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The War on Truth investigates all aspects of the lead up to the war in Iraq, its execution, and its aftermath. Neil MacKay contends that the public was systematically fed untruths in a manner that questions what kind of democracy we really have. MacKay, award winning investigative journalist for Scotland's Sunday Herald newspaper has covered the West's intelligence agencies for many years.

Customer Reviews (1)

Fine study of the rotten roots of the Iraq war
Neil Mackay, a reporter for the Sunday Herald, has spent four years researching the rotten roots of the Iraq war.

He reveals how the Bush team planned the attack long before they seized power, how the US and British states set up secret units to lie about the `threat' from Iraq, how the media followed them in lying for war, how the Bush and Blair governments tried to destroy those who sought to expose their lies, how they sanctioned the torture of Iraqis, how their forces used WMD against the people of Iraq, and how we could and should impeach Blair for war crimes.

Mackay shows in detail that, in the 1990s, 24 US and 16 British firms, among others, armed Iraq with WMD. Then, under UN pressure, Iraq destroyed all its WMD. Bush and Blair knew this and knew that it had not restored its WMD programme.

Yet they lied that Iraq was a threat. As the former head of the Foreign Office's Iraq desk admitted, "We told downright lies." As the head of MI6 reported back from his visit to Washington, "the intelligence and the facts were being fixed around the policy." Similarly, we now know from the International Atomic Energy Authority that Iran has no nuclear weapons programme, but Bush and Brown lie that it is a threat.

The Joint Intelligence Committee told Blair before the war that the Al Qa'ida "threat would be heightened by military action against Iraq." So Blair knew that the war would worsen terrorism, but he told us the opposite.

In May 2003, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty International both told Blair and Bush that their troops were torturing Iraqi prisoners. Blair and Bush did nothing until after the pictures from Abu Ghraib had horrified the world, a year later.

Blair and Bush lied about Iraq's WMD, and then used WMD - depleted uranium (DU) and phosphorus bombs. Mackay cites the Ministry of Defence website, which said that DU was not a risk to health: at the same time, the Ministry was telling British soldiers that DU "has the potential to cause ill-health."

The fact that Britain invaded Iraq without majority support undermines Britain's claim to be a democracy. As Mackay writes, "No democratic country starts illegal wars which its people don't support, bombs innocent people or allows rape and murder and torture to be committed by its own troops."

This book is a heartfelt plea for people to think for themselves and not let Blair or Rupert Murdoch or Alastair Campbell tell them what to think.


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Oil revenue has been an economic curse for Iraq. In the second half of the 20th century the international oil sector shaped Iraq's economy, forcing it to rely too heavily on revenue brought in by oil production and exports. Here the author helps the reader understand this important Arab, Middle Eastern, oil-exporting country that has been a constant focus of U.S. foreign policy since 1990. He proposes that the availability of capital is an insufficient condition for economic development, and may in fact retard it, as it did in this now reviled and wrecked country. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2006. The length of the article is 3174 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Iraq: elections, government, and constitution.(CRS Report for Congress: Received through the CRS Web)
Author: Kenneth Katzman
Publication: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs (Report)
Date: August 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

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This digital document is an article from Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs, published by Thomson Gale on June 1, 2007. The length of the article is 3347 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Iraq: government formation and performance.
Author: Kenneth Katzman
Publication: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs (Report)
Date: June 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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This book explains in detail President Obama's plan for America's most pressing problems. It describes how Obama intends to re-position the United States as a leader and role model for the world. In the midst of one of the greatest challenges our country has faced, Obama lays out his vision and goals for putting America back on track.

Among the topics are:
Reviving the economy, reducing the deficit, leaving Iraq, Universal Healthcare, Stem Cell Research, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea, energy independence, caring for our Veterans, improving education, Global Warming, Social Security, improving infrastructure, lowering taxes, and fighting terrorism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Obama didn't write this book
This book was a big let down. I wanted something that was written by the president, but instead this book was a collection speeches that he has said about these topics. Then after every speech someone else writes a dumbed down version of what the speech was about. They even refer to the president in the third person saying things like, "President Obama says..." Or, "what the president means..."
If you want a collection of speeches that the president didn't write in a book that wasn't written by the president then this book is for you. If you want something that was actually written by the president look elsewhere.

Worth the Read
This small book gives a good picture of where President Obama formed his political ideas.He has been down in the trenches working in non-profits with the neediest in our nation.His jargon and planning style are typically that of non-profits.This book shows that he is the first president of our country to really understand what is going on where the majority live.It proves he is not from the minority upper class that is so out of touch with what the rest of us are going through.This is where his hope comes from; the place where changes can be made.

