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Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib
Since September 11, 2001, Seymour M. Hersh has riveted readers -- and outraged the Bush Administration -- with his explosive stories in The New Yorker , including his headline-making pieces on the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Now, Hersh brings together what he has learned, along with new reporting, to answer the critical question of the last four How did America get from the clear morning when two planes crashed into the World Trade Center to a divisive and dirty war in Iraq? In Chain of Command , Hersh takes an unflinching look behind the public story of the war on terror and into the lies and obsessions that led America into Iraq. Hersh draws on sources at the highest levels of the American government and intelligence community, in foreign capitals, and on the battlefield for an unparalleled view of a critical chapter in America's recent history. In a new afterword, he critiques the government's failure to adequately investigate prisoner abuse -- at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere -- and punish those responsible. With an introduction by The New Yorker 's editor, David Remnick, Chain of Command is a devastating portrait of an administration blinded by ideology and of a president whose decisions have made the world a more dangerous place for America.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Seymour M. Hersh
30 books385 followersSeymour (Sy) Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters. He has also won two National Magazine Awards and is a "five-time Polk winner and recipient of the 2004 George Orwell Award."
He first gained worldwide recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. His 2004 reports on the US military's mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison gained much attention.
He first gained worldwide recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. His 2004 reports on the US military's mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison gained much attention.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
October 13, 2017
Hersh is the investigative journalist who broke the story on the My Lai massacre in 1969. That tells you a lot about his pedigree. He could've stopped there and been a hero. Except he kept going for the nexts decades, in an attempt to expose the systemic failures and cover ups of the American government and military in all of their domestic and foreign decisions/scandals. This book talks about the issues of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the American mistakes of involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and just how many errors can pile upon each other in the chain of command so that you end up with an operational failure. Very interesting read, would highly recommend.
January 6, 2008
Depressing as hell. I'd heard an interview with Hersh at the time who said that there was more video taped evidence that would make the Abu Ghraib stuff look like child's play. But it sounds like the CIA has disposed of those to avoid any further "embarrassment." This book is both stomach-turning and necessary. And as long as large numbers of people get their opinions from Fox News and Country and Western songs, books like this are inconsequential in the near term.
But historians will (hopefully) put more emphasis on Seymour Hersh than Toby Keith, and future generations will understand what this country was like at its worst.
But historians will (hopefully) put more emphasis on Seymour Hersh than Toby Keith, and future generations will understand what this country was like at its worst.
February 19, 2019
This is an exposé, a lifting of the veil, a peek beneath the circus tent. It brings to mind a line from an old song: "When the truth is found, to be lies . . ." Or you can stick your head where the sun don't shine and blow it off.
Certainly the behavior exhibited at Abu Ghraib was dishonorable, but this book goes waaay beyond that to lay the debacle that has become our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at the feet of our primary military and national leaders. In short, they led America down the garden path to feed their own fantasies and selfish desires for retribution and payback. Due to their obstinance and ignorance, the primary culprits behind 9/11 were allowed to escape entrapment with full knowledge on airplanes flying to and from Pakistan.
WHY? And who paid with their lives for that?
Still these fearless "leaders" walk freely among us drinking Cokes, getting heart transplants and painting pictures of farm animals. Yet no charges of treason or aid to the enemy during wartime have been filed.
WHY?
If not, then what is the meaning of "accountability" if it's not to the American public?
Certainly the behavior exhibited at Abu Ghraib was dishonorable, but this book goes waaay beyond that to lay the debacle that has become our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq at the feet of our primary military and national leaders. In short, they led America down the garden path to feed their own fantasies and selfish desires for retribution and payback. Due to their obstinance and ignorance, the primary culprits behind 9/11 were allowed to escape entrapment with full knowledge on airplanes flying to and from Pakistan.
WHY? And who paid with their lives for that?
Still these fearless "leaders" walk freely among us drinking Cokes, getting heart transplants and painting pictures of farm animals. Yet no charges of treason or aid to the enemy during wartime have been filed.
WHY?
If not, then what is the meaning of "accountability" if it's not to the American public?
March 6, 2022
***Trigger Warning*** (Mentions of torture, rape, sexual assault, pedophilia, etc)
I remember clearly on April 28th, 2004 when I was sitting with my parents as they watched the news and my dad in a panic quickly told my sisters and I to turn around and not look at the blurred images that came on the screen. It had been too late because my 11 year old eyes had seen the white woman with a shit eating grin giving a thumbs up as she crouched in front of a pile of human bodies. An image I will never forget. The next day at our Islamic academy our Islamic studies teacher struggled to find words to describe his pain and disgust to articulate to a classroom full of Muslim children of multiple Arab races who had all seen the images on the CBS special the previous night with their own families. 'Those are your brothers and sisters,' he said choking back sobs.
Seymour Hersh is an investigative journalist that is infamous for his expose piece on the My Lai massacre where the US Army savagely killed 500 unarmed Vietnamese civilians during America's invasion of Vietnam. I have the highest respect for journalists that fight to get the truth out into the world, no matter how ugly, risking everything for the integrity of journalism and letting the world know what really happened.
If I thought I detested Bush Jr. before with every fiber of my being, it is nothing to what I feel now after having read 'Chain of Command'. This book discusses everything leading up to America's invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the creation of Guantanamo Bay, the formation of 'war on terror', the US taking over Saddam Hussein's prison Abu Ghraib, and the whistleblowers that helped allow Seymour Hersh to get this story to the American public.
When Snowden released Wikileaks one of the documents I had read discussed the United State's torture policy, despite torture being against human rights and against the Geneva convention, and reading the parts about Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were so barbaric and sickening I couldn't finish reading it all. This book was extremely difficult to read, and it took me a long time to finally decide to read this book because of how painful the subject matter is to our communities; Muslim, Arab, and Muslim and Arab Americans that grew up in post 9/11 America. This is an extremely important book, but it is very painful.
I knew going into this that Abu Ghraib was bad, but the details in this book intensify it. American soldiers rounded up Iraqi civilians in street sweeps and threw them into the hell on earth that was Abu Ghraib prison. At the height of this horrific tragedy the US Army had over 3,800 Iraqi civilians detained in the prison in terrible conditions. Iraqi men, women, and children were subjected to torture, assault, rape (including the children), humiliation, and having the military dogs attacking them per orders of the soldiers. On top of all that the victims were subjected to the soldiers took photos of everything they were doing to add to the humiliation, and even video taped their depravity for use to blackmail. What CBS exposed as the 'Abu Ghraib Scandal' was only the tip of the iceberg of what these savages did. It had even been commented that the video evidence that was retrieved prior to destruction had made this 'scandal' look tame in comparison. The military got rid of a lot of the evidence, and it sickens me that some of the perpetrators took home photos as souvenirs.
I resent that people try to justify and defend these perpetrators because they were 'young' and 'unsupervised'. These were racist, Islamophobic, and malicious scumbags who had no respect for human life. As a Muslim Arab American woman growing up in post 9/11 America I can verify stories that some people who served either of the wars have said to me in threats bragging about what they did and got away with, the hate crimes I and my family faced at their hands here in the states, and the pure hate that they had in their hearts. The men and women that were the whistleblowers who risked a great deal to get the truth to Seymour Hersh and human rights groups have my respect.
