Against All Enemies

Inside America's War on Terror

By: Richard A. Clarke

Narrated by: Richard A. Clarke

Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

The real war on terror has happened largely behind closed doors, run by the White House, drawing on secret intelligence and operations around the world. There is no man who knows more about it than Richard Clarke, the former Counterterrorism Czar for both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the man who has led our efforts against al Qaeda and all other terrorist enemies for years, serving under seven presidents and in the White House for George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, until he resigned in March 2003. He has had a front-row seat at every major battle in this war, from the first World Trade Center bombing, to 9/11, to Afghanistan, to Iraq.

Clarke knows the secret stories of Bill Clinton's great victories (shutting down anti-U.S. terrorism sponsored by Iran and Iraq) and his great frustrations (failing to kill Osama Bin Laden despite many attempts). When President Bush took office, Clarke was ready to present him with a master plan to roll back and destroy al Qaeda, yet the president did not grant a briefing for months. His aides had little interest in Osama Bin Laden, preferring to talk about Saddam Hussein at every turn. Clarke knows why we failed to shut down terrorist financing within our borders prior to 2001.

After ignoring existing plans to attack al Qaeda when he first took office, George Bush made disastrous decisions when he finally did pay attention. Thanks to the determined, even conspiratorial views of Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, and Bush, we went after the wrong enemy.

The charges Clarke levels against the current administration must be taken seriously by every American, Democrat or Republican. Our security depends upon it.

Listen to Richard Clarke's testimony before the 9-11 Commission.

©2004 RAC Enterprises, Inc. (P)2004 Simon & Schuster, Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Narration by the Author or Authors, 2005

"The explosive details about President Bush's obsession with Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks captured the headlines in the days after the book's release, but Against All Enemies offers more. It is a rarity among Washington-insider memoirs: it's a thumping good read." (The New York Times Book Review)
"The level of detail Clarke includes is impressive....Clarke delivers it like a pro. With his deep tenor and weighty pauses, Clarke never lets listeners forget the gravity of the situation....Compelling." (Publishers Weekly)
"Clarke tells an insider's story of our government's awakening to a threat we had never faced before. Because the written words are his own, every pause and emphasized phrase serve to hone his intended meaning as no contracted narrator could do. Although this is an abridgement, none of the meat or spice in this hot dish seems left out." (AudioFile)

HE issued and apology!

I suspect that after hearing this you will decide, as I did, that Richard Clark is the ONLY government official involved in defending the homeland since the election of Ronald Reagan that does not owe Americans an apology over 9-11. He IS,however the only one that has apologized.

against all enemies

Richard Clarke's account of his many years serving our country is riveting and scary. He was the only sane person on 9-11. Now that he has disagreed with the bush administration, he has been trashed. Believe him, he has been followed by many other ex-bush people and I believe every single word of what he says.

Wow

Simply if you want to know what was going on behind closed doors over a few administrations with regards to terrorism, who did what and who did not. This book should be a must read for all Americans. Richard Clarke was the point man and certainly qualified to make the judgements he makes in this book. Fantastic read!!

Against All Enemies

Really opened my eyes about what was happening in our government behind closed door & out of the scrutiny of the media. A must read for all voting US citizens (which should be ALL US citizens).

Best book on 9/11 ever written

If you could sum up Against All Enemies in three words, what would they be?

Gripping, terrifying, enlightening.

What did you like best about this story?

I didn't like anything about this story other than it provided one of the only windows of truth into the Bush administration at the time of the 9/11 attacks and our decisions to go to war against Iraq.

What does Richard A. Clarke bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Heroism and first hand account. Thank you for your service to our country, Mr. Clarke.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me weep for our country that we could be so easily marched into an unnecessary war that cost our children trillions of dollars, thousands of our soldiers' lives, and 100's of thousands of Iraqi civilians deaths. Now we are a nation that condones torture when we used to prosecute it as a war crime.

Insightful

Before this book, I knew virtually nothing about Bush's or Clinton's presidencies. Now, I have a pretty good idea of at least the security part of it. This was a really good book for those who know nothing and would like to learn more. I'm sure it's also insightful to others who thought they knew it all...I still do not understand why Clinton's affair would call for such attention nor why we went into Iraq. Anyway, definitely get this book. MUST HAVE!

This is the story that America doesn't know.

I don't think a more credible person could tell this story. I am sure the right has spared nothing to defame him. We can't make things better if we are unwilling to look at our own mistakes and learn from the past. Learning the truth about Bill Clinton's efforts and commitment and the Bushes administration unwillingness to hear the facts will be too much for most people on the right to accept. In other words, making the same mistake George W. Bush made.

Personal Account of War on Terrorism

Richard Clarke offers up his own, personal, experience of our government recognizing and dealing with the war on terrorism; in particular, our war with Usama Bin Laded and his Al Qaeda network. He tracks the history of this group and our growing awareness of what are their goals. Because of our relationship with Saudi Arabia and continued military presence in the Middle East, Bin Laden has considered us a threat to his world and has declared war on us. In the early stages of this war, Clarke demonstrates, many of our terrorists attacks were not correctly attributed to him. But as the truth began to become more apparent, our desire to attack and extinguish this threat escalated. Yes, the Bush Administration is taken to task for not heading the advice of the Clinton administration. This is not an unqualified accusation, Clarke was in the trenches from the beginning of this war and watched its importance get set aside for other priorities. It is not an outright attack on the Bush administration, as some seem to claim, rather a thorough analysis of each administration?s priority with terrorism. To dismiss this book as partisan rhetoric, would be extremely ignorant of what Clarke is trying to accomplish and put forth. This is an important work on understanding how best to fight this terrorist war.

Clarke does an excellent job of narrating his book and offers chilling first-hand accounts of the tragedy of 9/11. His analysis of attacks and our responses is even-handed, detailed, and very illuminating. This is an important book not solely because of the ?press? it has gotten, but because of the tremendous insight it offers into the working of our government and the people who work within it. I highly recommend it.

Your Government At Work

This book should not be dismissed as a left leaning political rant. Clarke is critical of the current administration, but that is not the theme. You can not find a more informative look at the inner workings of the White House. The play by play of the entire day of 9/11, the crisis room in full operation, and a visit to the presidential vault in the West Wing, are all real eye openers. The White House in Crisis Mode is very impressive and is essentially universal for all recent administrations. Do not pass on this because you think it is another Bush Bash - its real value is how well our government works regardless of the administration. Clarke has acclaims from the last 5 changes in the Oval Office.

GOOD BOOK

I really enjoyed the book. Backed up stories that have been around for awhile. After coming home from Iraq, I have to say that he is right that the president took our focus off terrorism with the invasion of Iraq.