Customer Reviews

How to Build a New Iraq After Saddam

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To start, the organization that put this book out is the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Some of the more well-known members of this group include Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, both of whom serve(d) on the Board of Advisors. Think about the logic that people like these two put out there before the war and you'll have a pretty good idea about this book.

This book was written before the invasion happened and looking back, I imagine it would be somewhat embarrassing to have written some of these pieces.

Some key exerpts:

"The country's ethnic groups are not necessarily the key social actors to watch." page 5

"Owing to the regime's propaganda and to the material conditions of their lives, many Iraqis do not appreciate the nuances of Western sanctions policies, and they may have formed political views that are based on supposed Western ill will toward their country." page 12

"...the physical repair of Iraq will be relatively easy. Iraq is a country of engineers and builders, people who quickly restored bridges and roads after the Iran-Iraq and Gulf Wars." page 12

The problem I have with this book is not that they argued for the war. I do on many different levels. I'm upset about the blind optimism and complete disregard for what should be very obvious for anyone that has read much about Iraq. Also troubling is the underlying theme that Iraq is a problem solely because of Saddam. To be sure, he is partly to blame, but these authors do nothing to acknowledge the fact that the U.S. has done more than its fair share to make Iraq into the mess it was when the U.S. invaded it. My conclusion is that the material presented in this book is done so with the spirit of ideology rather than the desire to contribute to a realistic, educational discussion about Iraq.