The perpetrators of Abu Ghraib are now all free and that should bother everyone. Innocent people were tortured, raped, subjected to barbaric and inhuman conditions, and murdered (victims that died from the torture). The maximum sentence that one of the perpetrators received was 10 years, that is nothing and that is not justice, and they even got out early on parole. Some of the soldiers did not even serve jail time and only received slaps on the wrist in forms of a demotion within their rank. Bush, who approved all of the uses of torture within all of the US's facilities across the globe, all of the commanding officers, and the perpetrators of Abu Ghraib are all war criminals and they should be charged as such. I really wish this book included everything that was done to help all of the thousands of prisoners whose lives were scarred forever by what was done to them and everyone in that pit of hell with them.
I really respect Hersh for being a journalist of integrity and doing whatever he had to do, risking everything, to get this story to the world despite everyone who wanted to keep it under wraps to maintain the facade.
I remember clearly on April 28th, 2004 when I was sitting with my parents as they watched the news and my dad in a panic quickly told my sisters and I to turn around and not look at the blurred images that came on the screen. It had been too late because my 11 year old eyes had seen the white woman with a shit eating grin giving a thumbs up as she crouched in front of a pile of human bodies. An image I will never forget. The next day at our Islamic academy our Islamic studies teacher struggled to find words to describe his pain and disgust to articulate to a classroom full of Muslim children of multiple Arab races who had all seen the images on the CBS special the previous night with their own families. 'Those are your brothers and sisters,' he said choking back sobs.
Seymour Hersh is an investigative journalist that is infamous for his expose piece on the My Lai massacre where the US Army savagely killed 500 unarmed Vietnamese civilians during America's invasion of Vietnam. I have the highest respect for journalists that fight to get the truth out into the world, no matter how ugly, risking everything for the integrity of journalism and letting the world know what really happened.
If I thought I detested Bush Jr. before with every fiber of my being, it is nothing to what I feel now after having read 'Chain of Command'. This book discusses everything leading up to America's invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the creation of Guantanamo Bay, the formation of 'war on terror', the US taking over Saddam Hussein's prison Abu Ghraib, and the whistleblowers that helped allow Seymour Hersh to get this story to the American public.
When Snowden released Wikileaks one of the documents I had read discussed the United State's torture policy, despite torture being against human rights and against the Geneva convention, and reading the parts about Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were so barbaric and sickening I couldn't finish reading it all. This book was extremely difficult to read, and it took me a long time to finally decide to read this book because of how painful the subject matter is to our communities; Muslim, Arab, and Muslim and Arab Americans that grew up in post 9/11 America. This is an extremely important book, but it is very painful.
I knew going into this that Abu Ghraib was bad, but the details in this book intensify it. American soldiers rounded up Iraqi civilians in street sweeps and threw them into the hell on earth that was Abu Ghraib prison. At the height of this horrific tragedy the US Army had over 3,800 Iraqi civilians detained in the prison in terrible conditions. Iraqi men, women, and children were subjected to torture, assault, rape (including the children), humiliation, and having the military dogs attacking them per orders of the soldiers. On top of all that the victims were subjected to the soldiers took photos of everything they were doing to add to the humiliation, and even video taped their depravity for use to blackmail. What CBS exposed as the 'Abu Ghraib Scandal' was only the tip of the iceberg of what these savages did. It had even been commented that the video evidence that was retrieved prior to destruction had made this 'scandal' look tame in comparison. The military got rid of a lot of the evidence, and it sickens me that some of the perpetrators took home photos as souvenirs.
I resent that people try to justify and defend these perpetrators because they were 'young' and 'unsupervised'. These were racist, Islamophobic, and malicious scumbags who had no respect for human life. As a Muslim Arab American woman growing up in post 9/11 America I can verify stories that some people who served either of the wars have said to me in threats bragging about what they did and got away with, the hate crimes I and my family faced at their hands here in the states, and the pure hate that they had in their hearts. The men and women that were the whistleblowers who risked a great deal to get the truth to Seymour Hersh and human rights groups have my respect.
The perpetrators of Abu Ghraib are now all free and that should bother everyone. Innocent people were tortured, raped, subjected to barbaric and inhuman conditions, and murdered (victims that died from the torture). The maximum sentence that one of the perpetrators received was 10 years, that is nothing and that is not justice, and they even got out early on parole. Some of the soldiers did not even serve jail time and only received slaps on the wrist in forms of a demotion within their rank. Bush, who approved all of the uses of torture within all of the US's facilities across the globe, all of the commanding officers, and the perpetrators of Abu Ghraib are all war criminals and they should be charged as such. I really wish this book included everything that was done to help all of the thousands of prisoners whose lives were scarred forever by what was done to them and everyone in that pit of hell with them.
I really respect Hersh for being a journalist of integrity and doing whatever he had to do, risking everything, to get this story to the world despite everyone who wanted to keep it under wraps to maintain the facade.
April 21, 2014
Hersh actually does journalism. This is the book that should be assigned years from now in the history classes teaching this travesty of a war. Again, I am horrified at the willful incompetence of the Bush Administration's foreign policy. If anyone doubted the idea of a cabal attempting to fashion world events in their favor, they should read more about the NeoCons at the heart of the post-9/11 landscape. Terrible people making others suffer and die.
This book is a good overall primer on how the Iraq War came about - the manipulation of the intelligence, the role of Cheney/Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld's power grab and attempted reformation of the military. The first part details how the occupation culture and the shift from CIA to Pentagon created a climate where Abu Ghraib was an inevitable outgrowth - almost going so far as to say an encouraged outcome.
Hersh makes a compelling case for the fact that the USA invaded and punished the wrong countries. Before Afghanistan was targeted, the US should have gone into Saudi Arabia or Pakistan (where Bin Laden was actually hiding with government support). Both those countries actually fostered and encouraged the 9/11 terrorists. But the US attacked Afghanistan to make a point to Iran, before going into it's main target Iraq.
Recent news proves Hersh right about the role of Pakistan in Anti-American terror. A scary vindication, which underlines the fine research and reporting he does throughout this enlightening and insightful book.
This book is a good overall primer on how the Iraq War came about - the manipulation of the intelligence, the role of Cheney/Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld's power grab and attempted reformation of the military. The first part details how the occupation culture and the shift from CIA to Pentagon created a climate where Abu Ghraib was an inevitable outgrowth - almost going so far as to say an encouraged outcome.
Hersh makes a compelling case for the fact that the USA invaded and punished the wrong countries. Before Afghanistan was targeted, the US should have gone into Saudi Arabia or Pakistan (where Bin Laden was actually hiding with government support). Both those countries actually fostered and encouraged the 9/11 terrorists. But the US attacked Afghanistan to make a point to Iran, before going into it's main target Iraq.
Recent news proves Hersh right about the role of Pakistan in Anti-American terror. A scary vindication, which underlines the fine research and reporting he does throughout this enlightening and insightful book.
May 31, 2014
Seymour (Sy) Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist who first gained worldwide recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. His 2004 reports on the US military's mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison gained much attention and this is his book on that. Like with My Lai, the audiobook explorers the culture that make the atrocity possible and the reaction of (Rumsefld's) dysfunctional institution. Hersh also suggests to me the thought that asymmetric war has successfully been done by Alexander in Afghanistan, Cortes in Mexico, Caesar in Gaul, etc. In each case soft intelligence with hard military technology fractured the enemy along natural fault lines of mistrust and division, bringing allies and opportunity to the invaders and sapping the strength of the insurgency. In Afghanistan and Iraq (and all the way back to Vietnam?), the U.S. blunders in like a juggernaut, forging a disjointed enemy into a united front with heavy-handed tactics that smack of prejudice and racism.