Obama!!!
This book provides a great opportunity to hear the voice Obama off the camera. Though several quotes and portions of a few speeches are included, what you get here is the intelligence we finally have in the White House. You get to see what kind of change he wants in so many areas that weren't covered in-depth in the debates or in sound bites on the nightly news. His plans are very impressive. After reading this book, I'm even more hopeful about turning the country around.

Let's Hold Him to It
I read a previous review that implied Obama was "willing" to put this info out there. The truth is, he may have wanted it "out there" during the campaign, but now that he's president, he may not. Maybe the release of this book will finally help keep a politician honest.

Invaluable Resource
Now that the campaign is over, the conventions are done, the speeches that brought us to tears and rallied our country are fewer, Barack Obama must begin to meet the challenges our country faces in real way that involves so much more than inspiration alone.

For anyone who thought Obama was all talk and no substance, this book will set them straight. It discloses all of the plans and the agenda Obama wants to put forth for the country. Instead of a book of speeches, this is a book of well thought-out plans and policies. It's a quick and easy read of what we can look forward to in this president.

It's broken down into four sections:
Section 1- Restoring the Economy and Meeting Our National Obligations
a. Detailed outline of the Economic plan
b. Taxes and Tax Cuts
c. Fiscal Policy and the Deficit
d. Energy and the Environment
e. Science and Technology

Section 2- Improving the Lives of Americans
a. Healthcare
b. Education
c. Family and Women
d. Social Security and Medicare

Section 3- Protecting the Nation and Restoring American Values
a. Iraq
b. Nuclear Threats and Terrorism
c. Foreign Policy
d. Homeland Security
e. Defense

Section 4- Improving Our Communities
a. Veterans
b. Civil Rights
c. Poverty
d. Rural and Urban Planning
e. Community Service
f. Disabilities
g. Immigration
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Customer Reviews (1)

Highly recommended for academic and community library Iraqi Studies and International Studies reference collections
The beginning of Iraq's transformation from a single-party dictatorship to a multi-party democracy began with the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the subsequent overthrow of Saddam Hussein. As events unfolded it became clear that this was a pre-emptive 'war of choice' on the part of the Bush administration who over the next seven years were to consistently bungle the American occupation of Iraq, the ensuing civil war between warring political and religious factions within the Iraqi population, and the current continuing violence that results in the deaths of hundreds of Iraqi citizens (and the occasion American soldier) every month. That's why "Iraq In Transition: The Legacy Of Dictatorship And The Prospects For Democracy" by combat Marine officer Peter J. Munson is such a timely and useful contribution to our understanding of the political and military forces behind the nightly news headlines from that embroiled nation. "Iraq In Transitions" provides a complete history beginning with how Iraq was formed, the impact of Islam, and the 'rise of the tribes' within Iraq's power structures. Noted is the rise of the Shi'a as a political entity, the Sunni suppression under the Bath party, the post-American invasion insurgencies from 2003 to 2007, Iraq's constitution and elections, and the advances by the American and Iraqi military against the insurgents. Of special note is the concluding chapter regarding what we ourselves have learned from our experiences in Iraq over the past several years and what those 'lessons learned' mean in terms of our future relations in the Middle East and around the world. Enhanced with the inclusion of a selected bibliography, extensive footnotes, and a comprehensive index, "Iraq In Transition" is highly recommended for academic and community library Iraqi Studies and International Studies reference collections, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in understanding the events of the past several years in Iraq and what America can expect in the years to come. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs, published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2007. The length of the article is 3293 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Iraq: elections, constitution, and government.(CRS Report for Congress)
Author: Kenneth Katzman
Publication: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs (Report)
Date: April 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

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Iraq Foreign Policy and Government Guide ... Read more

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This study discusses, analyzes and appraises policies adopted to promote the growth of the industrial sector. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2006. The length of the article is 3257 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Iraq: elections, government, and constitution.
Author: Kenneth Katzman
Publication: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs (Report)
Date: November 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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After decades of being out of the focus of the world's attention, it now finds itself on the first pages of newspapers around the world and on TV evening broadcasts on a daily basis. Whether this will be good or not, Iraq is yet to be ascertained. This new book examines the new government and its activities, US Forces and their activities and the possible reason for it all - the massive oil reserve and its activities. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2007. The length of the article is 3023 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Iraq: government formation and benchmarks: updated September 20, 2007. (CRS Report for Congress).
Author: Kenneth Katzman
Publication: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs (Report)
Date: September 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

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Customer Reviews (1)

Good summary of Iraqi national politics
Pay close attention to the subtitle: "A Political History from Independence to Occupation." The emphasis here should be on "Political History" - this book provides a good account of Iraq's national level politics in the 20th century, but contains very little coverage of the rest of the country during the period.

