Treasurys War: The Unleashing of a New Era of Financial Warfare - Hardcover

Zarate, Juan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1610391152 ISBN 13: 9781610391153

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2013

Synopsis

For more than a decade, America has been waging a new kind of war against the financial networks of rogue regimes, proliferators, terrorist groups, and criminal syndicates. Juan Zarate, a chief architect of modern financial warfare and a former senior Treasury and White House official, pulls back the curtain on this shadowy world. In this gripping story, he explains in unprecedented detail how a small, dedicated group of officials redefined the Treasury's role and used its unique powers, relationships, and reputation to apply financial pressure against America's enemies. This group unleashed a new brand of financial power--one that leveraged the private sector and banks directly to isolate rogues from the international financial system. By harnessing the forces of globalization and the centrality of the American market and dollar, Treasury developed a new way of undermining America's foes. Treasury and its tools soon became, and remain, critical in the most vital geopolitical challenges facing the United States, including terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and the regimes in Iran, North Korea, and Syria. This book is the definitive account, by an unparalleled expert, of how financial warfare has taken pride of place in American foreign policy and how America's competitors and enemies are now learning to use this type of power themselves. This is the unique story of the United States' financial war campaigns and the contours and uses of financial power, and of the warfare to come.

About this title

Review:

Finalist for the William E. Colby Military History Award Bryan Burrough, New York Times Business section "For those of us who start feeling drowsy at the very mention of the words 'Treasury Department,' this book is an eye-opener. Under Mr. Zarate, and his successors, Treasury quietly built new capabilities that owe less to junk bonds than to James Bond... 'Treasury's War' does a fine job of shedding light on a new and significant aspect of international relations that many of us may not be aware of, and that is likely to gain in importance in the years to come." Stewart Baker, Wall Street Journal "Mr. Zarate brings verve and the joy of combat to this and other tales... In Mr. Zarate's hands, what could have been a dry series of think-tank papers becomes a lively narrative filled with heroes, villains and fools." Geoff Dyer, Financial Times "An entertaining insider's account of America's 'new breed of financial power'... full of interesting accounts of the way smart sanctions were applied... a valuable history of a hidden but essential part of America's response to 9/11." Jordan Chandler Hirsch, Washington Post "[A] thorough, thoughtful insider's account... The true value of Zarate's book lies in explaining the difference between traditional sanctions and this new form of financial warfare." Library Journal "A unique view into the new and potentially devastating world of fiscal warfare... Zarate's well-documented work gives a firsthand report of strategies not often known or publicized in this newest and perhaps most effective form of waging war." ABA Banking Journal "I consider it a must-read for anyone who wants to know where we are, where we've been, and what challenges lie ahead... Treasury's War is detailed, interesting, and sincere." National Interest "Zarate's book admirably underscores the dire national-security threat posed by the almost-unfathomable level of our national debt... There is much in Zarate's book that enlightens us, and he gets many things right and proposes some innovative ideas." Arnaud de Borchgrave, UPI "One of the world's most challenging assignments -- explained in vivid, dramatic detail by Juan C. Zarate, a former super sleuth in the U.S. government's long campaign to find and disrupt al-Qaida's terrorist funding in the Worldwide Web...Zarate's "Treasury's War" is a gripping electronic whodunit in a constantly changing environment where inequalities are widening and where technology is destroying more jobs than it creates... This is the first book that lifts the veil of secrecy on the financial power [Zarate's team] marshaled against America's enemies." Kirkus Reviews "A bracing account by a knowledgeable authority." General Michael Hayden, former Director of CIA and NSA "Juan Zarate's groundbreaking Treasury's War illuminates an underappreciated and under commented revolution in international affairs. Beset by nontraditional enemies and threats, the United States in the Bush administration leveraged America's place in the global financial system to create some important 'asymmetrical power' of its own. As advocate and architect of this new approach, Zarate is well placed to tell the tale of America's most unique precision guided weapon and he does so with detail, candor, and perspective." Sam Nunn, former U.S. Senator "For those wanting to know how financial power and influence are wielded in the world, this is the book. Juan Zarate not only tells a gripping story, but lays out the policy implications and future for the use of this power. This is a must-read about the evolution of financial warfare over the past decade and how it will continue to play a central role in the nation's security." Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden, from 9/11 to Abbottabad "Juan Zarate is known as one of the world's leading experts on terrorism. His new book is the riveting account of how the United States has gone to war financially with terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and rogue states such as Iran. Treasury's War is deeply researched and well written and is the definitive narrative of this hitherto largely unknown war." Admiral Mike Mullen, 17th Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff "Juan Zarate has written an exceptional book about a vital area of our national security very few people understand. I observed first-hand the evolution and targeting of illegal financing led by Zarate and other pioneers who remain on the frontier of fighting international corruption. Juan's insights will educate every reader." CHOICE "Well qualified to provide readers with an insider's view, [Zarate] describes innovative and integrated financial warfare techniques that have proved effective in neutralizing and weakening such adversaries as Al Qaeda, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, and Syria." Mark Dubowitz and Annie Fixler, The Journal of International Security Affairs "Juan Zarate's book is a richly deserved celebration of their unsung success--and an essential guide to how their financial power can be most effectively used." Amit Kumar, National Security Law Journal "An insightful account of the evolution, development, implementation, and fine tuning of the United States Department of the Treasury's ("Treasury's") tools of financial warfare in the post 9/11 world, as well as a reinvention of its role in exercising these tools. This interesting account combines Zarate's eye for meticulous detail, zeal, focus, and his powers of cogent argument as a skillful prosecutor with the incomparable expertise and research insights of a scholar, and the vision and foresight of a thinker...Thanks to the rich factual information contained and the great insights offered into the role of a number of national security and foreign policy officials involved in designing and flexing this financial warfare toolkit, this book is a compelling read for policy makers, academics, students, and practitioners interested in the phenomenon of financial warfare and its use and relevance in today's world of asymmetric threats, stateless actors, and rogue states that imperil U.S. security. In addition, the book is a brilliant expose of the intricacies of the workings of the national security policy formulation and implementation processes, as well as how interagency policy processes in the national security realm interact with and affect U.S. foreign policy priorities and outcomes."

Book Description:

"An entertaining insider's account of America's'new breed of financial power'... full of interesting accounts of the way smart sanctions were applied... a valuable history of a hidden but essential part of America's response to 9/11." -Financial Times

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1610391152
• ISBN 13: 9781610391153
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336