House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties - Hardcover

Unger, Craig

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 074325337X ISBN 13: 9780743253376

Publisher: Scribner, 2004

Synopsis

An analysis of the thirty-year relationship between the Bush family and the House of Saud discusses such topics as the association's impact on American foreign policy, business, and national security; the protection the House of Saud received in the days after September 11; and the families' shared financial interests. First serial, Vanity Fair.

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Review:

The perilous ramifications of the September 11 attacks on the United States are only now beginning to unfold. They will undoubtedly be felt for generations to come. This is one of many sad conclusions readers will draw from Craig Unger's exceptional book House of Bush House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties. As Unger claims in this incisive study, the seeds for the "Age of Terrorism" and September 11 were planted nearly 30 years ago in what, at the time, appeared to be savvy business transactions that subsequently translated into political currency and the union between the Saudi royal family and the extended political family of George H. W. Bush. On the surface, the claim may appear to be politically driven, but as Unger (a respected investigative journalist and editor) probes--with scores of documents and sources--the political tenor of the U.S. over the last 30 years, the Iran-Iraq War, the war in Afghanistan, the birth of Al Qaeda, the dubious connection between members of the Saudi Royal family and the exportation of terror, and the personal fortunes amassed by the Bush family from companies such as Harken Energy and the Carlyle Group, he exposes the "brilliantly hidden agendas and purposefully murky corporate relationships" between these astonishingly powerful families. His evidence is persuasive and reveals a devastating story of Orwellian proportions, replete with political deception, shifting allegiances, and lethal global consequences. Unger begins his book with the remarkable story of the repatriation of 140 Saudis directly following the September 11 attacks. He ends where Richard A. Clarke begins, questioning the efficacy of the war in Iraq in the battle against terrorism. We are unquestionably facing a global security crisis unlike any before. President Bush insists that we will prevail, yet as Unger so effectively concludes, "Never before has an American president been so closely tied to a foreign power that harbors and supports our country's mortal enemies." --Silvana Tropea

About the Author:

Craig Unger is an expert on terrorism and the oil industry. He investigated Bush's roles in the Iran-contra scandal and when the September 11 attacks took place, Unger saw a pattern which prompted him to write this book. A distinguished journalist, he was editor-in-chief of Boston Magazine and has appeared on BBC News Night, BBC News, Channel Four News, Al Jazeera and the Today Programme.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 074325337X
• ISBN 13: 9780743253376
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368