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The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals |  | Author: Jane Mayer
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $27.50
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Rating:  151 reviews
Sales Rank: 133285
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1St Edition
Pages: 400
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.7
ISBN: 0385526393
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931
EAN: 9780385526395
ASIN: 0385526393
Publication Date: July 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A dramatic and damning narrative account of how America has fought the
"War on Terror"
In the days immediately following September 11th, the most powerful people in the country were panic-stricken. The radical 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, and obliterate Constitutional protections that define the very essence of the American experiment.
THE DARK SIDE is a dramatic, riveting, and definitive narrative account of how the United States made terrible decisions in the pursuit of terrorists around the world-- decisions that not only violated the Constitution to which White House officials took an oath to uphold, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. In gripping detail, acclaimed New Yorker writer and bestselling author, Jane Mayer, relates the impact of these decisions—U.S.-held prisoners, some of them completely innocent, were subjected to treatment more reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition than the twenty-first century.
THE DARK SIDE will chronicle real, specific cases, shown in real time against the larger tableau of what was happening in Washington, looking at the intelligence gained—or not—and the price paid. In some instances, torture worked. In many more, it led to false information, sometimes with devastating results. For instance, there is the stunning admission of one of the detainees, Sheikh Ibn al-Libi, that the confession he gave under duress—which provided a key piece of evidence buttressing congressional support of going to war against Iraq--was in fact fabricated, to make the torture stop.
In all cases, whatever the short term gains, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, and our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself. THE DARK SIDE chronicles one of the most disturbing chapters in American history, one that will serve as the lasting legacy of the George W. Bush presidency.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 151
 Extraordinary! July 27, 2010
M. Goodman
This is the most compelling dispassionate book on the state of our rights and how we got there. It is must read for all that believe, "it can't happen here". It is masterfully written. It is powerfuk,sobering and motivating.
The Dark Side Triumphs May 1, 2010
Carl A. Maida (Thousand Oaks, CA USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book leads one to reconsider the precious nature of our civil liberties and our international treaties regarding the humanitarian treatment of prisoners, and their vulnerability in the aftermath of extraordinary events, such as the 9/11 attacks. Jane Mayer's book is also a meditation on executive power during national crises, specifically how a dominant political ideology, motivated by considerable fear of additional terrorist attacks upon our country, can effectively upend the system of checks and balances established by the nation's founders. Throughout the past decade, I have asked why ethically and morally concerned civil libertarians within the federal government and the nation's law schools were not able to push back against the torture and detainment practices that were enacted in the months after 9/11. This book is the first to investigate how a few close associates of the Bush-Cheney administration were able to essentially eliminate any transparency regarding the capture, interrogation, and fate of detainees on behalf of the "War on Terror." While Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes provides the history of the CIA's role in maintaining a secret government in this country since the end of the Second World War, Mayer describes the Agency's readiness and willingness to take on the covert tasks deemed necessary by Bush, Cheney, and their associates to execute a secret war. Key legal players are introduced, including David Addington, John Yoo, Jim Haynes, Jack Goldsmith, Daniel Levin, and Ted Olson, arguably some of the "best and the brightest" among conservative government lawyers and legal scholars. In describing their heated arguments and frequent interpersonal conflicts over the use of torture and detainment in the black sites, or secret prisons operated around the world by the United States government, Mayer provides in-depth reporting and commentary on the diverging views expressed by these lawyers. As many have stated, the book is "riveting" and "shocking" in its portrayal of unlawful detainees and torture victims through extended case studies, but it is also essential for an appreciation of the fragility of our freedoms, especially in dark times.
A Disturbing Story April 1, 2010
David W. Southworth (Alexandria, VA United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book by Jane Mayer is a disturbing story of the anti-terrorism efforts undertaken by the Bush administration immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This book, based on much that was previously published in Mayer's other job as a writer for the New Yorker magazine, is a useful compliment to the many other popular current histories of the era, such as the Looming Tower, the One Percent Doctrine, and many others. I highly recommend this book.
Torture and the Imperial Presidency. March 21, 2010
J.L. Populist (WI,USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you want to read the best book on the subject of how the Bush Administration circumvented the Constitution and the Geneva Convention, THE DARK SIDE by Jane Mayer is it.
The book is very detailed and names the people that thought(and probably still do)that it was fine to ignore the Supreme Court, the Geneva Convention, and the Constitution when it stood in the way of their illegal ideas. Torture being the worst of their policies.
Their are numerous quotes from legal minds like Louis Brandeis and Robert Jackson that warned against an imperial presidency and all went unheeded.
On page 47 Chief Justice Robert Jackson is quoted-
"No penance would ever expiate the sin against free government of holding that a President can escape control of executive powers by law through assuming a military role." This advice was dated from 1952!
This is exactly what Cheney and his "War Council" did! That was a passion of Cheney's dating back to the Nixon presidency.
On the kidnapped suspects we are now stuck dealing with the Bush administration's lack of foresight, namely, what do you do with them?
What is deeply disturbing is that some of these detainees were later released due to their innocence. So you have an administration that says torture is o.k. and innocence is something to weigh later?
THE DARK SIDE provides graphic examples of why individuals that despise the Constitution and favor a dictatorial, imperial presidency should never inhabit the White House. The argument that Addington used when someone disagreed with any illegal policy was that "the President wanted this" or "you're going against the President".
A quote from Phillip Zelikow on page 335 accurately sums up the those eight years-
"Fear and anxiety were exploited by zealots and fools"
I recommend this book as the most thorough on the subject. Definitely the best I have read to date.
 Poorly researched, cites secondary and tertiary sources March 21, 2010
Publius
3 out of 14 found this review helpful
A cheerleading guide for the ideologues. Mayer is too lazy to fact-check, gets many details wrong, and generally draws from two sources: her own, Sy Hersh wannabe screeds from the New Yorker, and fantasy pieces from the New York Times. Her use of anonymous sources is convenient, and unverifiable, and the information contained in the FOIA materials released by Holder -- yes, Holder -- and as a result of ACLU and CCR lawsuits ironically demonstrate her lack of critical thinking as well as her inability or disinterest in obtaining accurate, first-hand written or verbal information. To all of you who get your information from Hendrik Hertzberg, Sy Hersh, and the New York Times editorial page, dream on. Whatever one's view of the Bush Administration, these sources are neither objective nor accurate.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 151
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