Hide and Seek: The Search for Truth in Iraq [Hardcover]

Charles Duelfer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2009

Charles Duelfer is one of the most senior intelligence officers with on-the-ground experience to have worked in Iraq before, during, and after the Gulf War. His 2004 CIA report is widely renowned as the most authoritative account on how the world was led to believe that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction. But until now, Duelfer has never publicly shared his unrivaled expertise on just how the U.S.-Iraq relationship spiraled into a second war, and ultimately into chaos.

Hide and Seek is his account—based on unparalleled access to Iraqi leadership, the White House, and the CIA—of the long and tragic unraveling of the U.S. relationship with Iraq. This book sees beyond the propaganda and deceits of both sides to tell the story of the miscalculations in assessing Iraq as a threat, why Saddam responded as he did to U.S. demands, and precisely how the U.S. implemented its decision to topple Saddam’s regime. No one is better able than Duelfer to see inside the mindsets of the two administrations, with their mismatched priorities, wounded pride, and dangerous ability to bluff and counterbluff.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Richard Clarke, former White House national security official and author of Against All Enemies
“In Hide and Seek, Charles Duelfer explains what went on inside two governments, the U.S. and Iraq, over a decade. He details how misunderstandings become a tragedy. Only Duelfer knew and met with the senior officials in both governments. This is the inside story.”

Former Senator and co-Chair of the WMD Commission, Chuck Robb
“No American understood the Saddam Regime better than Charles Duelfer. In Hide and Seek, based on his personal experiences, he identifies the tragic miscalculations on both sides stemming from avoidable ignorance. Duelfer has a keen sense of history and he pulls no punches. For policy makers and analysts on Iraq, Iran and North Korea, Hide and Seek is destined to become the definitive reference. For the rest of us, it is a fascinating educational experience—and a whale of a good read!”
 

Governor Bill Richardson, former US Ambassador to the UN
“Duelfer spells out how we got into the tragedy of Iraq. He was there—in Baghdad, CIA, State Department, the White House, and the United Nations. Iraq did not need to be this bad. Read this and learn what to avoid in the future.”
 

Kirkus, December 15, 2008
“One of the few senior-level officials who dealt with Saddam Hussein’s government on a regular basis before the U.S.-led invasion relates his experiences as a former weapons inspector and WMD hunter…. Duelfer ably sketches the frustrating and difficult history of U.S.-Iraqi relations and his part in them…. It’s the author’s on-the-ground experiences that make this book so engaging, and at times chilling. Shortly after the invasion, one Iraqi security official told him bluntly, ‘You know, to rule Iraq, you will have to become Saddam.’ That comment, Duelfer writes, would echo in his mind for a very long time. A knowledgeable look at Iraq from a unique perspective."

Los Angeles Times, February 27, 2009
“Duelfer is a close observer of events that have shaped U.S. foreign policy in the last two decades, and, as such, his insights and descriptions are invaluable…. His chapter on the interrogation of Hussein by FBI agent George Piro is the stuff of psychological drama. If someone isn’t working on a screenplay, they should.”

About the Author

Charles Duelfer served as the deputy chairman of the United Nations weapons inspection organization (the UN Special Commission on Iraq—UNSCOM) from 1993 to 2000. He was also the leader of the Iraq Survey Group, which was the CIA-led team charged with the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. His name is commonly given to the final CIA report of the Iraq Survey Group, the Duelfer Report. He lives near Washington, D.C.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1 edition (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586485571
• ISBN-13: 978-1586485573
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.9 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,249,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles Duelfer spent over 25 years in the national security agencies of the US government. He was involved in policy development, operations, and intelligence in the Middle East, Africa, Central America, and Asia. Duelfer was also involved in US nuclear weapons and space programs. Most recently, he was the top CIA officer directing the investigation of Saddam's regime and its WMD programs.

Duelfer's experience with the Iraq tragedy began in the 1980's as Washington considered its role regarding the Iran-Iraq war. During the 1990's, by virtue of his position at the United Nations, he was virtually the only senior American to have regular contact with the top members of Saddam's regime in Baghdad. At the same time he worked with the senior Washington officials in both the intelligence and policy areas of Washington. He saw how US policy and intelligence went wrong and he saw how Iraqi intelligence and policies went wrong. His experience and perspective is unique.

As Special Advisor to the Director of Central Intelligence for Iraq WMD, Duelfer led the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) that conducted the investigation of the scope of Iraq's WMD. The ISG was a unique intelligence organization of over 1700 military and civilian staff that investigated Iraq WMD programs. It used all available collection and analytic capabilities in a hostile environment. The Duelfer Report is the definitive work on the relationship of the Saddam Regime to WMD and was presented to the President and Congress in October 2004--shortly before the presidential election.