This audio book includes an epilog read by the author as well as interview with him.
This audio book includes an epilog read by the author as well as interview with him.
December 8, 2016
بدءاً المجد للصحافة الأستقصائية ..
الحقيقة المجردة من كل ما عداها هي المحراب الذي يتوجب علي كل صحفي وبالأحري كل أنسان على وجه الأرض ،
لان الحقيقة للأسف أصبحت عزيزة المنال وسط عتمة أكاذيب السياسين والحكام وغيرهم ،
لدينا هنا كتاب لصحفي شهير قرر أن يفتش عن الحقيقة ويسير عكس التيار السائد فى بلد هو اقوي قوة على مدار التاريخ ، قرر أن يكشف أكاذيب أدارة أمريكية هي ربما الأسوء والأكثر إنحطاطاً عبر قرن كامل ،
سيمور هيرش نجم الصحافة الأستقصائية , هو الصحفي الشهير الذي فضح فظائع الجيش الأمريكي فى فيتنام عندما قام بذبح347 شخص أعزل ومسالم عام 1968 ونال عن هذا التحقيق جائزة بولتزر الشهيرة .
الكتاب يتحدث عن امريكا بعد 11/9 وما تلاها من حرب على أفغانستان والعراق، لكن الحدث الأكثر اهمية هو ما ذكره عن فضيحة سجن ابو غريب وكشفه لزيف ما يسمي بقيم الجيش الأمريكي عبر نشره صور ألتقطها مجندين أمريكيين يقومون بتعذيب وأذلال لمعتقلين عراقيين وهو ما أثار غضب الأدارة الأمريكية على سيمور هيرش ،القصة الأخري هي اكاذيب الأدارة الأمريكية عن وجود أسلحة دمار شامل بحوزة العراق وتزوير وثائق تثبت هذا الأدعاء ،
الكتاب قيم جداً وهو نتاج بحث سنوات لهذا الصحفي الدءوب والذي لا يكل ولا يمل من البحث عن الحقيقة
الحقيقة المجردة من كل ما عداها هي المحراب الذي يتوجب علي كل صحفي وبالأحري كل أنسان على وجه الأرض ،
لان الحقيقة للأسف أصبحت عزيزة المنال وسط عتمة أكاذيب السياسين والحكام وغيرهم ،
لدينا هنا كتاب لصحفي شهير قرر أن يفتش عن الحقيقة ويسير عكس التيار السائد فى بلد هو اقوي قوة على مدار التاريخ ، قرر أن يكشف أكاذيب أدارة أمريكية هي ربما الأسوء والأكثر إنحطاطاً عبر قرن كامل ،
سيمور هيرش نجم الصحافة الأستقصائية , هو الصحفي الشهير الذي فضح فظائع الجيش الأمريكي فى فيتنام عندما قام بذبح347 شخص أعزل ومسالم عام 1968 ونال عن هذا التحقيق جائزة بولتزر الشهيرة .
الكتاب يتحدث عن امريكا بعد 11/9 وما تلاها من حرب على أفغانستان والعراق، لكن الحدث الأكثر اهمية هو ما ذكره عن فضيحة سجن ابو غريب وكشفه لزيف ما يسمي بقيم الجيش الأمريكي عبر نشره صور ألتقطها مجندين أمريكيين يقومون بتعذيب وأذلال لمعتقلين عراقيين وهو ما أثار غضب الأدارة الأمريكية على سيمور هيرش ،القصة الأخري هي اكاذيب الأدارة الأمريكية عن وجود أسلحة دمار شامل بحوزة العراق وتزوير وثائق تثبت هذا الأدعاء ،
الكتاب قيم جداً وهو نتاج بحث سنوات لهذا الصحفي الدءوب والذي لا يكل ولا يمل من البحث عن الحقيقة
October 29, 2008
CoC is a compilation of pieces Hersh wrote for the New Yorker about the Bush administration’s conduct of foreign policy. It is a devastating look at the details of what occurred, with a considerable quantity of named sources. For obvious reasons, it was impossible for all his sources to allow their names to be used. We know how vengeful the Bushies are. This is one of the must-read books about the worst administration in American history.
January 16, 2017
This book consists of revised magazine articles most pertaining to the aggressive foreign policy of the Bush administration, about which author Hersh has a very low opinion. Loosely connected, the articles all reflect the kind of serious investigative journalism for which Hersh is so well known.
June 15, 2023
This was rough, honestly I'll have to take a break from reading nonfiction books after this one, the stuff described in this book are just straight up vile, great book but hard read
December 30, 2022
Great book. Feel like I learned a lot and got a more clear look at the atrocities done by the bush administration.
March 22, 2016
There are always multiples sides to every story; Hersh, through his fearless, investigative journalism has brought one such "other" story to light.
1) Torture at Abu Ghraib - The gross violations of Human Rights.
Evidence of the traumatic impact of the abuses was conveyed to me by a senior Iraqi weapons scientist, now living abroad, in the spring of 2004. He told me that several women detained at Abu Ghraib had "passed messages to their families imploring them to smuggle poison to them to end their lives, while others have passed similar messages insisting that they must be killed immediately upon release from prison," the senior scientist reported. "Such is the code of honor in most parts of the Middle East. Innocent lives will be lost [so] their families can survive the shame."
2) Intelligence failure
How the American intelligence was not up to the task. Lack of resources, "The F.B.I.'s computer systems, for example, have been in disarray for more than a decade, making it difficult, if not possible, for analysts and agents to correlate and interpret intelligence. In March 2002, [...] that photographs of nineteen hijackers could not be sent electronically in the days immediately after September 11 to the F.B.I [...] because the F.B.I.'s computer systems weren't compatible", failure to take effective action when, "Throughout the spring and early summer of 2001, intelligence agencies flooded the government with warnings of possible terrorist attacks against American targets, including commercial aircraft, by Al Qaeda and other groups" and the "becoming" of the 20th hijacker.
3) The Other War - The goal of American policy in Afghanistan "was not to set up a better regime for the Afghan people", Rubin wrote. "The goal was to get rid of the terrorist threat against America".
Siege of Kunduz - How Pakistan managed to airlift Pakistanis and "other special leaders" just before the capture.
4) The Iraq Hawks - Saddam, Chalabi, Trireme Partners L.P. "There is no question that Perle believed that removing Saddam from power was the right thing to do. At the same time, he set up a company that stood to gain from a war. In doing so, he ammunition not only to the Saudis but to his other ideological opponents as well."
5) Who lied to whom? - The story of the Niger documents, identified Niger as the seller of the nuclear materials [to Iraq] and how they were analyzed to be ungenuine, repeatedly. "Forged documents and false accusations have been an element in U.S. and British policy toward Iraq at least since the fall of 1997, after an impasse over U.N. inspections put the British and the Americans on the losing side in the battle for international public opinion." and the ghost-hunt of W.M.D.'s as a pretense to a war that was planned years ahead of 9/11.
6) The Secretary and the Generals
REMF
7) A most dangerous Friend - That will be Pakistan
While U.S. was concerned with ousting the Soviets from Afghanistan, Pakistan was becoming a nuclear power (right under their noses). By the time, U.S. turned the attention towards Pakistan, A.Q. Khan had already been "dealing" in a nuclear black market, providing blueprints to N.Korea, Iran and Libya.
8) The Middle East after 9/11
Saudi Arabia: Sponsorer of terrorism AND an important ally of the U.S.