Chapters two through eight cover Baghdad politics between 1921 and 1958, and account for about two-thirds of the book. Three chapters cover the 1921-36 period, with Dawisha attempting to have one chapter be purely chronological while the other two are more topical, describing the attendant circumstances, such as the existence of protests in various parts of the countries or Sati al-Husri's pan-Arabist education/indoctrination programs. But because the details almost all related to happenings in Baghdad, there is a great deal of repetition of the same facts over and over, perhaps from a slightly different angle each time.

There is virtually no discussion of social, economic or religious currents, except to mention them in passing, but with insufficient detail for the reader to understand their importance. Significant in this regard is the historical development of the Shia clerical establishment, which played a key role in the 1920 revolt and was in stagnation after that point until 2003. Dawisha mentions the clerical role in 1920, several times, but explains nothing about the clerical establishment itself, its economic and social decline in the decades that followed (to explain why the 1920 events were not repeated until 2003), the importance of Iranian ties to the shrine cities during this time, or anything more than a passing reference to the great urban migration of the Shia poor, which has had such an important impact over contemporary events.

What Dawisha does well is explain why democracy failed in Iraq. The revolving door of the prime minister's office in the 1921-58 period, and the bizarre paradox of tolerant authoritarianism (elections were rigged, but political opposition leaders rarely faced a threat to their lives) during this period are explained well, and in a way that shows how the period paved the way for the nightmare that was to come. Dawisha poignantly points to how those who attempted to kill Abd al-Karim Qasim in 1959, including the young Saddam Hussein, were pardoned by 1961. Qasim would be killed in a coup in 1963, and when Saddam had his time to rule, no one who showed the slightest tendency toward opposition would live to coup another day.

The last three chapters cover three periods: 1958-1968 (the "Authoritarian Republic"/Abd al-Karim Qasim, Abd al-Salam Arif, Abd al-Rahman Arif), 1968-2003 (the Baathist/Saddam Hussein period) and the 2003-2007 period. The 1958-68 chapter is probably the most insightful of these. The Baathist period is mainly dominated by anecdotes of the horror of Saddam's rule, rather than a narrative. The eight-year Iran-Iraq war, which cost so many Iraqis their lives and changed the country forever, is covered in a single page. And it isn't until the book reaches 1980 that Dawisha mentions Muhammad Baqir Sadr and the Dawa Party, which Sadr helped found in 1958, and only then to report Baqir Sadr's murder by the regime. Quite a bit was happening in the interim that Dawisha passes over.
Dawisha's coverage of the post-2003 period broadly acceptable but there isn't much nuance. In discussing the Shia political parties, for example, he mentions four key parties - the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Dawa, the Sadr faction and Fadhila - without discussing the ISCI-Sadr blood feud, that Fadhila is a branch of the Sadrist movement, or anything useful about the ISCI-Dawa relationship. The Sunni Awakening and the Iranian role in post-2003 period are very briefly discussed.

If you only plan to read one history of Iraq, read Charles Tripp's "History of Iraq" rather than this. But if you've read that and you want to know more, you could read this book for a better understanding of national politics, and the books of Yitzhak Nakash (buy "The Shiis of Iraq," NOT "Reaching for Power") and Mier Litvak on the Shia. I've written Amazon reviews on the latter two authors' books you may want to check out.
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Customer Reviews (2)

One of the first books you need to read to understand Iraq
Iraq Since 1958 is considered one of the "standards" of Iraqi history books.There are only a few others that have attained this level, books by Tripp and Marr are also in this category.This book, as well as the others just mentioned are the best places to start.They provide the broad framework and context of modern Iraqi history that is essential for understanding more specific issues, such as sectarianian splits within the country, as well as regional problems with countries like Turkey and Iran.

The book intensely covers the years 1958-1979 along with a chapter on the British monarchy and also a short chapter devoted to both the war with Iran and the ivasion of Kuwait.1958 stands as one of the most crucial years of Iraq with the overthrow of the British monarchy.An in-depth study beginning with this year and moving forward to the crucial decade of the 60s is the best way to understand how the Ba'th party and Saddam were able to take control of the country.

One of the most striking features of the book is the fact that the authors are very bold in their denunciation of the Ba'th party and its methods.Although one would be hard pressed to find someone actively arguing to the contrary, a high degree of ideological boldness permeates the chapters dealing with Ba'th party rule.That notwithstanding, Iraq Since 1958 is an essential read...one that no student of MIddle Eastern history should be without.

The authority on modern Iraq.
An essential for any mid Eastern studier's library ... Read more

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This well regarded and non-partisan book is brought up to date in its second edition. A complete history of twentieth and twenty-first century Iraq.

