Dark side

By Jane Mayer

Subjects: History, War and emergency powers, Internationaler Terrorismus, Influence, September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001, nyt:hardcover-nonfiction=2008-08-03, War on Terrorism, 2001-, Politics and government, Bekämpfung, Freiheitsrecht, New York Times bestseller, Military interrogation, War on Terrorism, 2001-2009

Description: In the days immediately following September 11th, the most powerful people in the country were panic-stricken. Radical decisions about how to combat terrorists and strengthen national security were made in a state of chaos and fear, but the key players, Vice President Cheney and his powerful, secretive adviser David Addington, used the crisis to further a long-held agenda to enhance presidential powers to a degree never known in U.S. history, and obliterate Constitutional protections that define the very essence of the American experiment. This is a dramatic account of how the United States made terrible decisions in the pursuit of terrorists around the world--decisions that not only violated the Constitution, but also hampered the pursuit of Al Qaeda. Whatever the short-term gains, there were incalculable losses in terms of moral standing, our country's place in the world, and its sense of itself.--From publisher description.