Customer Reviews
Another Heavyweight Exposé - By: AD, 09 Nov 2006 
Truth campaigner Michael C Ruppert throws his hat into the ring with a comprehensive examination of the murky world of American politics & the tragic events of 9/11. Ruppert is a former narcotics investigator, & has used his detective's powers to leave no stone unturnedin his quest to discover who was behind the shocking events & why.
As the title of the book implies, he covers the world oil situationin depth, & delivers the stark forecast that the declining supply of oil will drive the powers-that-bein America to ever greater efforts to maintain their global dominance, & not necessarily by legitimate means.
Ruppert expertly covers the by now well-known elementsin the scenario of 9/11 - the inexplicable military & governmental inaction, the "insider trading" on Wall Street immediately prior to the events, & so on. One interesting aspect which I hadn't considered previously, is the role of the "PROMIS" computer system - did someone break into it & knock out the Pentagon's defences? The 9/11 Commission is coveredin depth - shades of the Warren Commission surely? For example, the mysterious collapse of Building 7in New York was apparently ignored completely - unbelievable.
Ruppert highlights the pre-9/11 stonewalling & obfuscation that prevented many FBI agents from getting their findings to the top, notably concerning the flight school attendeesin Arizona & Florida. This adds to one's suspicions that these people were being "run" by some group or groups within the intelligence agencies, & were being cultivatedin their roles as hijackers to fitin with the plot.
No doubt the authorities are hoping that the public will shrug its shoulders & consign 9/11 to history. Michael Ruppert joins his fellow campaigners like Webster Tarpley, Barrie Zwicker, David Ray Griffin & the others,in ensuring that this will never happen.
Ruppert's book comesin at over 600 pages of smallish type - so be warned, it's a heavy read. One criticism for me is the lack of illustration, which adds to the slight feeling of stodginess. Nevertheless, Ruppert is a major playerin the burgeoning truth movement. Only time will tell whether his forecasts turn out to be correct, but I've an uneasy feeling that he is very much on the right track.
Superb Detailed Analysis of World Events + 9/11 - By: A. Khan, 17 Oct 2006 
Crossing the Rubicon was one of the first books I readin this subject area, but I've subsequently realised it is the best. Michael Ruppert was someone I found out about when, like many, I tried finding out about the realities of 9/11 & the politics & manoeuvring behind the scenes. I watched one of his lectures delivered at a Universityin which he covers, at a high level, all the major topics addressedin Crossing the Rubicon.
Rupert uses the massive interestin the attacks of 9/11 to get the reader interested, & then begins on his analysis. The core issues discussedin the book are:
- The role 'Peak Oil' playsin the geopolitical world
- US markets dependence on the 'liquid cash' of drug money
- Links between wall street & CIA - to the point where he concludes 'wallstreet is the CIA, CIA is wallstreet'.
- CIA drug trafficking & money laundering, including details of covert operations & how they were covered up.
- US tactics used to destabilise governments & support coupsin strategic areas
- Mike Vreeland - who predicted the 9/11 attacksin details months prior & tried warning the government - something that is officially recorded.
- PROMIS software & the its rolein the world of high tech crime.
- Blow-by-Blow analysis of the events of 9/11, & the best timeline I have read to date. Ruppert details the chain of command on the day, other events scheduled for that same day, the role of war games being played out on the day also.
- Biological warfare is looked at, exploring who was behind the 'anthrax' samples spread to peoplein the US via mail, & a look at the scary world of forced vaccinations & their results
- We end with another look at 'Peak Oil' & predictions about where the 'war on terror', which is really a 'war on oil & drugs', will go next.
This book has been a massive education for me. It is a disturbing book & its details will make readers very uncomfortable & at times just plain angry that such information is not being broadcast to the masses on TV. I cannot say that I checked all the hundreds of referencesin this book, but the ones I did check out were all credible. Reading this books gives you a much clearer picture of what is really going onin the world today & what are its driving forces
and who are the key players.
Many people are misdirecting their criticism of the 'war on terror' & as a Muslim I know many feel its a war on Islam. After reading this book I can know say confidently 'Its not a war on Islam, as the US need Saudi Arabia as a strong ally to get at Saudi oil, to have them as a key supporter of it Persian gulf area. They are key as approximately $700 billion of Saudi Money is investedin the US economy'. Before reading this book I could not have given, nor would have given that answer.
