NEW SECOND EDITION. What if the government decided to invent a great lie to justify a disastrous war? What would happen to the people who know the truth? EXTREME PREJUDICE delivers an explosive, high tension expose of the real facts surrounding the CIA's advance warning of 9/11 and an insider's look at Iraqi Pre-War Intelligence, told by one of the very few U.S. Assets covering Iraq before the War. It reveals the depths of deception by leaders in Washington and London to promote a successful image of their terrorism policy, and the shocking brutality to suppress the truth of their failures from Americans and the world community.
Susan Lindauer is an American journalist and antiwar activist. In 2003 she was falsely accused of conspiring to act as an unregistered agent for the Iraqi Intelligence Service and engaging in prohibited financial transactions with the government of Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
Lindauer was found mentally unfit to stand trial in two separate hearings. During her incarceration she won the right to refuse forced antipsychotic medication which the United States Department of Justice claimed would render her competent to stand trial.
In testimony before Judge Mukasey on May, 9, 2006, Dr. Colin Vas from Carswell FMC admitted that over seven months of incarceration, staff observed no signs of hallucinations and no signs of hearing voices, nor any depression or bipolar disorder. Carswell reported that Ms. Lindauer walked 4-6 miles on the track every day, and consistently participated at 'indoor recreation activities.' Ms.Lindauer also spent many hours at the prison law library studying up on her case. In its monthly reports, Carswell wrote: 'Good physical health. Socializes well. Good intellectual functioning.' And 'no behavioral problems.'
On January 16, 2009, the government decided to not continue with the prosecution saying 'prosecuting Lindauer would no longer be in the interests of justice.'
Antipsychiatrist Thomas Szasz criticized the government's treatment of Lindauer and referred to her captors as 'torturers.'
This is a book written by a megalomaniac. It is a self serving repetitious one-sided account of a person who got themselves in a jam for doing something they shouldn't have. I don't believe a professional editor has ever reviewed any of what was written which makes reading a real chore. Sifting through all the hype to understand what is really taking place is like listening to an irate politician defend themselves from a criminal accusation.
First let's start with Susan's story. Susan is a peace activist who decided to team with US intelligence agencies to gather information on Middle Eastern governments and to investigate / develop alternatives to conflict and war between the US and these governments. There are two very important pieces of information which must be kept in mind when reading this story -
1) As stated by herself several times throughout the book Susan never signed a non-disclosure agreement with the US Government. What does this mean? She never worked for the US intelligence agencies. From their perspective she was a source, not a partner - regardless of how Susan viewed the relationship. Susan's differing view of the relationship resulted in her being used by her handlers. The fact that she was a source of information and not an actual US agent is an important distinction. Based upon Susan's story she thought she was acting on behalf of the US Government during her various activities. She was never an employee, appointed or elected official of the US Government and as such could never officially represent the US Government.
2) Susan stated to her agency handlers she would never take any action which would further a conflict, or a war against another government. Susan actually took her activism a step beyond taking no action. She pursued peace options and alternate forms of government to that which was established in occupied countries. As stated in the book her activism was counter to the current US Administration's foreign policy. I understand Susan disagreed with the US Government foreign policy. I understand that there may have been alternatives to that policy which would have been a better choice to take. But Susan was not representing the US Government. She was a US private citizen. As a private citizen she took action, including collaborating with foreign officials, to counter US foreign policy. In the eyes of the law this is conspiracy and treason. It is no wonder she was arrested. If a US private citizen doesn't agree with the current US Administration's policies they are to work within the system to change that, not take action which directly conflicts that policy - especially when this action is in collusion with a foreign Government.
This story needs to be examined and told by an independent investigative reporter. This would allow a balanced understanding of what took place. If there truly were improprieties taken by the US Government then those responsible should be held accountable. As written, with such a personal egocentric perspective, it is impossible to determine all the facts and what actually happened.
