Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence, 3d Edition

Book Description

A thoroughly updated revision of the first comprehensive overview of intelligence designed for both the student and the general reader, Silent Warfare is an insiderâ€™s guide to a shadowy, often misunderstood world. Leading intelligence scholars Abram N. Shulsky and Gary J. Schmitt clearly explain such topics as the principles of collection, analysis, counterintelligence, and covert action, and their interrelationship with policymakers and democratic values. This new edition takes account of the expanding literature in the field of intelligence and deals with the consequences for intelligence of vast recent changes in telecommunication and computer technologyâ€”the new â€œinformation age.â€ It also reflects the worldâ€™s strategic changes since the end of the Cold War. This landmark book provides a valuable framework for understanding todayâ€™s headlines, as well as the many developments likely to come in the real world of the spy.

Customer Reviews:

Great work!.......2007-02-02

The book came right on time and in EXCELLENT condition. I will definately buy with this seller again!

Solid introduction into the world of intelligence.......2006-06-13

I would say that this book would be a good first read for anyone interested in learning more about the intelligence community. It covers a wide variety of information without getting to in-depth into any one subject, so it feels like a pretty well-rounded experience. I also felt that the use of some historical examples really helped not only to make the book more interesting to read but to make some of the concepts easier to understand.

My biggest problem with this book is that at points it reads like a college textbook, which isn't always a particularly good thing. I also found some of the sections that talked about the relations between policy and intelligence to be pretty dull. Overall this book is a pretty informative and a mostly enjoyable read.

good introductory book ..........2006-04-01

A good introduction book to the Intelligence subject. In this book the author browse all the elements and methods of intelligence in a mix with history examples, that helps you understand all the facts of this world and the importance for a goverment to use it in order to be updated and alert of international events.

Thinking About Intelligence.......2005-10-24

This book was first published in 1991, but is as current today as it was 14 years ago. This is because the authors have succeeded in conceptualizing intelligence functions and activities in an abstract, but very accurate manner. Although the authors provide a conceptualized view of intelligence, they also provide concrete historical examples to illustrate specific concepts. As a result the reader is given an understanding of intelligence that transcends current trends and practices within the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). The book is an excellent introduction to the discipline of intelligence independent of specific agencies or practices of the IC. For this reason the book should be of interest not only to folks with no background in intelligence, but also to experienced intelligence professionals. One of the biggest obstacles to real intelligence reform in the IC is the inability of reformers to formulate broad concepts of the purposes and functions of intelligence. Reading this book could go a long way in helping them to develop such concepts. As the final chapter of the book suggests, it shows the way to a theory of intelligence.

"Silent Warfare" is the best introduction I have found to the arcane world of intelligence and is an excellent textbook for an introductory course. However, in a utopian world that course would be taught over a year and in its second semester students would read another excellent intelligence text, "Intelligence From Secrets to Policy" by Mark Lowenthal, which moves from the abstract to general, but specific practices and operations of the U.S. IC. The two books compliment each other very well.

Solid Introduction to Intelligence Activity.......2005-09-19

Both the authors, Abram Shulsky and Gary Schmitt, are respected intelligence organization professionals who have taken up university-level teaching and writing. The book is focused on intelligence theory and organization - not on tradecraft. As such, the principal audience of this book would likely be future intelligence policymakers or foreign intelligence organizations trying to gain an insight into US intelligence systems.

The book does a solid job of identifying what intelligence is, how it is collected (humint vs. techint), how it is processed, how it is systematically protected, and what counter-intelligence includes. In addition, it addresses the gray areas of covert action (Is it intelligence or military activity?) and plausible denial. Although much of this discussion could apply to most nations' intelligence bureaus, the authors only explicity describe the American intelligence system.

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the book is the wealth of sources it contains. Many of these are freely and immediately available on the web for all to read. All the footnotes are very thoroughly explained and usually refer to a specific source. The source list itself adds tremendous value to the book by guiding the reader to so many numerous definitive works on intelligence operations.

All in all, this is a solid introduction to intelligence and a great book for pursuing its addition sources.

Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans (State Secrets)

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A Short History of Secret Experiments
A Short Review of Secret Experiments
Chilling
Chillingly accurate with ominous implications for the future
What an interesting and insightful book

Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans (State Secrets)
Jonathan D. Moreno
Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0716731428

Book Description

In 1994, Jonathan Moreno became a senior staff member of a special commission created by President Clinton to investigate allegations of government-sponsored radiation research on unknowing citizens during the cold war. The top secret documents he helped to declassify revealed a shocking truth-- that human experimentation played an extensive role in this country's attempts to build and protect against weapons of mass destruction.In Undue Risk, Moreno presents the first comprehensive history of the use of human subjects in atomic, biological, and chemical warfare experiments from World War II to the twenty-first century. From the courtrooms of Nuremberg to the battlefields of the Gulf War, Undue Risk explores a variety of government policies and specific cases, including plutonium injections into unwitting hospital patients, U.S. government attempts to recruit Nazi medical scientists, the subjection of soldiers to atomic blast fallout, secret LSD and mescaline studies, and the feeding of irradiated oatmeal to children. It is also the first book to go behind the scenes and reveal the government's struggle with the ethics of human experimentation and the evolution of agonizing policy choices on unfamiliar moral terrain.As the threat of foreign and domestic terrorist attack continues to grow, the need for our country to defend itself against insidious weapons is greater than ever. Can a democracy justify using humans in potentially risky experiments in order to answer scientific questions vital to national security? Exploring the possibilities, Undue Risk highlights a program of human experimentation that is a moral model for all others, civilian and military.

Customer Reviews:

A Short History of Secret Experiments.......2003-06-06

Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans by Jonathan D. Moreno

This very readable book faces the uncomfortable reality of using humans for medical experiments. Government secrecy is corrosive to democracy, and is a true threat to our way of life. The use of human guinea pigs shows something rotten at the heart of society's political rulers.

Chapter 5 tells about radiation experiments. There was a need to study the health risks from inhalation or ingestion to determine the toxic levels. Releasing radioactive products into the air was part of deliberate policy that occurred hundreds of times (pp.153-4). Chapter 6 tells how the Nuremberg Code was adopted for testing ABC weapons (p.166). This rule prevailed in the civilian hierarchy but lacked traction in the military medical culture (p.184); this reflected the political struggles (p.187). Chapter 7 tells of the experiments with hallucinogens as a military secret weapon during WW II (pp.190-1), and afterwards. The Blauer Case tells how state hospitals' experiments killed patients (pp.194-8)! Scanty record keeping on atomic bomb explosions was continued with Agent Orange in Vietnam (p.206). The known dangers from uranium mines were disregarded by the AEC (p.221). Uranium miners fate was to die in their forties for reasons of national security (p.226). After Nuremberg, only America among Western countries experimented on prisoners (p.230).

