Dark side : the inside story of how the war on terror turned into a war on American ideals / Jane Mayer.

Author: Mayer, Jane.

Publisher: New York : Doubleday, c2008.

ISBN: 0385526393
9780385526395

Description: 392 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

Subject(s): War on Terrorism, 2001-
September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 Influence.
Military interrogation United States.
War and emergency powers United States.
United States Politics and government 2001-
United States History 21st century.

Summary: 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.