The Great War of Our Time

Posted on 01 July 2018 by Michael Morell

THE GREAT WAR OF OUR TIME offers an unprecedented assessment of the CIA while at the forefront of our nation s war against al Qa ida and during the most remarkable period in the history of the Agency Called the Bob Gates of his generation, Michael Morell is a top CIA officer who saw it all the only person with President Bush on 9 11 01 and with President Obama on 5 1 11 when Usama Bin Laden was brought to justice LikeGhost Wars, S ee No Evil, and At the Center of the Storm, THE GREAT WAR OF OUR TIME will be a vivid, newsmaking account of the CIA, a life of secrets and a war in the shadows. Read The Great War of Our Time – kino-fada.fr Reads like a Chilling and all too Real ThrillerAfter seeing former CIA Deputy Director and Author Michael Morell speak on a news show I sought out his book though with some reservations I worried it would be too overtly political, too technical or just plain boring None of my fears turned out to be valid The writing is amazing very clear and engaging and most important Morell always brings the individuals personality and character to the forefront which makes their motivations clear and no Reads like a Chilling and all too Real ThrillerAfter seeing former CIA Deputy Director and Author Michael Morell speak on a news show I sought out his book though with some reservations I worried it would be too overtly political, too technical or just plain boring None of my fears turned out to be valid The writing is amazing very clear and engaging and most important Morell always brings the individuals personality and character to the forefront which makes their motivations clear and no matter how unsympathetic human.Obviously this is not a book that will help its readers sleep well at night other than to know there are some very capable people standing between America and some scary folks One of the most instructive chapters was toward the end ...This memoir was way too slow and way too personal I don t care about his drive to work or anything about his kids nothing personal, dude, it s just not interesting or pertinent He hugged Lou Panetta twice in one night His wife s dress to a gala Who the f4ck cares Next he was way too easy on himself and the CIA for what was the greatest intelligence failure in USA history, our phony war with Iraq He was way too apologetic for George Bush who, even in this favorable memoir, came out looking s This memoir was way too slow and way too personal I don t care about his drive to work or anything about his kids nothing personal, dude, it s just not interesting or pertinent He hugged Lou Panetta twice in one night His wife s dress to a gala Who the f4ck cares Next he was way too easy on himself and the CIA for what was the greatest intelligence failure in USA history, our phony war with Iraq He was way too apologetic for George Bush who, even in this favorable memoir, came out looking stupid and out of the loop not positives for a U.S president I take particular exception to something he writes early on in the book He describes a few al Qaeda personnel saying, These operatives were very dangerous This same language was used by right wingers of the Guantanamo prisoners traded for the U.S soldier Bowe Bergdahl They may have been seasoned fighters but they weren t anydangerous...I ve read many books like this I d place Morell s right about in the middle of he pack in terms of its informative quality What sets this book apart, for better and worse, is that it s focus and perspective is upon the intersection of Morrell s time with the CIA with the events he witnessed while there In other words, this is part autobiography, part terrorism history and context I found this approach both additive and reductive For instance, two of the most compelling parts of the book are I ve read many books like this I d place Morell s right about in the middle of he pack in terms of its informative quality What sets this book apart, for better and worse, is that it s focus and perspective is upon the intersection of Morrell s time with the CIA with the events he witnessed while there In other words, this is part autobiography, part terrorism history and context I found this approach both additive and reductive For instance, two of the most compelling parts of the book are Morell s recollections of 9 11 while aboard Air Force One with the President and his discussion of Enhanced Interrogation ...While much of the information has already been presented elsewhere, this is an interesting, engaging and insightful memoir of Morell s CIA career, and the underlying theme appears to be the CIA s central role in the war against al Qaeda following 9 11 Morell describes many of the successes, failures, challenges, and opportunities in a straightforward, readable fashion As you may already know from other books, Morell was President Bush s personal CIA briefer for much of that presidency, and his While much of the information has already been presented elsewhere, this is an interesting, engaging and insightful memoir of Morell s CIA career, and the underlying theme appears to be the CIA s central role in the war against al Qaeda following 9 11 Morell describes many of the successes, failures, challenges, and opportunities in a straightforward, readable fashion