Treachery: How America's Friends and Foes Are Secretly Arming Our Enemies

Zut Alors! Nothing new here about the French. That country has been friends with the US only when they had a vested interest served in doing so. The French have typically done this, going all the way back to the American Revolution and the Barbary Coast (once helping, once hamstringing US efforts). That Gertz reveals the venal nature of Chirac and his crony-ocracy as involved in thwarting the UN sanctions and attempting to avert US military action should surprise no one. It is surprising that Gertz leads off his book with the French and then the less offensive Germans before dealing with the Russians and the Chinese. The documents at the back of the book show these countries to be friends of the civilized world in name only. Saddam's army was found to have 12 million Russian items, 377K Chinese items and only 115k from France. Many of these items arrived after the UN sanctions were in place and were purchased with funds pilfered from the oil for food program run by Annan and the UN. Gertz's salient assertion is that the biggest struggle is still ahead as we demilitarize those that would subvert freedom for personal gain. Hopefully after Beslan, the Russians have begun to change course and restrict arms and technology transfers to despots with petro-dollars to spend. Hopefully the Chinese are also reassessing their support of the DPRK as they tumble like a rabid puppy into the anti-proliferation spotlight. Unfortunately, it seems these autocratic governments are but a financial crisis away from dumping modern armaments and technology at the feet of the highest bidder.

In light of the ongoing revelations of the "oil for food" scandal at the United Nations, as well as other details of treachery among our supposed allies, this book is more timely than ever right now. Gertz documents how, time after time, America's "friends" have stabbed us in the back, even as we have tried to deal in good faith with them. The treachery and naivte and stubborness and selfishness of these "allies" has not only hurt the United States, but they have betrayed the cause of freedom and have seriously jeopardized their own existence, thanks to the more cunning long-term plans of global terror organizations. The Liberal media establishment has done a generally poor job of reporting the facts documented in this book. Why? Because sometimes the facts don't line up with the Liberal political agenda, and since the NY TIMES and CBS take their talking points from the Democratic Party, then the media would RATHER bury the truth and propagate lies. This book by Bill Gertz is a healthy antidote to all of that. Read it and be amazed--and maybe angered--at the amount of deceit perpetrated against America by our European "friends" and our own media.

I just picked up this book yesterday after reading about it on the Drudge Report, and I'm blown away by what Bill Gertz has uncovered. It's truly shocking what the French and Germans (and many others) have gotten away with, and how they've been willing to arm basically anyone who has enough cash to buy weapons. Even more frightening is Iran, which has announced publicly that it is pursuing nuclear weapons. Well, as Gertz reveals, the Iranians are much further along than many people have suspected. The tales of the intelligence failures on this and other matters are jaw-dropping. I have to say, I'm a little puzzled by the comments of the previous reviewers who immediately attacked the book for omitting the role that the U.S. has played in arming dangerous regimes. It seems they haven't actually read the book, because Gertz devotes a whole chapter to the United States. We did in fact make some serious mistakes in arming Saddam, as Gertz shows, but he also makes a very convincing case that much more damaging were our lax security efforts, which allowed our enemies to steal our military secrets. Just read the book, and you'll see that Gertz is the real deal.

This book is a must read. Find out how France and Russia helped Sadam Hussein. Read about the hypocrisy of the french and how french supplied missiles and nuclear weapons were found in Baghdag. Must reading for all Americans. Find out how our "friends" and foes have been secretly helping the enemy.

I obtained an advanced copy of this book, and I was so enthralled, I read it straight through. The subtle intensity of the story wouldn't let me put it down. It was aptly detailed and really made me think about the way the government is running things. The author clearly seems to have incredible sources and contacts, and I am frankly all the more knowledgable because I have read it. As a reporter myself, I have been starved for an intelligent political book such as this one. I don't want to give away any details, but I would HIGHLY Recommend this book for those interested in the real deal behind America's National Security.