With Friends Like These: Reagan Bush and Saddam, 1982-1990 [Paperback]

Bruce W Jentleson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1994

"The enemy of my enemy", as the age-old axiom goes, "is my friend". Such was the reasoning behind US strategy when the Reagan administration first tilted towards Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war, and was continued by the Bush administration up to the very eve of Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, when the enemy of my enemy proved that he too could be my enemy. This analysis of US-Iraqi relations confronts such questions as: how and why the Reagan-Bush strategy of bringing Saddam into the "family of nations" failed so profoundly; why didn't Iraq moderate its behaviour?; and why didn't America increase its influence? Despite the military success of the Gulf War there are important lessons to be learned about why the war occurred. Drawing on scores of declassified documents, revealing interviews and hearings held by the US Congress, this text provides a detailed and incisive account of US policy towards Iraq in those crucial years before the Gulf War.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on interviews and official documents, Jentleson's scholarly study charges that Washington's policy toward Baghdad from 1982 was flawed in conception and execution. He argues that Desert Storm was a direct consequence of the failure of U.S. policy as pursued by the Reagan and Bush administrations. In its attempt to tilt the balance of power against Iran with an alliance of convenience with Iraq, Washington naively expected the Iraqis to cease fomenting terrorism, become a force for regional stability and play a role in an Arab-Israeli peace settlement. Instead, Saddam Hussein icreased his support of terrorism, threatened to incinerate Israel, used chemical weapons against Iranians and Kurds and tried to build an arsenal that included nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. The Bush administration continued to ignore warnings of Saddam's escalating bellicosity until August 2, 1990, when he invaded Kuwait. Jentleson teaches political science at UC-Davis.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This book is a thorough examination of how and why the U.S. government tilted toward Iraq during the course of the Iran-Iraq war. Jentleson (political science, Univ. of California, Davis) has served as special assistant to the director of the Policy Planning Staff in the U.S. State Department in 1993-94. Relying on a wide variety of American sources, he sketches a disturbing picture of how the Reagan/Bush presidencies mismanaged an important foreign policy undertaking. Jentleson provides a detailed analysis of the making of National Security Directive (NSD) 26, signed by Bush in 1989. This directive laid the foundation for the informal U.S.-Iraqi alliance in the era following the Iran-Iraq war. Jentleson's book demonstrates clearly why in foreign policy matters, the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. Recommended for students of American foreign policy and U.S.-Middle East relations.
Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, Ala.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton Co (1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393967123
• ISBN-13: 978-0393967128
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,953,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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