1992 - Handling Saddam Hussein in a different way
347770
1992, neither George H W Bush nor Clinton have been elected but the sitting President is still set on "dealing" with Saddam Hussein's Iraq which is to say getting "that oil flowing in the right direction" as demanded by the corporate big boys. The basic setup is straight-arrow (well most of them) generals dealing with short-sighted self-serving (are there any other kind?) politicians intent on "starting a war we don't have to fight".  Trying to do it on the sly (assassinating Saddam) and on the cheap (a short victorious local war) fails miserably. The world almost boils over with things souring in a big way from Macedonia to Korea. Extended war is avoided litterally at the last minute leaving everything on hold (including Saddam still in power) while "serious rich white men were carefully considering who would be their next representative to sit in the Oval Office". We get a military-friendly detailed look into the inner workings of the US war machine, an involving storyline and a relatively accurate view of the real powers that be.
2818208
This book provides an excellent overview of the efforts by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to rebuild Iraq after the invasion in 2003.  The author shows repeated, systemic failures that contributed to the development of the insurgency in Iraq.  This is a quick, enjoyable read.
1885182
In "Regime Change Begins at Home" Charles Derber does a very good job of explaining the "regime" and how it is made up of not just the obvious political aspect of government but also the corporate aspect.

The audience for this book is a wide one, including liberals, conservatives, and populists.

One of the lessons of this book is that regime change has happened in American politics throughout our history. The New Deal programs of FDR and the Reagan Revolution are two examples of citizen voters promoting regime change.

There are some sobering comparisons of George W. Bush to other presidents in history. Herbert Hoover presided during a similar, massive loss of jobs. That's not a comforting comparison!

Mr. Derber offers some history on the formation of corporate-political power groups such as the Business Roundtable and the Heritage Foundation in 1972.

He also traces the regime foreign policy plan that Dick Cheney advocated already in 1992 "for maintaining preeminence, precluding the rise of a great rival power."

There are some disturbing admissions from C.I.A. operatives from the 1980's that they were present and sometimes advised on torture sessions in foreign countries. Torture and American politics is not something new!

The author also highlights the fact that nearly every nation that we have deployed troops to, or focused military and political interest on, is either an oil producer or the location of a pipeline.

Charles Derber exposed another motive for the high degree of publicity and promotion of fear related to the "War on Terror", it's to hide as long as possible the horrific stae of the U.S. economy! The financial crisis in the news this week is precisely what the author wrote about!

Two of the many quotes that were particularly good were:

From page 159- "All corporate regimes engage in covert war against their populations, since their aim is to redistribute wealth and power form the people to elites."

"The war on terrorism is aimed as much at undermining civil liberties and active citizenship as it is at stopping terrorists."- page 236.

Despite being 4 years old, "Regime Change Begins at Home" has some website addresses that are still viable. These sites are listed in the Appendix.
Charles Derber offers easy paths that anyone can follow to get involved in changing the current government or regime.
So the book contains valid complaints about loss of jobs and other pressing concerns, but also a solution to correct or improve the status for every day American citizens
2122161
This is a brilliant book in so many ways but its premise does not consider that the invasion of Iraq was in the works well before 9/11.  In my Playboy article, "Lockheed Stock and Two  Smoking Barrels,"  [...] I document how Lockheed Martin, with it stock slumping to 16 and in financial distress, set out to capture the GOP and the Bush administration, as its lobbyists and executives mobilized the country for war. Leading up to the invasion, Lockheed saw its stock zoom to 75.  The F-35 contract to Lockheed came before the invasion and it was shared with British arms giant, BAE Systems, when it too was in financial distress.  Was this a motive for Tony Blair's decision to go to war?  As a Lockheed executive at its plant in Marietta, Georgia quipped when asked why the war in Iraq took place, "There weren't enought contrats in Afghanistan."  As Kurt Vonnigut wrote, "So it goes."
3184894
Two months after the Arab-Israeli war of June 1967 ended, then Colonel, now Major General (ret), Gazit found himself put in charge of the West Bank territories Israeli troops had just won.  His surprise at this appointment was exceeded only by the commands unpreparedness to rule well over a half-million Arabs.  Even the operational order for war issued on June 4, 1967 -- which clearly defined the mission of capturing the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Stripmade no mention of the need to establish a military government. As a result, confusion reigned and improvisation took over.  Gazit shows in fascinating detail how practices evolved out of a combination of the 1956 experience of ruling the Gaza Strip, the attitudes of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, and exigencies of the moment.  An example of the last:  anger at the Jordanians for having placed a urinal against the Western Wall seems to have led to the clearing of a large plaza near the Wall, quite contrary to international law. Gazit shows that the principal guidelines of Israeli rule were established and consolidated during the first three months after the Six-Day War.  These included such profoundly consequential decisions as the annexation of Jerusalem, the open bridges policy toward Jordan, and the permission for Israelis to settle in the captured areas.
Gazit provides an extremely informative account by drawing both on his personal experience and in-depth research on the evolution of Israeli rule.  Few books offer so much original information on the shaping of the current Arab-Israeli conflict.
Middle East Quarterly, March 1996
2924522
A very good account of the 42 Commando campaign in Iraq with a few Flashy overtones but not of the same ilk aas the original. This is not a problem as the book is an excellent read in it's own right.
2301693
I've just finished reading Mission Black List #1. The story told by the interrogator who found Saddam Hussein. It is an intriguing view, from the inside, of the military intelligence gathering in Iraq.  The interrogator, Eric Maddox, realized the centralized military interrogation was not producing results; so, he developed his own system.

