
James W. Huston takes the hottest issue of our time -- the War on Terrorism -- and explores it with a compelling, stay-up-late thriller filled with high-stakes courtroom drama, white-knuckle in-the-cockpit flying, and the shadowy world of American Special Forces operations.Lieutenant Kent "Rat" Rathman is back. In the middle of the desert, in the dead of night, Lieutenant Rathman parachutes with his Special Forces team into Sudan, where an arms merchant is selling weapons to Wahamed Duar, the world's most wanted man in the ongoing War on Terrorism. Duar escapes, but a key member of his organization is captured. Determined to find Duar, Rat uses questionable means of persuasion to uncover his whereabouts and the information leads to his capture. But the man he brutally interrogated later dies as a result on a U.S. Navy ship.Washington is thrilled with Duar's capture, but a slick European lawyer with the International Criminal Court asserts that Rat violated international law and fundamental human rights. The Secretary of Defense sees an opportunity to gain political ground against his rival in the National Security Agency by taking her friend Rat down a notch; he decides to throw Rat to the wolves. Rat is arrested and put on trial for torturing a prisoner and violating the Geneva Convention. As he goes on trial for war crimes, Wahamed Duar begins his own trial, the first major tribunal conducted by the military to take place aboard the USS Belleau Wood. Duar may be a prisoner, but he still has big plans. According to the National Security Agency, his network appears to be involved in an attempt to gather radioactive cores from abandoned Russian nuclear generators for use in a dirty bomb.As the parallel trials begin to boil, Duar's men prepare to strike. But is it Duar who is actually on trial? And who is gathering abandoned nuclear cores in the Georgian Republic? Only Rat can put the pieces together, but can he protect the United States from the impending attack whil
Lieutenant Kent Rathman faces a court-martial for war crimes after his interrogation of a terrorist suspect leads to the prisoner's death, threatening his career and freedom during the War on Terrorism. Rathman, a Special Forces operative, finds himself caught between his duty to neutralize global threats and the legal scrutiny of international bodies. As he prepares for his defense, he discovers that the terrorist leader he captured, Wahamed Duar, is orchestrating a new plot involving radioactive materials. The narrative shifts between the claustrophobic environment of the courtroom and the high-stakes reality of military operations, forcing the protagonist to navigate political betrayal while attempting to prevent an impending attack.
Readers frequently highlight the author's ability to blend technical military knowledge with the pacing of a traditional legal thriller. Discussion often centers on the ethical questions posed by the protagonist's actions and the subsequent political fallout within the narrative. Critics note that the book effectively balances the intensity of combat sequences with the procedural rigor of a court-martial setting. Many readers appreciate the focus on the complexities of the War on Terrorism and the moral ambiguity inherent in modern warfare. The narrative is often described as a fast-paced exploration of institutional betrayal and individual accountability.
Page Count:
400
Publication Date:
2003-05-27
Publisher:
William Morrow
ISBN-10:
0060008377
ISBN-13:
9780060008376
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