THE ONE PERCENT DOCTRINE

Reviewed 2/25/2007

The One Percent Doctrine, by Ron Suskind

THE ONE PERCENT DOCTRINE Deep Inside America's Pursuit of its Enemies Since 9/11 Ron Suskind New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006				Rating: 5.0 High
ISBN-13 978-0-7432-7109-7
ISBN 0-7432-7109-7	367pp.	HC	$27.00

About those non-sentences

I counted eight non-sentences in the text of this book. Non-sentences like this one. I initially added them to the Errata list. However, I finally decided that using such non-sentences falls within the prerogative of an accomplished writer, and is an acceptable way to emphasize a point. Or change the pace.

Errata

Page 32:	"It was odd for Scowcroft not to be called at a moment like this."
	I don't understand this, because it seems clear from the context that Scowcroft has been called.

Page 36:	"In White House strategy sessions in September and October of 2001, officials from FBI, CIA, and NSA—in consultation always with the Vice President—looked in desperation at what tools might be available for the coming battle. It broke down into two large sectors: telecommunications and finances."
	Number error: S/B "They broke down into". I'm assuming the subject refers to "tools".

Page 153:	"Does the bureau sweep the men into custody, just to be safe—the principle that had guided their haphazard actions until then; or put them under tight surveillance..."
	Mismatched punctuation: S/B "then—or".

Page 166:	"At same time—from midsummer into fall—a parallel, more public experiment in applying America's audacious new doctrine of action was under way."
	Missing word: S/B "At the same time".

Page 169:	"...which indicated Saddam Hussein was looking to buy the raw, porous uranium."
	This refers to "yellowcake", which is uranium ore, not metallic uranium.

Page 179:	"He stood up, as the room bustled and stretched for a short recess, and gathered his notes next to the table mic."
	Bad use of abbreviation: S/B "microphone".

Page 179:	"A woman approached him. . . She stopped, up close, and looked at him with watery eyes. You killed my husband."
	My first reaction was "WTF?" I cannot guess who this woman's husband might have been, and Suskind tells us nothing more.

Page 183:	"Of course, it would occupy the President's thoughts that day, and a current of high voltage, directly from the Oval, raced through the FBI and law enforcement crowd."
	Missing word: S/B "the Oval Office".

Page 185:	"There was an up-and-coming player named Zarqawi . . . who'd set up a chemical and biological weapons labs in an outlaw region of Iraq..."
	Extra word or number error: probably S/B "chemical and biological weapons labs".

Page 186:	"It was a day-to-day grind, with slow progress, victories that turned to defeats than back, 'dark side' alliances..."
	typo: S/B "victories that turned to defeats then back".

Page 187:	"McLaughlin and Tenet entered the Oval."
	Missing word: S/B "the Oval Office". (Two more instances appear; both are correct.)

Page 192:	"The Sauds get virtually limitless wealth, a healthy chunk of which they share with their Wahabist accountants."
	Spelling: Should this be "Wahabist" or "Wahabbist"?

Page 204:	"He picked up. 'Son of bitch—we got him!'. It was Tenet."
	I'm pretty sure Tenet really said "Son of a bitch".

Page 232:	"That month, 119 the Israel were killed..."
	Wrong word: S/B "119 in Israel".

Page 238:	"Nine-eleven, with fifteen of the nineteen hijackers from the kingdom, created the greatest fissure..."
	A rule of good writing is not to begin a sentence with a numeral. That is what Suskind is avoiding here. Nevertheless, it seems awkward to spell out "9/11". Also, since it designates a specific month, day and year (the year being understood), both should be capitalized: S/B "Nine-Eleven" or "Nine/Eleven". I would have worked around the need by saying "The events of 9/11" or something similar.

Page 238:	"Nine-eleven, with fifteen of the nineteen hijackers from the kingdom, created the greatest fissure..."
	This refers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, so it should be capitalized: S/B "the Kingdom".

Page 250:	"That was the first part—a major assassination attempt to happen in the late summer; and, maybe, on the anniversary of 9/11."
	Punctuation: S/B "in the late summer and, maybe".

Page 277:	"It was a catalytic relationship, like gasoline on a fire."
	Nit: Gasoline added to a fire is not a catalytic agent; it is consumed in the reaction. This is fine as metaphor, however.

Page 292:	"The Age of Reason ideals upon which the country was founded, championed open, rigorous, fact-based debate..."
	Extra comma: S/B "founded championed".

Page 292:	"A message can, these days, be amplified by a modern, increasingly globalized media in ways that would make the founders dizzy..."
	Number error: S/B "modern, increasingly globalized media".

Page 292:	"A message can, these days, be amplified by a modern, increasingly globalized media in ways that would make the founders dizzy..."
	S/B "the Founders".

Page 336:	"While CIA glimpsed at the issue of bin Laden's motivations and turned away..."
	Word usage: S/B "glimpsed" or "blinked at".

Page 342:	" 'This is about the cop on the beat in Redmond, Oregon, who sees anomalous surveillance activity outside of the Microsoft headquarters...' "
	I wouldn't fault George Tenet for getting the location of Microsoft HQ wrong in this quote. There is a Redmond in Oregon, just a hop, skip and jump north of Bend. But of course the seat of Bill Gates' empire is one state further north: S/B "Redmond, Washington".

Page 356:	Index entry: "Armitage, Richard, 138, 225, 253"
	Richard Armitage's name does not appear on page 138. The other two entries are correct.