Israel and Kurds: "Israeli involvement in Kurdistan was not new. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Israel actively supported a Kurdish rebellion against Iraq, as part of its strategic policy of seeking alliances with non-Arabs in the Middle East."
In conclusion, Hersh asks more questions, "some of the most important questions are not even being asked. How did they do it? How did eight or nine neoconservatives who believed that a war in Iraq was the answer to international terrorism get their way? How did they redirect the government and rearrange long-standing American priorities and policies with such ease? How did they overcome the bureaucracy, intimidate the press, misled the Congress, and dominate the military? Is our democracy that fragile?"
That is another part of the story.
Final comment: It was not an easy read but nonetheless a very important one. I think I am privileged enough to take books out of the library in order to attempt to learn more and not just believe in what our television shows us. A very scary thought!
1) Torture at Abu Ghraib - The gross violations of Human Rights.
Evidence of the traumatic impact of the abuses was conveyed to me by a senior Iraqi weapons scientist, now living abroad, in the spring of 2004. He told me that several women detained at Abu Ghraib had "passed messages to their families imploring them to smuggle poison to them to end their lives, while others have passed similar messages insisting that they must be killed immediately upon release from prison," the senior scientist reported. "Such is the code of honor in most parts of the Middle East. Innocent lives will be lost [so] their families can survive the shame."
2) Intelligence failure
How the American intelligence was not up to the task. Lack of resources, "The F.B.I.'s computer systems, for example, have been in disarray for more than a decade, making it difficult, if not possible, for analysts and agents to correlate and interpret intelligence. In March 2002, [...] that photographs of nineteen hijackers could not be sent electronically in the days immediately after September 11 to the F.B.I [...] because the F.B.I.'s computer systems weren't compatible", failure to take effective action when, "Throughout the spring and early summer of 2001, intelligence agencies flooded the government with warnings of possible terrorist attacks against American targets, including commercial aircraft, by Al Qaeda and other groups" and the "becoming" of the 20th hijacker.
3) The Other War - The goal of American policy in Afghanistan "was not to set up a better regime for the Afghan people", Rubin wrote. "The goal was to get rid of the terrorist threat against America".
Siege of Kunduz - How Pakistan managed to airlift Pakistanis and "other special leaders" just before the capture.
4) The Iraq Hawks - Saddam, Chalabi, Trireme Partners L.P. "There is no question that Perle believed that removing Saddam from power was the right thing to do. At the same time, he set up a company that stood to gain from a war. In doing so, he ammunition not only to the Saudis but to his other ideological opponents as well."
5) Who lied to whom? - The story of the Niger documents, identified Niger as the seller of the nuclear materials [to Iraq] and how they were analyzed to be ungenuine, repeatedly. "Forged documents and false accusations have been an element in U.S. and British policy toward Iraq at least since the fall of 1997, after an impasse over U.N. inspections put the British and the Americans on the losing side in the battle for international public opinion." and the ghost-hunt of W.M.D.'s as a pretense to a war that was planned years ahead of 9/11.
6) The Secretary and the Generals
REMF
7) A most dangerous Friend - That will be Pakistan
While U.S. was concerned with ousting the Soviets from Afghanistan, Pakistan was becoming a nuclear power (right under their noses). By the time, U.S. turned the attention towards Pakistan, A.Q. Khan had already been "dealing" in a nuclear black market, providing blueprints to N.Korea, Iran and Libya.
8) The Middle East after 9/11
Saudi Arabia: Sponsorer of terrorism AND an important ally of the U.S.
Israel and Kurds: "Israeli involvement in Kurdistan was not new. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Israel actively supported a Kurdish rebellion against Iraq, as part of its strategic policy of seeking alliances with non-Arabs in the Middle East."
In conclusion, Hersh asks more questions, "some of the most important questions are not even being asked. How did they do it? How did eight or nine neoconservatives who believed that a war in Iraq was the answer to international terrorism get their way? How did they redirect the government and rearrange long-standing American priorities and policies with such ease? How did they overcome the bureaucracy, intimidate the press, misled the Congress, and dominate the military? Is our democracy that fragile?"
That is another part of the story.
Final comment: It was not an easy read but nonetheless a very important one. I think I am privileged enough to take books out of the library in order to attempt to learn more and not just believe in what our television shows us. A very scary thought!
Read
August 6, 2013'Of all the critical analyses of Seymour Hersh’s latest book, the best and most telling review appeared before Chain of Command came off the press. The Pentagon press office, in a pre-emptive strike designed to neutralize a blow they knew was coming, had this to say:
Based on media inquiries, it appears that Mr. Seymour Hersh’s upcoming book apparently contains many of the numerous unsubstantiated allegations and inaccuracies which he has made in the past based upon unnamed sources.
The release goes on to claim that it was the Department of Defense, “and not Mr. Hersh,” that “first publicized the facts of the abuses at Abu Ghraib”—a complete fiction. The reality is that it was a lone military policeman, Specialist Joseph M. Darby, who exposed the horrors of Abu Ghraib and without whom it would still be a giant sore festering in the darkness. It was Hersh who broke this story and first exposed the details—and origins—of what the government claims was an isolated incident. As Hersh shows, what happened at Abu Ghraib was part and parcel of a larger plan, the work of a secret army of assassins and torturers designed to break the back of the Iraqi insurgency.'
Read the full review, "How We Got to Abu Ghraib," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...
Based on media inquiries, it appears that Mr. Seymour Hersh’s upcoming book apparently contains many of the numerous unsubstantiated allegations and inaccuracies which he has made in the past based upon unnamed sources.
The release goes on to claim that it was the Department of Defense, “and not Mr. Hersh,” that “first publicized the facts of the abuses at Abu Ghraib”—a complete fiction. The reality is that it was a lone military policeman, Specialist Joseph M. Darby, who exposed the horrors of Abu Ghraib and without whom it would still be a giant sore festering in the darkness. It was Hersh who broke this story and first exposed the details—and origins—of what the government claims was an isolated incident. As Hersh shows, what happened at Abu Ghraib was part and parcel of a larger plan, the work of a secret army of assassins and torturers designed to break the back of the Iraqi insurgency.'
Read the full review, "How We Got to Abu Ghraib," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...
June 17, 2018
Chain of Command is a collection of Seymour Hersh's The New Yorker articles that showcases his talent in investigative journalism. The book starts with the explosive prisoner abuse story in Abu Gharib that shook the world at that time. Mostly though, the book covers intelligence failure under the Bush administration in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's surprising that Rumsfeld was given a free reign to come up with his own intelligence system. Sadly, his people were specialized in gathering the intelligence the bosses wanted to hear instead of the uncomfortable truth on ground. It becomes quite clear that Hersh had high regards for the troops in general but a very low opinion on the US's foreign policy at that time. The book is kind of dated now but it does provide some great insights into the events at that time. It's a hard book to read and seems a bit disconnected given the nature of the articles. Perhaps I would have enjoyed reading his columns more.
March 22, 2007
interesting insight into how the us government used selective intelligence to escalate the war on terror. excellent content, but a bit long. probably would have enjoyed reading his pieces in the new yorker.
