Product Description

"The idea of direct invasion is the greatest threat to Saddam. It avoids the problems of securing local allies, inside and outside Iraq, which bedevil any indirect approach to get rid of him. But it has one immense disadvantage from the US point of view ...if the US invades Iraq to install its own government it will be taking direct physical control of an area containing more than half the world's oil reserves. It will look like the founding of a new American empire based on physical force and will be deeply resented ...It would outrage the Arabs at a moment when the Israel-Palestine conflict is in a particularly bloody phase. America could find that it has overplayed its hand, just as Saddam did when he invaded Kuwait twelve years ago." -- From the new Prologue At the outset of the 1991 Gulf War, US leaders resolved the 'Iraqis will pay the price', so long as Saddam Hussein remained in power. This book makes chillingly clear just how terrible that price has been. Eleven years ago Saddam was caught by surprise; his preparations since September 11 show that lessons have been learnt. In a substantial new prologue the authors analyse these preparations and the terrifying consequences of a military invasion of Iraq.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101064 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
"A seamless, cockpit-to-ground narrative written with pace and verve, researched with rigour, and telling in choice detail." -- Financial Times "The most detailed book available at what has happened in post-Gulf War Iraq ... Because of Patrick Cockburn's contacts in Baghdad, [the book] brings light to a political system that most writing leaves shrouded in darkness." - Washington Post Book World "The Cockburns' book is a chilling tale of barbarity and betrayal. It documents the lethal mix of US cynicism and incompetence that established Saddam Hussein as the bully of the Gulf, encouraged him to invade Iran and Kuwait, and then allowed him to stay in power." -- Irish Times

From the Back Cover
As Tony Blair publishes his much vaunted dossier on Iraq and President Bush cranks up the rhetoric against Saddam Hussein, Washington and Baghdad insiders, Andrew and Patrick Cockburn present their own dossier on what has really been happening in Iraq since the end of the Gulf War: Saddam Hussein, An American Obsession.

At the outset of the Gulf War, US leaders resolved that 'Iraqi's will pay the price', so long as Saddam Hussein remained in power. This book shows in chilling detail just how terrible that price has been. Eleven years ago Saddam was caught off-guard by the allied attack; his preparations since September 11 show that lessons have been learnt. In a substantial new prologue the authors analyse Saddam's preparations and the terrifying consequences of a military invasion of Iraq.

'The most detailed look available at what has happened in post-Gulf War Iraq ... Because of Patrick Cockburn's contacts in Baghdad, [the book] brings light to a political system that most writing leaves shrouded in darkness.' Washington Post Book World

'The picture that emerges ... is among the most coherent and accessible of any book on Iraq to date.' New York Times Book Review

About the Author
Patrick Cockburn has been a senior Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times and the Independent since 1979. Among the most experience commentators on Iraq, he was one of the few journalists to remain in Baghdad during the Gulf War. Andrew Cockburn is the author of several books on defence and international affairs. He has written about the Middle East for The New Yorker and co-produced the 1991 PBS documentary in Iraq, The War We Left Behind. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Customer Reviews

Superb and Insightful - a Modern Masterpiece
A fascinating book - certainly not pro-US policy but very balanced and journalistic. The main part of the book looks at post 1991 Iraq, although the countrty's history and that of Saddam is also covered.

What emerges reads like a cross between "Inside the Third Reich" by Will Shirer and "The Godfather". Saddam and his immediate family have absolute power, not just politically but over every aspect of society - they are the law.

The attempts at overthrowing the regime (there have been several) are described, and some are completely farcical. None has come close to being successful, and an internal coup would seem highly unlikely as Saddam has informers everywhere and is a master of intrigue. His 2 sons are if anything more megalomaniacal than he is and there is no hope for simply waiting for Saddam to die - his dynasty would continue.

The book concludes with the words "the only thing Saddam is afraid of is a land invasion".

Without going into the pro-anti war arguments this book is fascinating and should be required reading for anyone that asks what the war in Iraq is all about.