The Shadow War: Inside Russia's and China's Secret Operations to Defeat America

by Jim Sciutto

Overview

Are we losing a war few of us realize we’re fighting?

Jim Sciutto, CNN’s Chief National Security Correspondent, reveals the invisible fronts that make up 21^st century warfare, from disinformation campaigns to advanced satellite weapons.

Poisoned dissidents. Election interference. Armed invasions. International treaties thrown into chaos. Secret military buildups. Hackers and viruses. Weapons deployed in space. China and Russia (and Iran and North Korea) spark news stories by carrying out bold acts of aggression and violating international laws and norms. Isn’t this just bad actors acting badly?

That kind of thinking is outdated and dangerous. Emboldened by their successes, these countries are, in fact, waging a brazen, global war on the US and the West. This is a new Cold War, which will not be won by those who fail to realize they are fighting it. The enemies of the West understand that while they are unlikely to win a shooting war, they have another path to victory. And what we see as our greatest strengths—open societies, military innovation, dominance of technology on Earth and in space, longstanding leadership in global institutions—these countries are undermining or turning into weaknesses.

In The Shadow War, CNN anchor and chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto provides us with a revealing and at times disturbing guide to this new international conflict. This Shadow War is already the greatest threat to America’s national security, even though most Americans know little or nothing about it. With on-the-ground reporting from Ukraine to the South China Sea, from a sub under the Arctic to unprecedented access to America’s Space Command, Sciutto draws on his deep knowledge, high-level contacts, and personal experience as a journalist and diplomat to paint the most comprehensive and vivid picture of a nation targeted by a new and disturbing brand of warfare.

Thankfully, America is adapting and fighting back. In The Shadow War, Sciutto introduces readers to the dizzying array of soldiers, sailors, submariners and their commanders, space engineers, computer scientists, civilians, and senior intelligence officials who are on the front lines of this new kind of forever war. Intensive and disturbing, this invaluable and important work opens our eyes and makes clear that the war of the future is already here.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062853646
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Jim Sciutto is CNN's chief national security correspondent and co-anchor of CNN Newsroom. After more than two decades as a foreign correspondent stationed in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, he returned to Washington to cover the Defense Department, the State Department, and intelligence agencies for CNN. His work has earned him Emmy Awards, the George Polk Award, the Edward R. Murrow award, and the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential coverage. A graduate of Yale and a Fulbright Fellow, he lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Gloria Riviera, who is a crisis communications professional and journalist for ABC News, and their three children.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Inside the Shadow War 1

Chapter 2 Opening Salvo (Russia) 21

Chapter 3 Stealing Secrets (China) 41

Chapter 4 Little Green Men (Russia) 61

Chapter 5 Unsinkable Aircraft Carriers (China) 105

Chapter 6 War in Space (Russia and China) 141

Chapter 7 Hacking an Election (Russia) 185

Chapter 8 Submarine Warfare (Russia and China) 215

Chapter 9 Winning the Shadow War 247

Epilogue 277

Acknowledgments 283

Notes 287

Index 295

Editorial Reviews

04/22/2019

America’s Cold War adversaries are challenging it by conventional and unconventional means, according to this sometimes alarming, sometimes underwhelming exposé. CNN national security correspondent and anchorman Sciutto surveys a grab bag of initiatives that, he contends, undermine America’s global dominance. These include Russia’s disruption of Estonia’s internet in 2007, its 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine who accidentally shot down an airliner, and its development of submarines and missiles that could target America. Beijing, meanwhile, has stolen blueprints for American warplanes, built artificial islands to cement its claims to the South China Sea, and created an advanced navy. Sciutto discusses these matters with Western intelligence officials who deplore Washington’s dithering and rides along on a U. S. surveillance flight and an American submarine to provide colorful front-line reportage. Sciutto’s case lumps together trivial concerns with important ones: he explores some developments that pose real danger, such as Russian and Chinese space weapons that could destroy American military and telecommunications satellites, but also rehashes discredited claims about Russia’s collusion with the Trump campaign. The result is a muddled hodgepodge of geostrategic anxieties. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

With The Shadow War, Jim Sciutto, my CNN colleague and distinguished journalist, has written a milestone tutorial on the nature of conflict in today’s world. Jim’s riveting writing style clearly explains the diverse array of the new forms of asymmetric power we confront—whether in the cyber, space, undersea, propaganda, or irregular forces realms. . . . Unlike other books on these subjects, The Shadow War doesn’t stop with just the ‘doom and gloom’ descriptions, but also offers thoughtful prescriptions on how to respond. A very enlightening, compelling, tightly organized, readable book.” — James Clapper is the former Director of National Intelligence

“For many years Russia and China have fought a war in the shadows to undermine the United States from the outer reaches of space to the deep seas of the Arctic. Sciutto’s excellent portrayal of those conflicts will keep you up at night.” — Peter Bergen is the author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad

“Jim has done a superb job capturing the current and future space and cyber threats to our national security. More importantly, he describes what the resulting vulnerabilities mean to the average citizen. This book should serve as a wake-up call for all of us.” — General William Shelton (ret.) is the former Commander of US Air Force Space Command