July 28, 2023
الكتاب رقم 32 لعام 2023
القيادة الأمريكيَّة العمياء.. الطريق من 11 أيلول إلى سجن أبو غريب
الكاتب سيمور هيرش
مقدمة:
هل سمعتم عن العراق بلد الرشيد عاصمة العلم والثقافة تلك المدينة التي تم استباحتها وتدميرها 14 مرة من هولاكو عام1258 عندما استباح المدينة وحرق المدينة ودمر الجامعات والمباني والمساجد وقتل مليون عراقي حيث اصبح نهر دجلة باللون الأحمر الى بوش رئيس الولايات المتحدة الامريكية عام 2003 حيث فعل ما فعل هولاكو ولكن عبر الطائرات وقصف السكان
مقدمات الاحتلال: كما ذكر احمد خيري العمر واحمد منصور وهم من قرئت حول الموضوع باستثناء المقالات المنشورة. والمقابلات التلفزيونية .
المقدمات كانت حرب الخليج بين العراق وايران الضربة الأولى او الفخ الأول الذي وقع العراق به ثمان سنوات من الحرب لم يكن فيها منتصر او مهزوم ولم تحل الخلافات لكن اختفى شباب العراق بين قتيل واسير او جريح حيث بلغ عدد القتلى لكل بلد حوالي مليون وخرج العراق مديونا وهذا يقودنا الى الخطوة الثانية ونحن نودع عصر 80 الى عام 1990 حيث تغير واقع العراق للأسو تم احتلال الكويت بسبب المال وخلافات ابار البترول الحدودية حيث حدثت حرب الخليج الأولى التي أخرجت العراق دون غطاء جوي بجيش مدمر وشباب حرقت بالصحراء ويتم استنزاف العراق من خلال النفط مقابل الغذاء حيث دمر البلد وقتل مليون مواطن بسبب الجوع والفقر والمرض في بلد كان التعليم والعلاج والخبز فيها مجاني .
الكتاب :
يتكون الكتاب من 329 صفحة قراءة الكترونية حيث وصف الكاتب الأمريكي والمحلل الصحفي القيادة الامريكية بانها قيادة عمياء عملت على تدمير بلد لاجل المال " القيادة الأمريكيَّة عمياء!!"، هكذا لم يجد الكاتب والصحفي الأمريكي الأشهر سيمور هيرش توصيفًا أقل وطأةً لكي يُصنِّف إدارة الرئيس الأمريكي جورج بوش الابن . حيث يعتبر الكاتب من ابرز الكتاب الذين القيادة على حقيقتها أن الخبطة الأولى التي أظهرته إلى العالم كانت إظهاره في العام 1969م، تفاصيل مذبحة (ماي فاي) التي ارتكبتها القوات الأمريكية في فيتنام في مارس من العام 1968م، وقد استحق هيرش عن ذلك جائزة بولتزر في العام 1970م؛ حيث كشف ملابسات المجزرة التي راح فيها مئات الفيتناميين المدنيين على يد القوات الأمريكية؛ مما كان له أكبر الأثر في تحريك الرأي العام الأمريكي ضد الحرب في فيتنام.
جوانتاناموا وأبو غريب
أبو غريب سجن عراقي أنشئ بالفترة العثمانية وجاء الاحتلال الأمريكي صنع منه اسوء واقبح السجون بل هو وصمة عار في جبين أمريكيا "حيث يعتبر أبو غريب امتدادا طبيعيا لسجن غوانتنامو واحداث الحادي عشر من سبتمبر في حرب هي متاكدة ان العالم كله يسير خلفها في محاربة الإرهاب حيث عملت على جعل جوانتاناموا معتقلاً تُرسل إليه أسرى المواجهات التي تقع بين القوات الأمريكية الغازية لأفغانستان وبين عناصر القاعدة وحركة طالبان دون أن تُطلق عليهم أي مُسمَّى إلا "الأعداء"؛ مما حرمهم من كل الحقوق المدنية وا��إنسانية التي كفلتها الاتفاقات الدولية التي تنظم معاملة الأسرى.
وقد فتح ذلك الباب أمام كل الانتهاكات ضد هؤلاء المعتقلين دون أي رادعٍ من ضميرٍ أو قانونٍ، والمبرر الرئيسي هو الرغبة في انتزاع كلِّ المعلومات التي يحملها هؤلاء "الأعداء" لكي تصل إلى مكتب التحقيقات الفيدرالي (إف. بي. آي) ووكالة المخابرات المركزية الأمريكية (سي. آي. إيه) مع تبرير أية انتهاكات تحدث بأنهم ليسوا أسرى حرب.؛ حيث كان بوش قد قال في خطابٍ سري في فبراير من العام 2002م، "أعتقد أنه لا يمكن تطبيق أي من اتفاقياتِ جنيف في صراعنا مع القاعدة في أفغانستان أو أي مكانٍ آخر من العالم"، وبوش بهذا الخطاب يكون قد أعطى أمرًا بأن هؤلاء السجناء في جوانتاناموا بلا أية حقوق على الإطلاق، وبالتالي فإن استباحتهم تكون مشروعة، والمحصلة النهائية تكون مسئولية بوش كرئيسٍ للدولة وكقائد أعلى للقوات المسلحة الأمريكية صريحة تمامًا عن كلِّ ما يقوم به الجنود الأمريكيون في جوانتاناموا.
اما أبو غريب السجن العراقي فلقد وصفت جريمة الحرب الامريكية بالبشعة حيث تم استخدام أبشع أنواع التعذيب التي ممكن ان تهين وتحط من قدر الانسان العراقي من خلال شركات وعصابات مثل كلاب., أقنعة سوداء، أحذية ثقيلة, وكهرباء وغيرها من الممارسات الصعبة التي من الصعب ذكرها الى ان تم اكتشاف الفضيحة في عام 2004 حيث حوكم بعض الجنود اسميا ويشكا أبو غريب جزء بسيط من الاحداث التي جرت في العراق عبر انتهاك واضح لحقوق الانسان
المستنقع الأمريكي والاحتلال
تم بناء الاحتلال على محورين تم خداع الشعب الأمريكي من خلالهم وهم وجود أسلحة كيماوية بالعراق وارتباط صدام مع تنظيم القاعدة وهو ما ثبت أنَّه أمرٌ كاذب، وقال وزير الخارجيَّة الأمريكيَّة السابق كولن باول ذلك قبيل تركه لمهام منصبه، وأكَّد اعترافه هذا تقرير ديفيد كيلي رئيس اللجنة الأمريكية الخاصة التي تولَّت التحقيق في برامج أسلحة الدمار الشامل العراقيَّة، وكانت رموز المعارضة العراقيَّة المتهمين بالفساد والعمالة؛ مثل أحمد الجلبي زعيم حزب المؤتمر العراقي هم مصدر هذه المعلومات المزيفة أيضًا. وهذا يظهر كمية الخداع التي تعرض لها الغرب وامريكيا عبر وسائل اعلام كاذبة لم تنقل الحقيقة بكل امانة للمجتمع الأوروبي بل جعلته مسيرا خلف معلومات كاذبة.
التحالفات وتقسيم الكعكة
سبب الحرب هو نفط العراق والكاتب الأمريكي هيرش بل عَمِدَ إلى فضح طبيعة التحالف الذي قام بين إدارة بوش وحكومة رئيس الوزراء البريطاني توني بلير قبل الحرب على أفغانستان وحتى الوقت الراهن بعد احتلال العراق، وهو تحالُف أسود بُنِيَ على أساس تلفيق الأدلة ضد صدام حسين، وكذلك استمرَّ في ممارسة أكاذيبه عبر فرض صورة أحادية الجانب حول الوضع في أفغانستان والعراق. حيث كانت الباكستان هي المساعد الأول لاجتياح أفغانستان والمعارضة العراقية ودول الخليج هي الأساس في الاحتلال.