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Customer Reviews (3)

Hard Lessons
I am dissatisfied with the United States Postal Service.They have difficulty delivering my packages to me.When possible please send my purchases by United Parcel Service or Fed Ex.They provide excellent delivery service.Thank you.......Francis Joyce

Superb Review of Reconstruction Efforts in Iraq
Hard Lessons is an absolutely outstanding review and analysis of U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq, going all the way back to 2003 and up to early 2009.The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) has provided us with a balanced and fair history of the challenges, successes and failures of the many organizations involved in reconstruction and reestablishing stability.Based on six years of work by SIGIR staff, this book is clearly one of the best for those who want to learn the issues and lessons learned in Iraq's reconstruction.Cap Dean, Regional Coordinator for Baghdad/Central, 2004 and Deputy Coordinator for Economic Transition in Iraq, 2007.

If true it will annoy you
This accounting of the tax money spend rebuilding Iraq is truly troubling. Not in that we need to do this work, in that the way it was handled and the amount of money wasted. Like many large corporations, the United States Government is ill equipped to deal with even the simplest forms of construction or aid giving accounting. Quality control and efficiency are tasks seemly unknown to the Government or it's contractors. And this is just a drop in the bucket compared to the current economic needs of this country. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (33)

Phenomenal--Ref A Relevant to Everywhere Else
The author has achieved extraordinary synthesis and summation, with gifted straight-forward language.

This book is not only a capstone reference, but demonstrates why we need to LISTEN--none of us could learn--in a lifetime--all that this author has in his head.That's why multinational engagement is a non-negotiable first step toward the future.

Key notes and quotes:

+Bush Senior should not have left Saddam Hussein off the hook in Gulf I, should have finished off the regime while we had enough troops on the ground to make the peace.

+US blew Gulf II from the moment of victory onward."Incoherent" is a word the author uses frequently in describing virtually every aspect of US operations in Iraq.The one element that gets high marks from him is the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) but the fact that the bulk of the "reconstruction" money was mis-managed by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) makes AID's excellent a footnote in this sorry tale.

+Book covers 2003-2006; the author was Minister of Defense and then Minister of Finance during the reconstruction period.

+"Too few Americans actually cared."Fred Smith (parent agency not clear) gets high marks from the author for caring and competence as the CPA-appointed advisor to the Ministry of Defense in the 2004 timeframe.

+Up front the author identifies 33 key Iraqis and 14 key Americans, and I am struck by the fact that not a single one of the Americans is a uniformed US military officer on active duty.

+Great map of 74 tribal districts.Very interesting when you remember that we were told to ignore the tribal chiefs and imams for the first four years, and that Maj Gant's paper "One Tribe at a Time" is now respected--just eight years too late.

+Invasion extraordinary for "complexity of motive and ambiguity of purpose."Wow.

+Snapshot of the 1960's through the 1980's focuses on US indifference followed by sideline role in Iran-Iraq war [during which some will recall that we gave Saddam Hussein bio-chemical weapons that he was quick to use on the Kurds as well as the Iranians]

+Citing Robert Merton, author of Social Theory and Social Structure among many other works, he lists the five contributing factors to unintended consequences:
---01Ignorance of tr5ue conditions pertaining
---02Error in inference
---03Primacy of immediate interests
---04The ideological imperative (or the imperative of 'basic values')
---05Self-fulfilling prophecy (the author says this phrase was coined by Merton).

QUOTE:In official Washington, the ignorance of what was going on inside Iraq before the war was monumental."

QUOTE:The State Department, supposedly a citadel of realist thinking, had little first-hand experience of the country, instead relying on inference and analogous reasoning when trying to unravel the possible outcomes in the postwar period."

QUOTE:The invasion and occupation of Iraq comprised an index of errors of commission and omission.It would be difficult to catalog them.There were just too many....The range, number, and pernicious effects of these errors was astounding.

+HUGE FAILURE OF CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE.None.Zip.Nada.Rein.

+PHENOMENAL accounting of the indigenous open sources of information that were precise, relevant, and IGNORED.

+Chalabi is treated relatively kindly, and given credit for forecasting the invasion of Kuwait.

+First serious Iraqi opposition in exile conference in 1992

+Fascinating account of the deliberate emergence of Shia consciousness from 1988 [same year that Saudi Arabia started funding Bin Laden and radical Wahhabism world-wide), Shia emergence accelerating in 1992 (US did not notice)

+Iraqi opposition was ostracized in the Middle East less Kuwait and Iran.

QUOTE:The entire process of planning for a post-war Iraq was mired in ineptitude, poor organization and indifference.The 'Future of Iraq Project' was a half-hearted and unreal attempt to tackle the issues that would confront the overseers of a country with a devastated economy and a dictatorial political culture."