There are two small things that detract slightly from this bookin my view & they are the following:
1. Using 9/11 to get people interested.
Ruppert talks about a lot more than 9/11, but he continually refers to it to keep the readers interest. The same can be seenin his lectures. This is a minor point, but at times it is a bit irritating for the readers who are prepared to wait & do not need to hear 'ok - we are going to get to the juicy partin a few pages!' constantly.
2. Self Importance + Promotion of From the Wilderness Magazine
Ruppert is constantly quoting from his magazine 'From the Wilderness' which is a subscription only publication, & many times he talks about how his predictions were right, how 'From the Wilderness' readers had this informationin advance, & there is a lot of self promotion. This, again, is a minor criticism as he is selling products, like all of us he has to make a living etc. It does not detract from the material, but at times it can be frustrating.
Its interesting to note thatin the US this book on Amazon has mixed reviews from readers, with some angrily opposed to its content. In the UK based Amazon reviews its has 100% 5-star record. The reason is simple - the book paints a very negative picture of the US government, & its foreign policy, & for some this is just too much to deal with. Denial is then the only path to avoid massive guilt for Americans who support - or have supported - the current administration.
To conclude this book is a must read for everyone. Its 600 pages, so that will immediately limit its appeal, but its the most rewarding political book I have read to date. Its analysis fits world events & it opens the readers eyes to the real issuesin the world today.
I recommend anyone considering this book should buy it read it right till the end - as there are some special bits of information saved till the very last chapter.
The causes and consequences of 9/11 - By: Mr. Tristan Martin, 04 Oct 2006 
I first read this book not long after it came out; several years on, I thought it deserved another look. My old review has now been deleted.
Michael C. Ruppert (publisher of the now-terminated From the Wilderness) has written,in Crossing the Rubicon, an in-depth analysis of the probable causes for both 9/11 & the ensuing invasions of Afghanistan & Iraq.
He reasons, with much evidence & justification, that world oil production will peak within a decade or two, a concept that has become known as Peak Oil (even mentionedin The West Wing episode entitled, "Hubbert Peak"). This awareness by the United State's planners, led to an obvious military scramble for most of the world's remaining supplies & their pipeline routes, ensuring that oil reserves will bein the hands of the population that counts, as seen from an elite U.S. perspective. The terrorist attack of 9/11, according to Ruppert, was engineered by some of the same U.S. planners, or at least those who had access to that intelligence & shared the same opinions.
This is obviously highly incendiary material. However, Ruppert's sources are often drawn from quite mainstream material, including the national press.
Ruppert's book is divided into a prosecutor's means, motive & opportunity & the quality of the various chapters varies widely. The first part of the book is generally very good (Motive) & the first chapter on Peak Oil is particularly excellent - indeed, this was the first book that really opened my eyes to this most urgent of issues. For helping to bring this subject to much needed public attention, Ruppert is to be congratulated. However, section two - Means - is erratic & quite poorin many places. The chapter on PROMIS software is confused & badly written; it is rather difficult to fathom what Ruppert's point actually is & the evidence he produces is vague. Another section on Delmart "Mike" Vreeland, is not worth the time or space he devotes to the subject, an interesting character though he is. Ruppert's rambling & incoherent style continues into Part Three - Opportunity - unnecessarily lengthy sections on the From the Wilderness reporters 'bravely' confronting Congress & the 9/11 Independent Commission, pages & pages on descriptions of Pentagon Wargames, the TRIPOD II scenario & so forth. Interesting but again, not worth the amount of space he devotes to it.
Essentially, there is some excellent materialin Crossing the Rubicon but this is buriedin amongst some bad & incoherent writing. Perhaps this is the editor's fault, as the book could be vastly improved with some judicious editing.
Other sectionsin the book include the by now, well documented relationship betwixt the Central Intelligence Agency & the international drug supply, how the Taleban eradicated approximately 95% of the heroin cropin Afghanistan & the impact this had on the CIA/Wall Street's profits, intelligence penetration of Al Qaeda & many others.
Crossing the Rubicon is,in places, a fascinating read for getting behind the headlines & the day-to-day gossip that passes for political analysis; the intention of the author Mike Ruppert was to provide a roadmap for comprehending the driving forces behind current events so as to correctly interpret forthcoming events. Whether it has succeededin that is a judgement for other reviewers but the book certainly demands to be read. For assembling many of the controversial facts into one publication & putting them into the public domain, Michael Ruppert has at least to be congratulated. Read & make your own mind up.
