any Islamist organization.
Kean and Hamilton allow the reader to draw their own conclusions, but it is clear that Kean is disgusted with the subterfuge of the W administration, appalled at the way the US Constitution is consistently undermined, infuriated that this government will not acknowledge how it has failed its citizenry, and determined to be part of that movement within his party to reclaim the integrity of Linclon's party.
Good luck, Tom. You have an uphill battle against an entrenched mentality that harkens back to McCarthy and even to 1930's Germany. For the rest of us, what this book portends is the awakening of an electorate to their own self-deception at the hands of those who would cry wolf. The wolf in fact is already here. You all elected him President. Twice.
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