Chapter 8 tells of the attacks on the Nuremberg Code rules. Pages 252-3 tell why it is legal to experiment on members of the Armed Forces: the Supreme Court said so! Nerve gas experiments were suspended in 1969 (p.263). President Nixon asked for the ratification of the 1925 Geneva Accord to prohibit the first use of biological and chemical weapons. The1977 Senate hearings on the biological testing program resulted in new ethics of research for government agencies (p.265). Chapter 9 tells of the 1991 Gulf War aftermath: many veterans reported illnesses. One explanation was the drug alleged to protect our soldiers caused this problem. PB was never tested or approved, so its use was reckless and a poor experiment (p.269). Pyridostigmine bromide was never approved against chemical weapons (p.270). The FDA created an exceptional "Rule 23(d)". Did PB react with organophosphates to create harm (p.272)? The lack of records prevents any investigation. The last section on '91 Bravo' reads like a very optimistic and cheerful ending to this story.

A Short Review of Secret Experiments.......2003-06-04

Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans by Jonathan D. Moreno

Calling chemical warfare "weapons of mass destruction" is misleading since they are more limited than atomic or biological weapons. Biological weapons can turn against their users. Only atomic weapons have enormous destructive capacity (p.xv). The Advisory Committee on Human Radiation documented secret experiments on humans from WW II to the present day. Biological warfare goes back to ancient times: placing decaying bodies into a water supply or launching them into a besieged fort. There is much more known about biological and chemical weapons today than before 1992. Government secrecy is corrosive to democracy, and is a true threat to our way of life. The use of human guinea pigs shows something rotten at the heart of society's political rulers. This very readable book faces the uncomfortable reality of using humans for medical experiments.

Bacteria and chemicals are hard to control and deliver effectively but relatively cheap to produce and transport. Testing on humans has a long international history, as is hiding these facts (p.4). The Nazi doctors trial at Nuremberg set a standard for military-medical human experiments. Hundreds of other doctors were never tried. A "crime against humanity" was defined as the reckless pursuit of scientific knowledge, or sheer sadism. Experiments on humans predated the Nazis; in 1931 the powerful chemical manufacturers were caught using patients in hospitals (p.64). Then there was America's own wartime research (pp. 65-6). But America was not riddled with a hate-mongering pathology that permitted the systematic injury of certain groups of humans (p.79).

Chapter 4 tells of Nazi scientists brought to America because of their expertise. They now used American soldiers rather than concentration camp victims (p.89)! Similar experiments were done by Japanese Unit 731 (pp.103-7). Their history was kept secret to protect Army biological weapon testing at Fort Detrick, whose budget was second to the Manhattan project (p.109). The US military wanted this information on crop destruction and human experiments. A Soviet war crimes trial documented these facts (p.111-4). Germ warfare charges in Korea and China are discussed on pages 115-6.

Chilling.......2003-05-25

I used to work at an ethical review board, and I read whatever books I could find on medical research ethics. This is the most memorable one I read. It was shocking but fascinating. I would recommend this book to anyone working in clinical research or medical ethics.

Chillingly accurate with ominous implications for the future.......2002-06-26

Undue Risk is a clearly and meticulously constructed documentation of over 50 years of medical and military experiments world wide, with an emphasis on those done in the U.S. It is one of the most important books written on the subject, and it is a must read for anyone concerned about the ethics and interests of government.
Moreno limits himself to information that is documentable. He focuses on the medical community as handmaidens to the military establishment. For example, his thorough and horrific accounts of Dr. Ishii's murderous medical experiments on thousands of helpless captives during WWII in Japan, and his grim comment that despite his criminality, Dr. Ishii today enjoys high social status and wealth, partially due to intervention by the United States, are a testimony to Moreno's clear insight into the pervasive nature of intellectual greed and the grand cover-up of government when it wishes to acquire knowledge.
It is unfortunate that Moreno could not cover the misdeeds of the neuro-sciences. But with the neuro/psychopharmacological arsenal of amnesiacs, sedatives, ECT, and hypnosis it is difficult to find those survivors who can clearly articulate the tale of what was done to them in the name of science. To his credit, Moreno does refer to the CIA's MKULTRA experiments, and gives a nice insight into the LSD death of Fort Detrick's Dr. Frank Olsen, who specialized in airborne delivery of disease as a biological weapon. This book is a must read. It is aurhoritative, restrained in nature, but completely accurate.

What an interesting and insightful book.......2000-06-02

Mr. Moreno's stunning account of experiments done by the Nazis was very interesting. His great writing made the book a page turner and I applaud Mr. Moreno for writing it. I am looking forward to reading more of his books.

A Higher Form of Killing: The Secret History of Chemical and Biological Warfare

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A Higher Form of Killing
An interesting read
Great, but dated information

A Higher Form of Killing: The Secret History of Chemical and Biological Warfare
Robert Harris , and Jeremy Paxman
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0812966538
Release Date: 2002-08-06

Book Description

A Higher Form of Killing opens with the first devastating battlefield use of lethal gas in World War I, and then investigates the stockpiling of biological weapons during World War II and in the decades afterward as well as the inhuman experiments con-ducted to test their effectiveness. This updated edition includes a new Introduction and a new final chapter exposing frightening developments in recent years, including the black market that emerged in chemical and biological weapons following the breakup of the Soviet Union, the acquisition of these weapons by various Third World states, the attempts of countries such as Iraq to build up arsenals, and--particularly and most recently--the use of these weapons in terrorist attacks.

Customer Reviews:

A Higher Form of Killing.......2006-08-17

Terrorism thrives on fear and imagination in designing weapons of mass destruction to inflict the most damage and death. Massive planes flown into prominent symbols of American pride, bomb-laden trucks exploding in front of U.S. embassies or Marine Corps barracks, explosive charges on a small boat rammed into a United States warship, these are the events that come to mind when one envisions terrorist attacks. Chemical and biological warfare seem an improbable choice for terrorists to use due to inability to procure materials or test for reliability. Or is it?

A Higher Form of Killing offers another area for terror to grasp hold. Dubbed the "The best account of gas and germ warfare available" by the Washington Post, A Higher Form of Killing presents the history of chemical and biological warfare through several first hand accounts as well as declassified documents that grimly describe its effects. Concentrating primarily on the UK-U.S. relationship developed out of World War One continuing through to today, authors Harris and Paxman shed light on several bio/chem warfare programs developed including releasing "inert" gases over populous cities to see how far the gases would penetrate, full blown experiments using live germs and gases over deserted islands, CIA experiments using prostitutes who administered bio drugs into unsuspecting clients and many more. With several research facilities conducting experiments throughout the western world, germ and gas warfare is a mature industry capable of producing and delivering a crippling blow if employed in a devilish manner.

