Al Qaeda's Great Escape: The Military and the Media on Terror's Trail - Softcover

Smucker, Philip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1574886290 ISBN 13: 9781574886290

Publisher: POTOMAC BOOKS, 2005

Synopsis

Details how Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda fighters slipped out of Afghanistan during the battles of Tora Bora and Operation Anaconda. The author also charges that Western media outlets, eager to satisfy their audience’s thirst for revenge, lost their grasp on journalistic objectivity while covering bin Laden’s pursuit. Blinding patriotism and reliance on Pentagon press releases led them to portray events not reflecting reality on the ground. He contends that to satisfy the press and the public’s need for vengeance, the Bush administration pushed to achieve early, highly visible successes to the detriment of long-term strategy. Impatience at the top forced a rush into a war aimed primarily at “regime change,” which left the U.S. military largely empty-handed.

About this title

About the Author

PHILIP SMUCKER has spent the last sixteen years as an overseas reporter, covering conflicts in Burma, Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Serbia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He currently writes for U.S. News and World Report and the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph. Smucker broke the story of bin Laden’s escape from Afghanistan in the Christian Science Monitor in December 2001. In connection with his reporting in Afghanistan, Smucker appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Chris Matthews’s Hardball, ABC’s Nightline, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Reports, and other television programs. Smucker resides in Cairo, Egypt.

Review

Philip Smucker is one of the bravest reporters in the international press corps. His book is a chilling look at what went wrong with the pursuit of al Qaeda. If anybody ever does find bin Laden, I'll put my money on Smucker getting there first. --"Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker A brilliant book that provides detail on al Qaeda's escape from Afghanistan and a must read' for everyone who needs to know what really happened at Tora Bora. Al Qaeda is out in the world in large numbers and Philip Smucker' s book is the first comprehensive account of how this happened. --"Charles Heyman, editor, Jane's World Armies Only Phil Smucker could head into Afghanistan on a mission to capture Osama Bin Laden, armed with just an empty whiskey bottle and an eight-foot carpet to wrap up his prisoner. Along the way, he uncovers treachery and skulduggery on a mammoth scale. Rip-roaring stuff. --"Jacky Rowland, BBC Philip Smucker takes greater risks for a story than any reporter I have ever worked with. That spirit of daring, along with a few shrewd guesses, put him in place to report on Osama bin Laden's escape from Tora Bora weeks before the Bush administration was willing to admit it. In Al Qaeda's Great Escape Smucker breaks real news while evoking the drama, excitement and danger of a war correspondent's life. --"David Jones, foreign editor, The Washington Times This book is a must for those who want to understand the complexities and confusion that is involved in the War on Terror. The book will outrage a few, encourage some, and inform all who read it as to what we are up against. His on-the-scene reporting is excellent, and his views are provocative. I recommend it for the informed reader who wants agood read as well as some useful information. --"Col. John Brinkerhoff, USA (Ret.) "An excellent, compact study of the campaign in Afghanistan . . . Much more literate than most journalistic accounts, this book is not for ideologues at either end of the spectrum, as the struggle for balance and perspective is visible on every page." --Publishers Weekly "Besides providing an excellent picture--and pictures--of the war, Smucker explains how information was obtained, used, abused, and just plain ignored. . . . Smucker's narrative style makes you feel as if you were therre, especially when his 'get the story at all costs' impulses take over. So in addition to everything else it is, this is quite a picture of contemporary combat reporting." --Booklist "A devastating critique . . . delivered with such humor and irony, however, that casual readers could easily underestimate its full impact. . . . Smucker is a superb stylist; it is difficult to grasp how reading about something so depressing can be so much fun." --Washington Post

"Makes you feel as if you were there . . . quite a picture of contemporary combat reporting."

Edition details

• Publisher: POTOMAC BOOKS
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1574886290
• ISBN 13: 9781574886290
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272