Cover of Against All Enemies

Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror is a 2004 book by former U.S. chief counter-terrorism advisor Richard A. Clarke, criticizing past and present presidential administrations for the way they handled the war on terror. The book focused much of its criticism on President George W. Bush, charging that he failed to take sufficient action to protect the country in the elevated-threat period before the September 11, 2001 attacks and for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which Clarke feels greatly hampered the war on terror. Image File history File links AgainstAllEnemies. ... Image File history File links AgainstAllEnemies. ... Richard A. Clarke (born 1951) provided national security advice to four U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, consulting on issues of intelligence and terrorism, from 1973 to 2003. ... The war on terrorism or war on terror (abbreviated in U.S. policy circles as GWOT for Global War on Terror) is an effort by the governments of the United States and its principal allies to destroy groups deemed to be terrorist (primarily radical Islamist organizations such as al-Qaeda... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... Combatants Invading Forces: United States United Kingdom Australia Poland Denmark Occupation forces. ...

Clarke argues that he made numerous urgent requests for a meeting about dealing with terrorism, had CIA Director George Tenet include numerous details about Al-Qaeda in daily briefings, found an unprecedented level of terrorist "chatter" before September 11. “CIA” redirects here. ... George Tenet George John Tenet (born January 5, 1953) is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and was previously the Director of Central Intelligence for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ...

Soon after 9/11, he says that defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld wanted to bomb Iraq, even though there was no evidence of their involvement, because they had more "good targets" than Afghanistan, which was actually involved. The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the President and is responsible for the formulation of general defense... Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9, 1932) is a U.S. politician and businessman, who was the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975–1977, and the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001–2006. ...

Clarke also says that on September 12, 2001, President Bush asked him to try to find evidence that Saddam Hussein was connected to the terrorist attacks. In response he wrote a report stating there was absolutely no evidence of Iraqi involvement and got it signed by all relevant agencies (the FBI, the CIA, etc.). The paper was quickly returned by a deputy with a note saying "Please update and resubmit," apparently unshown to the President.

Clarke also recalls a meeting where then Defense Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz expressed doubt that Osama bin Laden could have carried out the attacks on September 11 without state sponsorship — a theory based on the writings of Laurie Mylroie that Clarke says has been exhaustively investigated and disproven. The United States Deputy Secretary of Defense is the second-highest ranking official in the United States Department of Defense. ... Paul Dundes Wolfowitz (born December 22, 1943) is an American former academic and government official. ... Laurie Mylroie is a U.S. specialist on Iraq. ...

But perhaps most damagingly, Clarke claims that the administration has done "a terrible job" fighting terrorism, even since September 11. In particular, he feels the 2003 invasion of Iraq played right into Osama bin Laden's hands. For years, bin Laden had been producing propaganda saying that the US wants to invade and occupy an oil-rich middle eastern country, which was essentially validated by the US invasion of Iraq. As a result, says Clarke, it's not surprising that Al-Qaeda and its offshoots are having much greater success recruiting new members. Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ...

Furthermore, he feels the war has taken resources from the more important fight: stopping Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and around the world. He points out that had his plan been followed when he first presented it, Al-Qaeda could have been essentially eliminated. But since his plan was not followed, and Osama was essentially ignored as the United States and allies invaded Iraq, Al-Qaeda has grown incredibly in strength and number, and is now going to be difficult to stop.

His statements seem to be backed up by Bob Woodward's Bush at War, where he quotes Bush as saying "I know (Osama bin Laden) was a menace... but I didn't feel that sense of urgency." Clarke has been backed up by testimony of former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, the National Security Council's Flynt Leverett, and Clarke's deputy, Roger Cressey. Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Bob Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is assistant managing editor of The Washington Post. ... Cover of Bush at War (trade paperback) Bush at War is a 2002 book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward recounting President George W. Bushs responses to the September 11 terrorist attacks and his administrations handling of the subsequent war in Afghanistan. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: ‎; born March 10, 1957[1]), most often mentioned as Osama bin Laden or Usama bin Laden, is a Saudi Arabian militant Islamist and is widely believed to be one of the founders of the organization called al-Qaeda. ... Paul H. ONeill Paul Henry ONeill (born December 4, 1935) served as the 72nd United States Secretary of the Treasury for part of President George W. Bushs first Administration. ... The National Security Council (NSC) of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials. ... Flynt Leverett (born March 6, 1958 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC. From March 2002 to March 2003, he served as the senior director for Middle East affairs on the National Security Council. ...

Clarke also described many of these events in his almost 20 hours of testimony under oath before the 9/11 Commission, a portion in its public hearings. The Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response...