When you accuse everyone else in your sphere of influence as being wrong and conspiring against you that is usually the time when you might need to check on your own sanity. One star for general editorial quality of the book. One star for trying to claim a one-sided exposition of facts as a balanced story.
One of the scariest, most eye opening books I have ever read. Hear directly from the mouth of the CIA asset who warned the White House about 9/11 months before hand with knowledge she gained as the senior asset in lybia and Iraq before the war. Then read about how she was arrested and spent 1 year in military prison with NO CHARGES filed against her and eventually let go with no charges filed. this is no longer your parent's america, it's a brave new world! MUST READ!!!
Susan Lindauer wrote a most enlightening expose of her days as a CIA asset. I hung on her words as if this were a piece of exciting fiction...and I had to keep reminding myself that this stuff is real! Throughout, I felt the undercurrent of anger that the author released as she wrote her story. Anyone, like me, who suspects the American government of cover-ups and political deceit, will eat this book up.
How do you feel about the Patriot Act? Is it protecting America from enemies foreign and domestic? Is it protecting YOU? Don't think it affects you? That's nice. It's also false. Two books that I read recently document first-hand just how much of their legal protection from arbitrary intrusion Americans have lost under the Patriot Acts and their extension most recently signed by President Obama. Certainly, Susan Lindauer did not expect ever to be threatened, fired, abducted, interrogated or incarcerated for co-operating with the CIA and FBI. She did her job as instructed but when she tried to pass on the information the US Govt assigned her to acquire, she was told that she was to forget what she knew because her government did not want to know! The information she was tasked with acquiring unequivocally pointed to a clear and present danger of terrorist attack, information from multiple sources both inside the US and abroad, information that was unimpeachable and easy for the intelligence community to confirm! But a wall of impenetrable silence was erected around Washington during the months leading up to 9/11 and Susan Lindauer was just another patriot who had become expendable for political convenience.
Lindauer kept trying to get what was obviously vital information through to the appropriate Intelligence directors. She tried for months. Right up to the final days before the attack happened. What Susan knew placed her career, her credibility, and ultimately her life and the lives of her family in danger. The Patriot Act that she believed was designed to her protect her as an American citizen was used instead to treat her as a criminal for doing the job her government asked to her to do!
Extreme Prejudice is an important book. In fact, it is vital to the survival of every American that this information be disseminated and understood. American rights are imperiled as they have not been since 1776. And most Americans either don't know it, don't think it applies to them, don't want to know or are too afraid to face the reality of their precarious situation. They think what they don't know can't hurt them but it's actually the other way around: what you don't know about your own government could leave you with no protection at all. None. Better to know what you can do to prevent such a disaster than to wait for the next attack in ignorance of where the worst threat comes from.
I believe that this is an important read. This is a significant book. That being said, it would be in everyone's best interest if Ms Lindauer would have an editor go through this book, tighten it up and then re-release it as a second edition. The redundancy interferes with the flow, flow which is required to keep the reader engaged. She has a every right to be angry and distressed with those who put her through this illegal ordeal but in order to have more people pay attention and take her message seriously there needs to be more exposure to her words. I would like to recommend this book to many of my friends, however I know that many of them will be too frustrated with the break in flow and the repetition to finish the read. Five stars would have been my selection without the redundancies. Thank you Ms.. Lindauer for your story. No one should ever have to go through such an ordeal, especially someone who had dedicated a portion of their life to keeping those who tortured her safe and who provided information which should have kept countless of innocents from harm.
