Fred BurtonBesprekingen
Auteur van Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent
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bennylope | 3 andere besprekingen | Feb 24, 2022 | The Islamist militant attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 had become such a politicized issue, so the opportunity to read the Fred Burton and Samuel Katz book "Under Fire, The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi" seemed like a good opportunity to gain an understanding of the true story of the attack. After all the claims and counter claims by the warring political parties in Washington, and talking heads in the media, I was relieved to finally have a non-political, detailed account of the attack. Burton and Katz ignored the political arguments, and did an excellent job of describing the heroism of the individuals responsible for security and protection of the U.S. Ambassador in Libya, and of the horrific attack which occurred that night. They also detailed the lack of government control in the area, the number of militia groups vying for control in Benghazi at the time, and the total failure of the local militia contract to provide protection for the mission.
After initially hearing that the attack may have been prompted in protest to an anti-Muslim film titled "Muhammad's Trial", and then having that story dismissed, I did find it interesting to hear a little more about the basis of that initial possibility. In fact, on the day of the attack, there was a protest of thousands in Egypt in from the the U.S. Embassy to protest the film, and another several days later in the Sudan. At least six other diplomatic missions in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe were subject to protests and violent attacks in response to this inflammatory video, so there clearly was a backlash in Muslim Countries resulting from the film. However, as it was later shown, the attack in Benghazi was a well planned, coordinated attack by Islamist militants intended to kill American "infidels". The debate continues to this day as to whether the militant group was an Al Qaeda linked group or not, but once the shooting started, I don't imagine the security detail felt that was the most important issue they had to face at that moment.
After initially hearing that the attack may have been prompted in protest to an anti-Muslim film titled "Muhammad's Trial", and then having that story dismissed, I did find it interesting to hear a little more about the basis of that initial possibility. In fact, on the day of the attack, there was a protest of thousands in Egypt in from the the U.S. Embassy to protest the film, and another several days later in the Sudan. At least six other diplomatic missions in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe were subject to protests and violent attacks in response to this inflammatory video, so there clearly was a backlash in Muslim Countries resulting from the film. However, as it was later shown, the attack in Benghazi was a well planned, coordinated attack by Islamist militants intended to kill American "infidels". The debate continues to this day as to whether the militant group was an Al Qaeda linked group or not, but once the shooting started, I don't imagine the security detail felt that was the most important issue they had to face at that moment.
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rsutto22 | 2 andere besprekingen | Jul 15, 2021 | Snippets of activities covering Fred Burtons career as a counter terrorism agent. Many of the stories are familiar, some are not. None are covered extensively, so to me it was more of an overview of the areas his agency dealt with.
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rsutto22 | 3 andere besprekingen | Jul 15, 2021 | "The Soviets were to be feared, the Americans, experience had taught, could be manipulated."
This was the situation in Beirut, in the 1980s, when CIA Station Chief William Buckley was taken hostage, tortured and killed. It was a time of wholesale abduction of Westerners. Even the Soviets weren't immune. While the United States created task forces and commissions, the Soviets, meanwhile, got down to the level of the terrorists and got their hostages back in days, not years.
Eventually, the terrorists were dealt with, permanently. By whom...?
This was the situation in Beirut, in the 1980s, when CIA Station Chief William Buckley was taken hostage, tortured and killed. It was a time of wholesale abduction of Westerners. Even the Soviets weren't immune. While the United States created task forces and commissions, the Soviets, meanwhile, got down to the level of the terrorists and got their hostages back in days, not years.
Eventually, the terrorists were dealt with, permanently. By whom...?
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LamSon | Jan 2, 2021 | Under Fire is the account of the attack on the American Special Mission and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya. Relying on local militias as a backup force that for the most part didn't materialize left embassy and annex security forces fighting Islamist rebels on their own. The outcome: four Americans killed, including Ambassador Stevens. This might not have happened had the mission been established with the security features put in place after previous embassy attacks.
