Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender

by Kenneth R. Timmerman

“An alarming but necessary book that reads like a thriller. By raising uncomfortable questions, Ken Timmerman has performed a significant public service.”
–Michael Medved, nationally syndicated talk radio host

Some have called it the CIA’s greatest covert operation of all time.

It is an intelligence war conducted behind the scenes, aimed at confusing, misleading, and ultimately defeating the enemy. The goal is nothing less than toppling the regime in power. A network of agents has been planted at key crossroads of power, stealing secrets, planting disinformation, and cooking intelligence. The plan involves sophisticated political sabotage operations that bring in opposition forces who can challenge the regime openly, in a way the CIA cannot. The scope is breathtaking.

Who is the target of this vast, sophisticated CIA operation? Not the mullahs in Tehran or North Korea’s power-mad Kim Jong Il; the target is America’s president, George W. Bush.

Drawing on exclusive information from senior government officials, intelligence operatives, and many others, investigative reporter Kenneth Timmerman provides the full, untold story of the sabotage that occurs behind the scenes at key government agencies like the CIA and State Department–and the profound effect it has on America’s ability to confront its most dangerous enemies. In Shadow Warriors, Timmerman brings to light the vast underground working to undercut our nation’s efforts to win the war on terror–revealing the when, where, how, and who for the first time. He also exposes the Democratic politicians who have sold out America’s national security for political gain.

In Shadow Warriors you’ll learn:

•How the CIA and State Department sabotaged the administration’s Iraq war plans from the start–sparking the insurgency in the process
•How a high-level State Department official gathered aides after Bush’s reelection to insist they owed no allegiance to the president or his policies
•How pre-war intelligence on Iraq was cooked–not by the Bush administration, but by its opponents
•How and why the shadow warriors have leaked details of virtually every covert U.S. intelligence tool used in the war on terror
•How the leaks have devastated our efforts to fight terrorism–such as when a key U.S. ally rebuffed the CIA director’s request for assistance by saying, “You Americans can’t keep secrets”
•Why U.S. intelligence refused to examine important documents detailing the secret Iraqi networks that became the heart of the insurgency
•How newly discovered Iraqi government documents reveal the extent of Saddam Hussein’s ties to international terrorists and the truth about his WMD arsenal

Shadow Warriors shows that George W. Bush never got the first rule of Washington: People are policy. He allowed his political enemies to run roughshod over his administration. This insider’s look at secret White House meetings, political backstabbing, and war-room summits is an eye-opening account of the mind-set that is crippling our effectiveness in Iraq and around the world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

My first Middle East reporting trip took me to Beirut in July 1982, and I've been going back ever since. I've lived in Egypt and Lebanon, have worked with freedom fighters in Iran and Iraq, and been held hostage by Muslim terrorists in a war zone. You can read an illustrated bio here or download a 1-page author's bio here.

My latest book, And the Rest is History, is a real life adventure story of how I became a hostage, an arms dealer, and an Israeli spy. Dennis Prager called it "a relentlessly interesting book." In my day job, I help victims of terrorism fight the state-sponsors who murdered their loved ones.

I was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize by the former deputy prime minister of Sweden, Per Ahlmark, for my work in exposing Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Reviews

[Augustus · Rating 4 out of 5]

One strength of American society is its robust freedom of the press, providing a check against tyranny and corruption on the parts of public officials at home and abroad. Until recent years, the exercise of that freedom was somewhat circumscribed by an unwritten consensus that in foreign policy both major political parties worked together to pursue certain basic shared goals like promoting freedom and defending against terrorist attacks. Over the last two decades, however, there has been increased politicization in the U.S. intelligence community, and this book suggests that the historic consensus broke down at an accelerating pace during the administration of President George W. Bush.

This book, by journalist Kenneth Timmerman, focuses on the early years of our millennium when the Bush administration responded vigorously to the 9/11 attacks and toppled the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. The author goes behind the headlines to explore issues like whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD's), the extent of Islamist terrorism as a threat, and sensational news leaks about secret CIA prisons and government monitoring of domestic phone calls. He exposes a U.S. intelligence community split by leaks of national secrets, partisan backstabbing, and schemes of Congressmen who sometimes sacrificed U.S. foreign policy goals in the interest of undermining rival politicians. What may be news to many readers is his citation to a report from the National Ground Intelligence Center that ultimately confirmed Saddam Hussein's possession of WMD's, but only after the press and the public had lost interest in this issue.

It's an engaging book that takes remains relevant as American politics continue to be bitterly partisan and in which many executive branch bureaucrats are often at odds with their chief executive.

One unusual feature of the book is the lengthy appendix with photocopies of key documents attesting to the author's revelations, some of which were first revealed when the book was published.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very intreating read! At first, I picked up this book as a present from my father. I was first captured by the different opinions voiced in the book. First, when I picked up the book I did not expect the detail and factual evidence inside. I was blown away by the amount of detail that Timmerman went into about the inter-workings of the CIA and other Department of Defense agencies. This different outlook allowed me to understand the inter-workings of government agencies during the Clinton and Bush administration much more. Overall the theme of the book was about the everyday worker in the government agencies (shadow warriors). These “warriors”, who were predominantly carrier workers left over from the Clinton administration, were found purposely disobeying the orders of their superiors. This led to policies, from president bush, not being followed in a timely or efficient manner. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about the Iraq war and how the government had troubles implementing policies during that time.

[Joe Longfellow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives the other side of the argument instead of what you read in the newspapers.

[W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deep state screed

[Boozy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, the author spent some serious time researching and documenting the liberal attack on the bush white house as well as the issue of WMD's in Iraq. It's too bad that a lot of what the author is saying is true, since one would hope that politicians wouldn't resort to breaking the law, outright lying and placing political interests above those of a nation at war, but in today's political climate it's viewed as acceptable behavior. Not only by the politicians themselves but by the press that view themselves the watchdogs. I would recommend this book to whomever is interested in the Iraq conflict, as well as intelligence reform, and finally politics during the bush years.

[Rusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will have you boiling mad at the debacle that Iraq has become, and the background reasons why. The author painstakingly, and with background documentation, shows how persons in the CIA, FBI, and the State Department put their personal ambitions and political affiliations above their country's best interests. This book is a must read for all Americans, no matter which side of the Bush fence you sit on.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just goes to show you that you can't go to Washington and play nice. Career bureaucrats don't care about nice only about winning, no matter who is the President.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on how our own govt/politicians are subverting the success/strength of our own Country.