Susan Lindauer's book, Extreme Prejudice, narrated by Rebecca Roberts has occupied my mind regularly in the last week, whether or not I've been actively listening to it. It is well worth the listen & should be required reading/listening if you ask me. This is ostensibly my review of her book & Ms. Roberts performance of it, but with as much as it has occupied my thoughts in the last week, I felt compelled to write a significantly longer post than my standard reviews (which are never on the short side anyway). Before I listen to a book by a new author to me, I generally will glance at some of the other reviews. With a title like this, I knew first off it would probably be somewhat polarizing. Several reviews cite her "hatred of the Republican party." And, yes that comes through, but given her experiences, I can't blame her. Part of what made me decide to listen to this next was based on another book I recently read that shall remain anonymous at this point that was full of some fairly right wing propaganda & I needed to essentially wash my mouth out a little after reading it. That being said, I did NOT feel like this was a particularly partisan book, nor did I feel like it was filled with any kind of propaganda. If you go into it expecting it to focus solely on the coverups surrounding the pre-9/11 & pre-Iraq war intelligence, you may be disappointed. One reviewer rated it at 1 star with only the comment "Its Not About You."
Why not?
When one persons constitutional rights are stomped on as hers, without question, were for years, why should her story not be heard in full? Does she come back to the same things repeatedly? Of course. It's restating her thesis again and again & proving it again and again. I realize by writing this review, I may be expressing some unpopular opinions in some circles. I'm ok with that.
Our 2 party system is so messed up and this most certainly highlights the corruption and disgusting lengths that those in power will go to in order to remain in power, and avoid responsibility for their own corruption.
I don't take Ms. Lindauer as the final authority on these things. I felt compelled to look up some of the facts. Here's a website that has some of the facts & media coverage of her story: https://www.wanttoknow.info/911/9-11_... .
You can google her name & like anything else, there is a glut that comes up from multiple views. Whether or not she had evidence of 9/11 before it happened, and whether or not Iraq was ready to give the US everything it wanted & more through diplomatic channels before the war began in 2003 becomes a completely moot point to me when her story is considered. She was completely denied any kind of due process. Our criminal justice system is a joke where the wealthy & powerful remain wealthy & powerful, and the rest of us its a roll of the dice that can be dependent upon a judges mood on a given day (Being sentenced after lunch has been shown statistically to result in lighter sentences than before lunch for example).
Thank you Ms. Lindauer for sharing your experiences with us in such great detail. My only complaint about her slight "Democrat" bias is the use of campaign speeches of Pres. Obama, while neglecting the fact that within months after his election, while receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, he was authorizing drone strikes in countries we were not at war with on American Citizens.
The Patriot Act is one of the most egregious laws passed by congress ever. The updated 2015 Freedom Act that replaced it is little better. When people like Susan Lindauer are arrested after having done the job they were asked to do so that those in power can remain in power, when the Edward Snowden's and other whistleblowers are forced to flee their homeland for revealing the abuses of power of our elected officials and the behemoth that is the government of the United States of America, we need to wake up.
And now we have a reality show in the oval office announcing policy via kneejerk twitter real time reactions. It will only get more absurd from here people. The slim amount of people who actually bother to vote is appalling, and the amount that we accept what we are spoonfed by the 2 parties is equally appalling. The some 80 percent of us that identify in the staunchly moderate center would really appreciate it if we could change how the power of the 10 percent on both the extreme right & extreme left are given the loudspeaker for all things political.
So... I've certainly gone on a lot more than my ostensible review. To sum it up, I found her book brilliant & thought provoking. Rebecca Roberts did a superb job with the narration, capturing Susan's tone as well as other professionals very well throughout the book. Susan Lindauer, like any of us, has a few blind spots. But that's part of being human. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. If you want to read even more of my reflections on this book, you can go to my website here: https://www.bennyfifeaudio.com/post/m...
I received a copy of this audiobook from Storyorigin, but the views expressed are, quite obviously, my own & have not been influenced by the author, narrator, or Story Origin.
