Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State
New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2011. First edition. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. Glued binding. Paper over boards. 296 p. Illustrations (color). Glossary. Occasional Footnotes. notes on the Database and Written Source Material. Index. The top-secret world that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks has become so enormous, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs or exactly how many agencies duplicate work being done elsewhere. The result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe may be putting us in greater danger. In TOP SECRET AMERICA, award-winning reporters Dana Priest and William Arkin uncover the enormous size, shape, mission and consequences of this invisible universe of over 1, 300 government facilities in every state in America; nearly 2, 000 outside companies used as contractors and more than 850, 000 people granted 'Top Secret' security clearance. A landmark expose of a new, secret 'Fourth Branch' of American government, TOP SECRET AMERICA is a tour de force of investigative reporting-and a book sure to spark national and international alarm. From Wikipedia: "Dana Louise Priest (born May 23, 1957) is an American journalist and writer. She has worked almost 20 years for The Washington Post. Before becoming a full-time investigative reporter, Priest specialized in national security reporting for the Post, and wrote many articles on the U.S. "War on terror". In 2006 she won the Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting citing "her persistent, painstaking reports on secret "black site" prisons and other controversial features of the government's counterterrorism campaign." In 2008 The Washington Post won the annual Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, citing the work of reporters Priest and Anne Hull and photographer Michel du Cille "exposing mistreatment of wounded veterans at Walter Reed Hospital, evoking a national outcry and producing reforms by federal officials." In February 2006, Priest was awarded the George Polk Award for National Reporting for her November 2005 article on secret CIA detention facilities in foreign countries. Priest also revealed the existence of the Counterterrorist Intelligence Centers (CTIC) in a November 17, 2005, front page article, which are counter-terrorist operations centers run jointly by the CIA and foreign intelligence services. The Alliance Base in Paris, involving the DGSE and other foreign intelligence agencies, is one of the most important CTIC." Also from Wikipedia: "William M. Arkin (born May 15, 1956) is an American political commentator, activist, journalist, blogger, and former United States Army soldier. Arkin served in U.S. Army intelligence from 1974 to 1978. He has served as an independent consultant and held positions at the Institute for Policy Studies, Center for Defense Information, Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Human Rights Watch. He has worked as a NBC News military analyst and written columns for the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. From 2007 to 2008, he was Policy Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government in the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University. A later work is Code Names: Deciphering U.S. Military Plans, Programs and Operations in the 9/11 World. On October 15, 2003, William Arkin released video and audiotapes documenting General William Boykin's framing of the "War on Terrorism" in religious terms in speeches at churches. Arkin followed up with a Los Angeles Times op-ed piece that accused the general of being "an intolerant extremist" and a man "who believes in Christian 'jihad'." Arkin further wrote, "Boykin has made it clear that he takes his orders not from his Army superiors but from God which is a worrisome line of command." In February 2007, Arkin responded to an NBC Nightly News report on U.S. soldiers in Iraq who said they were frustrated by antiwar sentiment at home, and especially by people who say they support the troops, but not the war. In his Washington Post blog, Arkin wrote, "We pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship. Condition: Very good in very good dust jacket. Signed by author. Inscription on t-p signed by Priest. DJ has slight wear and soiling.
Keywords: Al Qaeda, Special Operations, National Intelligence, Homeland Security, Drones, Robert Gates, Michael Hayden, McChrystal, JSOC: John Rizzo, SOCOM, Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMD
ISBN: 9780316182218
[Book #68030]
Price: $45.00