Fascinating survey of US politics - By: William Podmore, 27 Jan 2006 This thought-provoking book by an independent American investigator gives us some useful snapshots of the US economyin the era of capitalism’s decline.
Capitalism now depends on the $1.5 trillion a year profits from organised crime, laundered via big business complicity & political laissez faire. The drug trade alone generates $700 billion a yearin cash, largely from heroin (70% from Afghanistan, after US forces let the opium warlords out of Taliban prisonsin November 2001). Drug traffickers were pioneers of globalization.
Capitalists are looting everything: industry, jobs, pensions, education, health, Iraq & Russia - from 1997 to the end of 1998 Russia’s GDP fell by two-thirds while $500 billion was looted out of Russia, cutting its population from 160 millionin 1991 to 145 millionin 2001.
Ruppert then turns to look at the US ruling class’s efforts to save itself by seizing the world’s oil. In 1997 ex-Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski said that the USA needed ‘a new Pearl Harbor’ so that it could secure oil across the world.
Ruppert shows how Bush permitted, if not connived at, the 9/11 crime. This is not new:in 1962, the US Chiefs of Staff drew up Operation Northwoods, a plot to stage a terrorist attackin the USA & blame it on Cuba. Also, the US state, through the CIA, has trained & used thugs like Noriega, Saddam Hussein, the Kosovo Liberation Army, the Chechen rebels & Osama bin Laden to start wars or provide pretexts for them.
In June 2001, Bush put Vice-President Dick Cheneyin charge of all planning for a terrorist attack. Then the French, German & Russian intelligence agencies all warned Bush that Al Qaeda intended to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Centerin the week of 9 September 2001. Ruppert shows how the US government managed to fail to arrest the hijackers, & how its actions before & during 9/11 enabled the crimes to be accomplished.
War is the most profitable business - By: Luc REYNAERT, 27 Nov 2005 In this book, Michael C. Ruppert attempts to find the masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks. For him, the prime suspects are a group of people operating within certain government agencies, including the White House, for the benefit of major financial US & foreign interests. The only possible thread is the intelligence community.
This book is more or less a compilation of the author's contributions to the internet site 'From the Wilderness'. It lacks the solid structure of the works of N.M. Ahmed & M. Chossudovsky, on which it heavily draws. The style is rather egocentric (a lot of 'I's).
Nevertheless, it throws a shrill light on some major aspects of the framework wherein the 9/11 attacks took place.
Clearly exposed are the links between the CIA, Wall Street & 9/11, through the heavy buying of put options on airline shares before the attacks (2.5 M$ profits on one bet were not claimed!).
He shows also clearly that there was sabotage within the US intelligence services & that those services had infiltrated Al-Qaeda. More, US government services shielded the hijackers from being arrested. Still more baffling is the fact that a third towerin New York collapsed without being hit!
A very murky affair is the organization of 'wargames' on 9/11 apparentlyin order to paralyse information channels. There is also the Cleveland mystery: the landing of two unidentified planes. Still more outlandish are the claims that some of the alleged hijackers are still alive or that the planes flew under remote ground control.
The paramount question is: cui bono? After the 9/11 attacks the US defense budget was raised by 48.1 billion $. Indeed, war is the most profitable business.
For the author, the US government crossed the Rubicon after 9/11. From a republic, the US became an empire, a hegemon.
In order to defend its national security, the empire now can make preemptive strikes (war is peace) & create artificial terrorist activitiesin order to stimulate reactions which could serve as a pretext to invade other countries.
The Total Information Awareness asks the whole population to become spies (Big Brotherin the nth degree), while the Patriot Act undermines general civil liberties.
On the economic front, the author stresses the importance of oil & 1.3 billion Chinese consumers.
However, he sometimes formulates extremely important issues without developping them. One example: the policy that 'the world population must be reduced by as much as 4 billion people is secretly accepted & is being acted upon by world leaders.'
Nevertheless, this book is a goldmine for those who want to understand the 9/11 massacre. Michael C. Ruppert poses at the end the right questions: who are we really? And why are we here?
A must read.