The main idea of the book is that 9/11 was allowed to happen to get the US into another war, & Susan was placed into a Federal prison to silence her in re to what she knew ahead of 9/11. Susan was a secret CIA operative for about 10 years working on various Middle East peace plans. The 2nd Iraq War was really about making money for the Oil companies & the Military Industrial Complex. It was also about getting control over Iraq's oil & getting control over the US population. She is very critical of the 2nd Bush Administration's handling of the War, & she compliments the Clinton Administration's handling of the Middle East. I agree with everything in the book. She accuses the 2nd Bush of placing her into a Fed. prison on purpose. She also accuses the 2nd Bush Admin. or some faction in it of having placed bombs in the Twin Towers before 9/11. She claims they knew about 9/11 & let it happen. The CIA had an office in the Twin Towers. It's also revealed that an Arabic faction of terrorists were in on the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. I don't completely agree with her about Psychology, but she is right there are abuses within this profession in re to the Federal prison system & the Federal Courts. I believe in Psychology but all professions have issues. The forced drugging of her to silence her is a crying shame similar to what happened in the USSR & other dictatorships. This use of Rx Drugs should not be allowed in the Federal Courts or its prison system. The off- shoot issue of this book is that the US Patriot Act should be repealed. It caused all of her problems. The only issue I had with this book was the length. It runs at 410 pgs. It could have been summarized down to about 250. All in all it was a really good book, & one of the best conspiracy books I have ever read. She is a courageous person for writing it.
This book is shattering. It shatters any illusions you may have had about the inate integrity of the U.S. Government. It is shattering in that it deepens the worst suspicions you may have ever entertained about the assassination of JFK to the events of 9/11.
This book is mesmerizing, a cross between a really enthralling Stephan King and John Grisham novel.
This book is terrifying, because beyond a shadow of a doubt (the facts have been checked and double-checked, and no one, so far, has come out with a repudiation) it is a true story.
While middle America still blissfully holds on to the delusion that their constitutional rights will be upheld simply because that is the American Way, laws such as the Patriot Act have recently been passed that give the U.S. government the right to arrest, detain indefinitely without indictment, force psyche-affecting drugs on and even murder, anyone, U.S. citizens included, if they are suspected of endangering U.S. security. In other words, what most Americans declare to despise most of all in totalitarian "communist" regimes, they accept with a shrug of the shoulders in their own country, thinking that if a person is accused by the U.S. government, he/she must be guilty.
What these new laws do most of all is invite misbehavior on a grand scale. If a citizen criticizes the government's actions or absence of action too loudly, especially if that citizen works directly or indirectly for the government, such as was the case with Susan Lindauer, then that person can be simply done away with, without even as much as an explanation, on the grounds that it is "secret" and the reasons cannot be revealed under the guise of "national security." That, of course, was and is always the tactic of a totalitarian government, not an open democracy such as the U.S. claims to be.
Who are the real patriots, finally, the ones who go lock-step with what the government demands, or those who question and demand justification? If the U.S. citizenry had acted responsibly and critically, they would never, for example, have accepted the invasion of Iraq by their government in 2003. Neither would they have accepted the sanctions that caused the death of so many innocent Iraqui civilians.
I strongly recommend this book to everyone who is seriously interested in knowing what is really going on in the United States. It is a non-edited version, which means there are many annoying repititions, but just ignore these and concentrate on the story as it unravels and all of its revelations.
This is a self published book through Amazon Create Space. We as Americans are so lucky that at this time this book could be published. I don't believe a large publishing house would have printed this book without keeping the truth from getting out with major editing. This book has some grammatical errors but I overlooked them as the content is so compelling. The book explains how Law of the land is being eroded, (Our Constitution). All American's need to invest time into staying educated about the happenings of our country. Stay Proud of what our forefathers have fought for and fight to preserve our rights. No matter what political affiliation you are, Democratic, Republican, Independent, etc this is a must read. Scary how if you go public and criticize our government you as Susan Lindauer's did, you most likely will end up in jail for years. We as a country owe it to ourselves to stay vigilant and fight to Preserve our rights. It is so sad that you now can be imprisoned to keep the truth out of public knowledge. With all the TV movies they make these days, the Thrillers and Sci-Fi this is a True Story that you will wish was make Believe. Sadly, it is Not make believe but it is ALL TURE. Wake up America we are letting them erode our rights daily. Thank you Susan Lindauer for opening our eyes. Thank you Rebecca Roberts for taking this hard subject and keeping me focused. I highly recommend this book.
