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Objective Troy tells the gripping and unsettling story of Anwar al-Awlaki, the once-celebrated American imam who called for moderation after 9/11, a man who ultimately directed his outsized talents to the mass murder of his fellow citizens. It follows Barack Obama's campaign against the excesses of the Bush counterterrorism programs and his eventual embrace of the targeted killing of suspected militants. And it recounts how the president directed the mammoth machinery of spy agencies to hunt Awlaki down in a frantic, multi-million-dollar pursuit that would end with the death of Awlaki by a bizarre, robotic technology that is changing warfare--the drone. Scott Shane, who has covered terrorism for The New York Times over the last decade, weaves the clash between president and terrorist into both a riveting narrative and a deeply human account of the defining conflict of our era. Awlaki, who directed a plot that almost derailed Obama's presidency, and then taunted him from his desert hideouts, will go down in history as the first United States citizen deliberately hunted and assassinated by his own government without trial. But his eloquent calls to jihad, amplified by YouTube, continue to lure young Westerners into terrorism--resulting in tragedies from the Boston marathon bombing to the murder of cartoonists at a Paris weekly. Awlaki's life and death show how profoundly America has been changed by the threat of terrorism and by our own fears. Illuminating and provocative, and based on years of in depth reporting, Objective Troy is a brilliant reckoning with the moral challenge of terrorism and a masterful chronicle of our times.… (more)
User reviews
Shane handles the subjects very thoughtfully. He covers all sides of the arguments fairly and thoroughly. I found myself leaning for the use of drones, then against their use, and back and forth several times. In the end, I don't really know where I stand on the use of drones, but I do know that this book gave me much to think about in the future to resolve the issue in my head. And that is what makes this book so good. It is a rare book that doesn't have an author who tries to get you to take his point of view. Shane manages to not do this very well. It was a very thought provoking book. Great job!
Shadowing the biographical story of Alwaki, Shane presents the dilemmas facing America in our struggle with terrorism; both moral and legal and the paradoxes that are created. Is it morally wrong to torture yet legally right to assassinate, for example. Strangely, the opinions supporting both positions were prepared by the same team of lawyers suggesting that conclusions already decided shaped the reasoning—that is not explicitly stated by Shane but readily derived. The execution of an American citizen without due process is another example.
The author also deals with the increased reliance on drones to strike at the heads of leaders of Jihad in the belief that elimination of leaders will cause the collapse of the various groups one by one.
As a journalist reporting facts, Shane avoids both personal opinions and offering advice about solutions to the terrorism threat to America but the overall scope of the book does show the complexity of the problem and ways forward. To back completely away from the issue as well as ramping up opposition both are likely to reinforce Islamic fundamentalist’s eschatological expectations. Doing nothing can be a sign that they are winning and doing more is likely to renew vigor. A middle road is hard to define.
This book is a good provocative read.