Author Dr. George Friedman, founder and Chairman of Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor), uses his clear-thinking approach as a skilled intelligence analyst in his book, America’s Secret War. In this work Dr. Friedman treats all the powerful players on the world stage with respect, as he lays out his thinking regarding the Islamo-fascist terror war on the West, events that caused our proactive stance against Iraq that led to the Iraq conflict, and events that occurred there prior to 2004.It must be noted, however, that approaching this book requires an open mind, because George Friedman writes from a point of view completely independent of the Left or the Right. In fact, he holds what can only be explained as an agnostic view of the war, believing that neither America’s leaders nor those of our enemies are fools and that the world is a chessboard and each of us are its pawns.

Further, the book delves into why it’s crucial to understand al Qaeda’s history and current political agenda, as well as, the immense legal challenge of pursuing al Qaeda, as the 9/11 attack didn’t fit any clear definition of acts of war or criminal acts on the books at the time. He further goes on to discuss why Middle East geopolitics are anything but simple how complicated the situation was given that al Qaeda was not liked by many of our enemies, who in turn don’t like each other.

Most important, the author explains that the Iraq war was a strategic war that had nothing to do with Weapons of Mass Destruction or oil but was about gaining respect and support from Saudi Arabia. In other words, this is not just a military history or study of tactics but a look at the Psy ops and diplomacy behind the events as well.

The major flaw with America’s Secret War is that it’s hard to tell the difference between fact and Stratfor’s analysis since Friedman chooses not to reveal sources, or incorporate a few footnotes or bibliography to support his conclusions. One prime example of this unsupported data that bothered me personally was his argument that the Iraq War was primarily driven by the Administration’s determination that they had to prove to Saudi Arabia that they were a force to be dealt with. Another example is the author’s claim that al Qaeda’s goal of the attacks of 9/11 was to draw the U.S. into a war that would galvanize the entire Islamic world to extend Islamic fundamentalism, with God at the center of all life, and by so doing reestablish the Sunni caliphate, with Shar’ia law thus uniting the Muslim world.

Given that premise the author then suggests that the US invasion of Iraq was both an American retreat and re-offensive move to get our military out of Saudi Arabia but surround the Saudis and establish a new base for operations around the region. Therefore, since the author’s hawkish, right-wing tendencies often surface throughout his writing I would suggest that anyone reading this book make time to carefully research and gather sufficient background information on the author and the matters he discusses.

Overall, the book is a good analysis of Middle Eastern politics and the conflict that escalated with 9/11 as geo-political powers fought for control of a whole region, from the Arab Peninsula to Central Asia and beyond. Further, it presents a good overview of the timeline of events and their significance, starting with roots in the 1980s Afghan conflicts, through the strange and mishandled relationship the US has with Saudi Arabia. Lastly one must acknowledge that behind everything, even terrorism, there are rational, political motives, and Dr. Friedman does a good job of presenting them and America’s Secret War is a very well-written account of the ongoing war on terror, al Qaeda, the Cold War, 9/11, and Iraq.

[tags] Strategic war, secret war, diplomacy, America’s Secret War, book review, nonfiction, George Friedman, STRATFOR, Iraq War, al Qaeda, terrorism, War on Terrorism[/tags]