Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander

The bottom line in this book is quite clear: US forces on the ground, consisting of fully integrated clandestine case officers, special operations teams, and selected allied operations officers, were able to find Bin Laden's final lair and track him as he escaped over the course of several days toward the Waziristan sanctuary in Pakistan. Also clear is the reluctance of CIA managers to press the President to order the military to insert a Ranger battalion capable of blocking that escape, and the reluctance of the "all or nothing" US generals to commit troops "behind the lines." The book would normally lose one star for failing to be current with the varied sources pertinent to the story, including Sy Hersh's excellent story on how Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld gave the Pakistani's an air corridor with which they evacuated close to 3,000 Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders over the course of one night. I believe the author of this book when he says that Bin Laden was not among those so evacuated--Bin Laden's style would be to distrust a Pakistani offer of air evacuation, and to want to lead his men directly over ground to sanctuary. Before detailing my extensive notes on this book, let me just note that it cannot be fully appreciated if you cannot read between the lines (for myself, as a former clandestine case officer, this is perhaps easier, but I find the whining about redaction from some reviewers to be naive--the redacted sections are veils, to be sure, but helpful in being shown). This book is also best appreciated if you have first read Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History; Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 and The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB as well as the book by the author's predecessor in field command, First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan I have reviewed all those books--if you don't want to buy and read them, at least read the reviews as preparation for a full appreciation of this book. If you can find it, a used copy of The Black Tulip: A Novel of War in Afghanistan is both fun read and provides atmosphere. A few points really jump out at me and make my fly-leaf notes: 1) The author takes a reasonable shot at "First In" by pointing out that he led a team into the area in 2000 to deliver radio intercept training to the Northern Alliance. 2) He carefully documents that George Tenet's "declaration of war" was meaningless, and not backed up by either resources or management commitment. Tenet was a world-class posturer obsessed with pandering to the President and unwilling to actually lead the operators. The author provides what may be one of the best and most factual accounts of Directorate of Operations petty politics, backstabbing, and minor jealousies. The author specifically slams the Latin Ame

Gary Berntsen is the kind of guy I want defending our country. He's smart, cunning, aggressive and brave. He's out in the field getting the job done intelligently, while the bureaucrats back in Washington engage in second-guessing and back-room politics. He loves what he does and is good at it. Jawbreaker is a fascinating book because Berntsen has no political axe to grind. He simply tells it as it is. The CIA-led war in Afghanistan was a surprising success. But we also made some major mistakes, including letting Osama Bin Laden slip away. Like a good thriller, Jawbreaker captures your attention from the first page and doesn't let go. You find out what it's like to be a CIA undercover operative being called in the middle of the night, saying goodbye to your family and flying halfway around the world in pursuit for terrorists who have just blown up at U.S. Embassy. You fly in helicopters across the Hindu Kush mountains and are deposited on the dusty plains of Afghanistan to work with hardened Afghan warlords. You live on adrenaline, working 18 hours a day directing a war against the Taliban, negotiating for hostages, calling in airstrikes, monitoring the movements of Osama Bin Laden, pursuing other high-value targets, etc. Mr. Berntsen has an amazing story to tell. I credit his co-author Ralph Pezzullo for telling it remarkably well. I've read everything on the top fiction and non-fiction lists, and you won't find a better written, more important book than Jawbreaker. Five stars!

Get this book! Berntsen provides not only an exciting story (must-read, page-turner) as well as a lesson on how to operate in the field. Berntsen was THE field commander who ran the most effective campaign in U.S. history. It was quick and it was fast and it was also, by the way, economical. Berntsen and his team was outnumbered by 1,000 to 1. And yet they were able to improvise and to apply the resources at hand and prevail over an enemy that was sworn to kill as many Americans as possible ... and did exactly that on several occasions (the embassy bombings, the Cole, and finally on 9/11 with the killing of 3,000 Americans at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon). The enemy had planned and practiced and they had defeated the Russians and before them the British. Yet Berntsen describes in detail how "IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS [my emphasis], approximately 110 Agency officers and 350 SF soldiers on the ground with seventy million dollars and the support of U.S. airpower and the help of our Afghan allies" had done what no one else had ever been able to do. You feel Berntsen's frustrations when time and again bureaucrats back in the U.S. sabotaged the campaign with their need to "be the boss" even though they ignored the accurate information they were receiving and bitterly resented the successes by people who were actually in contact with the enemy. The bureaucrats' mantra seemed to be: "Well, just because field operators ask for something, doesn't mean we have to give it to them." You can see how Berntsen applies some basic principles: thoughtful audacity; speed of action; preparation for action and then rapid improvisation when actual real-life events intrude and conditions change; recognition of when change actually occurs. Please get this book! This is a vital book if you are merely interested or, especially, if you have a family member in the military or working in any of the Homeland Security-related fields. Give this book as a gift to a son or daughter; this is history in the making. We need to learn from Gary Berntsen. He lays out some very important lessons that you can actually experience through his eyes. The bureaucrats at the CIA hate this book. It exposes them for what they are!! They are jealous and envious and are willing to sabotage our own safety for their own personal career ambitions. Even though four years have elapsed, the bureaucrats are still running things -- Berntsen describes how they let Osama Bin Laden escape and ... we still haven't caught him... Get this book!! It is important that you read it quickly and pass it and its vital points to others who will continue the fight against the terrorists and against the bureaucrats.

Looking for an adrenaline rush that makes you think? Get Jawbreaker. Gary Berntsen is a no-bull... kind of guy, who goes into the hottest spots and gets the job done. He was sent into Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban and corner Bin Laden, and that's what he did in record time, leaving the folks in DC and CENTCOM scratching their heads. Even when he had OBL cornered, General Franks and the military couldn't step up to the plate with a measily 800 U.S. Rangers. Sickening. There's more. Much more. For example, Berntsen was part of a CIA team that was in Afghanistan with plans to kidnap a OBL lieutenant in early 2000, but was pulled out when people in CIA headquarters got nervous. Thanks. Jawbreaker should be required reading for all Americans over the age of 18. All U.S. Senators and Congressmen should be ordered to read it twice.

I picked up this book this morning and read it with straight through with a short break for lunch. It's a riveting account of the war in Afghanistan by the CIA operative who ran the war on the ground, and a fascinating inside look at the war on terrorism. I found it very exciting to read and eye-opening. Most importantlly, I finished Jawbreaker feeling that I understand better than ever the challenges of fighting the war on terrorism. Gary Berntsen was the man on the ground in Afghanistan. He helped lead the Northern Alliance to victory over the Taliban and had Osama Bin Laden trapped in Tora Bora. He was also part of a CIA team that was in Afghanistan on a mission against al-Qaeda nine months before the attacks on the World Trade Center. Gary Berntsen and his co-author Ralph Pezzullo have done a remarkable job of capturing the drama and excitement of these operations. I felt like I was there. You'll read about the frustrations of dealing with bureaucrats in Washington, negotiating with the Afghan Northern Alliance, running operations against al-Qaeada and directing a very successful intelligence-driven war in Afghanistan with a small team of men under extremely dangerous circumstances. Gary Berntsen is a real American hero. Shame on the CIA for trying to block this book. Kudos to Berntsen and Pezzullo for telling a remarkable story in the style of a real-life thriller. I recommend that you drop everything else and read this book!