In his book “Eternal Battle Against Evil,” Paul R. Chabot calls for readers to join him in a never-ending jihad. I use that word because there’s no word in English that as effectively connotes the religious struggle (or holy war) described. And while within the Muslim world there are nuances of meaning to that term, there’s no doubt that Chabot’s struggle focuses on the militant form of jihad.
I am a Christian who believes that both God and Satan exists. I believe man is comprised of both good and evil. For humanity to survive, the good must promise eternal hostility against evil, for we have no other choice. The fight is often scary, bloody, and unknown. As I learned going through a law enforcement academy, one must never, ever, ever give up! If you give up, it’s the end! The bad guys win! (p. xxi)
The book promises to supply “a comprehensive strategy to fight terrorists, drug cartels, pirates, gangs, & organized crime,” but doesn’t even come close to delivering on that promise. Rather than a comprehensive strategy, Chabot proposes a single-minded focus on violent battle without even discussing whether underlying problems exist and can be solved through other means (or at all, for that matter). Anything other than fighting, in his mind, is negotiating with evil, which he won’t countenance.
We must not give up this fight. In fact, we must fight harder and smarter, operating at the speed of light with a global with a global strategy that provides no mercy to evil. This is not a time for negotiations, as some have suggested; rather it is time to take the fight directly to the heart of the enemy and beyond–allowing no safe passages, no neutral territory. […]
The only thing free people should extend to evil is a sword into its heart–zero negotiation. (p. 12) […]
There is zero room to negotiate with the enemy. They respond and respct to only one thing, – an equal or high level of violence brought against them. (p. 58)
This is the real fatal flaw in the book, for while fighting a drug trafficking organization may be effective in damaging that particular drug trafficking organization, it will do nothing to change the black market conditions that give rise to such an organization. And while fighting Al Qaeda may do damage to a terrorist organization, it’s still critical to understand the political conditions that give rise to and fuel such an organization.
If what you desire is unending violence and battles (even if they’re unnecessary), then Chabot’s simplistic world-view could be appealing. But to anyone who is civilized–who desires peace and justice–Chabot’s call is not only horrific and destructive, but… dare I say it… evil.
When it comes to Chabot’s love of violence, everything else is secondary. Check this out from the introduction:
Serving as an intelligence officer for an elite group of joint special operations forces, I often came across a quote by George Orwell that so many of the young soldiers I met held dear to their hearts, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” (p. xxi)
Again, note the love of violence and the glee of calling up this quote from Orwell. One problem — Orwell never said it. This quote has been widely attributed to Orwell, but there’s no evidence of it in any of his writings. And it doesn’t fit Orwell’s world-view at all. Orwell certainly wasn’t opposed to necessary war (and even fought himself), but he also wasn’t a cheerleader for mindless government-sponsored violence.
The closest phrase that researchers have been able to find in Orwell’s writings is this quote about Kipling:
“He [Kipling] sees clearly that men can only be highly civilized while other men, inevitably less civilized, are there to guard and feed them.†George Orwell, “Rudyard Kipling†(1942)
And the meaning of this phrase in context is not even close to the pro-rough-violence quote that Chabot loves so well.
Fact is, Orwell had some things to say about people like Paul Chabot, particularly in Orwell’s “Notes on Nationalism”
All nationalists have the power of not seeing resemblances between similar sets of facts. A British Tory will defend self-determination in Europe and oppose it in India with no feeling of inconsistency. Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them, and there is almost no kind of outrage–torture, the use of hostages, forced labour, mass deportations, imprisonment without trial, forgery, assassination, the bombing of civilians–which does not change its moral colour when it is committed by ‘our’ side.
A bit of a false start to promote such a motivating quote to the theme of his book, only to find out it isn’t a real quote. So how does he continue from there?
A few pages later in the book, Chabot shares this story:
While serving in Iraq as an intelligence officer with Special Forces units from our allied nations, I often came across a quote by George Orsell that these soldiers held close to their heart, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” (p. 12)
Whoah. Deja vu.
Another failure of the book’s promise is that it doesn’t really address in any comprehensive form the various evil organizations that it lists.
