Against Us: The New Face of America's Enemies in the Muslim World

Jim Sciutto isn't one of those typical Network Television reporters who dashes around war zones pretending to get shot at constantly and know more than the rest of us. He is a even-handed student of the Islamic world, attempting in his own humble way to understand the ire and distrust that exists therein. I expect the negative reviewers, of whom there are few here, have not spent time in "moderate" Islamic countries like Egypt or Jordan, where entire populations have turned against the Bush Admin's blundering attempts to impose American "interests" on the the utter chaos that grips that part of the world. The top highlight of this book is a chapter on an Iraqi doctor in Baghdad who was "all-hail-to-the-Bush-Admin" when the war started and now believes every Anti-American conspiracy theory that raises its ugly head. Note that he is a Shiite Doctor, not a Sunni. It is important to know the difference! He was a supporter of "our man in Baghdad," Ahmed Chalabi, and now -- after treating thousands upon thousands of bloody victims from a holy war that had never existed in his homeland before the arrival of US troops -- he is thoroughly disenchanted with the American approach. Don't take my word for this. Read the chapter and you decide. Also, as one who spent several years in Egypt, and who has many good friends in that troubled land, I want to thank Jim Sciutto for digging up and revealing one of the most obvious but under-reported stories in the Islamic world today: American allies who love to torture! Sciutto takes the time to find a blogger, Wael Abbass, who runs Misr Digital, a blog that documents government abuse. Prison guards (Sound Familiar!) who happily videotaped and photographed torture sessions with government enemies, have provided Wael with footage from inside Egyptian prisons. Did we think they were torturing would-be suicide bombers? No. Actually they torture the moderates who are fighting the authoritarian regime that Washington supports! As Jim writes, "One woman ... is hog-tied to a broomstick suspended between two chairs. Her arms and legs are swung over the top, the backs of her knees resting on the stick. leaving her body hanging like an animal in a barbecue pit....She is still wearing her jewelry. Tears stream down her face." Why do we hear so little of this reported in the main stream press??? And, yes, we still give Egypt 2 billion a year for its own "security." Hmm. And our CIA Director told Charlie Rose that the US takes Egypt at its word when they say they don't torture. We work closely with Egypt whenever we want to "render" a "bad guy." Can anyone wonder why even the moderates now accuse us of double standards? (Or was that the SAME standard?) The founders of our great nation spoke of inalienable rights. They were talking about the human condition and they had set out to defend you and me. (Human beings of all persuasions.) These values are universal and -- low and behold -- most in the Islamic world also hold them to

Sciutto's book is a must read for anyone interested in knowing what's really going on all around us. Concise, informative, thought provoking, and entertaining.

The introduction of Against Us begins with author Sciutto discovering that his neighbors in the London suburb of Notting Hill are terrorists. It also expresses discordance between the conventional image of terrorists and that of his neighbors. Each of the remaining chapters profiles a few individuals primarily in the Middle East that oppose American presence in the Middle East or American foreign policy towards the Middle East. As a result, these individuals (and others) are drawn to political camps that oppose the current regime (supported by the United States as in the case of Egypt or Pakistan), or to camps with extremist agendas. The reader may expect terrorists to be religious fanatics or desperate, and perhaps to be a little crazy. This book turns that image on its head. Those profiled include an electrician in Saudi Arabia who considers himself a Jihadi; a Jordanian college student majoring in marketing who voluntarily went to Baghdad to kill American soldiers; a Christian woman educated in the United States who supports Hezbollah; pro-democracy supporters in Pakistan and Egypt who feel that the United States is more interested in maintaining stability (albeit through dictators) rather than promoting democracy as it claims; British-born terrorists who etched 7/7 in our memories; and people disillusioned with US policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. At first blush, they seem like natural American allies, they are well educated, share American ideals of democracy, have economic opportunities, are not particularly motivated by religion, and love their countries and families. It is revealing to read how and perhaps why they have so much animosity towards the United States. The reasons why mainstream moderates are subscribing to fundamentalist agendas are numerous and varied. The interviews do reveal that America is viewed as an ideal of sorts, but is also untrustworthy. The paradox engenders awe as well as anti-American sentiments. What is apparent are the difference in worldview between those living in the Middle East and those living in the United States. The book's objective is not to analyze the reasons for the hatred or provide policy recommendations, its goal is to merely report the sentiments of those interviewed. Armchair Interviews says: A summary of interviews that probe the depth of anger toward America and some of the causes.

Jim Sciutto has made an important contribution to the field of foreign affairs with this new bork. I found it engaging, illuminating and gripping.

Jim Sciutto has produced a powerful book about how people in the Middle East look at the foreign policy of the United States. This book makes you appreciate the journalist viewpoint and the first hand accounts of interviewing just normal people. A great read and one that will make you really think about the upcoming Presidential election.