A Higher Form of Killing is a must read for anyone wishing to learn more about the history of bio/chem warfare and for those who dare dream of its future if these deadly weapons were possessed by terrorists; however, it is NOT recommended for those with a weak stomach (graphic descriptions and pictures of physical effects from weapons in this book).

A Higher Form of Killing was written in 1981 and thus is a bit outdated; however a revised edition was released in 2002 (still outdated).

An interesting read.......2003-12-22

This books delivers a history of chemical weaponry from the First World War. A good insight into their uses and effects as recorded by actual use in war. This is also a frightening insight into what possibly could happen should a rogue state/terrorist were able to build these weapons.

Great, but dated information.......2003-04-03

This is an outstanding book that outlines the history of chemical warfare through the 1980s. It's an outstanding text and one that was in everyone's personal library when I was a student at the Army Chemical School.

Book Description

The story of Anton Dilger brings to life a missing chapter in U.S. history and shows, dramatically, that the Great European War was in fact being fought on the home front years before we formally joined it. The doctor who grew anthrax and other bacteria in that rented house was an American-the son of a Medal of Honor winner who fought at Gettysburg-on a secret mission, for the German Army in 1915. The Fourth Horseman tells the startling story of that mission led by a brilliant but conflicted surgeon who became one of Germany's most daring spies and saboteurs during World War I and who not only pioneered bio-warfare in his native land but also lead a last-ditch German effort to goad Mexico into invading the United States. It is a story of mysterious missions, divided loyalties, and a new and terrible kind of warfare that emerged as America-in spite of fierce dissention at home-was making the decision to send its Doughboys to the Great War in Europe.

This story has never been told before in full. And Dilger is a fascinating analog for our own troubled times. Having thrown off the tethers of obligation to family and country, he became a very dangerous man indeed: A spy, a saboteur, and a zealot to a degree that may have so embarrassed the German High Command that, after the war, they ordered his death rather than admit that he worked for them.

Customer Reviews:

"The Enemy Within".......2007-08-11

Robert Koenig's portrayal of Anton Dilger's mission to bring germ warfare to America during WWI is far more than just a gripping story of biological warfare and sabotage in one of its first modern instances. Koenig's work resonates to our own contemporary struggle against terrorism in a number of different ways. First, Koenig delves into the psyche and family history of Anton and with painstaking research presents to the reader the fascinating story of how an American born medical student becomes an agent for Imperial Germany. Second, we are reminded of the response of the US government in dealing with the supposed "enemy within", in both its indiscriminate nature and ineffective results. Finally, Koenig also reminds us of the societal response towards the supposed German-American "threat", one that had its own "liberty stakes" (taste great when combined with "freedom fries", one would assume).

This is a very well researched book that combines intrigue of the mysterious world of spies during WWI with a personal story of a man who chose to betray his country, one that his father served proudly during the Civil War. In a way, Koenig offers a reminder that our current predicament is not so unique.

A very well researched, well written book........2007-05-25

I've read the book a couple of times and have gotten more out with each reading. Bob Koenig has done a tremendous job in terms of the accuracy of his research. His writing style draws the reader into the story. Excellent and highly recommended.

Gripping book, painstakingly researched.......2007-04-06

To someone from outside the US, this book brought many revelations, foremost of which was the insight into the thriving German community that existed there prior to 1914, but now is no more. We are familiar with Italian, Greek and Polish influences, but the Germans, as the enemy after a bitter war, had to subsume their culture.

The anti-hero of this gripping book, Anton Dilger, belonged to a family which was more American than German already, but he felt the pull back to earlier roots. The personal letters and insights that Rob Koenig has painstakingly researched show how horrific incidents like the Corpus Christi Massacre in Karlsruhe can have far-reaching effects through people struggling with their identity.

Koenig tells this story in such a way that you do not know what is coming, and thus every chapter has an impact. Throughout, he reveals his mastery of scientific writing for the public. I've read some of his other work on contemporary science, and was delighted to see this historical work. I hope he does another book. This one, meanwhile, is highly recommended to those who like biography, travel, history, science and warfare, all rolled up in one.

Dogged Search for an Elusive Spy.......2007-03-14

My name is Tim O'Neil (husband of Christine). For a decade, Robert Koenig and I worked together as reporters at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I offer this as personal disclosure and testimony to my knowledge of Mr. Koenig's fine work. He is thorough in research and careful to confirm information. His writing is clear and absorbing. He applied those skills in writing The Fourth Horseman. He read family files and forgotten government archives. He searched hard for single documents to explain or confirm information on Anton Dilger, and then wrote a full narrative of the motivations and acts of a man who worked hard to cover his tracks. He took time to explain Dilger's era, especially its reliance upon horses, to provide the setting for one man's trail. The result is a fine book.

The Fourth Rider is Pestilence --.......2007-03-14

Because we now remember WWI for its industrialized slaughter, we have almost forgotten how important horses still were to the conduct of war -- so important that disrupting the shipment of horses from the U.S. to Britain and France was a priority for the German war effort. One of the first organized attempts at germ warfare was directed at infecting horses bound for Europe.

This story of Anton Dilger, an American surgeon who worked undercover as a saboteur for the Germans, has an historical sweep that will engage a broad audience -- particularly in light of our newly-heightened fears of biological warfare. The underlying research makes the book a resource for specialists in several areas -- WWI, military history, biological warfare -- and the graceful presentation also suits it to the general reader of history.

Dilger, the son of a Civil War cavalry officer, betrayed his family, his country and his profession in organizing the infection of American horses with anthrax and glanders germs. The author follows him from his childhood in rural Virginia through his education in Germany, his recruitment and work as an undercover agent, to his probable death -- never entirely confirmed -- in Spain during the flu pandemic in 1918.

Even after almost a century, a sad immediacy clings to many aspects of this story. The horses are gone, but much else remains the same.

Unit 731: Japan's Secret Biological Warfare in World War II

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Recommended reading by nervegas.com
Biological Warfare in World War II and WW3???

Unit 731: Japan's Secret Biological Warfare in World War II
Peter Williams , and David Wallace
Manufacturer: Free Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0029353017

Customer Reviews:

Recommended reading by nervegas.com.......2002-10-02

One of the earlier works on Unit 731. Written by investigative journalists after they worked on a television series for BBC.

