The Redhunter

This is the second book of Miniter's that I've reviewed. The first was Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush is Winning the War on Terror While it had a few minor flaws, the book makes a valuable addition to anyone wanting to know more about the War on Terror than you'll find in the newspapers. Miniter is a persistent investigative journalist, traveling the globe in search of information. That he comes up with as much as he does shows in his work.

Miniter's latest is Disinformation: 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror. While there is nothing earth-shattering in the book, it makes a valuable addition to one's library, and I recommend it.

As the title indicates, Miniter goes through 22 myths about the Iraq War and the general War on Terror. He is nonpartisan throughout the book, but it will definately rankle liberals more than conservatives. Of his 22 myths, only two are labeled "conservative myths", and all-in -all they are pretty minor.

The book is divided into 6 sections, with the 22 myths spread between them:

* Myths about Bin Laden
* Myths about September 11
* Myths about Iraq
* Myths about Terrorism
* Liberal Myths
* Conservative Myths

I consider his most valuable chapter to be the one in which he demolishes the idea that there was little significant connection between Saddam's Iraq and al Qaeda. Minter goes through four types of connections:

1) Meetings - Saddam's intelligents agents met many times with al Qaeda operatives. However, Miniter does not believe that there is solid evidence that Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi intelligence in Prague.

2) Money - Iraq funded many terrorist groups, including al Qaeda affiliated terrorist organizations.

3) Training - especially details on Salman Pak, the terrorist training facility southeast of Baghdad. Training included simulated hijackings on the fuselage of a Boeing 707.

4) Personnel - Iraq harbored many terrorists, both memebers of al Qaeda and those of other groups. For example, Iraq harbored al-Zarqawi before the 2003 war. Abu Nidal and Abu Abbas, the latter having planned the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, both found refuge in Saddam's Iraq.

The two "conservative myths" that Miniter takes on are "Racial Profiling of Terrorists Works" and "The US border with Mexico is the most likely place for al Qaeda terrorists to sneak into the homeland. I won't rehash his arguments here, but suffice it to say that although you may not completely agree with him he does make a good case with each.

All in all, Disinformation is a good addition to your bookshelf. While it contains no bombshells, it contains enough information, presented succinctly, to be of much use in helping to understand the War on Terror.