Three-fourths of the book is specifically about the Arellano-Felix Drug Trafficking Organization (constantly referred to as “AF-DTO”). If you wanted detailed information about the organizational structure of the AF-DTO, then this book is for you (once you throw away all the eternal battle crap). There are charts–dozens of charts–about the AF-DTO. There are brief passages about terrorist organizations and other criminal gangs, but the book is really about the AF-DTO.
Finally, the book fails in that it promises to show “how we can fight back and turn the tide for all humanity.”
Here’s the entire guts of the book:
- Evil organizations are extremely resilient and able to adapt.
- In order to fight them, we have to be resilient as well.
That’s it. It’s repeated ad nauseam, complete with more charts and chapter upon chapter re-stating the same thing while promising to give the secret in the next chapter, which turns out to be more of the same repeated in a different way.
There are moments of bizarre irony, such as this passage:
The AF-DTO is an incredible recruiting machine. It not only recruits gang members, as described earlier, but also college graduates and non-drug users to facilitate its business operations. It recruits in great numbers and can easily replace members killed or arrested. The AF-DTO offers much higher salaries to recruits compared to legitimate employment wages in Mexico.
Note the disconnect from reality. Chabot seems to understand that these are not all evil people prior to their recruitment into the organizations. He also sees that the organization has incredible financial resources to do all this hiring, but fails the follow the economic lesson to its logical conclusion–take away the black market profits and the organization no longer can recruit such high numbers at such high pay.
There is absolutely no acknowledgement of the existence of economic factors influencing the development of drug trafficking operations or the possibility of market alternatives that might change the equation. All he has to offer is violence. It’s a simplistic and uneducated view.
Interspersed throughout the book are 21 “testimonials,” often giving personal accounts of major operations. In addition to fleshing out the book and providing additional stories, some of them seemed to be included in order to make Chabot look more intelligent in comparison, such as the one by Ronald E. Brooks–a first class ignoramus and long-term President of the U.S. National Narcotics Officers Association, who contributed this over-the-top rhetoric:
Ironically, the events of 9/11 overshadowed a different kind of attack–chemical attacks that occur each day in cities and towns in the form of death-dealing illegal drug trafficking. (p. 276)
Or former DEA Director of International Operations Michael S. Vigil, who wrote:
Thousands of people die every single year through the world due to the harm brought on by illegal drugs–far more than those killed on that fateful day in September 2001. […]
How do we tell other nations to “say no to drugs and drug production,” when we have States in America, like California, that continue to allow the hoax of medical marijuana. Marijuana is both grown and sold, openly, without prosecution. We need to get our own house in order! One way to do that is to stop the smoke and mirrors of medical marijuana. (p. 235)
Chabot himself can’t avoid jumping in on the culture war (after all, any kind of war is his thing):
… when a society’s morals and values degrade, the resurgance of evil’s temptations rise. You can see it globally through the tearing of the moral fabric–including efforts to legalize drugs and prostitution and the glamorization of actors, performers and politicians who advocate the very things we, as parents, tell our children not to do. (p. 284)
No nuance. In his world, legalization=negotiation and he doesn’t negotiate with evil. Not even a chance of discussing options. He’s on a clear jihad.
When you picked up my book, you made a deision to learn about an enemy. Now that you are at the end of my book, you should demand an answer to this one question, “What can I do to help?” Ask God to provide you with His guidance. we’re in this eternal battle against evil. Where are you needed most in this fight and what can you contribute? It could be on the battlefield carrying a sword, charging the enemy, or it could be in a classroom teaching children the basic value of life and moral principles. (p. 283)
Chabot claims to be a Christian (he even talks in the book about having been personally given a direct sign from God once), and the book is filled with biblical references and quotes. But it’s mostly Old Testament-style violence and war mongering. It’s really pathetic watching him try to recreate Jesus in his own image (you know, the actual “Christ” in “Christian”) in a vain effort to make quotes from the Gospels support his violent and blood-thirsty desires.
The book is heavily illustrated with images of terrorists and DTO personnel, and… 42 pictures of Paul Chabot.