The first part of the book covers the beginning of Japans BW efforts by focusing on LTG Shiro Ishii. It describes the man, his achievements, and how he progressed into managing a BW empire.

Following this third of the book is how the US investigated Japan's BW efforts, and then followed by the data swap for immunity from war crimes.

The story is fast past, interesting, and well researched. It is not a true historical study, but a well written investigative report. Along with BW, the book also covers Balloon attacks, and the possibility that US POW's were used in experiments.

Biological Warfare in World War II and WW3???.......2001-07-29

Excellent research & story telling, interesting subject matter, frightening & informative.

The Biology of Doom: America's Secret Germ Warfare Project

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The Biology of Doom
Well researched, but ends with a unwarranted confidence
SCARY!
The elephant laboured mightily and brought forth... a vole
The Biology of Doom - aaaaarrrgh!

The Biology of Doom: America's Secret Germ Warfare Project
Ed Regis
Manufacturer: Owl Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 080505765X

Book Description

From anthrax to botulism, from smallpox to Ebola, the threat of biological destruction is rapidly overtaking our collective fear of atomic weaponry. This riveting narrative traces America's own covert biological weapons program from its origins in World War II to its abrupt cancellation in 1969. In light of America's increasing surveillance and condemnation of foreign biological weapons programs, this exposeacute; of America's own dangerous Cold War secret is both fascinating and shocking. The project, at its peak, employed 5,000 people and tested pathogens on 2,000 live human volunteers; conducted open-air tests on American soil; sprayed our cities with bacterial aerosols; and stockpiled millions of bacterial bombs for instant deployment. Yet, surprisingly, almost nothing has been published about this project until now. This is the first book to expose the true story of America's secret program to create biological weapons of mass destruction.

Customer Reviews:

The Biology of Doom.......2005-09-24

This book seems more like a review of records then adding anymore info.
I doubt if any more research has gone in to this book then average high school graduate goes through.
I felt it was a waste of time and money
Pankaj

Well researched, but ends with a unwarranted confidence.......2003-09-24

This is a good book for facts. Unfortunately, it is way out of date. Considering how fast technology is moving, what would lead someone to look back 20 years in the past and use that, as-is, for projecting forward?

Reality is going to bite us, hard.

SCARY!.......2002-05-08

The book was an awesome overview of the American, Russian and British programs of biological weapons. While the Americans and the British stuck to a treaty signed in the 1970's to stop the production of biological weapons, the Russian's only increased their production. And what a production they had! Almost unrealistic in its scope.

This book is important in its insight into the biological weapons programs of "the big three" and into the possible capabilities of what these programs could do. Information on the early projects at Ft. Dietrick, Maryland were very illuminating and lit a fire for me to read some more on this subject.

Overall, an exceptional book, important to read not only because of what was done, but what could be done with the remnants of what is left. Where did all the former Soviet scientists go? To the Middle East? Read this book - open your eyes!

The elephant laboured mightily and brought forth... a vole.......2001-10-31

The editorial review in the amazon.com entry for Ed Regis's "Biology of Doom" refers to a Herculean effort on the author's part to mine thousands of pages of previously-classified material on biological warfare research in Germany and Japan from the massive archives on the subject maintained in the United States and elsewhere as though merely the exertion were sure of yielding new insights on the subject... wish it were so, but it isn't.

"Biology of Doom" is another book on biological warfare, on a bookshelf already groaning with them. The "teaser" - the premise: that there is something especially sinister about the involvement of the governments of the world to develop diseases to be sued as weapons in order to accomplish national goals beyond the grasp of conventional armed force and threats-and-blandishments diplomacy, remains a true tease... because there still isn't anything worse about biological warfare than what we already know.

And what we already know, that Japan's infamous military germ warfare research Unit 731 and other Axis war criminal doctors were spared hanging for war crimes and murder by an American germ warfare agency greedy for the masses of data compiled by Japanese researchers, is undoubtedly terrible. It's also not news.

As far back as the early 1980s writers such as Sterling Seagrave ("Yellow Rain") have been alluding to this work, and for quite a long time since then an unsophisticated reader could have gotten the impression that the ONLY work done on biological and chemical warfare was being done at Fort Detrick, Porton Down and the Dugway Proving Ground - in other words, by America, Great Britain and their NATO allies - when the sorry fact was that the defensive work done at those installations was dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of the treaty-breaking biological warfare industry run by the Soviets while they slandered us lustily.

Regis does do respectable work in allowing us to visualize the monsters of Unit 731 coldly testing every killer germ and fungus imaginable to them on innocent men, women, and children... unfortunately, while Regis may have succeeded in drawing some previously undrawn dots in on the whole nasty chiaroscuro of military BW, he gives us no new or startling images that other writers had not already revealed to us.

In justice, Dr. Regis does draw more attention in his book to the Whitecoats, the brave conscientious objectors who during World War II volunteered to be exposed to biological warfare agents so that their effects might be closely monitored in the human model, and this is certainly a worthwhile addition to the popular literature on the history of biological warfare. Other parts of his book dealing with the history of Fort Detrick, such as the story of the "8-ball" enclosure, are fascinating but again have been covered by other writers in the popular literature (even in one or two popular-audience science-fiction novels written during the 1970s).

Certainly I share Regis' outrage about the callousness with which innocent blood was shed by the bioweaponeers of several countries, and at how so much indisputable evidence of so many murders comitted by the defeated countries of World War II in the name of better, deadlier weapons of war was kicked under the rug by the victors of that same war in their lust to learn all they could about that same obscene research... what Regis and too many of the other chroniclers of biological warfare research have failed to do is to capture the imagination of the world and vividly demonstrate the vast human tragedy of this research so that the public might be motivated to prevent the wrongs they describe from recurring.

And unfortunately, better research just doesn't make a better book, not by itself, without some effective means of making the reader care about what was uncovered. I wish I could reward all of Dr. Regis's hard work with better than an average rating, but he didn't give us better than an average book. The weakness of amazon.com's rating system is that I can't give half-points, because the book probably is above average, but I cannot honestly award a "4" to this book.

The Biology of Doom - aaaaarrrgh!.......2001-01-29

I was fascinated from this book from the moment I picked it up: Ed Regis has the knack of being able to immerse his reader so deeply in the moment that it is a wrench to put it down. I am a practising microbiologist with a morbid fascination with biological weaponry and nasty zoonoses; this book certainly informed me perhaps better than I needed to be about things I had only previously read about at third- or fourth-hand, or heard as apocryphal anecdotes.

The only things I could fault in this book are that a) it is too short; b) it does not cover some of the more interesting recent biowar developments, such as Iraq's and South Africa's ventures into the field (but see a).