While working in Tikrit, Eric realized there were family and tribal links between the men closest to Saddam.  The centralized interrogation - sending all prisoners to Baghdad - was not equipped to draw the links between prisoners. They just processed prisoners from all over Iraq and moved them out.  Eric created a link diagram of these relationships. This was innovative.  He was able to work his way up the  links until he found Black List #1, Saddam Hussein.

His story moves quickly over 6 months.  He knew he was on to something. Proving it to everyone else would be difficult. There were tense moments when he was about to make a break through and the chain of command had other plans. He was working outside the system. Until he could prove himself, he was a renegade. The military doesn't work that way.

His story is full of lessons for all us: realizing there is a better way, working against the establishment, creating new ideas and being successful despite the barriers.  When organizations are large - like the military - they develop systems to manage processes. Sometimes, the best intentions just get in the way. Success comes from individuals, like Eric Maddox, who have better ideas and fight to prove them.

My New Year's Resolution was to read 6 non fiction books. They have to be outside my area of expertise.  I started with Mission Black List #1. This book was #1 for my mission.  I found the book easy to read.  It was a quick read. The last few chapters, leading to capture, get really tense. I'm glad we have soldiers like Eric Maddox.
3202503
Iraq expert, Dr. Laurie Mylroie, presents a compelling case linking Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime to the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.  Through painstaking and thorough research, Dr. Mylroie outlines the evidence and raises serious questions concerning the Clinton Administration's Iraq policy.
Her study also highlights the broader issue of US approaches to terrorism in general and state sponsored terrorism in particular.
This study has profound implications for US threat assessment in the post-September 11, 2001 environment.
965209
Stephen Hayes does a solid job of documenting links between the Saddam Hussein and various terrorist groups including al Qaeda.

There is no smoking gun contained in these pages linking the former Iraq regime to the 9/11 attacks.  Of course, the Bush administration never claimed that there was.  What it does contain is a lot of evidence linking Hussein to various international terrorist groups.  In a post 9/11 world, the question becomes this:  Would any responsible administration ignore strong ties between a brutal thug like Hussein who regularly threatened U.S. interests and various terrorist organizations who routinely threaten the U.S.

The author certainly does a good job at documenting links between the Hussein regime with al Qaeda.  The thing that he does even better is proving the blatantly partisan nature of the establishment news media.  He also does a strong job of showing the way that various politicians have changed their position on the major issue in this book depending upon who is in the White House.  Many politicians including Bill Clinton, John Kerry, the French Foreign Minister and the UN Weapons Inspectors made statements linking Hussein to WMDs.  Then, when there is a president in the White House whom they despise, they change their tunes and claim that the WMD issue was phony.

Those who are strongly anti Bush may simply discard the author's case.  Those who are open minded will see that the administration did have some significant reasons to make the case against Iraq.
4895795
Excellent and absorbing book written in a masterly style. The author's expertise in investigative reporting shows on every page. As one with access to the highest echelons of power at the CPA, the author has woven an interesting tapestry that throws a powerful search light on the utter chaos that ensued the US occupation of Iraq. The vignettes of CPA initiatives and personalities in each chapter lays bare the arrogance, hubris and opportunism portrayed by these modern day Don Quixotes. It is also tragic to note that some with true ideals and vision were drawn into this fiasco and had to leave, disillusioned by the impractical initiatives and the high handed approach of CPA commandants. One truly sympathizes with the fate of the trusting Iraqis who were expecting Jerry Bremer & co to deliver them from the tyranny of Saddam's rule and create a paradise for them in the middle of the Arab world, while the delusional CPA leadership was trying to remake Iraq in the image of America.
4494257
If you really want to know what was actually taking place in Iraq under Saddam this is a must read!
4486719
Before I write my review I am going to say I hate war now if you have a problem with that feel free not to read my review, I have a question what did Saddam Hussein and the people of Iraq have to do with the destruction of the World Trade Buildings in New York City the answer is nothing there was never any connection between the two, but yet President George W. Bush used that situation as a pretext for war against Iraq, the pictures in this book speak about the destruction of war on people and the surrounding environment.
4711798
Vali Nasr reminds his readers that Shias represent only 10 to 15% of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims.  However, Shias are approximately as numerous as Sunnis in the Near East.  The American coziness with the Sunni elites between the toppling of the Shah of Iran in 1979 and 9/11 was therefore somewhat understandable.

