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51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sophisticated man, interesting story, June 4, 2008
Ghost is a memoir by one of the founding agents of the Counterterrorism Division of the Diplomatic Security Service, part of the U.S. Department of State. Author Fred Burton reveals the sinister realities of the global counterterrorism game in a very serious, readable, unpretentious way. The book is devoid of the ego-tripping and grandstanding that a lot of these memoirs suffer from (i.e. books like "Jawbreaker" etc.).
Burton gives you the point of view of a working professional field agent, dedicated and patriotic, doing work that Hollywood thinks is like Jack Bauer but really resembles that of an unusually committed and hard-core local cop or criminal investigator. Burton puts the lie to the idea that effective work against Al Qaeda et al. is anything other than good police work. If you think the military should be the first line of defense against AQ et al., read Burton for the fuller picture. To beat the terrorists, we need guys like Fred Burton too.
The book had a lot of things that were new to me, including:
* the theory that the airplane crash that killed Pakistani President Zia was a KGB hit -- the Soviet Union's "farewell kiss" to the mujahadin as the Red Army withdrew from Afghanistan in defeat. Burton was the lead investigator on that case.
* how scary-close the world was to nuclear war after the Zia hit. Burton says that Pakistan, fearing Zia's death might be the first phase of an attack by India, put its recently deployed nuclear forces on high alert. The Indians did the same, and for a few days it was very touch and go, the worst international nuclear tension since the Cuban crisis.
* the real story of how Ramzi Yousef, the first World Trade Center bomber and Al Qaeda's first master of terror, was taken down. Burton played a key role in this first battle with Osama Bin Laden's true believers, directing Pakistani and U.S. agents on the ground.
* new, inside stuff on the Beirut hostage crisis, including the search for hostages William Buckley, David Jacobson, and Father Martin Jenco. (You really get the sense that Burton still weeps for them. You feel his frustration, and his rage.)
* how terrorists have occasionally been turned into effective double agents, used as spies in the battle with Hezbollah and other radical Muslim groups.
* how counter-surveillance programs employed by the DSS successfully uncovered terror attacks or assassination attempts before they actually took place. These programs, which Burton advocates today, saved many lives since the mid-nineties.
* Burton is rather funny in discussing how the State Department's details protecting international dignitaries often put Burton in the position of protecting foreign leaders suspected of mafia ties, terrorism, and other criminal activity.
All in all, Ghost gives a fresh, unusual perspective by a man who was in the trenches for a very long time and deserves our gratitude. The book is worth reading for its insights into the tradecraft of the working "terror cop."
Very readable, in its best parts a lot like a spy novel.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "I ALREADY BLEW MY CHANCE TO LEARN THE "PAKISTANI-TWO-STEP." "THE TRUTH DOESN'T DANCE!", June 6, 2008
This exciting well written memoir by Fred Burton, former Deputy Chief of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), the Department of State's counterterrorism (CT) division, is among other things, a detailed look back at all the glaring warning signs and signals America was given years before the catastrophe of 9/11. The author had been a Maryland cop. "He protected his community, loved law enforcement, but wanted something more." He applied for federal service and the DSS whom he had never heard of offered him a job. So in 1986 he entered "THE-DARK-WORLD", "THE-BLACK-WORLD"... he became a "SPOOK". His entire life was turned upside down. His normal jogging routes had to be constantly changed as he started carrying paranoia with him along with his sweatshirt. His route to work involved a constantly changing labyrinth of right turns, left turns, double and triple u-turns. His wife was told there would never be any discussions about his workday, and he was trained to understand that sometimes, without a warning, he wouldn't be home for weeks at a time without his wife knowing he was leaving or where he had gone.
Fred was one of the earliest members of organized counter terrorism (CT) and his early work involved researching almost every terrorist act in modern recorded history including Beirut 1 and 2. He was told to study top secret documents in the "buried bodies" files to see if he could find any patterns or anything that had been missed. From there Fred was thrown to the wolves and had to learn on the job. He started flying all around the world on a moment's notice, wherever there was a blown up plane, or assassination, or hostage situation. Security was always the top priority, and orders were never questioned. "FRED'S BOSS ONCE TOLD HIM TO GO THE WHITE HOUSE AND DELIVER A BRIEFING. HE ASKED TO WHOM AND HIS RESPONSE WAS, "YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT. THEY'LL BE WAITING." "I DID IT AND DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE WHOM I WAS TALKING TO THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS AT 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE." Another time Fred was parking his car in the garage when his phone rings. He answers it. It's his boss. "Fred?" "Yes?" Be at Andrews at 2100 hours for a trip. Pack for a week, maybe two. "Okay. Where am I going? "You don't need to know that yet." CLICK.
The reader is "dragged" down memory lane through the rubble of destroyed humanity as the author leads you in an effective real-time horrid lesson of modern terrorism. One of the most chilling mental realizations occur after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, when Fred finds out that the FBI had an informant who penetrated the mosque responsible two years earlier. He had worn a wire and attended planning sessions and meetings with Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman the blind Egyptian cleric. Fred convinces his contacts to let him see the transcripts of what this informant recorded. "He is floored!" Part of the transcripts detailed a planned assassination of Egyptian President Mubarak. They had an entire detailed plan to overcome the American government agents that were assigned to protect the President of Egypt. The terrorists knew every move of the American security detail, and their plan probably would have worked. The terrorists had become expertly familiar with every move the American security personnel made... IT WAS FRED'S SECURITY DETAIL! "AS I READ THE TRANSCRIPTS, I REALIZE THAT I HAD BEEN ON SOME OF THE DETAILS THEY'D BEEN WATCHING. THE REVELATION DRAINS THE COLOR FROM MY FACE. WE NEVER EVEN CAUGHT A WHIFF OF THIS SOPHISTICATED SURVEILLANCE OPERATION."
This memoir is an educational-historical book on America's battle against terrorism that leads you from the author's first days that entailed nothing but studying files of "dead-bodies", all the way through his personal growth, which results in him openly disagreeing with a Pakistani Colonel, who says the plane that crashed killing his countries President was downed by a missile. When you're done with your "SPOOK'S" tour through "THE-DARK-WORLD", you will truly feel enlightened!
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing and informative, but...., January 26, 2009
This will be a riveting story for those who are interested in counter terrorism and DSS, but also maybe be somewhat annoying to those who are well read on the subject or who have personal experience with the intelligence or counter terrorism communities.
It is a fun and interesting read. I don't think Burton exaggerates his involvement; he is pretty straight forward about it. However, his experiences are nonetheless sometimes accompanied by over-the-top commentary. I suspect this makes the ride more enjoyable for those who are new to the subject matter or are merely seeking entertainment, but I'm afraid it will invoke quite a few eye rolls and "oh come ons" by others.
Instead of merely discussing the generally unnecessary (though nonetheless advisable)precautions taken to avoid tails, Burton paints dramatic portraits of imminent danger which ultimately lead to...nothing. It isn't the result (nothing) that I found frustrating, but rather the overly dramatic portrayal of relatively routine occurrences. I have little doubt that at many points in his career he was truly and justifiably frightened, but every recounted story does not warrant a paragraph about how he may never see his family again. Further, his constant referral to himself as a "spook" involved in the perilous "dark world" is destined to annoy some readers.
I would certainly recommend the read. However, I think he missed some of his audience on this one.
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