Amazon.com

Three reporters from The New York Times survey the recent history of biological weapons and sound an alarm about the coming threat of the "poor man's hydrogen bomb." Germs begins ominously enough, recounting the chilling attack by the followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in 1984 on the Dalles, Oregon--no one died, but nearly 1,000 were infected with a strain of salmonella that the cult had legally obtained, then cultured and distributed.

While the U.S. maintained an active "bugs and gas" program in the '50s and early '60s, bio-weapons were effectively pulled off this country's agenda in 1972 when countries around the world, led by the United States, forswore development of such weapons at the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The issue reemerged in the early '90s thanks to Saddam Hussein and revelations of the clandestine and massive buildup of bio-weapons in remote corners of the Soviet Union. The book's description of the Soviet program is horrific. At its peak the program employed thousands of scientists, developing bioengineered pathogens as well as producing hundreds of tons of plague, anthrax, and smallpox annually. The authors conclude that while a biological attack against the United States is not necessarily inevitable, the danger of bio-weapons is too real to be ignored. Well-researched and documented, this book will not disappoint readers looking for a reliable and sober resource on the topic. --Harry C. Edwards

Book Description

In the wake of the anthrax letters following the attacks on the World Trade Center, Americans have begun to grapple with two difficult truths: that there is no terrorist threat more horrifying -- and less understood -- than germ warfare, and that it would take very little to mount a devastating attack on American soil. In Germs, three veteran reporters draw on top sources inside and outside the U.S. government to lay bare Washington's secret strategies for combating this deadly threat.

Featuring an inside look at how germ warfare has been waged throughout history and what form its future might take (and in whose hands), Germs reads like a gripping detective story told by fascinating key figures: American and Soviet medical specialists who once made germ weapons but now fight their spread, FBI agents who track Islamic radicals, the Iraqis who built Saddam Hussein's secret arsenal, spies who travel the world collecting lethal microbes, and scientists who see ominous developments on the horizon. With clear scientific explanations and harrowing insights, Germs is a masterfully written -- and timely -- work of investigative journalism.

Customer Reviews:

The evil man does!.......2007-07-26

My conclusion after reading this book: How evil man is! It seems that all what mankind is really concerned about is how to destroy itself by the cruelest, most wicked and gruesome ways possible. The atomic bomb was not enough to satisfy man's craving for destruction. Newer means of killing one's adversaries had to be created. Germs, bacteria, and viruses could fulfill man's desire for gruesome killings - for now!

The book starts in 1984 Dalles, Oregon, when an Indian sect, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, poisons the residents with salmonella. No one died, but nearly 1,000 were infected with a strain of salmonella that the sect had legally obtained, then cultured and distributed by spraying it on the food of the unsuspecting residents. The goal of the sect was to incapacitate the residents in order to keep them home and unable to vote in the coming elections! The authors show how easy it is for anyone to acquire and then scatter biological agents.

The authors then describe other instances when biological agents were used, such as the Aum Shinrikyo sarin attacks on a Tokyo subway. They also trace the history of biological warfare, starting from World War II to the present.

The authors also show how politics play a role in this biological warfare. Governments trick each other, making the other believe they have no biological weapons when in fact they do! They sign treaties between each other banning the culture of biological agents, but secretly break those treaties. The authors explain the biological agents that governments have cultured for warfare (such as Anthrax, and Ebola). They also make us aware that many scientists around the globe (especially in the former Soviet Union) who worked on biological warfare can now be easily recruited by other countries such as Iran and North Korea. The threat of biological warfare is still rising, according to the authors.

Furthermore, they argue, germ warfare is suited to unconventional attacks by terrorists. Germs can kill as many people as atomic bombs, are more discreet to manufacture, transport, and use on targets. They also give time for the terrorist to escape (i.e. leave the country).

The question that will linger on your mind at the completion of the book is whether doomsday will be a result of a massive nuclear war, of microscopic biological agents, or of as now an undiscovered and more horrific weapon!

A lot of it rings true in my experience.......2007-05-31

There are a lot of people who want to discredit the entire book for one reason or another, and they're just plain wrong. In the early 90's, I was an Army infantry officer; I had gone through the army's NBC school (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical), served as my unit's NBC officer, and did a lot of additional reading on these topics, including reading this book. Almost everything I read in this book rings true. The average American would be smart to read this book (although most Americans are too lazy, too self-absorbed in Reality TV, and too stupid to be able to comprehend the highly-technical information in the book) and to be aware that biochemical weapons are very enticing to terrorists.

Sick.......2006-03-08

"While the U.S. maintained an active "bugs and gas" program in the '50s and early '60s, bio-weapons were effectively pulled off this country's agenda in 1972 when countries around the world, led by the United States, forswore development of such weapons at the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The issue reemerged in the early '90s thanks to Saddam Hussein and revelations of the clandestine and massive buildup of bio-weapons in remote corners of the Soviet Union." - Harry Edwards

When Bush 2.0 resisted renewal of a defunct ABM treaty with the USSR, a defunct country, liberal complainers slammed his disrespect for the sacredness of words on paper. Germs, the good book by Times guys & Judith Miller, discloses the aftermath of another sadred treaty with the USSR, the one signed by Nixon & Brezhnev that outlawed development of WBD, weapons of biological destruction.

Nixon and the United States honored that treaty. Brezhnev and the USSR broke it, even after the USSR broke up. Ken Alibek, recent defector from Russia's recent Biopreparat bio-terror program, demonstrated that bad stuff happened back in the USSR and the ex-USSR for at least twenty years after the Reds promised to play well with others & to be nice. Judith Miller, recent star of the Plame Name Blame Game, was certain that residual bugs from Russian germ factories were being stored by Saddam Hussein. Maybe. Maybe it's now in Syria, or maybe Miller got bad intel, Chalabi's revenge.

The good news is that the bio-weapons and poison gas that Saddam apparently didn't have in 2003 were weapons that weren't available for use against liberating and/or invading Americans. The bad news is that, when Americans could not find the weapons that were not used against them, the liberation of Iraq looked to the world like unprovoked aggression and invasion. C'est le guerre.

Ms. Miller and I go way back, back before Iraq. I read this book during our interminable rush to war; then I read Miller's front-page refutations of the anti-war posture of the anti-war Jayson-Blair Times. The Times prominently printed Miller's refutations of its own bias, a bias that now looks prescient while Miller, Bush, Chalabi, and Chalabi's war look bad. C'est le vie.

Still, because germs are with us always, Germs is worth your money and time. Miller's story about the Bhagwan's bio-terror attack on Oregon -- probably the first bio attack on America; forget about bogus apocryphal reports of smallpox-infested blankets delivered to Indians -- is necessary & sufficient reason for reading this book.