القيادة الأمريكيَّة العمياء.. الطريق من 11 أيلول إلى سجن أبو غريب
الكاتب سيمور هيرش
مقدمة:
هل سمعتم عن العراق بلد الرشيد عاصمة العلم والثقافة تلك المدينة التي تم استباحتها وتدميرها 14 مرة من هولاكو عام1258 عندما استباح المدينة وحرق المدينة ودمر الجامعات والمباني والمساجد وقتل مليون عراقي حيث اصبح نهر دجلة باللون الأحمر الى بوش رئيس الولايات المتحدة الامريكية عام 2003 حيث فعل ما فعل هولاكو ولكن عبر الطائرات وقصف السكان
مقدمات الاحتلال: كما ذكر احمد خيري العمر واحمد منصور وهم من قرئت حول الموضوع باستثناء المقالات المنشورة. والمقابلات التلفزيونية .
المقدمات كانت حرب الخليج بين العراق وايران الضربة الأولى او الفخ الأول الذي وقع العراق به ثمان سنوات من الحرب لم يكن فيها منتصر او مهزوم ولم تحل الخلافات لكن اختفى شباب العراق بين قتيل واسير او جريح حيث بلغ عدد القتلى لكل بلد حوالي مليون وخرج العراق مديونا وهذا يقودنا الى الخطوة الثانية ونحن نودع عصر 80 الى عام 1990 حيث تغير واقع العراق للأسو تم احتلال الكويت بسبب المال وخلافات ابار البترول الحدودية حيث حدثت حرب الخليج الأولى التي أخرجت العراق دون غطاء جوي بجيش مدمر وشباب حرقت بالصحراء ويتم استنزاف العراق من خلال النفط مقابل الغذاء حيث دمر البلد وقتل مليون مواطن بسبب الجوع والفقر والمرض في بلد كان التعليم والعلاج والخبز فيها مجاني .
الكتاب :
يتكون الكتاب من 329 صفحة قراءة الكترونية حيث وصف الكاتب الأمريكي والمحلل الصحفي القيادة الامريكية بانها قيادة عمياء عملت على تدمير بلد لاجل المال " القيادة الأمريكيَّة عمياء!!"، هكذا لم يجد الكاتب والصحفي الأمريكي الأشهر سيمور هيرش توصيفًا أقل وطأةً لكي يُصنِّف إدارة الرئيس الأمريكي جورج بوش الابن . حيث يعتبر الكاتب من ابرز الكتاب الذين القيادة على حقيقتها أن الخبطة الأولى التي أظهرته إلى العالم كانت إظهاره في العام 1969م، تفاصيل مذبحة (ماي فاي) التي ارتكبتها القوات الأمريكية في فيتنام في مارس من العام 1968م، وقد استحق هيرش عن ذلك جائزة بولتزر في العام 1970م؛ حيث كشف ملابسات المجزرة التي راح فيها مئات الفيتناميين المدنيين على يد القوات الأمريكية؛ مما كان له أكبر الأثر في تحريك الرأي العام الأمريكي ضد الحرب في فيتنام.
جوانتاناموا وأبو غريب
أبو غريب سجن عراقي أنشئ بالفترة العثمانية وجاء الاحتلال الأمريكي صنع منه اسوء واقبح السجون بل هو وصمة عار في جبين أمريكيا "حيث يعتبر أبو غريب امتدادا طبيعيا لسجن غوانتنامو واحداث الحادي عشر من سبتمبر في حرب هي متاكدة ان العالم كله يسير خلفها في محاربة الإرهاب حيث عملت على جعل جوانتاناموا معتقلاً تُرسل إليه أسرى المواجهات التي تقع بين القوات الأمريكية الغازية لأفغانستان وبين عناصر القاعدة وحركة طالبان دون أن تُطلق عليهم أي مُسمَّى إلا "الأعداء"؛ مما حرمهم من كل الحقوق المدنية وا��إنسانية التي كفلتها الاتفاقات الدولية التي تنظم معاملة الأسرى.
وقد فتح ذلك الباب أمام كل الانتهاكات ضد هؤلاء المعتقلين دون أي رادعٍ من ضميرٍ أو قانونٍ، والمبرر الرئيسي هو الرغبة في انتزاع كلِّ المعلومات التي يحملها هؤلاء "الأعداء" لكي تصل إلى مكتب التحقيقات الفيدرالي (إف. بي. آي) ووكالة المخابرات المركزية الأمريكية (سي. آي. إيه) مع تبرير أية انتهاكات تحدث بأنهم ليسوا أسرى حرب.؛ حيث كان بوش قد قال في خطابٍ سري في فبراير من العام 2002م، "أعتقد أنه لا يمكن تطبيق أي من اتفاقياتِ جنيف في صراعنا مع القاعدة في أفغانستان أو أي مكانٍ آخر من العالم"، وبوش بهذا الخطاب يكون قد أعطى أمرًا بأن هؤلاء السجناء في جوانتاناموا بلا أية حقوق على الإطلاق، وبالتالي فإن استباحتهم تكون مشروعة، والمحصلة النهائية تكون مسئولية بوش كرئيسٍ للدولة وكقائد أعلى للقوات المسلحة الأمريكية صريحة تمامًا عن كلِّ ما يقوم به الجنود الأمريكيون في جوانتاناموا.
اما أبو غريب السجن العراقي فلقد وصفت جريمة الحرب الامريكية بالبشعة حيث تم استخدام أبشع أنواع التعذيب التي ممكن ان تهين وتحط من قدر الانسان العراقي من خلال شركات وعصابات مثل كلاب., أقنعة سوداء، أحذية ثقيلة, وكهرباء وغيرها من الممارسات الصعبة التي من الصعب ذكرها الى ان تم اكتشاف الفضيحة في عام 2004 حيث حوكم بعض الجنود اسميا ويشكا أبو غريب جزء بسيط من الاحداث التي جرت في العراق عبر انتهاك واضح لحقوق الانسان
المستنقع الأمريكي والاحتلال
تم بناء الاحتلال على محورين تم خداع الشعب الأمريكي من خلالهم وهم وجود أسلحة كيماوية بالعراق وارتباط صدام مع تنظيم القاعدة وهو ما ثبت أنَّه أمرٌ كاذب، وقال وزير الخارجيَّة الأمريكيَّة السابق كولن باول ذلك قبيل تركه لمهام منصبه، وأكَّد اعترافه هذا تقرير ديفيد كيلي رئيس اللجنة الأمريكية الخاصة التي تولَّت التحقيق في برامج أسلحة الدمار الشامل العراقيَّة، وكانت رموز المعارضة العراقيَّة المتهمين بالفساد والعمالة؛ مثل أحمد الجلبي زعيم حزب المؤتمر العراقي هم مصدر هذه المعلومات المزيفة أيضًا. وهذا يظهر كمية الخداع التي تعرض لها الغرب وامريكيا عبر وسائل اعلام كاذبة لم تنقل الحقيقة بكل امانة للمجتمع الأوروبي بل جعلته مسيرا خلف معلومات كاذبة.
التحالفات وتقسيم الكعكة
سبب الحرب هو نفط العراق والكاتب الأمريكي هيرش بل عَمِدَ إلى فضح طبيعة التحالف الذي قام بين إدارة بوش وحكومة رئيس الوزراء البريطاني توني بلير قبل الحرب على أفغانستان وحتى الوقت الراهن بعد احتلال العراق، وهو تحالُف أسود بُنِيَ على أساس تلفيق الأدلة ضد صدام حسين، وكذلك استمرَّ في ممارسة أكاذيبه عبر فرض صورة أحادية الجانب حول الوضع في أفغانستان والعراق. حيث كانت الباكستان هي المساعد الأول لاجتياح أفغانستان والمعارضة العراقية ودول الخليج هي الأساس في الاحتلال.