QUOTE:The Bush administration's position on Iraq, in the immediate aftermath of the war, was riddled with expedient decision-making, departmental infighting, conflicting strategies, and policy incoherence."

+General Erik Shinseki and Senator Joe Biden get high marks from the author for being intelligence and realistic.Garner is considered "well-meaning" but lacking the organization to be effective.

BOTTOM LINE:Dick Cheney personally, and bureaucratic infighting between State and Defense, combined with the complete and utter ignorance of US intelligence about Iraq, destroyed Iraq, whose fragile state was not understood in the slightest.

+BREMER is considered by the author to have been a second-string player, a hasty compromise, to which I would add, sending him on a one-year tour was criminal, but then that was Dick Cheney's nature.

+This entire book is an indictment of the idiocy, criminality, and lack of intelligence of the entire US Government but especially the White House, DoD, State, and CIA.

+Discovery of mass graves (tens of thousands) was a vastly under-estimated cause for ethnic anguish and the revival of centuries old antipathies.

+Bremer's first two decisions, the de-Bathification of the government and the dissolution of the only respected institution in the country, the military-police (vice Gestapo), destroyed whatever hope there might have been of avoiding a prolonged occupation and the total immolation of the society and economy.

+Saddam Hussein's main focus was on Shia uprising not on US invasion.

+US failed to integrate and listen to Iraqi leaders at all times.

+Core divide:Sovereignty first, elections later (Iraqi view) versus US view of vice versa.

+US crudeness inflamed tribes.

+Marshall Plan was huge and multinational, Iraq "aid" was tiny and unilateral.

+ CPA's three key failures:no price and subsidy reform; no food distribution reform; no state-owned enterprises financial reform.

+Saudi considerations of the invasion: fear of insurgents FROM Iraq; Iraq as proxy for Iran; Iraq as oil challenger; revival of Shia.

At Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, I provide a number of quotes that will not fit here, and a link to my cluster of 33 other reviews on Iraq, one of 98 categories within which I read.

Excellent history of the Iraq war
Title The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace
Author: Ali A. Allawi
Rating *****
Tags iraq, occupation, war, george w bush, dick cheney, middle east, politics, government, achmed chalabi, ali allawi

Excellent book, indispensible for any Westerner seeking to understand Iraq. Ali Allawi is an Iraqi who spent much of his life in exile from the Ba'ath regime, and was well-connected to the opposition who were influential once Saddam was overthrown, being a nephew of Ahmed Chalabi and a cousin of Ayed Allawi. He held various positions in post-Saddam Iraq.

All of which prepares one for a biased telling of the story of Iraq, from the viewpoint of a partisan with a particular view. What one gets instead is a stunningly broad and deep look at all the strands that go into creating the Iraq of today. Allawi discusses the politics, religion, and economy of Iraq, showing the major players and their complex viewpoints, the interaction of all the persons, events, and influences in a remarkably dispassionate and balanced way. Yet he writes with an insider's knowledge and access to people in positions of influence.

Moreover Allawi is competent in discussing the influences that drove the American invasion, and provides an excellent analysis of a theorist the Americans SHOULD have paid attention to , Robert Merton, and his theories of the law of unintended consequences. By the end of the book one is well aware of how difficult and multi-faceted a job is nation building, not something that should be attempted lightly or in ignorance.

Allawi includes brief but important analyses of the views of the other regional powers, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. Their views are complex and multi-layered.

One item was particularly interesting to me. I just read the book _Century of War, Century of Media_ which was particularly horrifying in describing the use of phosphorus by US troops in Fallujah. Allawi's book confirms that account on p. 339, "The MNF [multinational force] was accused of using banned chemical weapons such as white phosphorus and incendiary bombs, a charge denied by the State Department but subsequently indirectly confirmed by the Department of Defense."

The book does not end on a hopeful note. The situation in Iraq is dire, with few good solutions. But after reading this book one has a much better idea of how the situation became what it is, which is a necessary condition to finding solution

Publication Yale University Press (2007), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 544 pages
Publication date 2007
ISBN 0300110154 / 9780300110159

best book there is on Iraq
If you read just one book about Iraq you need it to be this one. This book is the most comprehensive book out there. It provides a very in depth explanation of Iraq. The book focuses on the political angle of Iraq. He has a lot of inside information that the American press just misses. He has some good insight on American policy that is interesting. The author is Iraqi so he has such an insight that is amazing. You can't find this anywhere else.

An Iraqi Account of the War
I just finished reading this book.It is the sixth book I have read on the war in Iraq, and the first by an Iraqi.It is not an easy read, but it is worth the effort.The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars is that it is kind of a chore to grind through the whole thing, but I am glad I made the effort.