In the 1990's Duelfer was at the United Nations serving as the Deputy Executive Chairman and subsequently, acting Chairman, of the UN Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) from 1993 until its termination in 2000. UNSCOM was the original group of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq that was at the friction point between Baghdad and Washington in regular crises until President Clinton ordered a limited bombing in response to Iraq non-cooperation in 1998.

Duelfer has recently headed a small entrepreneurial space launch company as well as consulting and lecturing. He is currently an advisor at Omnis, Inc.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Firsthand Account from the Most Knowledgeable of Experts February 3, 2009

By Phoenix

Format:Hardcover

I had the opportunity to brief Mr. Duelfer in Iraq a couple of times and hear him speak on a daily basis. So I am very familiar with him, even if I was relatively junior. Nonetheless, it is very clear that Duelfer is as intelligent they come.

While it must be pointed out that he is selling a book here, he is certainly the foremost of experts on the topic of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. No one else has spent as much time on the ground and knows Iraq backwards and forwards like he does. Duelfer knows all of the major players in Iraq. While I might disagree with some of the things he has to say, he has certainly earned the right to provide this firsthand account which should be considered an important primary document for future historians.

I would say his writing--from what I've read so far--is fairly balanced. However, it is EXTREMELY important to note that he is very nuanced. For those who are cynical, you could say Duelfer knows how to "play the center." Indeed, when he presented his findings from the Iraq Survey Group to Congress, there was ample fodder for those in both parties to either defend or attack the Bush Administration's policies. If you have inclinations that are significantly right or left of center, you should keep this in mind.

At the end of the day, this is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in Iraq or the use of intelligence to support decision-making at the highest levels of the US Government. Highly recommended.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A View From Within February 7, 2009

By Rioman

Format:Hardcover

As someone who is very familiar with the pre- and post-war efforts in the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, I would say that if one is interested in the WMD issue that underpinned the US Government's decision to invade Iraq and curious to understand this issue in-depth enough to draw your own conclusions then Duelfer's book is a must read.

First of all, the book reads like a novel, thanks to Duelfer's anecdotal approach complemented by his typical and almost satirical dry humor. Secondly, I think that the book provides a unique optic for not only gaining a better appreciation of Duelfer's 2004 WMD report but also for providing the context that will allow one to critically discern the chaff from reality in the barrage of media sound bytes on what was and wasn't found, concluded, or done in the search for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

I know Duelfer. He's an adrenaline but not a glamour junkie. He's not the kind who is looking for a stage or a story. And, I believe that the motivation for his writing of this book, after he had already published his findings in his comprehensive 2004 report, is because he felt that the public's conclusions drawn from the report were not fully informed. He wanted a last shot in telling the story through his own eyes so maybe people could see the same data through a different lens. Maybe it would or would not make a difference but I think it provided him the platform for writing the epilogue to this long saga--a saga to which he had devoted a good part of his career as a civil servant.

What I found to be the most enlightening "lesson learned" from this book is that the "devil is in the details." Conclusions based on "just the facts" or, in other words, assessments of Iraq's WMD programs based purely on the data and evidence obtained during the search efforts without an understanding and appreciation for the environment at the time of these efforts (i.e. the political dynamics, the living conditions, the cultural backdrop, the pertinent actors, their personalities, and the state-of-play among and between them) are short-sighted and potentially flawed, at best.

It's clear that after reading Duelfer's book you leave convinced that these "intangibles" should just as much be part of the evidentiary base as the "hard" data is--especially in the case of Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction, where there was no "slam dunk" indicating a viable and operational WMD program, nor any "smoking gun" suggesting one no longer existed. It's hard to prove a negative and realizing that the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence, it behooves us to learn from Duelfer's story and, like the Iraq WMD story, come to our conclusions only after getting answers to the questions that will allow us to weigh both the tangibles and the intangibles.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book- It was like I was serving Mr. Duelfer again April 14, 2009

By Nathan E. Gray

Format:Hardcover

This is a great book. It is a honor to have been there to protect Mr. Duelfer. Every time I picked up this book it took right back to Baghdad as if I was back on the team transporting and protecting this great man again. I can say from personal experince that every detail in this book is true. And just a line or two to Mr. Duelfer. Thank you for this book. It means alot to me that you want the world to know about myself and my two fallen brothers Clint and Don . If you read this book and at the end of it you still dont agree with the war I hope you will atlest understand that the many soldiers who have been KIA and one that are critily wounded like myself are just normal every day people just like you. And they should not be put down and discriminatied against because of what their goverment sent them to do.