Product Description
"How a former intelligence officer became a whistleblower on a collision course with his country's government. On 11 March 2003, Andrew Wilkie resigned from Australia’s senior intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments, in protest over the looming Iraq war. He was the only serving Intelligence Officer from the Coalition of the Willing--the US, UK and Australia--to do so, and his dramatic action was reported throughout the world. In Axis of Deceit, Wilkie offers timely insights into the world of international intelligence and details of his life as a spook, in the lead-up to a controversial and divisive war. Wilkie’s pre-war statements have proven remarkably accurate: he was convinced Iraq did not pose a serious enough security threat to justify a war. In particular, he assessed
* Iraq’s military to be weak
* Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction program to be disjointed and contained
* no evidence of Iraq's active co-operation with al Quaida
Wilkie assesses how the case for war was made in Washington, London and Canberra and explains how the three governments routinely skewed, spun and fabricated the relevant intelligence.
About the Author
Andrew Wilkie served in the Australian Defence Force from 1980 until 2000, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During 1999-2000 he was seconded from the ADF to Australia’s senior intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments, as a Senior Strategic Analyst. Wilkie worked on a range of issues including Kosovo, terrorism, WMD and border protection. He returned to ONA after 9/11 as the Senior Trans-National Issues Analyst. In recent months Andrew Wilkie has undertaken speaking and media engagements in the US, UK and Australia. He was also called upon to give evidence at the official UK and Australian inquiries into the case for war.