Nasr clearly demonstrates that outside Iran, most Shias are often treated as second-class Muslims and easily branded as heretics by most Sunnis for not embracing the predominantly legalistic approach of Sunnism to Islam.  In ending Saddam Hussein's Sunni minority rule over Iraq in the aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. gave a voice to the oppressed Shia majority and inadvertently gave a new life to the Shia-Sunni old mutual hatred.  The sectarian conflict within the Islamic world, especially in Iraq, cannot be understood without considering the unbalanced distribution of wealth and power between Shias and Sunnis.

Modern Iraq shows striking similarities with the Turkish core of the Ottoman Empire after WWI:

1) Foreign powers such as the U.S., Iran, and Saudi Arabia as well as Sunni outsiders involved in jihad are at cross-purposes about how to expand their influence in Iraq and about how to eventually partition its territory.

2) Ancient mixed communities are bearing the brunt of an increasingly lethal civil war.  The remaining moderates within each community willy-nilly look for protection from their respective hard-liners.

3) The Kurds remain largely on the sideline while Arab Shias and Sunnis are locked in a deadly power struggle.

4) Powerful militias and armed groups vie for the supreme command within their respective communities.

Will "preemptive" ethnic cleansing of mixed Sunni-Shia areas be the only solution to avoid mass slaughter and to expedite the exit by the outside powers from Iraq?
4206248
This short review is from "Books on Bosnia" published by The Bosnian Institute. Powerful account of the nature of the war in Bosnia (especially central Bosnia) during 1992-3, by a leading correspondent. Of particular  interest for its coverage of the Croat-Muslim conflict, though it is less  reliable on the background to Yugoslavia's break-up and descent into war
4362093
This book is a thoroughly mainstream account of the Iraq war. It focuses largely on the effects the Iraq war had on the United States, implicitly accepting the notions that underlie American imperialism. It describes with horror the torture and other depredations of the Iraqi insurgency, but is quite silent about similar American abuses, including the absolutely astonishing scale of death and destruction in Iraq brought about by the American invasion. Still, one can learn a great deal from this book about the incredible incompetence and stupidity of the people who launched this war. To summarize the book, they had absolutely no idea what they were doing. The fact that they had no idea what they were doing lead naturally to the disastrous conclusion of the war: most major US war aims were lost. Ricks repeats Bush administration propaganda about the actual war aims, but one need not be a genius to understand that the real goal of the Iraq war was to control Iraq's energy resources and strategic space. These goals have been almost entirely lost at this point, and were on their way in that direction when Ricks finished writing his book.

Well worth reading for anyone who can read between the lines of mainstream commentary and pick up the real story in the facts buried beneath the rhetoric.
127371
A very interesting tour of the worst places in the world.

Regarding the decline of the CIA, I found it not unlike the the stories of corporations like GM, Sony, and Microsoft that grew massive and lost then lost the "eye of the tiger", opening themselves up to being taken by surprise by an underestimated force.

Regarding terror, Baer's work in the Middle East through the 80s and 90s put the 9/11 attacks in perspective as an escalation of a rising tide of Islamic fundamentalist violence.

I was particularly shocked at Iran's role in fostering international terror. It seemed that plot after terrorist plot led back to Iranian intelligence services, to the extent that Saddam's desperate dictatorship of Iraq seemed almost benign by comparison. The brief history of Iranian involvement in terrorism that is contained in this book affected how I think about current events regarding Iran.
3085362
The author, a counterinsurgency expert, documents the "hundred things" that had to be done by the Marines and the Army to turn around a war that was declared lost by Senator Harry Reid. The fiendish complexity is explained province by province battle by battle. And how this complexity had to be dealt with from the bottom-up with bribes, Iraqi partners, barriers and many more tactics like that that made the turn around possible. But the turn around is reversible. On page 375  Bing West suggests a pullout of all combat units in sixteen months (the Democrats position) could lead to catastrophe in Iraq. Defeat ordered from the top down, in spite of all that has been sacrificed, is still possible. We will see how great that possibility is after November 4, 2008.