Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Comma...
The Book the CIA Doesn’t Want You to Read
Gary Berntsen, the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forc... read full description
Gary Berntsen, the CIA’s key commander coordinating the fight against the Taliban forc... read full description
reviews
Feb 10, 2012
Jerome
rated it: 
It wasn't bad.
Obviously the censorship cuts down on the story.
This story was very partisan. He unfairly criticizes Bill Clinton and George Tenet for their "lax" counterterrorism policies. He frequently makes sweeping generalizations and anything he disagrees with is blamed on "politics" or "Clinton" or "Tenet" or "Pavitt".
This is definitely not a definitive account, though. He tells a lot more about the CIA than the special operati More...
Obviously the censorship cuts down on the story.
This story was very partisan. He unfairly criticizes Bill Clinton and George Tenet for their "lax" counterterrorism policies. He frequently makes sweeping generalizations and anything he disagrees with is blamed on "politics" or "Clinton" or "Tenet" or "Pavitt".
This is definitely not a definitive account, though. He tells a lot more about the CIA than the special operati More...
Jul 15, 2009
Libyrinths
rated it: 
Berntsen, an experienced CIA hand, was the tip of the spear, as it were, when the U.S. went into Afghanistan after 9/11. This book reads pretty much like a thriller, but more importantly shows how Bin Laden and company managed to escape us at Tora Bora. It isn't deep, and sometimes the writing is uneven, but the first-hand account of our actions in the first weeks of the war is riveting and informative, as well as showing the decisions made higher up, and a bit of how Afghanistan works.
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Apr 12, 2010
Lucas
rated it:
Rather than editing out portions of the book censored by the CIA, Bernsten instead leaves in every deleted word or deleted section marked as such- though fortunately the longer deleted sections have some explanation as to what the contents. It probably reads on the page a little better than in the audio book, but it lets the reader guess at what is in the removed sections, or even play mad-libs and make up the most ridiculous or offensive possibilities.
Bernsten is very critical of C More...
Bernsten is very critical of C More...
Oct 01, 2010
Kathy
rated it: 
Details of some of the military activity from the standpoint of a CIA operative who successfully led detailed missions in the attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaea. The battle of Tora Bora is covered in this book.
One thing that I did not like is that as a result of this man's frustration about the government refusing to release information that was relevant to this book, he included gov't documentation, alot of which had been blacked out by the government for security reasons. This proved that t More...
One thing that I did not like is that as a result of this man's frustration about the government refusing to release information that was relevant to this book, he included gov't documentation, alot of which had been blacked out by the government for security reasons. This proved that t More...
Apr 05, 2010
Zach
rated it:
4 stars for the book's first hand accounts of US early efforts immediately following 9/11. The author provides great descriptions of how CIA personnel and SF troops attempted to work with local warlods to launch assaults, conduct air strikes.
1-2 stars for the author's attempts at policy analysis. The author frequently makes sweeping generalizations and anything that is not authorized is blamed on "politics", "bureaucrats" or "people in Washington", More...
1-2 stars for the author's attempts at policy analysis. The author frequently makes sweeping generalizations and anything that is not authorized is blamed on "politics", "bureaucrats" or "people in Washington", More...
Oct 19, 2009
Justin
rated it:
A truly in-depth description of the timeline between September 11th and the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan by one of the men who orchestrated it. Both a history of events and a scathing attack against the Bush administration (by no liberal hack) for what he sees as the failure to take out Bin-Laden when we had the chance. Berntsen is a warrior before a writer and it shows in his straightforward writing style, which can be coarse at times. Recommended to anyone who can read, his account of wh
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Jan 05, 2011
Charis
rated it:
A fascinating account of the first assault on the Taliban in Afghanistan, written by a former CIA officer who doesn't take any BS and doesn't give it either; something very refreshing in modern military memoirs.
This book needs to be read by every American, not necessarily because it is brilliant literature, but because we need to be reminded the cost of 9/11 - and the hard work and sacrifice made by, yes, intelligence personnel and SOF. The CIA and big military always come off as the More...
This book needs to be read by every American, not necessarily because it is brilliant literature, but because we need to be reminded the cost of 9/11 - and the hard work and sacrifice made by, yes, intelligence personnel and SOF. The CIA and big military always come off as the More...
Jul 29, 2011
Jfarley
rated it:
I was a little taken aback when, after reading the whole thing, I never could quite understand why Frank Rich from the NY Times said something like "this book isn't favorable to the president."
Unless he meant Clinton. The only mention of Bush was the CIA guys being happy that we finally had a president willing to "kick some ass".
I don't need to know what they had for breakfast every morning, and the redacted sections were interesting at first, but quite tedious... it is an o More...
Unless he meant Clinton. The only mention of Bush was the CIA guys being happy that we finally had a president willing to "kick some ass".
I don't need to know what they had for breakfast every morning, and the redacted sections were interesting at first, but quite tedious... it is an o More...
Oct 08, 2008
Will
rated it:
Berntsen was the leader of the CIA piece of the US war in Afghanistan. This is his narrative of the events of that conflict. He is a bonafide Clinton hater, who manages to see errors in black and white, with Clinton, of course, being the black. He reserves his greatest scorn for the “7th floor” the political leadership of the CIA, with particular unhappiness with George Tenet. Although he manages to find fault with Clinton, he cannot find it in him to criticize Bush in the same way for the clea
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Sep 01, 2011
Mike
rated it:
This book is about ############ and all the ##### ######## #######. [redacted by censors protecting their ass]. Yes, there are annoying passages blacked out that would have given context to the backstory and some pertinent parallel operations. Agha Gary, as he is known in-country, starts the story with the embassy bombings in Africa and carries through to mid-Dec 2001 in Afghanistan when he is forced out of his position running the ground war there. Along the way, we meet some very dedicated ci
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Jan 18, 2008
Louis
rated it:
When you think about the CIA and special forces going off to war, a number of movies come to mind. This is real life. And it is different, but better and more interesting.