Note: Paul Chabot constantly refers to himself as Dr. Paul R. Chabot. I do not use that salutation. Part of it is because where I work, we only use that salutation for medical doctors. For those with an advanced degree, we append the Ph.D after the name when it refers to their scholarly activities. For example, I might say: “Joe Smith, Ph.D., gave a lecture about public policy.” On the other hand, I wouldn’t say “Joe Smith, Ph.D., is in the bathroom taking a crap.” In a similar vein, I won’t don’t use the term “Paul R. Chabot, Ph.D.,” in relation to this book.
A shorter adaptation of this review has been posted at Amazon.com. Please feel free to go there and upvote the review.
Nice work exposing this steaming pile of authoritarian nonsense, Pete. It illustrates the perpetual problem of human society, IMHO: how to keep the bulls in line.
Thanks for so ably filling the role of rodeo clown, the most important job at the rodeo. And the least appreciated, except by those who KNOW.
Us riders on the bull appreciate the clown,,more and more each day.
Good job Pete and cudo’s for being able to read that trash,,I would have closed it and burnt it after his intro.
Pete I hope you some entertainment value from this exercise. Stabbing the picador? Something like that?
Very good Pete. Thanks!
Yes, indeed. Something like that.
I wonder if he would advocate violence against those who support drug legalization. Are we not minions of Satan? The Eternal Enemy? How can he do anything but plunge a sword into my heart and still be true to his espoused morals?
According to zealots like Chabot, we are in fact minions of Satan. I have been told that to my face when defending NSP policies.
I get fearful every time I wonder how many people in power hold the religiously cynical and twisted world view of “Holy-War / Armageddon / End times.” It disturbs me to think about how many of these people are leading us into an abyss of their own creation.
If they genuinely believe in a holy-war or in the end times. Most importantly, if they believe in their own righteousness like Chabot does; their actions will lead them to try and extend that war to it’s conclusion, to bring the end times about. In their world, the fight against Evil will only be won at that point. We can’t negotiate with Evil because it’s destined to be overcome with the help of holy warriors. It’s archaic and fucked up.
I’m with you Maria. Those who believe in prophecy tend to act in ways that will make it come true, aka self-fulfilling prophecy. Frightening.
right on the money maria: and yet another reason to ensure that the most self-proclaimed “religious” candidates do not get elected.
How can anyone stand to read more than one paragraph of such tripe? Reading usually brings me pleasure, but reading that kind of dishonest propaganda is like working. Hard.
Pete, you are one hard-working dude.
Thanks, Pete. Well done.
Christians like Chabot, and I hesitate to call him a Christian, believe God wants everyone to walk the narrower path. And based on my reading of the Bible, that is true. However, it seems clear to me that the Bible teaches that walking the narrower path only has meaning if it is chosen freely. Christians like Chabot want to beat people onto the narrower path by criminalizing the wider path.
IOW, Chabot thinks he’s a Christain, but in reality he acts like a Pharisee. Chabot thinks he’s moral because he is willing to bring violence to bear on those he thinks are sinners. Sadly, there are vast numbers of Christians who think just like Chabot.
Don’t anybody tell Chabot about the ancient Hebrew’s use of kaneh bos. That’s one of the ingredients included in the recipe to make the oil used to annoint the priests and was burned in the lamps of the tabernacle. There’s is a very strong scholarly case that suggests that “kaneh bos” is the Hebrew word for cannibis. Chabot’s head would explode if he knew this.
On second thought, go ahead and tell him.
*resilient
Pete, this guy is a moron. Why did you bother?
What? Are we only supposed to rebut the non-moron prohibs? What would we do with all that free time?
Know yourself and your enemies. There’s something to be said about entering the mind of strangers (or in this case, nutters ;)) and attempting to view the world through their eyes. Through their prisms of understanding, experience, judgment, preconceptions, education, upbringing etc. It might not be fun, pretty, or easy, but it can sometimes enable you to communicate in their language, get past certain barriers, or to recognize specific motivations when encountering other people.