Responses from the Bush administration

On March 22, 2004, vice president Dick Cheney claimed that Clarke was "out of the loop" in the fight against terror. Critics pointed out that if Clarke, who was appointed to oversee counterterrorism efforts by Rice, was out of the loop then the administration had an embarrassingly small loop. Condoleezza Rice later contradicted this, claiming the opposite: Clarke was the loop, so any failure in terrorism-preparedness was his. Later, in a direct response to Cheney's statement, she said "I would not use the word 'out of the loop,'... He was in every meeting that was held on terrorism." Richard Bruce Dick Cheney (born January 30, 1941), is the 46th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President George W. Bush. ... Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954) is the 66th United States Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President George W. Bush to hold the office. ...

Press Secretary Scott McClellan claimed that Clarke timed the publication of his book in order to have an impact on the upcoming election. Clarke pointed out that his book had been finished since the previous year, it was only released at that time because the White House took months to review it for classified information. Scott McClellan in the press room of the White House Puffy McMoonface (born February 14, 1968) was the White House Press Secretary (2003-2006) for President George W. Bush. ...

Some alleged that Clarke had published the book to win a spot in a possible John Kerry administration. Clarke responded by swearing under oath that he did not want another job in the government and would not accept one. Al Gore (born December 11, 1943) is a Vietnam Veteran and the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ...

Others pointed to the fact that Clarke taught a class with Randy Beers, an advisor to John Kerry. Clarke explained that he was a long-time friend of Beers, who had also worked extensively in the government on counterterrorism for Bush and other administrations, and would not give up his friendship simply because his friend had a new job.

Another major criticism of Clarke was that he had been more supportive of the Bush administration when he worked there as a special advisor to the President. Fox News Channel released a transcript from an August 2002 briefing that Clarke gave to reporters while he was still working for the White House, as background (meaning not for attribution). In it Clarke says that "there was no plan on al Qaeda that was passed from the Clinton administration to the Bush administration," and otherwise puts the Bush administration in a more favorable light. ^[1] The Fox News Channel (FNC), sometimes called Fox News or even just Fox, is a United States-based cable and satellite news channel. ...

Questioned about this apparent inconsistency, Clarke said the differences were "really a matter here of emphasis and tone. I mean, what you're suggesting, perhaps, is that as special assistant to the president of the United States when asked to give a press backgrounder I should spend my time in that press backgrounder criticizing him. I think that's somewhat of an unrealistic thing to expect."^[2]

The White House initially claimed that Bush never set foot in the Situation Room on September 12, and so could not have told Clarke to find evidence of Iraq's involvement. But after additional witnesses confirmed the story and critics pointed out that it was rather embarrassing for the President to have never entered the Situation Room on such an important day, the White House retracted this claim. White House Situation Room in March 2003. ...

Disputed claims of Clarke's book

Journalist Walter Pincus points to a passage on page 237 in which Clarke describes a September 4, 2001 meeting of national security principals in which he states Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, "who looked distracted throughout the session, took the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz line that there were other terrorists concerns, like Iraq." Rumsfeld has publicly stated he was not at the September 4, 2001 meeting, and Defense Department officials have confirmed he was not in attendance.^[3] The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense, concerned with the armed services and The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. ... Donald Henry Rumsfeld (born July 9, 1932) is a U.S. politician and businessman, who was the 13th Secretary of Defense under President Gerald Ford from 1975–1977, and the 21st Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush from 2001–2006. ... Paul Dundes Wolfowitz (born December 22, 1943) is an American former academic and government official. ... The United States Department of Defense (DOD or DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military. ...

In his book My FBI, Louis Freeh writes: Louis Freeh was the fifteenth director of the FBI. He oversaw the agency for nearly 10 years during one of the most difficult periods of its history. ...

"In his book, Clarke recounts a critical 'principals' meeting close to the millennium celebration when Sandy Berger looked hard at Janet [Reno], George Tenet, and me, and said, 'We have stopped two sets of attacks planned for the millennium. You can bet your measly federal paycheck that there are more out there and we have to stop them too. I spoke with the President and he wants you all to know...this is it, nothing more important, all assets. We stop this (expletive).'"

According to Freeh, the passage was a "nice tale, but I was never at such a meeting, and Sandy Berger never would have spoken like that in front of the attorney general." (page 298) Samuel R. Sandy Berger (born October 28, 1945) served as the 19th United States National Security Advisor under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. ...

Time Magazine (April 2, 2007 p. 48) recently reported a movie script of the book has been written but not yet made. A pocket watch, a device used to tell time Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Other Books by Richard A. Clarke

• The Scorpion's Gate. Putnam Adult, 2005, ISBN 0-399-15294-6. (fiction)

Richard A. Clarke (born 1951) provided national security advice to four U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, consulting on issues of intelligence and terrorism, from 1973 to 2003. ...

References

• Clarke, Richard. Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror. Reprint ed. Free P, 2004.

Sources

1. ^ Transcript: Clarke Praises Bush Team in '02. March 24, 2004.
2. ^ Public Testimony Before 9/11 Panel. The New York Times, 2004-03-24.
3. ^ Walter Pincus, Dana Milbank. "Testimony gives Rice a chance to repair damage: 9/11 panel could hear strong defense against key critic's charges", Washington Post, April 4, 2004.