The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals

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Product Description
In the days following September 11, the most powerful people in the country were panic-stricken. The decisions about how to combat terrorists and strengthen national security were made in a state of utter chaos and fear, but the key players, Vice President Dick Cheney and his powerful, secretive adviser David Addington, used the crisis to further a long-held agenda to enhance presidential powers to a degree never known in U.S. history.

The Dark Side is a riveting narrative account of how the U.S. made terrible decisions in the pursuit of terrorists–decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, acclaimed New Yorker writer and bestselling author Jane Mayer relates specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of Washington, looking at the intelligence gained–or not–and the price paid. In all cases, whatever the short-term gains, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, our country’s place in the world, and its sense of itself. The Dark Side chronicles one of the mostdisturbing chapters in American history, one that will serve as the lasting legacy of the George W. Bush presidency.

Customer Reviews: Read 97 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

This might be too scary for you to read... July 26, 2008
78 out of 89 found this review helpful

As of late, I've read three books on the Bush Administration. The first was What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception, the next wasThe Bush Tragedy, and now this. With Bush's administration finally ending (I'll willingly admit to being a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat), I thought it was time to read some early "look backs" of this presidency gone so wrong. The first book allowed me to see the inner workings of the White House, while allowing me to see, if briefly, the human Bush. The second book explained some possible patterns and trends in Bush's psyche by examining his family tree. Out of all three, the one that has absolutely scared the politico out of me is Jane Mayer's astounding new book "The Dark Side".

This book is an examination of how the Bush presidency, in many ways, used the war on terror as a subversive tool to start to undermine the basic civil rights we had in this country up until then. Starting with that horrible day we all remember, we see Cheney in action, who apparently had been expecting some country wide issue that would require him to work from a "shadow government" base near Camp David. As the World Trade Center buildings came down, Cheney was stationed in the White House bunker, commanding everything as well as he could. Fear instantly pervaded the adminstration, deservedly so. Anthrax popping up in letters and people dying from it made Cheney sure that America was under attack and it wouldn't stop.
As Americans, we turn to our government in times of crisis to quickly handle the problem.

The problem wasn't their fear, ultimately, it was the unfortunate decisions made at this time that would send our country into a civil liberty tailspin. Cheney long since believed that our presidency had been weakened by Nixon's administration, not because of Watergate, but because of a series of laws passed by Congress that he thought ultimately weakened the president. Cheney saw the 9/11 attacks as an opportunity to regain the power of the presidency, seemingly to go as far as suggesting that our president has absolute power (didn't George Lucas do a series of movies about a person wanting absolute power?).

Being a prime presidental confident, Cheney manages to convince Bush to make a series of decisions early on that ultimately would infringe on our basic civil rights: domestic spying, advocating torture, bypassing Congressional oversight on the war on terror, to name a few. Mayer goes into detail about all of these movements, and the effect of these decisions had on people in and out of our country.

Clearly, in reading Mayer's book, she is clearly not a fan of the Bush administration. However, the reading is literally so scary that you forgive that immediately. Bush, a novice on domestic aggression issues, gives Cheney the power to conduct the war on terror, agreeing to support all of his decisions. Mayer introduces us to some new players in this governmental travesty, and her clear writing never becomes so overburdened with names that I was confused. Her chapters on the Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prisoners debacle are absolutely horrifying.

Bush and Cheney's publicly stated goal in the "War on Terror" was to protect America. Ultimately, our position in the world has deteriorated, and we are only making other countries more angry with the "either you are with us or against us" dogma. It's certainly frightening, but it's important the truth comes out now, lest we make the same mistakes.

5 out of 5 stars

l'etat, c'est moi! July 28, 2008
57 out of 66 found this review helpful

This is a singularly depressing work, and the worst of the worst is when a study concluded that only 8% of the Guantanamo detainees were alleged to have any association with Al Qaeda. Only 5% were captured by US forces (the other 95% by Pakistanis and bounty hunters, etc, mostly for hefty fees). 55% were not implicated in any hostile act against the US, and for many of the rest, "hostile acts" included fleeing US bombs. The book describes how Bellinger took the study to the White House--and was confronted by Addington and Gonzales. Addington told Bellinger that there would be no discussion of the matter: President Bush had decided that every single one of the detainees was an enemy combatant and that was the final word.