Not Worried About Nukes Anymore .......2006-02-19

Judith Miller et al. have successfully illustrated that the fear of nuclear weapons or terrorist-planned "dirty bomb" attacks are the least of our worries. Rather, the danger lies in microbes and human biology.

At the height of the Cold War, Soviet and American scientists generated enough biological and viral agents to kill the inhabitants of the Earth many times over. The problem emerging now is where have all these bio and viral weapons gone, and perhaps more important, where have the scientists gone?

Miller et al. argue the simplicity of scientific techniques necessary for creating bio and viral weapons makes them a prime device for terror. Miller and others site a number of examples to illustrate the ease with which a bio attack is possible. For example, the Aum Shinrikyo sarin attacks on a Tokyo subway and a domestic attack of salmonella poisoning in Oregon were both committed with homemade agents. However, these attacks pale in comparison to what could happen. With the virulence of agents magnified to a nearly unfathomable level, if even a small amount of toxins escaped from their "safe" containers stored around the world, the death toll would be horrendous. Miller et al. have brought to light the horrible possibilities of bio or chemical weapons proliferation, and I, for one, am in agreement.

Great Read But Where Are the WMD She Claims in the Book?.......2005-10-21

I read this book in 2002 way before the Iraq invasion seemed probable. After reading it (and believing that I was reading thorough reporting) I supported going after the WMD in Iraq. However, now that we've seen how Judy can manipulate facts and her proven track record with no WMD found in Iraq I strongly suggest you read this book with a skepticism to truthfulness.

Some of the non-Iraq WMD reporting was very interesting and I learned a bit from that, but how do I separate fact from fiction? As a result of being 100% wrong in her reporting and Judy's recent comments, "the analysts, the experts and the journalists who covered them -- we were all wrong," which is not true (read John MacArthur, Ian Williams and Joby Warrick), I think this book loses its credibility. You may want to read it just to attempt to discern fact v. fiction.

Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services in the West

Average customer rating:

Needed Remider that Espionage Continues
A eye-opening coverage
Reality, Truth and Hope
Reality, fantasy, or disinformation (or a bit of each)?
Opening the Veil on Bio-Warfare

Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services in the West
Alexander Kouzminov
Manufacturer: Greenhill Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Intelligence & Espionage | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Russia | History | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1853676462

Book Description

In the wake of 9/11 the threat of biological terrorism and sabotage has been thrust to the forefront of public consciousness. However, this is far from being a new phenomenon. From World War II onwards, the Cold War powers devoted considerable resources to developing what became known in the military as µbugs and gas'. This groundbreaking study lifts the lid on the top-secret Department 12 of Directorate S (Special Operations) v the elite inner core of the KGB First Chief Directorate and its successor, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. During the 1980s and early 1990s the department encouraged biological espionage, the planning and preparation of biological terrorism and acts of sabotage. Their work was carried out primarily through µIllegals' v intelligence operatives who were secretly deployed to the West and covertly operated there, masquerading as citizens of Western countries under assumed names and cover stories. One of its top operatives, Alexander Kouzminov, has decided to break his silence and reveal in depth for the first time the department's tasks, plans and tactics. More disturbingly, he explores what others in the West and the developing world are and could be capable of. In this remarkable book we learn the secrets of the USSR's elite intelligence operatives v secrets which could prove vital in maintaining international security in today's uncertain political climate.

Customer Reviews:

Needed Remider that Espionage Continues.......2007-08-14

An excellent study of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian foreign intelligence operations against Western biological warfare activities (which the author believes were substantial). This book is to be distinguished from that of another defector, Ken Alibeck, who wrote of the extensive Soviet biological warfare establishment of which he was a part. The book is notable for its description of the extent to which the espionage operations continue under the Russian successor agencies to the KGB

A eye-opening coverage .......2005-12-03

Alexander Kouzminov's Biological Espionage: Special Operations Of The Soviet And Russian Foreign Intelligence Services In The West provides an eye-opening coverage not just of modern biological threats as depicted in the news, but of the history of Department 12 special operations, the elite core of the KGB charged with encouraging biological espionage and terrorism. This is no rumor title: one of the KGB's top operatives writes this expose, breaking silence for the first time to outline plans, tactics, and what others in the West and developing world are capable of achieving.

Reality, Truth and Hope.......2005-04-20

I have read this book in one sitting and found it to be significant. For the first time I have learnt about super-secret Department 12 of Russian and Soviet Intelligence, the tasks of which were biological espionage, preperations and realization of biological acts of terror, in the case of war or military conflict.

Information in this book is quite explosive, even though "Biological Espionage" is clearly not written as a scientific manual or a report for special services. Anyone can understand the main ideas of this book. The voice and emotions of the author are felt quite strongly throughout the whole book. Dr Kouzminov went through a personal transformation from (as he called himself) a "poacher" for Soviets to a person who has made a very important input for the good of world-peace. Clearly the main purpose for the author was to raise the awareness of biological espionage and acts of biological terror on a world-scale. Kouzminov writes about his thoughts for the measures and mechanisms on how we can control epxeriments with bio-hazard materials.

Of course, like any new controversial work, this book would have its' followers, those who want unity between man-kind in order to stop all wars; as well as enemy critics, who would rush to label Kouzminov as a suspicious and non-credible author and a "bad scientist". An example of the latter is the review of R. Zelinskas, (who was a determined searcher for bio-weapons in Iraq). He falsifies the facts of the book and illegally libels Kouzminov. In "Biological Espionage" Kouzminov hopes, believes and suggests, but the reviewer knows everything for sure, (in fact, Puschino is about 300 km away from Zagorsk in an opposite, further part of Moscow region; and a large body of respected scientists around the world currently insist on the possibility of the creation of a genetic weapon - the possibilities of today's biology are so vast, that anything should be taken into account).

The author of "Biological Espionage" calls for us to stop thinking as if we are still immersed in Cold War, as traditional thoughts usually presume that West is always "the good guys" and the East is the "suspicious and agrresive bad guys".

I'm not sure that Zelinskas, after the failure to find weapons in Iraq, has done anything to prevent the invasion and the massive blood-shed of innocent lives. On the contrary, books like "Biological Espionage" call for humanitarian unity - to fight for the peace of the current world and of the future generations.