September 29, 2012
It was OK. Reading it in 2012, most of the contents are essentially old hat.
"Chain of Command" is a political rant with a lot of claims, but not much support. He rarely supports his claims with facts, and his arguments are clearly not-logical. He begins his book by claiming that the Interrogations at Guantanamo have had no results, that the intelligence wasn't satisfying the needs of the Pentagon. This obviously isn't taking the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed into account. He pushes forth the idea that the "Failing to Gain Intelligence" from Guantanamo, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld decided to solve the problem by spreading the practice of abuse to Iraq. That is illogical.
By simply doing your own resarch you will find that this, and many other claims made by Hersh in this novel are exaggerated, falsified, misquoted, misinterpreted, etc. This book is libel against the soldiers who have fought or are fighting in the War on Terror. Anyone who ever took a prisoner is touched by this calumny.
The vast bulk of Chain of Command was distilled from around 20 articles Mr. Hersh wrote for the New Yorker, though editors updated a few subjects and juggled the order a bit, most obviously to emphasize new reporting regarding Abu Ghraib. I would have argued in favor of printing the original articles as they were published, in chronological order and with dates on them -- something that would have elegantly presented the material without begging the question of what was known when. The updated information could have easily been presented in a short epilogue to each chapter or to the whole book.
Additionally, Mr. Hersh on a few occasions threatens to undermine some of his credibility by relying on speculation on subjects like prison conditions at Guantánamo, and by making only passing references to minor evidence that could weaken his arguments, on subjects such as troop movements between Afghanistan and Iraq. But he never crosses the line in a way that has damned many similar books, thanks in a large part to his solid reputation launched when he broke the story about the My Lai massacre in Vietnam 35 years ago.
The largest difficulty is in terms of consistency. Hersh is a muckraker, and that means he rakes all the muck he can find, regardless of its content. This leads to some rather silly things, if you read the pieces that he wrote, back to back. In one piece on Afghanistan, an unnamed Air Force officer (the book is full of unnamed sources) tells Hersh that Rumsfeld and the Pentagon don't understand air power, and should have let the Air Force flatten the Taliban and Al Quaeda. A few pages later, in the next piece, an unnamed Marine officer says essentially the exact opposite--the Pentagon was stupid, and allowed the Air Force to spray ordnance around Afghanistan with no regard for the collateral damage or effectiveness. Hersh's perspective is to include everyone who's critical of the Administration, regardless of what it is that they say. So he's essentially deaf to the interservice and historical aspects of these quotes: Marines have despised the Air Force and their habit of trying to bomb everyone into oblivion at least as far back as Viet Nam, and the Air Force has been protesting that no one understands how important they are ever since Billy Mitchell was court martialled for saying essentially that back in the 20s.
There are other inconsistencies. The war in Afghanistan is dismissed as a complete failure that's been hidden from the American public by an elaborate coverup, but the planners of the war were made overconfident by their success there (I thought they failed?) when they turned to Iraq. Rumsfeld and the White House are criticized for relying on the CIA for intelligence prior to 9/11, then Rumsfeld is criticized for trying to create a new intelligence capability within the Pentagon. It goes on like this for almost 400 pages.
But I finished the book troubled by Hersh's refusal to discuss the other side of the debate. He seems to me to acting as a well-briefed tabloid journalist, building up the strongest story he can and ignoring mitigating factors.
One example is where he rips into Donald Rumsfeld for repeatedly pushing the Pentagon to reduce the number of soldiers to be used on the Iraqi invasion. The Defense Secretary "insisted on micromanaging the war's operational details", Hersh writes.
"On at least six occasions, the planner told me, when Rumsfeld and his deputies were presented with operational plans, he insisted that the number of ground troops be sharply reduced. Rumsfeld's faith in precision bombing and his insistence on streamlined military operations has had profound consequences for the ability of the Armed Forces to fight effectively overseas. `They've got no resources,' a former high-level intelligence official said. `He was so focused on proving his point - that the Iraqis were going to fall apart.' (At the time, Rumsfeld did not respond to a request for comment.)"
It seems to me (and I'm no Republican) that it is appropriate for a country's political leadership to determine how many soldiers should be committed to war. I do not see a debate over troop levels as micromanaging. I see it as Rumsfeld doing his job. Hersh has a different view and that's his right, but why not consider the possibility Rumsfeld's behavior was reasonable?
Rumsfeld proved to be right and wrong. Fewer troops were successful at toppling Saddam Hussein's regime than were used in the first Gulf War. But he underestimated the number needed for the occupation. Hersh fails to make this important point. I finished this book unconvinced he is a balanced reporter.
Also, Hersh claims that Lieutenant General William Boykin, Steve Cambone's military assistant and deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, was involved in setting the "policies" that "led" to the Abu Ghraib incident. This is categorically false. In sworn congressional testimony, Major General Geoffrey Miller, head of Camp X-Ray, stated that he neither spoke to Boykin before he went to Iraq nor after he returned. In fact, the decision to send Miller to Iraq occurreed before Boykin ever even arrived at the Pentagon.
I'd also like to say one more thing about the scale of the abuses: There were 66 allegations out of 300 that were substantiated. These substantiated allegations have been or are in the process of being investigated and prosecuted. Those numbers represent such a small fraction of the people who have fought and are fighting this war, it is tempting to say it is negligible. But it's not. It's a redundant proof that our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen are not war criminals. With very few exceptions these young people are true to American values even in the worst and most dangerous circumstances.
"Chain of Command" is a political rant with a lot of claims, but not much support. He rarely supports his claims with facts, and his arguments are clearly not-logical. He begins his book by claiming that the Interrogations at Guantanamo have had no results, that the intelligence wasn't satisfying the needs of the Pentagon. This obviously isn't taking the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed into account. He pushes forth the idea that the "Failing to Gain Intelligence" from Guantanamo, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld decided to solve the problem by spreading the practice of abuse to Iraq. That is illogical.
By simply doing your own resarch you will find that this, and many other claims made by Hersh in this novel are exaggerated, falsified, misquoted, misinterpreted, etc. This book is libel against the soldiers who have fought or are fighting in the War on Terror. Anyone who ever took a prisoner is touched by this calumny.
The vast bulk of Chain of Command was distilled from around 20 articles Mr. Hersh wrote for the New Yorker, though editors updated a few subjects and juggled the order a bit, most obviously to emphasize new reporting regarding Abu Ghraib. I would have argued in favor of printing the original articles as they were published, in chronological order and with dates on them -- something that would have elegantly presented the material without begging the question of what was known when. The updated information could have easily been presented in a short epilogue to each chapter or to the whole book.
Additionally, Mr. Hersh on a few occasions threatens to undermine some of his credibility by relying on speculation on subjects like prison conditions at Guantánamo, and by making only passing references to minor evidence that could weaken his arguments, on subjects such as troop movements between Afghanistan and Iraq. But he never crosses the line in a way that has damned many similar books, thanks in a large part to his solid reputation launched when he broke the story about the My Lai massacre in Vietnam 35 years ago.