As you may already know from other books, Morell was President Bush s personal CIA briefer for much of that presidency, and his account of 9 11 and the aftermath is vivid and gripping There are two times when you need to worry about terrorists, Morell writes When you pick up their chatter and when you don t which means, of course, that you worry all the time The rest of the book deals with the Agency s counterterrorism role in the aftermath of the attacks, and how its action took on aaggressive, paramilitary nature during t...Great information on the rise of al Qa ida and ISIS Listened to audiobook Excellent narrator.This was a great read on the intelligence needed to keep our country safe and the increased threat level of terrorist adamanton bringing down America It is also a good read about the difficulty of the presidency and the fact that the last two presidents from differing parties took their job very seriously, that the politicalization polarization is harming this country Finally, for me a life long public servant, Mr Morell is proud of hi...Morell has excellent anecdotes about his time in the intelligence community which he shares with the reader in an engaging, conversational tone, but his retrospective analysis of important decisions made along the way is where this book really shines An insider s perspective on the lead up to and aftermath of the terror attacks of 9 11 7 7, the Snowden leaks, the revolutions in Libya and Egypt of the Arab Spring, the assault on Bin Laden s compound in Abbottabad Pakistan, and others offer Morell has excellent anecdotes about his time in the intelligence community which he shares with the reader in an engaging, conversational tone, but his retrospective analysis of important deci...I have a great deal of respect for Mr Morell and believe he has been and continues to be a great asset to this country I also believe he is very capable and has a great mind, I enjoy watching him on news programs anytime I get the opportunity That being said, I did not find this book particularly compelling Perhaps it is because I stay up to date with much of the world events in the book or seek out Mr Morell s appearances so often that it did not inform me as much as I thought it would Th I have a great deal of respect for Mr Morell and believe he has been and continues to be a great asset to this country I also believe he is very capable and has a great mind, I enjoy watching him on news programs anytime I get the opportunity That being said, I did not find this book particularly compelling Perhaps it is because I stay up to date with much of the world events in the book or seek out Mr Morell s appearances so often that it did not inform me as much as I thought it would That being said, someone with little knowledge of the events occurring in the last fifteen years may find itvaluable I will also say that some books I ve read on this topic some of which I ve reviewed and my consumption of information on YouTube, Netfli...It is fascinating to see the life of someone at the top of the nation s intelligence system and their critique with inside views Morell has every right to defend his beliefs and he does so in a well written manner but be under no illusion, this is from his view and he often makes the same mistakes he accuses others of.He was briefing President Bush during 911 and had a hand in many key developments through his 30 years of service And he has insight on both Bush and Obama, their management and It is fascinating to see the life of someone at the top of the nation s intelligence system and their critique with inside views Morell has every right to defend his beliefs and he does so in a well written manner but be under no illusion, this is from his view and he often makes the same mistakes he accuses others of.He was briefing President Bush during 911 and had a hand in many key developments through his 30 years of service And he has insight on both Bush and Obama, their management and personal style as well as decision making processes He has respect for both men.Morell states that there was no one, anywhere including most or all intelligence services, who believed Saddam did not have WMD But Hans Blix warnings and statements were clear and resolute, after thousands of Iraqi inspections, he maintained there were no WMD and Blix is not even mentioned From his testimonies in t...Morell spent 30 years with the CIA working his way up the analyst side of the house into upper management This is his perspective of the intelligence community and the two presidents that he served Covering the 9 11 attacks, Benghazi, Edward Snowden, waterboarding and secret prisons, his time at the agency has spenttime in controversies, political battles on the Hill and front page news This is Morell s love letter to the agency and his justification of their actions and his personal de Morell spent 30 years with the CIA working his way up the analyst side of the house into upper management This is his perspective of the intelligence community and the two presidents that he served Covering the 9 11 attacks, Benghazi, Edward Snowden, waterboarding and secret prisons, his time at the agency has spenttime in controversies, political battles on the Hill and front page news This is Morell s love letter t...

01 July 2018

Michael Morell