It is annoying when a book has a glossary for acronyms and then uses ones that are not listed. Perhaps petty, but still annoying. Otherwise I would have given a rating of four stars,½
It is annoying when a book has a glossary for acronyms and then uses ones that are not listed. Perhaps petty, but still annoying. Otherwise I would have given a rating of four stars,½
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LamSon | 2 andere besprekingen | Jul 17, 2016 | I provided the following review on the Amazon.com Web site and gave the book a five-star rating:
The well-written book is an apolitical account of men and women who found themselves in one of the world's hot spots, Benghazi, Libya, at a time that would turn into tragedy in September 2012. Four gallant servants of the United States of America rendered their lives, while serving their country.
Upon finishing the reading of the book, persons unfamiliar, should take away a basic knowledge (and also hopefully an appreciation) of the Diplomatic Security Service – the who, what, where, when, and why.
The authors do an excellent job providing background and details of places, organizations, political tensions, and people, thereby furnishing readers with an educational source that is not readily available elsewhere.
The pace of the book is rapid, covering background, events just prior to the attack, stages of the attack itself, rescue, and the attack's aftermath, in a manner that reflects support and admiration for the heroes involved.
Several graphics of the attack site are included and are essential for the understanding of the tragic story. The book is well-documented. A helpful glossary is included to assist the reader in coping with numerous abbreviations and acronyms common to government organizations. Several color photos are included that enhance the book. An excellent index is also provided.
Readers should be aware that there is more of this story to be told at a later time, as investigations and fact-finding are still ongoing. Yet, I am glad to have read the book and am comfortable in recommending it to anyone who desires to learn more of those who serve the USA in dangerous places and in unique ways.
The well-written book is an apolitical account of men and women who found themselves in one of the world's hot spots, Benghazi, Libya, at a time that would turn into tragedy in September 2012. Four gallant servants of the United States of America rendered their lives, while serving their country.
Upon finishing the reading of the book, persons unfamiliar, should take away a basic knowledge (and also hopefully an appreciation) of the Diplomatic Security Service – the who, what, where, when, and why.
The authors do an excellent job providing background and details of places, organizations, political tensions, and people, thereby furnishing readers with an educational source that is not readily available elsewhere.
The pace of the book is rapid, covering background, events just prior to the attack, stages of the attack itself, rescue, and the attack's aftermath, in a manner that reflects support and admiration for the heroes involved.
Several graphics of the attack site are included and are essential for the understanding of the tragic story. The book is well-documented. A helpful glossary is included to assist the reader in coping with numerous abbreviations and acronyms common to government organizations. Several color photos are included that enhance the book. An excellent index is also provided.
Readers should be aware that there is more of this story to be told at a later time, as investigations and fact-finding are still ongoing. Yet, I am glad to have read the book and am comfortable in recommending it to anyone who desires to learn more of those who serve the USA in dangerous places and in unique ways.
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SCRH | 2 andere besprekingen | Oct 2, 2013 | Chronicles the growth and activity of Department of State's counter terrorism capability. It's well written and the reader feels like it's right there. If the author wrote another book, I'd read it.
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buffalogr | 3 andere besprekingen | Jan 7, 2013 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
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CharlesSvec | 10 andere besprekingen | Nov 28, 2012 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
This book provides an exhilarating, inspiring history of Israel's tiny Air Force and the extraordinarily fierce and smart tactics they used to preserve their nation in the face of existential threats from their neighbors after World War II. One of the brightest stars in their air service was Joe Alon, a pilot who invented many of Israel's air war tactics and trained a generation of pilots on how to compensate for their inferior equipment and tiny numbers. Alon then came to the United States as an Air Force liaison (and possible spy) until he was gunned down in his driveway in Bethesda, Md.
Fred Burton was a teenager living a few blocks away when that shooting occurred and never forgot it. After he retired, he spent years trying to solve the long-forgotten cold case. He follows not only Alon but also all of his suspects through the decades of the Cold War - through the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the Munich Olympics and many other events rarely told as vividly as they are here. And it's the only time I've ever read the CIA, Mossad and the Montgomery County Police department mentioned in the same paragraph.
For the Israeli military history alone, I recommend this book. But the true-crime espionage story at the heart of the book is exceptionally interesting and ultimately leaves you feeling like Fred Burton really may have cracked the case in the end.
