From the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Black Flags comes the thrilling unknown story of
America s mission in Syria: to find and destroy Syria s chemical weapons and keep them out of
the hands of the Islamic State In August 2012 Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was clinging to
power in a vicious civil war. When secret intelligence revealed that the dictator might resort
to using chemical weapons President Obama warned that doing so would cross a red line. Assad
did it anyway bombing the Damascus suburb of Ghouta with sarin gas killing hundreds of
civilians and forcing Obama to decide if he would mire America in another unpopular Middle
Eastern war. When Russia offered to broker the removal of Syria s chemical weapons Obama leapt
at the out.So begins an electrifying race to find remove and destroy 1 300 tons of chemical
weapons in the midst of a raging civil war. The extraordinary little-known effort is a triumph
for the Americans but soon Russia s long game becomes clear: it will do anything to preserve
Assad s rule. As America s ability to control events in Syria shrinks the White House learns
that ISIS building its caliphate in Syria s war-tossed territory is seeking chemical weapons
for itself with an eye to attacking the West.Red Line is a classic Joby Warrick true-life
thriller: a character-driven narrative with a cast of heroes and villains including weapons
hunters politicians doctors diplomats and spies. Drawing on astonishing original reporting
Warrick reveals how the United States embarked on a bold adventure to prevent one catastrophe
but could not avoid a tragic chain of events that empowered America s enemies.