Compared to the other books on Iraq which I have read, this painted a much more complex picture of Iraq.It helped me to understand the complexities of Iraq, and how hard it is to govern it.The identification of Iraqis with Iraq seems pretty thin compared to identification with their religion, their ethnicity, their tribe, clan, family, etc.

Allawi complements some and reproves others.The failure of the occupation is due to mistakes both by the U.S. and by the Iraqis.And he lays it all out quite well.One comment on the U.S. administration really stood out:He cited cheery quotes by both President Bush and General Petraeus in the midst of explaining the then current situation, which was anything but cheery.So I am even less inclined to believe anything said in the future by these two men.I had an idea there was corruption, but the scale of it is mind-boggling.Where other books, by Americans, detail the corruption on the American side, Allawi explains it on the Iraqi side.

If you want to be informed, read this book.If you don't want to be depressed, pass it up.

Dennis Veith

An Iraqi perspective
Books about the Iraq war are plentiful to say the least and unfortunately, many of them add little to the debate.Even so, there are many books that do and it can be a bit intimidating to dive into the subject.There isn't a single definitive book on the subject and if you really want to understand the war and its aftermath, you'll need to devote quite a bit of time to that end.Ali Allawi's book is definitely worth the read, but it's hard to tell exactly where this book fits into the overall picture from the title alone.What you'll find in The Occupation of Iraq is primarily a narrative (from an Iraqi perspective) of the political process in Iraq after the U.S. invasion.Although Allawi is at times critical of the U.S., what you won't find in this book is a rant against the Bush administration or the U.S. in general, even though many people reviewing books like this like to say that it's somehow incontrovertible proof that Bush is a lying criminal etc.

As an Iraqi, Allawi provides a number of important insights that normally get left out of the discussion by American writers.One important piece of conventional wisdom is that Saddam Hussein's regime was secular and that the rise of Islamic extremism in Iraq is somehow America's fault, but Allawi correctly points out that in 1994, Hussein launched a faith campaign in order to enhance its authority and credibility.This more than anything the U.S. did planted the seeds of Sunni extremism.Another important, but often overlooked point involves the looting of the country that happened after the invasion.Allawi draws attention to the fact that the systematic looting of government buildings was not the work of random criminals, but rather by regime elements determined to dismantle as much of the state's infrastructure as possible, making in more difficult for the Americans and successive Iraqi governments and also to destroy as much incriminating evidence as possible.This never really gets discussed in other books on the subject, but it's an important point that makes a lot of sense when you think about it.As far as the criticism goes that Allawi was an exile, and therefore unqualified to really write about Iraq, the vast majority of the book is concerned with the post-invasion period, when he was part of the government.There is very little about Iraq before the war.These types of criticisms against Allawi carry little, if any weight.

Some things that stood out to me as odd though.One was that the preface was obviously written by someone whose first language isn't English, but the rest of the book doesn't come across this way at all.Maybe it was that the rest of the book was subject to careful editing while the preface was left alone.In any case, it seems like one person wrote the preface while a different person wrote the rest of the book.Also, there are severl times in the book where Allawi refers to himself, but it's in the third person.This adds to the impression that someone else wrote the bulk of the book.In most narrative accounts like this, a person involved in the story itself uses 1st person, not 3rd. Another odd thing about this book is that Allawi never capitalizes the words West or Western.Normally when writing about "the" West or "the" East, the words are capitalized.A subtle jab at the West by Allawi perhaps?Hard to tell, but odd nonetheless.

At 460 pages, The Occupation of Iraq is a lengthy and sometimes difficult read, but ultimately rewarding.To my knowledge, this is the only work of such depth written by an Iraqi involved in the work of rebuilding Iraq at the governmental level.Fiasco and Cobra II cover the story from the American military perspective, The Assassins' Gate and the Foreigner's Gift are more of an investigative journalism/extensive travel diary, and State of Denial is the ultimate insider's look at the Bush administration.These are all important angles and necessary ones to fully understand what's happened in Iraq.Allawi's contribution provides a much needed Iraqi government perspective and in many ways, he's just as critical of the Iraqi government's failures as most are of the Bush administration.This probably shouldn't be the first book about Iraq that someone reads, because I think it requires at least some prior knowledge about the country.Someone with no background will likely have a difficult time here, but the book is certainly rewarding for those well-versed in the subject. ... Read more

Product Description
THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE INVASION OF IRAQ

Filled with news-making revelations that made it a New York Times bestseller, Hubris takes us behind the scenes at the White House, CIA, Pentagon, State Department, and Congress to show how George W. Bush came to invade Iraq - and how his administration struggled with the devastating fallout.

