Intelligence and Surprise Attack
Failure and Success from Pearl Harbor to 9/11 and Beyond
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Narrated by:
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John N. Gully
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By:
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Erik J. Dahl
About this listen
How can the United States avoid a future surprise attack on the scale of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor in an era when such devastating attacks can come not only from nation states but also from terrorist groups or cyber enemies?
Intelligence and Surprise Attack examines why surprise attacks often succeed even though, in most cases, warnings are available beforehand. Erik J. Dahl challenges the conventional wisdom about intelligence failure, which holds that attacks succeed because important warnings get lost amid noise or because intelligence officials lack the imagination and collaboration to connect the dots of available information. Comparing cases of intelligence failure with intelligence success, Dahl finds that the key to success is not more imagination or better analysis but better acquisition of precise, tactical-level intelligence combined with the presence of decision makers who are willing to listen to and act on the warnings they receive from their intelligence staff.
The book offers a new understanding of classic cases of conventional and terrorist attacks such as Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, and the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The book also presents a comprehensive analysis of the intelligence picture before the 9/11 attacks, making use of new information available since the publication of the 9/11 Commission Report and challenging some of that report's findings.
The book is published by Georgetown University Press.
©2013 Georgetown University Press (P)2015 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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In The Longest War, Peter Bergen offers a comprehensive history of this war and its evolution, from the strategies devised in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to the fighting in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and beyond. Weaving together internal documents from al-Qaeda and the U.S. offices of counterterrorism, first-person interviews with top-level jihadists and senior Washington officials, along with his own experiences on the ground in the Middle East, Bergen balances the accounts of each side.
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More Bush bashing..yes, but still worth reading.
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The National Security Agency was born out of the legendary codebreaking programs of World War II that cracked the famed Enigma machine and other German and Japanese codes, thereby turning the tide of Allied victory. In the postwar years, as the United States developed a new enemy in the Soviet Union, our intelligence community found itself targeting not soldiers on the battlefield, but suspected spies, foreign leaders, and even American citizens.
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Did Vladimir Putin Steal the American Election?
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An unprecedented publishing event: to mark the centenary of its foundation, the British Security Service, MI5, has for the first time opened its archives to an independent historian. The book reveals the precise role of the Security Service in 20th-century British history, from its foundation by Captain Kell of the British Army in October 1909, through two world wars, up to and including its present roles in counterespionage and counterterrorism.
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A very throrough and impartial history.
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Directorate S
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Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
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Slow At Times But Always Horrifying And Engaging
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The Road to 9/11
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This is an ambitious, meticulous examination of how U.S. foreign policy since the 1960s has led to partial or total cover-ups of past domestic criminal acts, including, perhaps, the catastrophe of 9/11. Peter Dale Scott, whose previous books have investigated CIA involvement in southeast Asia, the drug wars, and the Kennedy assassination, here probes how the policies of presidents since Nixon have augmented the tangled bases for the 2001 terrorist attack.
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Full of Interesting Information, Hard to Follow
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Good Hunting
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Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story is the spellbinding memoir of Devine's time in the CIA, where he served for more than 30 years, rising to become the acting deputy director of operations, responsible for all of the agency's spying operations. This is a story of intrigue and high-stakes maneuvering - all the more gripping when the fate of our geopolitical order hangs in the balance. But this audiobook also sounds a warning to our nation's decision makers.
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Fascinating, An education on spying
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The Angel
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As the son-in-law of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and a close advisor to his successor, Anwar Sadat, Ashraf Marwan had access to the deepest secrets of the country's government. But he himself had a secret: he was a spy for the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service. Under the codename "The Angel", Marwan turned Egypt into an open book for the Israeli intelligence services and, by alerting the Mossad in advance of the joint Egyptian-Syrian attack on Yom Kippur, saved Israel from a devastating defeat.
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Buena biografía
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A top-secret US Army Special Operations unit has been running covert missions all over the world, from leading death squads to the hideout of drug baron Pablo Escobar to capturing Saddam Hussein and, in one of the greatest special operations missions of all time, helping to track down al-Qa'eda leader Osama bin Laden. "The Activity," as it became known to insiders, has achieved near-mythical status, even among the world's Special Operations elite.
