] The good news: International intelligence expert George
] Friedman's "America's Secret War," says the United States
] is winning the war against al-Qaida around the world.
]
] Then what's bad news, at least for the administration of
] President Bush?
]
] "The decision to invade Iraq was not a good one and very
] few in the administration thought it was. It was the best
] of a bad lot," Friedman writes.
]
] In short, Friedman contends, Bush didn't really go to war
] because he was worried about Iraqi weapons of mass
] destruction or links to terrorists. But those were
] concerns he could use to sell the war to the American
] people, and now he may pay the ultimate political price
] for that.
]
] Who is Friedman and why should we believe him? His
] company, Stratfor (short for Strategic Forecasting), a
] private worldwide intelligence company, has been given
] credit by Barron's magazine for being "miles ahead of CNN
] and all the other media" for its online reporting. The
] American Spectator has written that "Stratfor is changing
] the way we think about news," while the Wall Street
] Journal said the "predictions have made George Friedman a
] hot property these days."
. . .
] If you prefer books coming from a strong political bias (for or
] against the war, for or against Bush, etc.), "America's Secret
] War" is not for you. But if you wonder how and why things have
] gone the way they have since 9/11, this is a eye-opener.

[adds to book list]

Psst ... U.S. winning terror war (Review: 'America's Secret War')