Review: The Dark Side

The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
My reaction to this book has proved to be extremely conflicted. It was recommended and given to me in audio format by my good friend Richard. I had previously seen this title climb the NYC best-seller list and had resisted my urge to run out and buy it. This is partially due to the ever-mounting pile of books which has collected by my bed stand, and also my fear that I would just be reinforcing some deep stereotypes against the last administration and their policies without really adding to the depth of my understanding of this "War on Terror" that we seem to be pursuing on so many ill-advised fronts. So yes, reader beware, this reviewer is a liberal, though I hope not rabidly so.



The work as a whole, was undeniably worth the time that I took to listen to it. And yet, as far as I got, it was everything that I worried it would be as well.



Much of the beginning of the book was certainly a good review on the lead up to our wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. It brought out a familiar cast of characters which most alert citizens have already been aware of for some time as well as a number of names of politicians, staff members and lawyers that skulked in the background of the escalation, greasing the proverbial wheels. I already knew the bulk of this message from following the news however, and the book primarily filled in the details. While I know that this type of information deepened my understanding of the process and how we seemed able to so rapidly descend, as an entire nation, into a culture of irrational fear, it still occasionally seemed trite and pointless.



I suspect that Mayer was attempting to maintain a journalistic distance and just stick to the facts, but in the parade of names and associated actions, I couldn't always escape the feeling of a long, drawn-out, finger-pointing barrage. Yes, these people did some things that I find reprehensible. Yes, people should know about them and not just scapegoat the figureheads of Ashcroft, Cheeney and Bush. But what I was really hoping to read between the lines was some sort of insight into how the nation was so thoroughly led by the nose. Why the political machine that should connect reality and the popular voice to government broke down so completely. Why the media stood by so complacently...



It is clear to me that most of the people who are most responsible for what I think is a gross violation of human rights and a tragic misdirection of the popular attention away from what should have been the big issues of the last 8 years will not face the appropriate legal judgment for their crimes. In fact, if it was up to me, I wouldn't even have Obama waste the political capital on such an endeavor - which would be certain to deepen the partisan rift we have in ideologies in the US. So, given that information, I was hoping to glean a deeper message (either directly or indirectly stated by Mayer) on how we might think of guarding against this type of manipulation in the future. Perhaps I just didn't pay close enough attention, but to me the name-game just started to feel tiring and depressing. Unfortunately, finger-pointing rarely gets us anywhere.



For the positives, I think the book really managed to flush out Cheeney's background for me, filling in a large gap in my knowledge and eliminating the two-dimensional villain I had mentally painted. I came away from the book with a better understanding of the man, and feel I can understand his motives much better - though I still reserve the opinion that they were extremely paranoid and misguided.



Bush's character was also illuminated for me. Although I long ago turned away from the portrait so hyped in many liberal outlets of a man too simple of mind for the job, I only recently reconciled my thoughts into a coherent picture of his leadership style. This book reconfirmed my suspicion that Bush was a man who fell prey too readily to the mentality of "us vs. them" in both his personal interactions and world view. This appears to have led Bush to a fierce sense of loyalty and trust in his closest advisers when prudence would have dictated that a wider range of voices should be heard. It likewise led him to ignore all nuance and go straight for the jugular when dealing with the perceived enemies of the USA. Bush is a somewhat tragic figure in the sense that I believe that he never stopped trying to fight against what he thought to be the biggest threat to our country even against some staggering criticism. In the end, he is genuinely hurt and surprised that the public doesn't share his mentality.



About halfway through the book, many pages are devoted to the "interrogation" methods that have been reinstated under the last administration (i.e. torture). Mayer's detailed descriptions of these proceedings, paired with the vast intelligence on their ineffectiveness and tendency to produce false testimony was enraging. While listening to this section, I found myself more angry than I have been in years. I was literally banging around the room practically shouting at my mp3 player in appalled rage. I had to stop the book and listen to something more soothing for a while. So, while I think that it is critical for people to know what has been going on, I have to admit I returned to the book only reluctantly.



After that, I finished out the section describing the torture methods and listened until I had gone ~2/3 through the book. Between the disheartening questions that this book caused to resurface in my mind and my tantrum stint, my energy was spent. I kept the book file for quite some time, waiting for the will to return to polish it off, but it never returned.



The emotional impact that the book gave me is an indication to the importance of the subject matter and of Mayer's talent in her prose. Hence, the high rating I have given this book. However, without knowing the finale of this book, I am unsure if she ever derived some deeper, more philosophical conclusions. And without this, I fear that the effectiveness of the work is fatally flawed.




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