Reality, fantasy, or disinformation (or a bit of each)?.......2005-04-16

The book by Alexander Kouzminov, "Biological Espionage: Special Operations of the Soviet and Russian Foreign Intelligence Services," certainly left me with mixed, disturbed feelings. On the positive side, it is interesting in what it tells about a previously unknown aspect of Soviet/Russian espionage - how it was concentrated on collecting information on biological developments in both civilian and military applied microbiology throughout the democratic nations. Kouzminov's claims that the Soviet secret service had spies in both the UK and US biological warfare (BW) programs, if true, has frightening implications because it indicates yet more counterintelligence failures by these countries and, of course, information vital to our security would have been compromised.
But on the negative side, little actual information is provided about the accomplishments of these Soviet/Russian intelligence activities. The spies in the West are not named and the information that was collected about the UK and US BW programs is not specified. I read again and again about "significant" information being collected by Soviet agents, but little if any clue is provided as to what this information was and why it was significant. And the author is needlessly secretive about some facts; for example, he mentions that there were two BW facilities near Pushchino, but does not name them. Of course, it is well known in the West that a Biopreparat facility in Obolensk and Ministry of Defense institute in Zagorsk (now Sergiyev Posad) fit the bill because they are near Pushchino, so why the hesitancy about naming them?
I was also troubled by scientific/technical inaccuracies. For a supposed biomedical expert, he should know that the bacterial pathogen Bacillus anthracis is not a virus and that the bacterial disease tularemia is not caused by a virus. Even a first year student in microbiology knows this. There are other, equally obvious technical mistakes.
The book's final chapter is almost a joke, was it not that for the possibility that misguided or ill-willed persons might disseminate Kouzminov's absurd claims as facts. The KGB had plenty of experience doing so in the early 1980s when as part of a disinformation campaign they publicized claims made by an East German scientist that HIV was created in Fort Detrick. If Kouzminov is to be believed, almost every unusual disease outbreaks in the 1990s and early 2000s was caused by a deliberate release of a BW agent or an accidental release from a BW facility. Even in Africa and India, where it is hard to imagine why anyone would use biological weapons or that biological weapons laboratories exist and are operating. His claim that the strain of Hantavirus that caused a Hantavirus disease outbreak in Four Corners in 1994 probably was engineered to attack specifically Navajo Indians of "middle height" is ludicrous. It is as if he neglects a huge body of scientific literature demonstrating clearly that persons throughout North America of all races, ages, and sizes have been the unfortunate victims of Hantavirus disease since 1994.
In the final analysis, I had the feeling that Kouzminov might have made a deal with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) along these lines; "I get to publish a book about a potentially interesting subject, but you get to edit it so it contains no really important or interesting information. This way the exploits of the KGB and, by extension the FSB, are glorified at no cost in terms of loss of security. Further, if some of its information is misused to denigrate the U.S. or other Western democracies, so much the better." Or it could be the start of another disinformation campaign, but one that this time is carried out by the FSB. Anyway, in the final analysis, the book is a huge disappointment.

Raymond A. Zilinskas

Opening the Veil on Bio-Warfare.......2005-03-17

Biological attacks have long been in the back of people's minds. Then just after 9/11, anthrax was sent to several offices around the United States. (The author is suspicious that this was a small attack, possibly conducted by a foreign intelligence agency, to measure the reaction of the US Government to the application of biological or toxin weapons.)

In this book Alexander Kouzminev, a scientist at the Soviet Union's biological research unit of the KGB tells the story of what the Soviets have been doing in the areas of biological weapons. In this story, he not only talks about the work of their lab, but provides valuable insight into how such weapons work, how they can be distributed, and how frighteningly effective they can be.

This is the first work I've seen that begins to life the veil of secrecy surrounding biological warfare. It's an important book.

Secret Weapons of the Cold War: From the H-Bomb to SDI

Average customer rating:

Eye-Opening and Very Informative
Covers Everything!

Secret Weapons of the Cold War: From the H-Bomb to SDI
Bill Yenne
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Russia | History | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 042520149X

Book Description

The highly classified Doomsday weapons that agents on both sides of the Iron Curtain once risked their lives to protect.

Military expert Bill Yenne reveals the sophisticated weaponry that would have launched Armageddon if the Cold War had turned hot--weapons so closely guarded that people would kill to learn their secrets.

Go behind the Curtain:

- SAC--the secret weapon that prevented World War III
- Spy satellites and spy planes
- Stealth aircraft and submarines
- Ballistic and cruise missiles
- The Strategic Triad of MAD--Mutual Assured Destruction
- Human warriors on the battlefield of outer space--the Cold War in orbit
- "Star Wars"--the controversial weapons system that ended the Cold War
- And much more

Customer Reviews:

Eye-Opening and Very Informative.......2007-02-10

This book was excellenty researched and full of unheard of weapons data from both sides of the iron curtain. This book should be the follow-on book to Deep Black (circa 1985 by Clive Burrows?) which talked about some of those weapons in their idea/development phases. This book by Bill Yenne mentioned weapons systems never written about in newspapers. The beginning of the book is a little dry in that it covers the history of spy satellite development with quite a bit of detail, but really nothing new to one who has read other books on the subject. After that it picks up the pace and becomes a treasure find of relatively unknown info on Soviet weapons systems as well as American. I will likely read this book again because I found it so full of historical (concise) and technical data/detail. Certainly a reference to anyone interested in high tech weapons of the Cold War and beyond. I would have rated 5-stars, but too many grammar/syntax errors.

Covers Everything!.......2007-01-11

If it was a weapons system in the cold war, on either side, it is covered here! Very interesting and informative!

Saddam's Secrets: The Hunt for Iraq's Hidden Weapons

Average customer rating:

The Hunt For An Editor
Real Time Machiavelli
Real Time Machiavelli
Machiavellis true heir

Saddam's Secrets: The Hunt for Iraq's Hidden Weapons
Tim Trevan
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Iraq | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Saudi Arabia | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Intelligence & Espionage | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Arms Control | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 000653113X

Book Description

The author of this text, Tim Trevan, was a key British participant (1992-1995) in UNSCOM's investigation of Iraqi chemical and biological sites. In his narrative, he shows how UNSCOM dealt with Iraq's devious, despotic regime: the early frustrations encountered because of Iraq's lying and obstruction; the techniques and technologies inspectors employed; the personal difficulties and dangers of the job; and their ingenuity in tackling problems. The book also shows how the Commission maintained support in a divided UN Security Council long enough to achieve success, despite the ceaseless stream of international crises unleashed by Iraq to try and break the Commission.

Customer Reviews:

The Hunt For An Editor .......2005-04-11

I have read a number of books about the Iraqi weapons inspection process and I must say that this book is the most in depth. In what I admittedly would fess up to be a bit of a stereotype, the author is British thus the book is a bit on the dry side and full of detail. So much detail that at times it gets in the way of the main story. The author not only covers the story of how the Iraqi's hid the weapons or hindered the inspectors, but he also covers the formation of the weapons inspection team and process. He also covers many of the people involved and if you watched the lead up to the latest Iraqi war then you know all the names involved in this book. It seams like the years change, but the main experts are all the same.

