A Pretext for War homes in on the systematic weakness that led the intelligence community to ignore or misinterpret evidence of the impending terrorist attacks of 9/11. [Doubleday]
Critic Reviews
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Favorable
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New York Review Of Books Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
Pretext is awkwardly organized, but it deals with less familiar material and its tone is more outraged.
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Favorable
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Publishers Weekly
His broad understanding of America's intelligence institutions and procedures make this a must-read for anyone concerned about the current state of affairs.
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Favorable
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Wall Street Journal Douglas Farah
On balance, Bamford does a superb job of laying out and tying together threads of the Sept. 11 intelligence failures and their ongoing aftermath, using original research, the public record and a light, fast-paced writing touch.
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Mixed
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Houston Chronicle James D. Fairbanks
As a former Naval Security Group communications technician, Bamford apparently has good contacts within the intelligence community, though it is sometimes difficult to know how much weight to place on information that comes from unnamed intelligence officials.
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Mixed
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The New York Times Michiko Kakutani
In the end Mr. Bamford's conclusions are alarming, if not unfamiliar ones.
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Unfavorable
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The New York Times Book Review Fred Kaplan
He uncovers a few new facts, but most are peripheral to the story. He lays out some novel theses, but they're overblown, undersourced or just wrong...In one sense, Bamford's book is like Bush's push for war: it's a rush job, distorted by his own preconceptions.
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Unfavorable
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Los Angeles Times Walter Laqueur
There is a notable lacuna in A Pretext for War as in many other books of this kind: A discussion of the other side is missing; there is more on Richard Perle than on Hussein. In some ways it resembles the account of a boxing match with all the attention fixed on one fighter. [13 June 2004, p.R4]
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