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Book Review: The Way of the Knife Mark Mazzetti. The Way Of The Knife (New York: The Penguin Press, 2013); pages: 378
Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Mazzetti's book The Way of the Knife is a welcome addition to an increasing amount of work on ongoing conflicts. Mazzetti's work is based on extensive research and interviews with key players in a secret war that is going on for the last decade.
The book provides details of debate within political, military and intelligence circles of Washington about controversial policies. He explains how CIA finally emerged as the 'killing arm' for the U.S. president and provides details of debate within CIA about the benefits and risks of the 'kill them all' policy. Career case officers and analysts were either ambiguous or against the program while the Counter Terrorist Division advocated and won the debate within the organization. The book also gives details of transformation of Pentagon and CIA where the former acquired many traits and tools of an intelligence organization while the later entered the battlefields flying paramilitary colors.
Mazzetti's main sources are American therefore the book gives an American perspective of events. However, he provides some information about Pakistani actions too and some interesting details are provided about U.S.-Pakistan relations and its ups and downs in the last decade. In the immediate aftermath of September 11, relations between CIA and ISI were very cordial as the focus was on al Qaeda. ISI provided local support network while CIA opened its files on Arab militants to Pakistanis and set up sophisticated listening posts. The arrest of a large number of alQaeda operatives was the result of this close cooperation.
Mazzeti provides details of one of the most controversial policy of killing 'enemies of the state' using drones. There are strategic, tactical, legal and ethical dimensions of this debate and proponents and opponents of the policy give their views from their own vantage point. Contrary to popular belief, several factors contributed towards increased reliance on drones with the end result that at times it seems that it is the only tool in the arsenal to fight extremism.
Mazzeti explains how drone strikes to kill militants became the center piece of counter terrorism policy in Washington. The President wanted...