The Magna Carta bound kings to follow certain legal procedures and is the basis for governance in English and American jurisprudence: habeas corpus and other legal matters were codified. It's the forerunner of the US Constitution. It has remained in force in England from 1215 to the present day and was the basis for the US (Louisiana state law is founded on the Napoleonic Code) until 2001. Much of our legal system is intact, but in 2001 the Bush Administration decided that the law was whatever the President and his advisors said it was. Habeas corpus delenda est. The Dark Side shows that the law, when inconvenient, was routinely broken. Normal chains of authority were destroyed, legal decisions were made by people who were not lawyers--such as Cheney--and people who wanted the President to have--literally--life and death firmly in his hands, unrestrained. The Geneva Convention's restrictions on torture was, in Gonzales' words, "quaint". Objections by Powell and legal experts (inside the military and out), were ignored: the objectors were considered not to be team players and "soft on terrorism". Euphemisms and weasel words such as "robust interrogations" became the norm. The Dark Side notes that the TV series "24" in which the hero tortures people to prevent terrorist acts was immensely popular with the CIA, and the Guantanamo forces. I've never seen it myself--but I wonder if Jack Bauer ever makes mistakes? Does he torture innocents who don't have any information? As Dark Side and other sources make abundantly clear, the vast majority of information you get during torture is useless.

As the book shows, there are plenty of those who say "We must treat terror suspects harshly. Why should they have any legal rights?" The Dark Side recounts many tales of where mistakes were made, and people without any connection to terrorism were arrested, tortured (or robustly interrogated if you prefer), rendered to Egypt, Syria, etc. (Clive Smith's The Eight O'Clock Ferry to the Windward Side focusses on one such poor soul at Guantanamo.) The book shows that for altogether too many of these people, the harsh treatment continued long after it became readily apparent that they had no connection to terrorists. Under Stalin, being a suspect was a crime in and by itself--you had no legal rights at all. Plus la change, plus la meme chose, as they say. The final sentence in the book is a quote from Phillip Zelikow speaking of the internment of Japanse-Americans in WW II: "Fear and anxiety were exploited by zealots and fools".

1 out of 5 stars

The First Amendment at Work July 19, 2008
54 out of 453 found this review helpful

I thank god that I live in a country where we have so much freedom that we are free to distribute enemy propoganda. I'm saddened by the fact that so many people are so eager to do such a thing.

The basic problem with this book is that it lowers the bar on what qualifies as "torture" so far that it robs the word of its meaning. That and the fact that the author accepts the assertions of people who are trained to claim they were tortured... trained to say that because our enemies know there is no shortage of people like Ms. Mayer who are so eager to believe them and help them undermine our national defense.

But really, why bother with this book? If you're considering buying it then you're already convinced that George Bush is at least the worst person in history, if not the very incarnation of evil. Do you really need to read yet another book to reaffirm a belief held with such religious conviction, no matter how divorced from reality or perspective it may be? On the other hand if you support the war then your reaction to reading this will either be a) disbelief or b) an uncaring shrug that the people trying to kill us were made uncomfortable. So either way this book will have no effect on you.

I expect the comments to start shortly after I press "publish". Fine. But please, if the only thing you have to offer is to brainlessly parrot the words "neocon" and "right wing" then you may as well not bother.

3 out of 5 stars

A book everyone should have an opinion on! July 20, 2008
53 out of 96 found this review helpful

I was the victim, suvivor of an IRA bomb attack in Warrington 1993, which resulted in the death of two young boys, who were out shopping for their mother`s day presents. The world wide condemnation of this one attack sparked the beginning of the end for the Irish armed struggle. We were almost desensitised by bombs, because we had been under attack for decades.
This book is an emotional manuscript, that describes the American government`s response to one of the worst terrorist attrocities ever recorded. An act of terror committed on your own doorstep, something that Bush and his affiliates had never had to deal with on such a scale. The policies adopted by the men placed in charge of US response, should not come as a shock to anyone. They are standard armed conflict techniques used for decades by Western governments, all over the globe, in a multitude of theatres. The use of these tehniques is a shocking betrayal of the American constitution and I completely agree with the five star reviewers of this book, I give it three stars because although the subject is close to my heart (I write thrillers about Islamic extremists, and try to put as much fact into the fiction to make it believable) I found parts of it difficult to progress through. The research and content is beyond question and I applaud the author for her skill as a journalist.
It`s written to shock, inwhich case it does not present a balanced view. If it were just a documentry of the facts then fine, it`s a great book. If it is the tainted opinion of an anti `whoever` was in charge` whether it`s Bush or not, then it was written purely to shock. There is nothing new in the expose, which isnt already public domain. Coming from across the `pond` I cant help but hope that someone will write such a candid, well researched book about how we, the British, were lied to about `weapons of mass destruction`. Even after Tony Blair was exposed as a liar, the fear factor running after the shock waves of 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings meant that yet again we turned a blind eye and re-elected a snake. Can we only blame Bush and Blair? of course not. Am I SURPRISED by what I`ve read in this book? of course not. Do I think that the book will enrage an American public, who feel that they have been betrayed, absolutely yes.
All that aside I have no doubt that you will enjoy reading it as much as you enjoy talking about it afterwards !!

5 out of 5 stars

Read Frank Rich's NY Times OpEd 7/13/08 - Must Read Book July 15, 2008
51 out of 78 found this review helpful

For a great view of how this book layers into the Bush Administration's approach to the presidency and how to run it go to the NY Times website and read Frank Rich's Op Ed piece from 7/13/08. Says it all.

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