“The Shadow War is a clanging alarm, urging us to recognize and prioritize the threats we’ve ignored for too long. In crisp and elegant prose, Sciutto masterfully lays out how we got here and what we can do to deal with the asymmetrical challenges posed by Russia and China. The Shadow War is as alarming as it is necessary.” — Julia Ioffe, foreign policy correspondent for GQ

“We are all vaguely aware that America and the West have been challenged recently in new and unusual ways—from tampering with elections to misinformation to cyberattacks. Jim Sciutto puts it all together and helps us understand the new ‘Shadow War.’ This is a timely book, defining for us the nature of international conflict in the foreseeable future. Sciutto is a highly intelligent, determined, and hardworking reporter, and it shows. The book is deeply reported, crisply written, and thoroughly engaging.” — Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World

From the Publisher

The Shadow War is a clanging alarm, urging us to recognize and prioritize the threats we’ve ignored for too long. In crisp and elegant prose, Sciutto masterfully lays out how we got here and what we can do to deal with the asymmetrical challenges posed by Russia and China. The Shadow War is as alarming as it is necessary.

Julia Ioffe

We are all vaguely aware that America and the West have been challenged recently in new and unusual ways—from tampering with elections to misinformation to cyberattacks. Jim Sciutto puts it all together and helps us understand the new ‘Shadow War.’ This is a timely book, defining for us the nature of international conflict in the foreseeable future. Sciutto is a highly intelligent, determined, and hardworking reporter, and it shows. The book is deeply reported, crisply written, and thoroughly engaging.

Fareed Zakaria

For many years Russia and China have fought a war in the shadows to undermine the United States from the outer reaches of space to the deep seas of the Arctic. Sciutto’s excellent portrayal of those conflicts will keep you up at night.

Peter Bergen is the author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad

2019-03-22
The chief national security correspondent for CNN, journalist Sciutto explores a variety of dangers to the standing of the United States in the world order, with an emphasis on the dastardly plans of Russia and China.

Sciutto (Against Us: The New Face of America's Enemies in the Muslim World, 2008) focuses on threats to the U.S. military on the ground, in the air, and on the sea, and he also devotes chapters to cyberattacks and industrial espionage targeting American corporations. "This is a book about what happens when the enemies of the West realize that while they are unlikely to win a shooting war, they have another path to victory," he writes. Throughout, the author's tone is largely alarmist in nature, as he explains why he believes naïve and/or incompetent U.S. policymakers are ceding influence to the increasingly aggressive Chinese and Russians. Sciutto views the nationalism around the globe as a deadly game of winners and losers, with few shades of grey. He rarely portrays the U.S. government and military as the perpetrators of unwelcome aggressions across national borders. Rather, he suggests the U.S. is almost always the victim of an increasingly desperate Russia and a surging China. Sciutto portrays each non-American nation as a monolith lacking a substantial minority of dissenters. Some of the scenarios he examines will not be familiar to a broad swath of Americans—e.g., Russian cyberwarfare against its former state of Estonia. Many readers will be interested in Sciutto's account of Russian hacking during the 2016 presidential election. However, while his review is useful, it contains no stunning revelations and is certain to be out of date by the time the book publishes.

A hawkish book that will likely please "America Firsters" and xenophobes but might seem unbalanced to those who decry several centuries of U.S. aggression around the globe.

Kirkus Reviews

Jim has done a superb job capturing the current and future space and cyber threats to our national security. More importantly, he describes what the resulting vulnerabilities mean to the average citizen. This book should serve as a wake-up call for all of us.

General William Shelton (ret.) is the former Commander of US Air Force Space Command

With The Shadow War, Jim Sciutto, my CNN colleague and distinguished journalist, has written a milestone tutorial on the nature of conflict in today’s world. Jim’s riveting writing style clearly explains the diverse array of the new forms of asymmetric power we confront—whether in the cyber, space, undersea, propaganda, or irregular forces realms. . . . Unlike other books on these subjects, The Shadow War doesn’t stop with just the ‘doom and gloom’ descriptions, but also offers thoughtful prescriptions on how to respond. A very enlightening, compelling, tightly organized, readable book.

James Clapper is the former Director of National Intelligence

For many years Russia and China have fought a war in the shadows to undermine the United States from the outer reaches of space to the deep seas of the Arctic. Sciutto’s excellent portrayal of those conflicts will keep you up at night.

Peter Bergen is the author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad

With The Shadow War, Jim Sciutto, my CNN colleague and distinguished journalist, has written a milestone tutorial on the nature of conflict in today’s world. Jim’s riveting writing style clearly explains the diverse array of the new forms of asymmetric power we confront—whether in the cyber, space, undersea, propaganda, or irregular forces realms. . . . Unlike other books on these subjects, The Shadow War doesn’t stop with just the ‘doom and gloom’ descriptions, but also offers thoughtful prescriptions on how to respond. A very enlightening, compelling, tightly organized, readable book.

James Clapper is the-former Director of National Intelligence