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Narrator is awful
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The Phoenix Program: America's Use of Terror in Vietnam
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- Unabridged
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A shocking expos of the covert CIA program of widespread torture, rape, and murder of civilians during America’s war in Vietnam, with a new introduction by the author. In the darkest days of the Vietnam War, America’s Central Intelligence Agency secretly initiated a sweeping program of kidnap, torture, and assassination devised to destabilize the infrastructure of the National Liberation Front (NLF) of South Vietnam, commonly known as the “Viet Cong.”
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An Answer To My Unanswered Questions
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The Doomsday Machine is Ellsberg's hair-raising insider's account of the most dangerous arms buildup in the history of civilization, whose legacy - and renewal under the Obama administration - threatens the very survival of humanity. It is scarcely possible to estimate the true dangers of our present nuclear policies without penetrating the secret realities of the nuclear strategy of the late Eisenhower and early Kennedy years, when Ellsberg had high-level access to them.
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Fascinating Insider Story
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88 Days to Kandahar
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- Unabridged
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In his gripping narrative, we meet General Tommy Franks, who bridles at CIA control of "his" war; General "Jafar Amin", a gruff Pakistani intelligence officer who saves Grenier from committing career suicide; Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's brilliant ambassador to the US, who tries to warn her government of the al-Qaeda threat; "Mark", the CIA operator who guides GulAgha Shirzai to bloody victory over the Taliban.
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Honest conclusion based on practical realities.
- By rehman on 03-30-15
What listeners say about Intelligence and Surprise Attack
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Teresa
- 03-23-15
Extremely Thorough and Engrossing
This was an extremely detailed timeline of surprise attacks dating from Pearl Harbor to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. It discusses the intelligence factor of these attacks, whether intelligence dropped the ball or was missed entirely or not acted on even though there may have been advanced warning.
While the audiobook was incredibly good, at times it was a little tedious. That doesn't take away from my five stars though because it was informative and did pose some very interesting facts. One of the earlier points made was concerning the intel surrounding Pearl Harbor. My question is if they did indeed know this was an imminent threat, what could have been done to prevent it aside from evacuation. I'm unsure whether or not we had the proper technology to have stopped it. I just don't know.
I also thought the timeline of events building up to 9/11 was very interesting. Overall, I thought this was a great audiobook and would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in this subject. Erik J. Dahl provides great examples and extensive research throughout the timeline regarding intel for all these events.
John N. Gully did a fantastic job narrating this audiobook. I liked the style he used, informative and reporter like which came across great. He spoke clearly and kept a steady pace. His work was flawless.
Audiobook received in exchange for unbiased review.
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- Christopher DiNote
- 01-09-23
Great scholarship, shaky on actionable theory
The overall theory is incredibly sound, professionally researched and argued. Simply put, policymakers and senior military leaders are much more likely to act on solid, credible tactical threat warning than on nebulous and nonspecific strategic threat warning. Converting that specific insight into an actionable process or culture to drive the intelligence community is a different story. I also applaud the author for dissecting the myths and popular wisdom around the ideas of "intelligence failure," "failure of imagination," and "intelligence reform" that are popularly bandied about as expert opinion. I am especially both personally and professionally grateful for the critique of the Congressional 9-11 Report and its conclusions, which I argue were driven far more by axe-grinding than people want to admit.
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- ltom
- 04-28-20
Contains excellent in-depth research and analysis.
While in-depth, the audiobook does not bog down. The narrative keeps clipping along throughout the chapters. Well presented, also.
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- DAN RODGERS
- 03-15-17
Great narration
Correct pauses and emphasis on every chapter. Very interesting. I learned a lot of important things
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- Jessica
- 03-24-15
Great read and highly interesting.
This book is excellent. Dahl presents the facts without much bias, opting for the logical reasons behind terrorist attacks instead of the "doomed to fail" approach. He is methodical in his presentation of the facts and his conclusions. I found the book quite interesting and would recommend it to friends and family, no matter their level of understanding of the topic.
I listened to the audio version and I found John N. Gully to be very clear and easy to understand. His speed as great.
Great read and highly interesting.
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
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- Robert Franks
- 04-22-15
The Complexity of Intelligence and Applicatiom
Would you listen to Intelligence and Surprise Attack again? Why?
I would listen to Intelligence and Surprise Attack again if I wanted to reinforce the reasoning of how to cut through the fog of intelligence data, and direct proper response actions.