Maria, there’s danger there as well. I’ve seen highly intelligent paranoid types whose delusions were so plastic and well developed, it took real skill not to become sucked in. That sort of madness can be seductive and destructive, and they’ll readily cast you as a bit player in their fantasies.
Thanks, Matthew. I thought I had corrected that, but it obviously slipped through.
As far as why… Yes, he’s a moron, but he’s a moron who has been asked by the federal government in the past to advise them on drug policy. He is often quoted in the media about drug policy, and has a network of government and law enforcement officials on his side. Now, at least, when someone in the future wants to give Paul Chabot a podium and a megaphone to talk about drug policy, if they google his name, they may find this article… and hesitate.
“Now, at least, when someone in the future wants to give Paul Chabot a podium and a megaphone to talk about drug policy, if they google his name, they may find this article… and hesitate.”
Thanks pete for taking so much time & trouble to make that reality!
Pete, those sound like good enough reasons to me! Thanks for the review.
aye, yer a brave lad Pete… to venture into paddock after paddock, each filled with more manure than the last, takes a hearty soul indeed. I bow sir…
42 pictures of the author? And it’s not an autobiography? I wonder if he puts on a cape whilst in his tighty-whiteys and admires himself in front of a mirror very often?
I finally took the time to go to your site Allan,,,and signed the UN petition,,,as we all should.
gracias amigo… for the visit and the petition signing!
I’ve been neglectful of the trusty Donut but sometimes my writing side shuts down. Besides, it’s not like I make money writing that blog. And if it’s not fun I don’t do it (generally – there are those unpleasant duties like drug war fighting that just havta get done).
When I’m rich and famous *cough* I’ll have me a real wwwebsite…
Allen….check out the promo video for the book….it shows a knight in armour, holding a sword, standing in front of a giant, back-lit cross….I’m sure this is how Paulie sees himself, and may even be him in the armour…
Great review Pete. One thing you left out is that this book is partly about the creation of a great man, including his hitting rock bottom and clawing his way back out of addiction. What’s that you say? He was twelve when he went to treatment and probably was not really addicted? He was in treatment for all of 36 days and never relapsed? You think his atypical experience with substance use and treatment has given him a wildly inaccurate view of what it is possible to do with longtime addicts?
Oh, and I hate to pile on a self-promoting gasbag like Chabot (N.B. I don’t really hate it), but check out his appearance on The Dating Game:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ChabotStrategies#p/u/10/HBzE5MewYc0
And his recent motivational anti-drug speech at Iona College:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ChabotStrategies#p/u/13/62mxjoyzoVU
I wish they had panned on the audience so I could see what percentage were smirking.
Paul is younger than I would have thought with an amazing string of accomplishments to his credit if you believe all the spin on his website.
The difference between him and older drug warriers like Kerlikowski is that Chabot really appears to have brainwashed himself as to the rightousness of his cause. He’s a true fanatic and we may have to put up with him for a long time before he burns out.
Kerli seems to be tired and just going through the motions till retirement.
He likes to show pictures of his family…cute kids.
I wonder when in a few years those girls are attending frat parties at university and are inadvertant victims of violent swat team raids that Dad has lobbied for and instigated..will he think it’s OK ? Does he want the boots and rifle butts of renegade cops in his daughters faces ?
Not my kind of book, I see. Thanks for saving me from possibly selecting it in my travels to the book seller. I may have been fooled by the title, the martial and religious cover art and the Foreword into thinking it was a scholarly work.
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How in the heck does he think he’s going to get rid of the Compassionate Use Act? That law is here to stay. The Know Nothings couldn’t even collect enough signatures to get repeal on the ballot there and their going to figure out how to collect more than half a million valid sigs to get repeal of the CUA on the ballot? Well god bless and good luck. You’ll need it.
He certainly sounds like a religionist to me. I’m going to take his word on the Christian thing. I don’t much care which Great Fairy or Fairy Tale they prefer. The holey Bibble, the Muslim Book of Fairy Tales, The Pope Manual or whatever. It really is amazing how some people can get worked into such a frenzy over an argument of who’s imaginary friend is the best imaginary friend.