Gary Berntsen is a CIA officer who was sent to Afghanistan as part of the U.S. response to the World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001 in New York City. After the attack we see him put together a team (there is already a team in place that is laying the groundwork) to go in. It is a story of people who are More...
Gary Berntsen is a CIA officer who was sent to Afghanistan as part of the U.S. response to the World Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001 in New York City. After the attack we see him put together a team (there is already a team in place that is laying the groundwork) to go in. It is a story of people who are More...
Aug 11, 2009
Sjo
rated it:
Recap of Berstein's experience running JawBreaker, the CIA team that essentially led the war in Afghanistan in conjunction with the US military post 9/11/01. Fascinating recap of the local intrigue, political turf battles and the nature of modern integrated warfare between para military and military. Explains why Bin Laden escaped Tora Bora--parts blacked out by CIA sensors due to sensitivity makes this even more haunting as you're left to your imagination certain parts.
Oct 10, 2010
Alain
rated it:
A decent read. Trying to read through so many redacted sections just left me hungry for the missing details. And I am noticing that one of the problems of reading accounts of intelligence and SF operations so soon after the event is that you never really get to know the characters. All the names are false and the biographies so vague and general as to keep the people unknown - which is good for operational security but bad for narrative.
Jul 09, 2010
Larry
rated it:
Gary Berntsen is Gary Berntsen's greatest fan. This is a fantastic story, and the mission of the Jawbreaker team was so crucial in the opening months of the war, but I was distracted by Gary Berntsen's "me" monster complex.
Aug 09, 2011
Craig
rated it:
It was great to here the account from the head CIA officer involved in the early stages of the war in AFG. I would like to read a version that does not have so much of its text redacted.
Jan 25, 2011
Nathan
rated it: 
An amazing account of the brave members of the US Special Forces, the CIA, and our Afghan allies who risked their lives to bring the fight to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan just after 9/11
Aug 08, 2010
Laura
rated it:
Gary Berntsen describes the CIA's involvement in Afghanistan after 9/11. A call comes to his home in the middle of the night and he is off to participate in whatever clandestine operation he is assigned.
Amazing individuals, great love of country and under appreciated because we do not always understand the work they do.
Amazing individuals, great love of country and under appreciated because we do not always understand the work they do.
May 22, 2009
Jenny
rated it:
i haven't read any military history since university but i've been interested in the controversy as of late surrounding the iraq and afghanistan conflicts. this is a great first hand account of a cia commmander on the ground in afghanistan after 9/11 spearheading efforts to defeat the taliban and al-qaeda. he was also deeply involved in efforts to find bin laden. gary berntsen has since left the cia but he continues to lecture and i have seen him on the the o'reilly factor a few times. berntsen
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Apr 07, 2011
Not the best book I have read, but very well detailed on how just a couple of strong willed individuals could have ended a long war before it really started.
Nov 27, 2009
Frank
rated it:
Berntsen gives tremendous insight into what it took to liberate Afghanistan in 2002 -- a lot of ingenuity, guts and determination. An fascinating read.
Sep 08, 2008
Matt
rated it:
Veeeery interesting book. An account from the head CIA guy that went in right after 9/11 to Afghanistan. Interesting to hear about how we actually went after Bin-Laden, and it would have been more interesting had the CIA not redacted so much of what he wrote.
The saddest conclusion you get from this is that we were so close to getting Bin-Laden in Tora Bora...we had a CIA guy that picked up one of their radios, which had their frequency, and heard Bin-Laden's voice. We were close. But becau More...
The saddest conclusion you get from this is that we were so close to getting Bin-Laden in Tora Bora...we had a CIA guy that picked up one of their radios, which had their frequency, and heard Bin-Laden's voice. We were close. But becau More...
Jun 21, 2009
Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander by Gary Berntsen (2006)
Sep 13, 2011
Paul
rated it:
Gary's account of what happened in this world historical time frame (immediately after 9/11) is riveting.
Jul 14, 2009
Emily
rated it:
Great book on the eve of political disagreement on CIA programs and the War on Terror.
Oct 21, 2008
Evan
rated it:
I would recommend reading this book as a pair with "First In," by Gary Schroen, which covers the insertion of the first American operatives into Afghanistan on September 26, 2001. Gary Berntsen, the author of this book, took over the Jawbreaker team from Schroen several weeks later. Berntsen's account of the fight against al Qaeda at Tora Bora is also interesting because he differs so greatly with the assessment of then-CENTCOM Commander Tommy Franks.
Dec 24, 2008
Courtney
rated it:
This is one man's overly macho biography. I didn't really care for his finger pointing and posturing. We get it: politics got in the way. If you want a more comprehensive look at the Afghan war then I recommend Ghost Wars instead.
Jan 31, 2008
Jonathan
rated it:
It's a decent autobiography about a guy who led a interesting life, and it was interesting seeing the war on terror/war in Afghanistan from the eyes of the someone who was behind the scenes, but still right up there in the thick of the action.
Oct 04, 2007
Sean
rated it:
If you enjoy stories about hunting terrorists, this is your book. Also, there are some awesome accounts of Special Forces hiding in the crevice of a mountain, while marking Taliban caravans for laser guided bombs.
Oct 06, 2007
John
rated it:
More fascinating for what's not there - I would have loved to learn more about the various diplomatic and intra-agency forces at play while these brave men were kicking ass in Afghanistan.
