LP: Crude Politics: How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism (review)

LP: Crude Politics: How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism (review)

itle: Crude Politics: How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism (review)
Source: WND
URL Source: http://shop.wnd.com/store/item.asp? ITEM_ID=1283
Published: Dec 11, 2005
Author: unknown
Post Date: 2005-12-11 23:28:08 by Magician
12 Comments

Crude Politics: How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism by Paul Sperry (Book Review)

Is the "war on terror" declared by the Bush administration just a cynical and immoral subterfuge for securing needed Mideast oil, as leftists and anti-war activists claim?

Or is America's ongoing military response to the horrendous attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, not only justified, but motivated totally by compelling national security concerns with no admixture of any other agenda, as administration cheerleaders claim?

Or, does the truth lie somewhere in between? And if so, exactly where?

"Crude Politics: How Bush's Oil Cronies Hijacked the War on Terrorism" makes the unsettling case that the Bush administration, though engaged in an unavoidable and moral war on terror, also tried simultaneously to secure future energy production in the terrorists' home turf and ended up compromising America's national security interests.

While the United States was still reeling from the horror of Sept. 11, 2001, says "Crude Politics" author and investigative journalist Paul Sperry, Bush administration diplomats were resuming talks with Pakistani officials over gas and oil pipelines in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ultimately, the U.S. seized the opportunity of the war-on-terror as a reason to oust the Taliban -- the major obstacle blocking plans for the precious pipelines linking Caspian reserves to hot Asian markets. Indeed, the book documents how the Bush administration tailored the war on terrorism around oil interests in the Caspian region, and to a lesser extent, in Iraq.

With journalistic integrity and painstaking research, Sperry enlightens readers on:

* How commercial gain within the current oil-friendly administration has undermined America's war on terror

* How our safety has been jeopardized because of an overriding effort to charge ahead with a new "Silk Road" through Afghanistan and Pakistan, making the capture of Osama bin Laden a secondary concern

* The nature of war and the politics behind the major decisions being made in the current administration, including those regarding Iraq and other "axis of evil" countries

* Bush's behind-the-scenes operator for regime change in both Afghanistan and Iraq -- former energy consultant Zal Khalilzad.

Paul Sperry is a veteran Washington, D.C., investigative reporter whose reports on national security issues have been picked up by virtually every major news agency in the world. Sperry's journalistic courage and integrity are backed by years of experience, including extensive reporting and editing on national affairs, economics, manufacturing, real estate, and general business coverage. President Bill Clinton "banned" Sperry from the White House in 1999 after the reporter asked him tough questions about the Chinagate fund-raising scandal.