Well the Book of Mormon is unique because unlike the other Fairy Tale boks Mormans definitely prefer to bore the infidels to death instead of blowing them up with the Holy Hand Grenade. Now count to 3…
Sometimes the best defense is an aggressive offense. IMP Mr. Chabot has made the choice to be aggressively offensive. If anyone is evil, it is he.
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IMO not IMP.
I think you had it right the first time. I’d say Mr. Chabot fits the definition of “imp” pretty darn well.
As if the emblematic ‘EVIL’ in the title weren’t a clue, the book’s cover art resembles the symbolic fixation on power (red drapery) and glory (ships, horses, weapons, castles) one sees on the book covers of vanity-press, Christian evangelical romance novels in which none of the characters have sex before marriage. Lack of sex before marriage, and an absence of pot smoking, may be responsible for the anti-social proclivities appearing in Paul Chabot’s writing.
Need to add chabotage to the list…
The concept behind the site Tea Party Jesus
Put the words of conservative Christian social and political figures in the mouth of Christ. The juxtaposition of hateful, ignorant, or otherwise nonsensical rants with serene photos of JC himself isn’t only funny, but says a lot about the people who claim to be Christians.
Investigation alleges Koch brothers paid bribes, sold to Iran
Pingback: Anonymous
Feds are ramping it up by hitting Harborside with a 2.4 million tax bill, and the pizza guy is ratting out smokers. What is the world coming to? I’m too demotivated to even post the links. Call upon the Google, I’m getting away from this evil, modern contraption bringing me such news today.
the guy is no better (nor in essence any different) than the asswipes who took down the Twin Towers.
as he clearly illustrates religion is the core of the drug war and indeed of all intolerance. it’s a good thing we aren’t really a “christian” nation — to the contrary, Americans are among the most tolerant people in the world.
so cheer up everybody, his book is going to quickly disappear into the chasm of irrelevance where it belongs.
it should be clear to all, that arguing with idiots like him is completely unnecessary (indeed, it is extremely counterproductive), and his type are not the audience with which we should concern ourselves.
nice work as usual Pete! but it’s really too easy, isn’t it?
‘zactly… religious nuts are religious nuts and cut from the same cloth. Ganja consumption is older than any of the religions. We’re grandfathered in… I mean really… it’s in my contract.
“I am a Christian who believes that both God and Satan exists.”
He describes his qualifications as an objective author in this very first sentence. No need to read further.
The drug warriors are the evil ones we were warned about when the good book suggested that Satan would return disguised as the savior. Satan is a master of deception. So was Machiavelli. Both have pretended to be working on the side of good. So is the guy who wrote this book.
It would make good t-p for the outhouse. That’s about it.
Guither’s review is less than objective and wonder what credentials he possesses to evaluate and comment on drug strategy and Chabot’s book. Chabot has been on the front lines and understands the issues regarding ilicit drugs their abuse. Secondly, I wonder how many books Guither has written himself. As far as I am concerned, his comments and three dollars will buy you a cup of Starbucks.
Chabot has been on the front lines of the side that has squandered trillions of dollars for no gain and empowered criminals the world over.
Anyone listening to this moron dooms us all.
I find Guither’s reasoning sound ,accurate and objective. How many books an author writes has little to do with anything. Chabot’s most recent scribe is, like his others, self aggrandizing pap. Chabot also has a lot in common with Calvina Faye (wrongminded lunacy).
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.â€
I sleep less well in my bed at night fearing that those rough men might knock down the door on my behalf.
I am always amazed at the ignorance of critics and their herd mentality. Guither can criticize along with all his mindless minions who have never been in the arena. What a bunch of idiots
So now you’re “ram,” while before you were “objective.” Why are you afraid to use your real name? I use mine.
What kind of idiot pays three dollars for a cup of coffee? Probably the same kind of idiot whose continued income depends on the power to kidnap and murder people.
When you serve on the front lines and put your life on the line then you have earned the right to criticize. I assume most of the idiots attacking Chabot are the individuals pushing the legalization of marijuana. What a bunch of numbnuts.
You have all been partaking of the medical product a little too much