War by Other Means: An Insider's Account of the War on Terror

by John Yoo

John Yoo, the key legal architect of the Bush administration’s response to 9/11, delivers a fascinating insider account of the War on Terror. While America reeled from the cataclysmic events of September 11, 2001, Yoo and a skeletal staff of the Office of Legal Counsel found themselves on the phone with the White House. In a series of memos, Yoo offered his legal opinions on the president’s authority to respond, and in the process had an almost unmatched impact on America's fight against terrorism. His analysis led to many of the Bush administration’s most controversial policies, including detention at Guantanamo Bay, coercive interrogation, military trials for terrorists, preemptive attacks, and the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program. In fascinating detail, Yoo takes us inside the corridors of power and examines specific cases, from John Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla to an American al-Qaeda leader assassinated by a CIA pilotless drone in the deserts of Yemen. In a midterm election year, when the controversies over the president’s handling of the War on Terror are sure to wage more forcefully than ever before, John Yoo’s War by Other Means is set to become one of the fall’s most talked about books.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, War, Terrorism, Military Fiction, Ebooks

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2006

Reviews

[The American Conservative]

'Yoo’s new book, War by Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror, reads like a slippery lawyer’s brief submitted to a dim judge who gets all his information from Fox News. Though Yoo’s misrepresentations and omissions should provoke outrage, his book will likely receive accolades from many conservative reviewers. This new volume compliments Yoo’s first book, The Powers of War and Peace, which revealed that the Founding Fathers intended to permit presidents to start wars on their own whims, regardless of what the Constitution says.'

Read the full review, "He Wrote the Book on Torture," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...

[Nicholas]

A nearly comprehensive overview of the legal issues faced in combating terrorism that never quite confronts the fundamental question: is this going to be a perpetual state of war?

[Lee]

I had high hopes for this book by John Yoo, a top Bush administration lawyer who emerged as one of the fiercest defenders of controversial policies in the Global War on Terror. Yoo wrote excellent columns in the Wall Street Journal, and left Jon Stewart stammering and frustrating in a brilliant, Teflon interview for the Daily Show. Not an easy feat.

However, War by Other Means fell short of expectations. Yoo is alternately pedantic and dismissive, delving deep into legal precedents and Constitutional theory at some points and constructing straw men at other points. The book also feels disorganized, despite chapters designed to discuss issues one at a time.

There are some good parts of the book. Yoo does a good job capturing the bureaucratic infighting between State, Justice, and a thousand other players in the soap opera of government. He also makes some strong arguments, though these are inadequately challenged by the simplified versions of opposing arguments that Yoo bats aside.

I'd skip this book, and just watch the Daily Show interview.
.

[Ari]

War by Other Means is John Yoo's account of why the Bush administration took the legal positions it did regarding the war on terror. Yoo, who helped argue the legal merits of these positions, is ideally placed to tell the story. The book goes through a number of issues, such as interrogation, detention, and so forth, and explains the legal logic behind the Bush administration's claims, and also the historical and policy reasons for wanting to take that view. It's a fascinating account, lucidly written, and well reasoned. I highly recommend it.

[Adrienne]

This was a clear exposition of President Bush's view of post-911 foreign relations. It's not especially enlightening, but it is helpful to have the Bush playbook all in one place, and in proper English.

[Blake Maddux]

Even if he is wrong, or if you disagree with him, Yoo is very convincing.

[Nathan]

Interesting read. Not surprisingly I disagree with Yoo on several key issues, but it's worth reading his analysis of these weighty constitutional issues.

[Brian]

Speaks like a lawyer, reads like a legal argument. Good book, but wordy and a little repetitive.

[Lance Cahill]

John Yoo is a clear writer who offers a unified theory of executive power that results in clear conclusions. This particular book is an effort by Yoo, to an extent, to defend his work during the Bush Administration (the so-called torture memos) and provide commentary and develops through 2006. The book is broken down into topical areas including whether the 9/11 attacks constitutes an act of war, absent Congress’ declaration; application of the Geneva Convention to combating terrorism; targeted killings and assassination; the Patriot Act; NSA/wiretapping; Gitmo, interrogation and military commissions.

Inherent in Yoo’s discussion is his view that the powers to make and declare war are distinct and the Constitution’s text is clear that Congress has the power to declare war and the structure of the Constitution is clear that the executive has the power to make war, with Congress providing a check through its power to provide or suspend funding. This is elaborated in further detail in Yoo’s other book, The Powers of War and Peace, but is assumed in the discussion.

Overall, Yoo’s book is an interesting overview of the legal arena that animated the war on terror. It’s valuable insofar as the book challenges the commonly held (and unchallenged) premise that legal bounds were exceeded, as a matter of course, during the first five years after 9/11, even people differing on whether it was unprecedented or unwise. Rather, Yoo argues that steps taken in the war on terror were within the legal framework given to the executive branch to make war. Moreover, the nature of Al Qaeda allowed for a different legal framework as it related to the processing of captured combatants when compared to traditional adversaries.

[Serge]

Also introduced this insider's account of decisions made witihn the Office of legal Counsel to support Presidential war powers after 9/11. Yoo's reading of the Article II powers of the President really does not allow for any meaningful checks by Congress and only grants the Courts the power to declare evidence obtained through warrantless surveillance or coercive interrogation as inadmissible. This book offers my students balance in weighing the arguments for and against Guantanamo detention and interrogation.

[Kevin]

Very intriguing look at the politics and legality of the Bush White House and DOJ’s response to al qaeda and 9/11. Discusses the separation of powers between branches of government, historical precedent and how to define war and enemy combatants. Also reviewed the treatment of captured enemy combatants, torture and how to give them judicial due process. Slightly dated, but I’d highly recommend it!

[Dale]

I am not a lawyer so I am not sure I got everything out of this book the author intended me to get. No doubt that Mr. Yoo was at the heart of the early years of the war on terror. That would probably make him part of the problem so I think the book is largely an explanation of actions taken through a legal lens.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[AttackGirl]

The “law” is so tricky and used for whatever purpose they want. This reminds me of when Trumps Attorney General Barr created new law. Of course here you will hear that they just pulled up old methodology to meet the needs of the day.

What makes us any different than Barbarians?