Assesses ¿whether public statements and reports and testimony regarding Iraq by U.S. Gov¿t. officials made between the Gulf War period and the commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom were substantiated by intelligence info.¿ The Committee reviewed 5 major policy speeches by Admin. officials regarding: the threats posed by Iraq, Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programs, Iraqi ties to terrorist groups, and possible consequences of a U.S. invasion of Iraq. The Committee selected particular statements that pertained to 8 categories: nuclear weapons, biological weapons, chemical weapons, weapons of mass destruction (generally), methods of delivery, links to terrorism, regime intent, and assessments about the post-war situation in Iraq.

The Committee¿s work was shaped by events that occurred in late 2006 and early 2007. Contents: (1) Legislation: FISA Amend. Act of '08; Intell. Author. Bills for '07, '08, and '09; Implementing Recommend. of the 9/11 Comm. Act of '07; Nat. Def. Author. Act for FY '08; Insp. Gen. Reform Act of '08; Law of the Sea Convention; Amend. of Senate Resolution 400; (2) Oversight Activities: Hearings and Briefings; Study Groups; Comm. Inquiries and Reviews; Financial Accounting, Insp. Gen., and Audits; (3) Nominations: J. Michael McConnell, Dir. of Nat. Intell.; John Rizzo, Gen. Counsel, CIA; Donald Kerr, Prin. Dep. Dir. of Nat. Intell.; Michael Leiter, Dir. of the Nat. Counterterr. Center; Patrick Rowan, Assist. AG of Nat. Security, Dept. of Justice.

Failure should not be an option in the presidency, but for too long it has been the norm. From the botched attempt to rescue the U.S. diplomats held hostage by Iran in 1980 under President Jimmy Carter and the missed intelligence on Al Qaeda before 9-11 under George W. Bush to, most recently, the computer meltdown that marked the arrival of health care reform under Barack Obama, the American presidency has been a profile in failure. In Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again, Elaine Kamarck surveys these and other recent presidential failures to understand why Americans have lost faith in their leaders—and how they can get it back. Kamarck argues that presidents today spend too much time talking and not enough time governing, and that they have allowed themselves to become more and more distant from the federal bureaucracy that is supposed to implement policy. After decades of "imperial" and "rhetorical" presidencies, we are in need of a "managerial" president. This White House insider and former Harvard academic explains the difficulties of governing in our modern political landscape, and offers examples and recommendations of how our next president can not only recreate faith in leadership but also run a competent, successful administration.

This book addresses the development, and the challenges and impediments, to democratic oversight and review of the intelligence community in Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the US and UK. The promotion of democratic oversight of the intelligence community has gained renewed significance in the aftermath of 9/11.

With Barack Obama chosen as the new President Elect, it is very important to become informed on the ideologies, mindsets, and beliefs that will guide Obama's Presidency and dominate his principles. My book explains information about the United States Government relevant to United States Citizens. I am an American and wish to uphold the ideals of freedom within the walls of the United States of America. Those values are very important to protect and uphold. True Conservatism is in revival mode in the United States right now, and I am one of many trying to resuscitate it. Conservatism is a unique and interesting branch of philosophy-based ideological preferences for the world, for government, and for society. While Conservatism is still a major contender in the political climate of any election in America, Conservatism needs a revival from the current constraints put on it by the Republican Party. I promote Conservatism of Capitalism, Freedom, Liberty, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. This book is written from that perspective and encompasses a viewpoint not generally portrayed on Television or in the mainstream. Americans, in the wake of an Obama Presidency, should yearn for more knowledge on the man that will guide our country for the next four years. Only with knowledge can we pursue goals. Everyone knows this. I bring facts into this book that have been discussed in very few other media outlets (the coverup going on only begins with Obama, it also encompasses the Democratic Congress who has failed to impose any substantial, helpful legislation).

A timely look at the real costs of leaders not examining their assumptions. Why do accomplished and stable leaders frequently make calamitous decisions with devastating consequences for their countries—and other nations? We debate debacles such as the American involvement in Vietnam, seeking to understand why leaders pursued disastrous policies. In Prisoners of Their Premises, George C. Edwards III argues that the failure of leaders to examine their premises—the assumptions they make about the world and situation they are dealing with—cause them to ignore real problems or pursue policies that, in costly ways, deal with problems that are different than they think or simply don’t exist. Edwards looks at the role of premises in identifying (or ignoring) a problem in a series of case studies that range from strategic decisions in World War I and the Korean War to the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Too often, unexamined premises color initial decisions to pursue a policy and shape the strategies leaders employ to achieve their goals, with grave consequences for their countries, organizations, and potentially the world. Timely and important, Prisoners of Their Premises demonstrates the real costs leaders incur by failing to question their assumptions.

At a critical moment in world history The Longest War provides the definitive account of the ongoing battle against terror. --Book Jacket.