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Terror comes to a pol?s home turf

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

?Vale of Tears? is Peter T. King?s story of that day. Or, to be more precise, half of the book (the even-numbered chapters) contain the veteran congressman?s 9-11 tale, a diary-like rendition of his activities of the fateful day and related events since. The other half of the book is fiction, revolving around a made-up Islamic terrorist attack on an office complex in Westbury, L.I.
This is the third novel by King, a well-known Irish-American politician, unabashed supporter of Sinn Fein, and confidant of Gerry Adams and Bill Clinton who maintains a well-deserved reputation as a regular guy. The hero of the ?novel? (both the odd fictional and even ?true? chapters) is Rep. Sean Cross, a veteran politician from the South Shore of Long Island. As King?s alter ego, Cross is a carbon copy of the real thing: blessed with a lovely and supportive wife, two successful adult children and, for a Republican, unmatched political support from blue-collar, union and civil-service voting blocks in Nassau County. And, like the author, Cross is a straight-talking, common-sense kind of guy who judges people on a strict black-and-white scale: there are few grays in his life.
Like King?s earlier books, the strength is in the ?you are there? narrative. King (and therefore Cross) was in Washington on the morning of Sept. 11. So although he, like nearly every New Yorker, lost friends and loved ones in the blasts, he watched the day unfold on television. Among his first thoughts are his family and he spends a distracted morning, trying to work while staff track down his wife, daughter and son-in-law. Once all were accounted for as safe, he jumps into the middle of the fray. With a seat on the foreign affairs committee, he hears things before the rest of us. He is told of the terrorist plot when the rest of us were still speculating. While others were critical of President Bush for failing to rush directly to New York, King defends the decision, saying premature presidential presence could rob vital minutes from the essential task of rescuing the wounded.
While his political stripes are not hidden, on individuals he calls them as he sees them, praising specific Democrats and Republicans, and criticizing others with abandon, saving his most direct attacks for those guilty of grandstanding on either side of the aisle.
Another strength is the folksy quality: the queasiness one feels approaching a funeral home, the awe we have for the families of heroes who soldier on as if following ongoing instructions from their lost loved ones, the quiet grace of bringing food to an after-wake gathering in somebody?s kitchen.
What has gotten the most attention is King?s blasts at the leaders of organized Islam in the United States who, he states, have not gone as far as they should to differentiate themselves from terrorist factions who, at least nominally, share their religion. King is blunt in saying that a majority of mosques in America are headed by extremists who, at a minimum, give succor to terrorists, and, on many occasions, provide monetary, logistical and other assistance.
Some of the loudest outcry comes from those who recall the congressman?s long support for Sinn Fein and the Irish Republican Army. Cynics claimed his frequent trips to Belfast were mere politicking, playing to a ?Green? audience in New York. He has always claimed that his support for Sinn Fein was a political ?wash,? winning him no more votes than it lost.
Cross, in the book, and King, on talk shows, differentiates Sinn Fein from Al-Qeda in that the former never attacked American targets. They also recount the successful efforts to get Sinn Fein to the peace table and to agree to the seemingly permanent ceasefire.
In the end, the strength of his arguments rely not on facts but on potentially biased (and self-serving) Bush administration intelligence assessments and the fact that most of us are still so angry about the World Trade Center that we are unafraid to demonize.
The fictional sections of the book are placed in the heart of Nassau County, a place he knows with the intimacy of a ward healer or taxi driver. The detail is impressive, but in the end, the reader doesn?t get much out of the inventory of streets, parks, fire stations, restaurants and politicians. (Although, it appeared to have been a sound marketing decision: At a recent Long Island book signing more than 300 people lined up to purchase and get signed more than 500 books. Nearly every customer is mentioned by name in the volume).
All in all, if you like Pete King you?ll like the book.

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