Hubris connects the dots between Bush's expletive-laden outbursts at Saddam Hussein, the bitter battles between the CIA and the White House, the fights within the intelligence community over Saddam's supposed weapons of mass destruction, the outing of an undercover CIA officer, and the Bush administration's misleading sales campaign for war. Written by veteran reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn, this is an inside look at how a president took the nation to war using faulty and fraudulent intelligence. It's a dramatic page-turner and an intriguing account of conspiracy, backstabbing, bureaucratic ineptitude, journalistic malfeasance, and arrogance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (75)

Hubris
Very informative. I wonder if it could have provided more from the Bush/Cheney point of view, but I haven't ever read any information that suggested there was any credible evidence of a Saddam/al Qaida connection or that Saddam actually had an active nuclear weapons program.

Detailed and focused
The book goes step by step, day by day, and at times hour by hour laying bare the self-deception and arrogance of the Bush years.Granted there is much the book does not cover, or glosses over while it closely follow a select few threads.Valerie Plame, the allegation that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Africa, the cheer-leading support by New York Times reporter Judi Miller for the Bush administration were placed under a microscrope.Sometimes the timelines became a bit dizzying. I wanted to chart it just to keep track of it.In the end it was better to focus sharply and narrowly than to lose the detail in a wide-angle view.

It is curious, however, that in this book, along with the other I've read on the the Bush Administration, that former President Bush is mentioned so rarely.The impression is that once he assigned a person to a job in the Whitehouse he did almost nothing to keep tabs on them.

Lets the facts speak for themselves
Doesn't matter what side of the political spectrum you hail from, this book is important for it's factual telling of how a president and his mascot's took our country to war regardless of the facts. The only concern was that enough of the public was on their side to cover their collective butts. They could easily have been democrats as a republicans. The real lesson here is that partisan politics is a dangerous game and unhealthy for our country.

Inside Story on Bush's Foreign Policy
This is an excellent book for those who want to find out what really led up to the invasion of Iraq.

Hubris provides a very detailed account of how the Bush Administration decided to invade Iraq.It debunks the myth that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, etc. actually believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction by demonstrating that they instead purposely ignored evidence to the contrary in order to "sell" the war.On at least one occasion when such evidence was presented to them, they replied, "Give us something we can use."The authors were no doubt better able to dig up this dirt because by the time they wrote the book, the post-invasion search had proved conclusively that Saddam did not have any WMDs.But the book details all of the people, including some at the CIA, who had concluded BEFORE THE INVASION that Saddam did not have WMDs.

The book also reveals that the Army War College wrote a lengthy report on what was likely to happen in Iraq once Saddam was toppled.The report was submitted to the White House, but it was ignored.Too bad, because it accurately predicted just about every post-invasion calamity that happened (most notably the vicious secterian violence).

There is also a great chapter on how in the hell Colin Powell came to give that now infamous speech before the United Nations - a moment that Powell now describes as "a black mark" on his career.Essentially what happened was Powell asked for all of the evidence of WMDs, spent a week reviewing it with his staff, and then rebuked CIA Director George Tenet: "Is this it?"He sent Tenet back to the drawing board, but in the end, Tenet essentially told Powell "Just take my word for it" and got Powell to give the speech.Powell's only condition was that Tenet sit behind him during the speech so that the world would know who the source of these conclusions was.

There is also a detailed chapter on exactly how Valerie Plame's husband was sent to Niger to investigate (false) reports that Saddam had procured vast amounts of enriched uranium from that country, and how Plame's name was leaked by Karl Rove to the media after her husband wrote an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times entitled, "What I Didn't Find in Africa."

Everything they didn't want you to know about Iraq, and were afraid you'd ask
The only slight drawback to this book is that the authors clearly haven't a clue as to why any of these events took place, but they tell you that right off the top, and then make up for it by telling you everything about who, when, what, where and how in meticulous detail. It's like standing behind a bad conjuror at a kids' party. You keep wanting to yell:"Can't you see what he's doing?", but the kids are all cheering and saying it's real magic. Best of all, like the conjuror, you watch them get away with it, and collect the money on the way out! Of course, it's probably not as much fun if you were one of the kids, but for the rest of us, it's priceless :o) ... Read more

Product Description
"We know more today.about how the Administration has mismanaged the contracts to reconstruct Iraq. And what we have learned shows that the problems are even worse than we thought. All.perspectives point to the same conclusion: Halliburton is gouging the taxpayer and the Bush Administration doesn't seem to care." - Statement of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform

REBUILDING IRAQ: U.S. Mismanagement in the Middle East discussed the oversight of the Development Fund for Iraq funds through the national budgetary process.

Originally issued in late January 2005 by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the main objective of this audit was to determine whether the Coalition's Provisional Authority (CPA) implemented adequate procedures for the recording, reviewing and reporting disbursements for the reconstruction of Iraq.