I read this book for the first time a number of years ago. Although I believed Susan’s story there was always that lingering thought that it just couldn’t be that bad. But with the recent unfolding of political events that have revealed the corruption of the FBI, Justice Department, etc. I decided to read the book a second time. Susan has once again been an accurate predictor of future events. I wonder if political outcasts, such as Roger Stone, are having the Patriot Act invoked against them. Of course we would never know since that would be a “secret”. Some are saying we are already a post constitutional nation. Wherever your political beliefs lie, we should all hope that President Trump will push for the removal of the Patriot Act - something President Obama failed to do.
This book’s content is an eye opener to what has happened and could further happen to our constitutional erosion. The citizenry of this country should not fall in to the slumber of indifference. This book should be read by all sincere and civically conscientious persons that are concerned with our State of the Constitutional Union. My rating is based on the thoroughness of the author’s contents. Her genuine sincerity for our Country’s wellbeing as it should be represented by not defiling our constitution, by weak minded and weak spirited self interest group/s of power seeking individuals; control freaks with criminal intent.
Please don't hate me but I was unable to get into this book at all. I must have re-started it like 5-8xs thinking that maybe I am just having a problem focusing. If that was the problem, I was never able to fix it. It really hurts my soul to have to give up on a book. But with this website turning the book red, my OCD just made me write something! lol. I'm going to give it a few weeks. Try it again, and hopefully I'll have a really big edit on my review. Oh, but I did enjoy the narrator. I thought she did an excellent job.
I don't think of myself as naive, and I certainly don't believe everything any government tries to sell, but this book is so one-sided, so anti-government, and so self-important (at least it seems to me that the author is) that it was a struggle to listen to it. I understand that this book was written as a memoir, but I find it hard to believe that the author was THE ONLY ONE who knew about all the terrorist threats, THE ONLY ONE who was able to talk to all the Arab diplomats, THE ONLY ONE of "the right side". I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Compelling book. Highlights the dangers to US citizens with the Patriot Act. Also highlights the corruption in the court system and how basic American rights can be denied. The book however, could have been reduced by half. The author consistently left the narrative which was quite frustrating. Wish she would have used a good editor to clean it up before publication.
Very good read and interesting and scary insight into the inner workings og US government, could have been half as long as the author tend to repeat hear self,
Very disappointed, this book could have been so much better with professional editing to remedy the endless repetition and rewriting so it sounds less like a paranoid rant.
I am not sure how convinced I was of Lindauer's story while reading this book but came around towards the end after I started reading some of the blogs she mentioned and took into account the fear the prosecutor had of letting her go to trial. It is a horrifying story and falls into that category of you can't believe it until it happens to you.
However this book desperately needs an editor. The same things are said over and over. I understand that Lindauer would be very angry and writing this book would be quite cathartic but some sentences really are said 3 or 4 times and injustices, warnings and achievements are repeated again and again (just in case the reader forgot). Hence this book is harder to get through than it should be and I think more people will give up on it than they should.
I had moments where I had to some out. And still I found it a bit redundant. Sharp the author went through is tragic, but she could have condensed it. I got this book through storyorigins and this is my voluntary and honest review.
A re-write of our history from the inside by someone who was there - the story we have been told by MSM and governments about Iraq is a Grimm's tale.. We live in troubled times and Ms Lindauer has seen the belly of the beast up close. Should be required reading for anyone wishing to understand the role, nature and tactics of the USA in shaping the times in which we live. You can in places fault the writing style, you could also criticise the writer for being a tad egotistic but to do so would be churlish in the face of her extreme courage and tenacity in seeing through a personal nightmare and surviving to tell the tale to us all. Painful and gruelling perhaps, but the truth will set us all free.