Objective Troy

August 10, 2015
Reviewed by William M. ArkinShane, who for over a decade has covered terrorism for the New York Times, may not be responsible for a bland title or a journalist's lack of emotion, but in his second book (after Dismantling Utopia), such flaws weaken the impact of a monumental event and an otherwise well-reported work. Shane's subject is Anwar al-Awlaki: an American citizen, imam, and propagandist assassinated by the U.S. in cold blood and under secret order. Awlaki was a fanatic and possibly even a traitor, but once he was labeled a terrorist, he was stripped of his rights and transformed into a high-value target like any other—with judge, jury, and executioner descending in the form of a drone-borne Hellfire missile.
Shane tells how Awlaki went from peacemaker and post-9/11 White House guest to the Yemen-based inspiration for a spate of terror plots, including those of Fort Hood soldier-shooter Nidal Hasan in November 2009 and of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Underwear Bomber, a month later. And he tells the story of President Barack Obama, a man who promised much yet whose "cerebral approach" became a "ruthless" pragmatism as he yielded to the world of "reflexive secrecy."
Struggling valiantly to parallel Awlaki and Obama, Shane's account becomes an inside-the-Beltway reporter's book. The whys of American conduct and war against Muslims are not given sufficient consideration. Meanwhile, Awlaki's why is couched in personal flaws and professional disappointment, and even mixed bureaucratic signals; having dispensed with his "pedantic devotion" to his beliefs in the prologue, Shane reports extensively the views of an embarrassed and disappointed (and Westernized) family who are flummoxed by how their favorite son went so wrong.
Shane ably tells Washington's side: the deliberations, the politics, and the desktop derring-do. Though Washington insiders considered Awlaki the "single most dangerous threat to the United States," the terror-hunters seem on an emotional crusade to avenge embarrassing blind spots exposed early in Obama's administration. Shane makes a convincing case that in 2009 the fate of Obama's presidency felt like it was "hanging in the balance," which sounds more plausible than a dispassionate assessment of imminent threat. And, as Shane points out, even after Awlaki was killed in 2011, his online teachings inspired the Boston Marathon bombers and were quoted by ISIS.
The usual Washington suspects justify or second-guess at the end, offering reassurance that lawlessness has been expunged. Awlaki is gone and Obama will soon be too. Yet the "war on terrorism" persists, America is not better off, and a first draft of history does not seem to see the obvious. (Sept.)
William M. Arkin is the national security editor at Gawker Media and author of Unmanned: Drones, Data, and the Illusion of Perfect Warfare (Little, Brown).

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this review misquoted Shane's book; we've removed the quotation in question. The review also mistakenly noted that Objective Troy is Shane's first book; it is his second.

Starred review from August 1, 2015

Anwar al-Awlaki became the first American to be officially targeted for death after he called for attacks against America, praised the November 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, TX, and recruited the underwear bomber who tried to bring down an airliner on Christmas Day 2009. A U.S. drone strike killed him in Yemen on September 30, 2011, after an extensive, expensive manhunt. Using these events as the book's framework, Shane, a national security reporter for the New York Times, examines how al-Awlaki turned to jihad after a moderate upbringing; what the role of modern technology is in warfare, communications, and politics; and how Barack Obama became the drone warfare president. Further, the author discusses the legal controversy around this deadly precedent, and the vastly different perceptions of how terrorism should be dealt with and publicly described. This is another example of how divisive domestic politics can affect international policies. VERDICT Shane's well-written and -researched book provides background information on one episode in the War on Terror that has larger implications for U.S. actions domestically and abroad.--Daniel Blewett, Coll. of DuPage Lib., Glen Ellyn, IL

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 15, 2015
New York Times national security reporter Shane compares and contrasts the trajectories of President Barack Obama and Anwar al-Awlaki, the American citizen residing in Yemen whom Obama ordered to be killed by a drone. Al-Awlaki grew up in an educated Yemeni family. When his parents obtained their educations in the United States, he was born a citizen. He grew up in Yemen and returned to the United States at age 19. Obama was also born in the United States to a foreign father who was a secular-minded Muslim. Then Obama resided in Indonesia, returning to the United States at age 10. Due to 9/11, the superficial similarities between Obama and al-Awlaki became more meaningful. One would react by becoming an elected politician, the other by becoming a Muslim holy man who initially spoke for the moderate wing of his religion. But by the time Obama reached the presidency in 2008, al-Awlaki had unexpectedly become a militant calling for the death of the "infidel" Americans. Obama began to explore whether he had the authority as commander in chief of the military to send a drone into Yemen to kill al-Awlaki, even though the cleric had not been charged with a crime. By the time the book ends, al-Awlaki is dead, as is his teenage son. Shane became obsessed about learning how Obama, a former constitutional law professor, justified the drone strikes, especially given his opposition to the conduct of the war on terror created by his predecessor, George W. Bush. The author was equally intrigued by the change in philosophy adopted by al-Awlaki, which required a return to Yemen, as something of a fugitive, despite a privileged life in the U.S. In addition to following his two principals, the author examines the drone technology that gave Obama the remarkable ability to target someone thousands of miles away. Shane's reporting is superb, and the way he frames the public policy debate makes the narrative compelling from start to finish.

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.