The largest difficulty is in terms of consistency. Hersh is a muckraker, and that means he rakes all the muck he can find, regardless of its content. This leads to some rather silly things, if you read the pieces that he wrote, back to back. In one piece on Afghanistan, an unnamed Air Force officer (the book is full of unnamed sources) tells Hersh that Rumsfeld and the Pentagon don't understand air power, and should have let the Air Force flatten the Taliban and Al Quaeda. A few pages later, in the next piece, an unnamed Marine officer says essentially the exact opposite--the Pentagon was stupid, and allowed the Air Force to spray ordnance around Afghanistan with no regard for the collateral damage or effectiveness. Hersh's perspective is to include everyone who's critical of the Administration, regardless of what it is that they say. So he's essentially deaf to the interservice and historical aspects of these quotes: Marines have despised the Air Force and their habit of trying to bomb everyone into oblivion at least as far back as Viet Nam, and the Air Force has been protesting that no one understands how important they are ever since Billy Mitchell was court martialled for saying essentially that back in the 20s.
There are other inconsistencies. The war in Afghanistan is dismissed as a complete failure that's been hidden from the American public by an elaborate coverup, but the planners of the war were made overconfident by their success there (I thought they failed?) when they turned to Iraq. Rumsfeld and the White House are criticized for relying on the CIA for intelligence prior to 9/11, then Rumsfeld is criticized for trying to create a new intelligence capability within the Pentagon. It goes on like this for almost 400 pages.
But I finished the book troubled by Hersh's refusal to discuss the other side of the debate. He seems to me to acting as a well-briefed tabloid journalist, building up the strongest story he can and ignoring mitigating factors.
One example is where he rips into Donald Rumsfeld for repeatedly pushing the Pentagon to reduce the number of soldiers to be used on the Iraqi invasion. The Defense Secretary "insisted on micromanaging the war's operational details", Hersh writes.
"On at least six occasions, the planner told me, when Rumsfeld and his deputies were presented with operational plans, he insisted that the number of ground troops be sharply reduced. Rumsfeld's faith in precision bombing and his insistence on streamlined military operations has had profound consequences for the ability of the Armed Forces to fight effectively overseas. `They've got no resources,' a former high-level intelligence official said. `He was so focused on proving his point - that the Iraqis were going to fall apart.' (At the time, Rumsfeld did not respond to a request for comment.)"
It seems to me (and I'm no Republican) that it is appropriate for a country's political leadership to determine how many soldiers should be committed to war. I do not see a debate over troop levels as micromanaging. I see it as Rumsfeld doing his job. Hersh has a different view and that's his right, but why not consider the possibility Rumsfeld's behavior was reasonable?
Rumsfeld proved to be right and wrong. Fewer troops were successful at toppling Saddam Hussein's regime than were used in the first Gulf War. But he underestimated the number needed for the occupation. Hersh fails to make this important point. I finished this book unconvinced he is a balanced reporter.
Also, Hersh claims that Lieutenant General William Boykin, Steve Cambone's military assistant and deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, was involved in setting the "policies" that "led" to the Abu Ghraib incident. This is categorically false. In sworn congressional testimony, Major General Geoffrey Miller, head of Camp X-Ray, stated that he neither spoke to Boykin before he went to Iraq nor after he returned. In fact, the decision to send Miller to Iraq occurreed before Boykin ever even arrived at the Pentagon.
I'd also like to say one more thing about the scale of the abuses: There were 66 allegations out of 300 that were substantiated. These substantiated allegations have been or are in the process of being investigated and prosecuted. Those numbers represent such a small fraction of the people who have fought and are fighting this war, it is tempting to say it is negligible. But it's not. It's a redundant proof that our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen are not war criminals. With very few exceptions these young people are true to American values even in the worst and most dangerous circumstances.
June 2, 2020
I just got too annoyed with this. Like I get annoyed with the cowardly politicians who sit in their ivory towers and start wars they don't have the minerals to fight. It's one thing to sit at a desk and write what you think from your cosseted, biased and narrow layman's angle, then bask in the subsequent "hard hitting truth telling hero" accolades. I'm English, I'm always baffled by the general view the New Yorker is lauded example of outstanding reporting, however I will say, this certainly fits the view I have of the New Yorker content!
I'd recommend reading stuff by the actual heroes, like the people who were thrown into a war because they happened to live in a certain place and the heroic guys who had boots on the ground instead of this
I'd recommend reading stuff by the actual heroes, like the people who were thrown into a war because they happened to live in a certain place and the heroic guys who had boots on the ground instead of this
October 19, 2020
Interesting account of the Intelligence community and successive US Government positions in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.
Hersh writes without fear or favour and is equally scathing of both sides of politics and their responses to World events.
Leaves the reader to form their own conclusions about the Bush admins handling of the aftermath of the War in Iraq.
Fascinating insight.
Hersh writes without fear or favour and is equally scathing of both sides of politics and their responses to World events.
Leaves the reader to form their own conclusions about the Bush admins handling of the aftermath of the War in Iraq.
Fascinating insight.
February 4, 2021
A sobering piece of American history and over a decade late the people in charge never held accountable. George Bush has successfully whitewashed his image and is now just the aw shucks good guy who paints pictures and who Michelle Obama passes candy to at national events. We need this kind of journalism and sadly it’s disappearing. Torture is difficult to read about, no matter who does it, but why do we tolerate it? Why isn’t Guantanamo closed?
August 22, 2024
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz et al knew they were lying about Iraq, yet they plunged us into war anyways. Their failures and war crimes continue to ricochet throughout the world today as the power vacuum led to expanding conflict in Syria, opened the door for ISIL/ISIS in Iraq and otherwise made everything worse in every way imaginable. At least they personally profited from the war.
May 28, 2022
Really interesting book about horrible events and people defending doing terrible things in the fight for for freedom.
A tough read - I got upset, disgusted and angry a lot and am grateful this information came to light.
A tough read - I got upset, disgusted and angry a lot and am grateful this information came to light.
May 10, 2023
الديمقراطية، الحرية، حقوق الإنسان، العالم الحر، قناع أمريكا الزائف الذي تغطي به وجهها القبيح الخبيث، وما حدث في أبو غريب من انتهاكات وظهورها إلي العلن بمثابة سقوط هذا القناع بشكل سافر فظهر الوجه القذر مشوَّهاً دون تجميل أو ديكور.
September 29, 2023
Hersh does a great job of research on some very troubling subjects. From the abuses at Abu Ghraib to Gitmo, from the willful ignoring of actual but inconvenient facts by Bush, Rumsfeld, and Chaney, this book shows that as bas as you might remember things being back then, they were worse.
November 5, 2024
A rollercoaster of emotions. I wasn’t expecting to be so deeply moved by this story. The character arcs were beautifully done, and the plot twists took me by surprise. It’s the kind of book that hits you in the heart, with moments of joy and sorrow in equal measure.
June 25, 2017
It's been well over a decade since publication but Hersch remains the gold standard for reporting on he machinations that led to US involvement in Iraq.
June 19, 2018
I admire Hersh as a journalist. His writing is prolific and compelling. This was no different.
September 17, 2019
Journalism in a nutshell. A good reminder of what the Dubya presidency was all about, lest someone feel nostalgic about it.
July 2, 2020
I liked the book but Turkish translation was bad. I guess it was an accurate translation but it was too try. I'd think that it was because of Hersh if I haven't read his other articles.
October 20, 2020
Eye opening book about the late 1990s and early 2000s presidencies. Am looking forward to reading more from Mr. Hersh.
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