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spacecommuter | 10 andere besprekingen | Aug 10, 2012 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
July of 1973 in Bethesda, MD Joseph Alon was shot to death. Mr. Alon was a high ranking Israeli Air Force pilot, a family man and a diplomatic attaché. Fred Burton, the Alons 16 year old neighbor, was shocked by this horrendous crime in his sleepy neighborhood.
As he grew up, Fred Burton, now a counterterrorism special agent, reopened the case and found more than he bargained for trying to solve this almost forgotten murder.
Chasing Shadows by Fred Burton is an amazingly fast pace, exciting and interesting book. Mr. Burton writes a compelling account of a four decade old unsolved murder which involves Israeli diplomats, American and Israeli intelligence, Black September, the PLO, CIA, FBI, PFLP, the USAF and more.
At the time of the murder Mr. Burton was 16, as he grew up, entered the gray world of intelligence and law enforcement, the crime never left his mind. When he started to investigate he found out something strange: it seemed that none of these entities want the murder to be solved!
That includes the Israeli government who has prided itself on avenging the murder of its citizens regardless of borders and local or international laws.
This very compelling account is not only about the murder, but a small lesson in history to put everything in context. The struggle of the US Air force against the MiG fighters, the birth of the Israeli Air force, as well as the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries, as well as sections devoted to how Middle Eastern terrorism operated in the 70s.
In my opinion, the mystery took a back seat to the fascinating history lesson, but that’s not to say it is not mesmerizing as well. Due to the subject’s diplomatic stature, many of the suspects cannot be named and were difficult to track leading only to dead ends or false leads. However, once in a while, through sheer determination and persistence, Mr. Burton slowly made progress.
The narrative weaves the pain of the Alon family who are being blocked by the Israeli government and his own frustration of running into brick walls at every turn. Mr. Burton is a wonderful storyteller who weaves international intrigue and complicated relationships between people, organizations and countries in a very readable format.
For more review and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
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ZoharLaor | 10 andere besprekingen | Aug 10, 2012 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
The author, Fred Burton, lived near Alon and was 16 at the time. He credits the murder as part of the reason he joined law enforcement and then the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. He well weaves the story of the original investigation which was closed with no resolution, the growth of terrorism (Black September in particular) and Israeli anti-terrorism with his own reopening of the case in 2007 and the eventual 2010 climax.
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surly | 10 andere besprekingen | Jul 1, 2012 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
After retiring he made contact with two daughters of the victim who were still looking for answers to their father’s death. Burton uses sources that he made contact with before his retirement, the first police officer on the scene that night, and others to attempt to track down the person of persons that committed the murder in 1973. Of course he started with the victim, the Military Attaché to the Israeli Embassy. This leads Burton to give us a brief history of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians that started at the Olympic Games of 1972. Was the Military Attaché killed as part of this “Shadow War” or was he victim of a robbery gone badly.
Chasing Shadows is an excellent book tracing the conflict that possibly led to the death on a quiet street in the USA. It is also the story of one man’s search for justice for an invasion in his quiet community that as a teenager he did not understand. He needed to bring closure in his own mind to an occurrence that he did not understand. An excellent book and an easy and enjoyable read. It is fast paced and keeps one’s attention. Highly recommended.
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qstewart | 10 andere besprekingen | Jun 24, 2012 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
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LamSon | 10 andere besprekingen | Jun 22, 2012 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
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gtown | 10 andere besprekingen | Jun 21, 2012 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
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5hrdrive | 10 andere besprekingen | Jun 16, 2012 | ![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/er_tiny_logo2_20h.png)
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DJ_Cliffe | 10 andere besprekingen | Jun 11, 2012 | This fast-paced, non-fiction account of the long unsolved murder of a former war hero turned Israeli diplomat, Joe Alon, (aka Jospeh Placzek) is filled with intrigue, deception and conspiracy theories. I was reading several other books at the same time, as I am wont to do, but once I started this one, the others languished on the table as this story consumed me and I concentrated on it, to the exclusion of all else. It is a case of the truth being stranger than fiction. Can he have been a double agent? Was there a cover up of his murder or was it truly unsolvable at the time? There are many mysteries dealt with in this short book, as we are taken from Brno, Czechoslovakia to Israel and finally to the United States. All of the intervening wars, including the history of Israel and the Middle East conflict, are outlined and somewhat explored in the process. It is a clear and concise explanation that is easily understood and absorbed.