The results of the audit contain detailed information relating to managerial, financial, and contract controls as well as formal recommendations about the oversight of the Development Fund for Iraq funds.

Organized chronologically from early December 2004 through end of July 2005, additional documents contained in this report include numerous Facts Sheets on the value of Halliburton contracts including a comprehensive overview of the total value these contracts as well as information pointing to serious problems from severe contract abuses to the mismanagement of funds in Iraq. ... Read more

Product Description
Now back in print, this classic work has assumed a new significance in light of Iraq's recent history. The late Hanna Batatu's landmark study of Iraq's social formation during the twentieth century is widely regarded as one of the most significant works of recent times dealing with Middle Eastern society and politics. Originallypublished in 1978, it is one of the very few comprehensive, primary source-based histories of any Arab country ever written. In the course of pursuing research in Iraq, Batatu happened to meet Abdul Karim Qassem who later went on to lead Iraq after the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy in 1958. The prior friendship resulted in Batatu gaining access to otherwise secret state archives.Combined with extensive interviews and on-the-ground research, The Old Social Classes catapulted Iraq into a new light.At nearly 1,300 pages the work is dense with detail including large numbers of tables and raw data to illustrate his analytical points.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Social Scientist
It is a great book.I was fortunate to get it at one third of its price.The Condition of the book is very satisfactory.I was aware before the purchase that certain items had been highlighted which happened to be a plus in my case.It took a bit longer than useal to receive the book as I usually get all books purchased within a time frame of five to ten days.This one took about twenty days.I am totally satisfied with the purchase just as I have been in all my prior purchases.Thank you for making it happen at such a reasonable price.
Dr. Banarji

A weighty textbook for the serious student of our nation's burden
I first came across the title of this book in another `review' (of sorts) so compelling that I sought the book for my own.In Cullen Murphy's "Are We Rome?" [ ISBN 0-618-74222-0] there is a passage comparing the attitudes of ancient Roman generals and current American military leadership in wartime. (I now summarize and paraphrase:)
The Romans were renowned, evidently, for being arrogant, smug, complacent, ignorant, contemptuous of their enemies (always called `barbarians'), and utterly assured of victory no matter who their opponents were. Indeed, they were often successful, but sometimes they were crushingly defeated because they paid so little attention to the capabilities or characteristics of those arrayed against them.Murphy then fast-forwards to the newly-established Green Zone in Baghdad in the early days of America's conquest of Iraq (near the time of the "Mission Accomplished" speech.) An Arab translator sits in a cubicle studying a textbook. An American general comes in and asks what he's reading."The bible" answers the Arab. "You don't read the Bible, you're a Muslim," the officer challenges.The man holds up his book:"The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq" by Hanna Batatu, which he considers absolutely essential to understand Iraq, its people, its conflicts, its likely responses to events going forward.The general reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a tatty paperback of a tourist's guide to Iraq and proclaims "Everything I need to know is in this."

The stunning connection between this American soldier and Quintilius Varus, the officer whose name is attached to one of the worst military fiascos in Roman history (Clades Variana - The Disaster of Varus) put pins and needles in my hands and neck.Because of that debacle, the nature of Europe was given part of its qualities.Our leaders may choose to nurture their ignorance, but I want to read the book the translator had.

The copy I obtained is a paperback 2004 reprint of the original published in the 1970s. It is enormous, dense, packed with facts, statistics, graphs, charts, lists, footnotes, some maps, and needing study with a highlighter rather than a simple read.The more I absorb of Batatu's opus the less fuzzy the lens through which I look at what our president calls our national "frustration."Today is September 11, 2007.General Petraeus speaks to Congress with reassurance that though things are bad in Baghdad they are improving in the edges of the provinces.Last night Batatu's details revealed the enduring strength of the smaller communities held at arms' length from the capital city (nicknamed "the devourer of men".) Batatu's words can take scrutiny, which is more than I can say for the policy papers our government is presently using for reference.

I give the book four stars - the same as Petraeus wears on his uniform.

An journey into complexity
Hannah Batatu taught me at Georgetown 20 years ago. He was an interesting, personally often charming man with a rather dry empirical Marxist view of things. The title of his book reflects this element of materialist focus.
I have not looked into this book for some time. It is exhaustive and from memory there is a "lack of woods for the trees" element to it. At times one is given too much detail about exactly what class of peasant someone's father was.
Nonetheless, the key point I took away from it is that Iraq is a "country" full of complexity and tension. That is a simple lesson which someone who, for example, might want to invade the country would have done well to heed.
If nothing else, this books teaches us the value of history in unearthing complexity. If we try and paper over that complexity, or ignore it, reducing it to elements of "good" and "bad" things often turn very ugly indeed. ... Read more