A very fast paced account of the last twenty years of terrorism politics, Clark's account is very informative and insider. This is the first book I've read on the topic. It clearly paints the GWB administration in a bad light for it's poor decision making and it's focus on Iraq vs. finishing the job in Afghanstan. I would be interested to see what others think about what happened.

Some of the interesting highlights:
1. Clinton vs. Bush Jr. -> While both entered the White House underestimating the problem, it really Bush seem flat out self serving vs. Clinton who - while self-serving - actually considered the complexities of international relations.
2. The risk aversion of individual player appears to have clouded decision making. Namely, the penalty for taking action is greater than the penalty for not taking action. This suggests a certain problematic bias within the system.
3. Can a large organization such as the United States, hope to defend itself against Terrorism which exploits the slowness to act and necessitates long drawn out consensus campaigns?