Beginning with the murder of Joseph Alon, in 1973, a tale of intrigue which spans decades is born. Tracing back through the history of this unique man and his family, we are taken from the tragedy of the Holocaust to Israel’s war for independence and right up to the present day. We learn what made him successful and what motivated him to do the things he did. His courage was often tested and his piloting skills in the Israeli Air Force were legend. He was a major force in Israel’s defense forces. He loomed large, once discovered, in the Palestinian terror network. Did politics, international relations and clandestine operations prevent the details of his murder from being explored and solved in a timely fashion? Why was his family kept in the dark about the circumstances surrounding his death?
This is a well written book whose pages turn themselves. You will not be bored as you trace the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, through the life of this unusual hero or was he??? There are so many variables that one wonders if the whole story behind his murder can ever truly be resolved? The conjecture surrounding the secrets and ploys of various governments and their enemies create plots that rival those of a modern day spy novel. The subterfuge surrounding the secret deals between different organizations is often unfathomable. In the end, you will turn the final page with more knowledge about the event than you had before but you will still wonder about what to believe regarding the mysterious death of Joseph Alon. It is a true life tale of espionage.
Beginning with the murder of Joseph Alon, in 1973, a tale of intrigue which spans decades is born. Tracing back through the history of this unique man and his family, we are taken from the tragedy of the Holocaust to Israel’s war for independence and right up to the present day. We learn what made him successful and what motivated him to do the things he did. His courage was often tested and his piloting skills in the Israeli Air Force were legend. He was a major force in Israel’s defense forces. He loomed large, once discovered, in the Palestinian terror network. Did politics, international relations and clandestine operations prevent the details of his murder from being explored and solved in a timely fashion? Why was his family kept in the dark about the circumstances surrounding his death?
This is a well written book whose pages turn themselves. You will not be bored as you trace the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, through the life of this unusual hero or was he??? There are so many variables that one wonders if the whole story behind his murder can ever truly be resolved? The conjecture surrounding the secrets and ploys of various governments and their enemies create plots that rival those of a modern day spy novel. The subterfuge surrounding the secret deals between different organizations is often unfathomable. In the end, you will turn the final page with more knowledge about the event than you had before but you will still wonder about what to believe regarding the mysterious death of Joseph Alon. It is a true life tale of espionage.
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thewanderingjew | 10 andere besprekingen | Jan 27, 2011 | Terrorism, murder, revenge, an eye for an eye, so very little separates one from the other. Small nuances that define our lives. Thin lines crossed by individuals and governments. Who is to say what is right? A statement often attributed to Winston Churchill states, history is written by the victors. As a young man of sixteen, Fred Burton's life was changed forever by the news of a murder in a quiet suburb of Bethesda, Maryland in 1973. The mystery of the unsolved shooting would haunt him as his life followed a career in law enforcement and security analysis. The victim was Colonel Joe Alon, an Israeli Air Force pilot assigned to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. On an otherwise quiet July night, he was shot, execution style, in front of the home where he lived with his wife and two daughters. The murder would go unsolved by the local police and the FBI. Why was this man murdered in the U.S.? Was it a random shooting or was it tied to the history of this Israeli pilot who had fought in the Israeli-Palestinian wars while protecting his country. Reopening the cold case on the killing, Fred Burton traces Joe Alon's life through the formation and defense of the Israeli state, as Alon plays a leading role in the development of the Israeli Air Force. The trail leads across the years through the Middle East to Europe and the United States. The story of Joe Alon is a story of individuals and governments, mystery and intrigue, spies and terrorists, obfuscation and cover-up on many levels, ultimately leading the author to an inescapable conclusion and a moral conundrum. Book provided for review by the well read folks at Palgrave/Macmillan.
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Ronrose1 | 10 andere besprekingen | Jan 7, 2011 | A very well written book taking you into the world of counterterrorism. The author does an amazing job of describing how the world is a constantly changing and dangerous place.
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I put this down in disbelief at how silly the writing was, as if it were a pulp detective novel.