Jason Vest of the Boston Phoenix discusses the recently “unmasked” author of Imperial Hubris, and asks why the author, “Mike,” was even anonymous in the first place. The book, the second installment from this author, is a critical piece on America’s ongoing “War on Terror,” and has garnered quite a bit of media attention. A week ago, the New York Times‘ Douglas Jehl wrote about the book and its origins, pointing out that the CIA had no real problem with the author’s work, and that “the book had been vetted to insure that it not include classified information.” But still, there’s the anonymity thing. It was widely reported that “Mike” was concerned about repercussions from Osama bin Laden or al Qaeda and that this was the reason for the lack of a full name on the cover of the book.
So while “Anonymous” has not confirmed or denied his identity, many Washington insiders have reportedly known the author’s name for some time now, but have not printed it as of yet. Is it because the CIA or another government agency has stated that the aforementioned “fears” were an issue, or is it a way to avoid the issues raised by the Valerie Plame situation? If it’s a safety issue that the press is citing, then they’re doing so with no merit. Vest reports that the author - who he names as Michael Scheuer - doesn’t want the anonymity, and that any suggestions that he did would be incorrect. His editor at Brassey’s, Christina Davidson, went as far as to send the CIA a letter that stated “To say that our author must be kept in the shadows because he has expressed fears about al Qaeda retaliation is patently false and impugns his courage,” and followed that by asking that they not continue to do so in the future.
Will Scheuer’s name make its way into the mainstream press anytime soon, or will they take the CIA’s statements as word? While the press has a reason to make sure its collective bread is buttered (in other words, to be in the loop), it’d be kind of curious to see if this identity keeps being passed over, especially if this book stays in the public eye.