The most interesting parts of the book for me covered the inspection process. I expected and heard a lot of about how difficult the Iraqi's made it for the inspectors. A constant peaty and nagging version of a cat and mouse game that would make even the most patent man scream in frustration. What I had not read before was the different ways the Iraqi's made it dangerous or how often the implied physical harm was around each corner. I kept wondering just how much these guys got paid given all the difficulties of their jobs, was it really worth it? The author also gives us a good review of the success the UN had in uncovering weapons in the first few years. The Iraqi's did seem to be somewhat cagey in their hiding of the weapons, but to be fair some of the discoveries were almost embarrassing for the Iraqi's. My toddler could have hidden some of the information and weapons better then these guys. It left one with the impression that the Iraqi's were in part a military organization filled up with incompetent relatives of Saddam that merely did as they were told with very little thinking.

Overall the book was interesting if not a bit long winded. The author could have cut out about 25% of the book and still got his point across, but in a much more readable fashion. He slipped into minutia of detail that was dull and not needed. I half expected his meal menu's and bathroom break details. It was also a bit humorous, given what we know today, with the last section of the book that was devoted to the breathless urgency of the Saddam threat. As we have seen, Saddam's only weapon of mass destruction was famine and poverty. At the end of the day the unstated story up to this point is that in the realm of removing weapons from Iraq, the UN did it's job. The book is interesting, but do not be surprised if you find yourself skipping a page here and there.

Real Time Machiavelli.......2002-02-13

Hidden behind a seemingly specialised subject, Saddam's Secrets, lies the extraordinary story of one of this centuries greatest political transformations - that of the United Nations evolving from a forum of bitter rivalries into an arbiter of morals with the power and will to punish wrongdoers on a global scale. By setting up UNSCOM and appropriating a military force under its light blue banner, the United Nations (UN) heralded a new era from which it roared a resonant political focus. The events that led to this are detailed and analysed with Tim Trevan's aquiline eye and hawkish wit. The author unfolds the unique and bizarre story of the multi-faceted battle of two determined and abstractly united foes in a fragile world...

The premise is quite simple, as was my understating through CNN and the BBC that Saddam and his evil regime had lost the Gulf war and would be divested of the weapons of mass destruction it had accumulated and would not be capable of threatening its neighbours ever again.

The organ tasked to deliver this mission and the hopes of a `new world order' was UNSCOM. It would have to find out how much weaponry the Iraqis ever had, where the remaining arms were concealed and then destroy any that were warranted as offensive. This was logistically a mammoth task however unlike many other limp-wristed UN gestures; UNSCOM was comprised of determined and formidable political negotiators and uncompromising and belligerent inspectors that cajoled the UN Security Council for unequivocal support.

UNSCOM needed to be this robust as Iraq in the other corner had an array of illegal punches and spoiling tactics that would brashly dispose of lightweights. Iraq had only mouthed agreement to the full disclosure of its capabilities under its terms of surrender. Like a poisonous dance between Mr and Mrs Mantis, Iraq and UNSCOM spun political protocol and legalistic diatribe to mesmerise the watching world into lending support or disallowing advantage as a fickle referee. If UNSCOM dictated the tune then Iraq would be left honourless and emancipated without its chemical, biological and nuclear apparel. If Iraq out-manoeuvred the worlds will then UNSCOM would expire and `peace and security' would ensure its fame as the mother of all political platitudes, and so by default the UN credo.

The loaded situation produced a colossal detective story with the tedium of painstaking evidence gathering, conspicuous surveillance and brilliant hypothesis with an array of monstrous characters to divert suspicions. Saddam Hussein, Tariq Aziz, Dr Germ and the various other agents of death and destruction are described with the non-fussed detail of reality yet emerge almost apocryphal by their scheming and morality. Some events like the `car park siege' are completely fantastical. The lapses of Iraqi memory and excuse making are so ridiculously hilarious so as to question the authors' sanity.

However this was real history, it is a story that we have already seen, we had formed our opinions and we believed it was over. The baddies were shot down by the Anglo American alliance and that was that. Tim Trevan however hand-holds us through the nuances of real-politick. When we thought it was over, Tim was still there fighting the battle with UNSCOM... and now its over for him: IRAQ is still a threat. Saddam Hussein is still a dictator. The world seems still gullible enough to believe that decent and righteous humanity will one day vanquish all that is bad.

What Tim Trevan gives us as his parting shot is the most prudent observation of politics as a necessary evil since Machiavelli opined to the unknown prince. Real time.

If you want a cynical political advantage over your enemies, read this book and don't tell them about it, especially Saddam.

Real Time Machiavelli.......2002-02-13

What Tim Trevan gives us as his parting shot is the most prudent observation of politics as a necessary evil since Machiavelli opined to the unknown prince. Real time.

If you want a cynical political advantage over your enemies, read this book and don't tell them about it, especially Saddam.

Machiavellis true heir.......2002-02-13

Hidden behind a seemingly specialised subject, Saddam's Secrets, lies the phenomenal story of one of this centuries greatest political transformations - that of the United Nations evolving from a forum of bitter rivalries into an arbiter of morals with the power and will to punish wrongdoers on a global scale. By setting up UNSCOM and appropriating a military force under its light blue banner, the United Nations (UN) heralded a new era from which it roared a resonant political focus. The events that led to this are detailed and analysed with Tim Trevan's aquiline eye and hawkish wit. The author unfolds the unique and bizarre story of the multi-faceted battle of two determined and abstractly united foes in a fragile world.

The premise is quite simple, as was our understating through CNN and the BBC that Saddam and his evil regime had lost the Gulf war and would be divested of the weapons of mass destruction it had accumulated and would not be capable of threatening its neighbours ever again.

However this was real history, it is a story that we have already seen, we had formed our opinions and we believed it was over. The baddies were shot down by the Anglo American alliance and that was that. Tim Trevan however hand-holds us through the nuances of real-politick. When we thought it was over, Tim was still there fighting the battle with UNSCOM... and now its over for him: IRAQ is still a threat. Saddam Hussein is still a dictator. The world is still gullible enough to believe that decent and righteous humanity will one day vanquish all that is bad.

What Tim Trevan gives us as his parting shot is the most prudent observation of politics as a necessary evil since Machiavelli opined to the unknown prince.
If you want a cynical political advantage over your enemies, read this book and don't tell them about it, especially Saddam.

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