What other book might you compare Intelligence and Surprise Attack to and why?
None come to mind. This book is unique and stands on it's own.
What does John N. Gully bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I feel I am hearing an intelligent conversation and description of the subject matter from John Gully. Kind of like, "This is what you need to know and why". It makes me want to listen to more. I feel I am getting the real deal. No bullshit, no fluff.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Good intelligence and proper actions will keep us safe.
Any additional comments?
Disclaimer. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review. Typically, I listen to thrillers. This book piqued my interest due to the current situation in the world today. Do we have good intelligence? Can we stop a surprise attack? Do our leaders know what they are doing? Are the massive surveillance systems we have in place actually keeping us safer? Is there bad intelligence, and wrong decisions are being made? Think weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. How about the mess in Libya? How about the nuclear issues with Iran? Is there good intelligence, but bad decisions and actions? Think Pearl Harbor. The base questions is do we have the proper intelligence, and are we properly acting on it? This book examines many facets of data collection, and how decisions and actions are taken. The major benefit of this book is to cut through the fog of information to provide a good assessment of intelligence how to properly act on this intelligence. I appreciate the author's ability to make sense of a very complex subject.
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- Kingsley
- 03-23-15
A well researched study of Intelligence failure
As both a non-American and someone with little to no knowledge or background of the Intelligence industry I found this book highly engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. It is well researched, while providing the right level of information and explanation for 'entry level' understanding.
Right from the start Dahl sets out a clear roadmap of what the book aims to achieve and how it is going to get there. He provides a thesis and then what each chapter will contain and how it pertains to that thesis. It straight away gives a good idea of where he is going and helps the reader start to put things together.
Dahl, while referencing reports and dozens of other studies on intelligence, works through a variety of Intelligence 'successes' and 'failures' (although as he states those terms are argued about and are sometimes hard to pin down) starting with Pearl Harbour and moving through things like Midway, the Korean War, embassy bombings, the NYC 'Day of Terror' and September 11. The looks as the event and the intelligence leading up to each event, as well as how those in charge dealt with said intelligence.
Dahl puts three factors together for successful Intelligence - strategic information, specific information, and willingness to act on that information. He suggests that in almost every case we have high level strategic information but not always specific information that can be actioned (my understanding is that strategic information probably informs our "levels of preparedness" nowadays, such as if we are on 'general high alert' but cannot details of where and when attacks will occurs).
Many argue that it is lack of specific information that causes Intelligence failures. While this is often the case, Dahl argues (and shows through research) that it is also often a failure of willingness to act on the Intelligence (both strategic and specific) that causes failure. Intelligence itself is not enough for success, you need people to act on it.
I really enjoyed the mix of history and analysis.
Gully does well with the reading. He is clear, precise and easy to listen to. I enjoyed his work.
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- Emily Robertson
- 08-18-16
Amazing Book, Awful Narration
Would you consider the audio edition of Intelligence and Surprise Attack to be better than the print version?
NO! The narrator sounded like my GPS was reading the book. No intonation or character.
What did you like best about this story?
I like the detail Dahl goes into on different intelligence successes which most authors/researchers fail to include.
How could the performance have been better?
A narrator that doesn't sound like a machine.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
No.
Any additional comments?
A fascinating book, you may be better served to read the paper copy.
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- Tony
- 01-23-21
Repetitive, bad narration
Nice review of a variety of case studies, but the author was hugely repetitive and offered little actionable guidance for a way forward.
Terrible Narration. It was robotic and hard to listen to.
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- Thomas
- 04-21-16
Good Read but Sticks Mostly to Institutional Views
Where does Intelligence and Surprise Attack rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Middle of the Road
Would you be willing to try another book from Erik J. Dahl? Why or why not?
Yes
Any additional comments?
Brings out all of the criticisms about President Bush to include Bush originated 9/11 but leaves the Bill Clinton pretty much alone. For example, no comment about the decision to have the FBI take KSM in Qatar instead of SEAL Team 6. When FBI contacted Qatar government, KSM was warned and escaped. He was the mastermind behind 9/11 attacks and there is question if 9/11 would have happened had he been captured. Of course FBI and government have pushed back against this, makes them look bad. As Hillary Clinton was the Sec of State at the time the book was written not hard to believe.
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