Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War in Iraq: The Experts Speak (Paperback)

by Christopher Cerf (Author), Victor S. Navasky (Author), Robert Grossman (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: greatest heroine, President George, Saddam Hussein, Secretary of Defense (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"All the golden oldies are here, from the title of the book itself to Rumsfeld's "freedom is untidy" to Kenneth Adelman's prediction that the war would be a "walk in the park" to Cheney and McCain's prediction that the Iraqis would greet us as "liberators." Readers may wish to do Sudoku puzzles instead of wallowing in memories of Ari Fleischer and WMDs. But readers who opt for Mission Accomplished may find that it pins them to their, um, seats."-- Salon.com

"Having amassed an aircraft carrier's worth of lies about the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky can now crow Mission Accomplished!. Indeed."-- Vanity Fair

"Almost 25 years after the amusing The Experts Speak: The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation, Victor Navasky and Christopher Cerf have compiled its successor, Mission Accomplished! The new book, nicely illustrated by satirist Robert Grossman, hangs authorities of all vocations and ideological stripes with their words about slam dunks, cakewalks, willing coalitions, the war's cost, Jessica Lynch, Blackwater and much more."-- Washington Post Express

"Victor Navasky and Christopher Cerf's shrewd, lucid and tragically funny compilation of 'experts' offering their (erroneous, comically misguided, and even outright false) thoughts on the Iraq war...is sure to become one of the essential reads for those trying to remember how the Iraq fiasco came to be."-Huffington Post

Product Description
Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War in Iraq is the definitive collection -- systematically categorized, indexed, and footnoted for your convenience -- of authoritative misinformation, disinformation, misunderstanding, miscalculation, egregious prognostication, boo-boos, and just plain lies, about the Iraq War.

"Never before has such a large and diverse group of experts been so unanimously in favor of a particular national policy as they were in the case of the U.S. invasion of Iraq," note Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky, who, as co-founders of the Institute of Expertology, the nation's leading purveyor of expertise on expertise, were uniquely qualified to assemble this impressive collection. "In the face of such a consensus, we had no choice but to ask ourselves, 'Could the iron law of expertology -- the experts are never right -- be wrong?'"

At once an entertainment, a cautionary tale, a critique of mass media, a reference tool, and a postwar manifesto, Mission Accomplished! presents, as no book has before, the collective wisdom of all those who are presumed to know what they talking about on the subject of America's adventure in Iraq. As this hilarious, yet depressing, volume demonstrates, they don't.

From MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

-- President George W. Bush, May 1, 2003

"[Insurgents] pose no strategic threat to the United States or to the Coalition Forces."

-- L. Paul Bremer III, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, November 17, 2003

"Military action will not last more than a week."

-- Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor, January 23, 2003

"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah."

-- President George W. Bush, at a White House menorah lighting ceremony, December 10, 2001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416569936
• ISBN-13: 978-1416569930
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #450,669 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blistering Compendium of Spin Out of Control on the Iraqi War, April 5, 2008

By	Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As our burgeoning economic woes overshadow the war in Iraq in the minds of prospective voters, the imperial hubris that has been the mainstay of the Bush administration's rhetoric seems to get less airplay these days. Even though people continue to die, the cable networks apparently feel that their viewers have grown tired of the war. That's why there is great value in picking up this piercing collection of direct quotes from the so-called experts on the Iraqi conflict by Christopher Cerf and Columbia professor Victor Navasky, satirists who pose as co-founders of the Institute of Expertology, the nation's leading purveyor of expertise on expertise. The breadth of the public statements presented here is astonishing in their deceit, ignorance and utterly blind ambition.

All the classic assertions are included here starting with George W. Bush's claim of success that provides the book's title. Donald Rumsfeld chimed in with recycled catchphrases like "Stuff happens" and "Freedom is untidy". Convinced that the Iraqis would greet U.S. soldiers as liberators, Dick Cheney confidently proclaimed that "The streets of Baghdad are sure to erupt with joy". Even though he expresses regret now, policy analyst Kenneth Adelman originally stated that he felt the war would be a "walk in the park", while political pundit Bill O'Reilly echoed similar feelings of invalid self-assurance ("Military action will not last more than a week"). More evasive statements have an insidious sense of gloom, such as Condoleezza Rice's declaration that "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud", or former White House speechwriter David Frum's covert remark that "This 'rush to war' should really be seen as the ultimate 'rush to peace'".

Reading all these together provide a strong reminder of the power of the propaganda machine at work with the current administration. The co-authors make note of the gradual shift occurring in placing more of the blame now on Iran for helping the al-Qaeda. There is a pervasive sense of black comedy over the entire tome, not surprisingly given the co-authors' previous collaboration, 1984's The Experts Speak : The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation. Intriguingly, Cerf, the son of Random House publishing co-founder and "What's My Line?" panelist Bennett Cerf, wrote many of the early sing-along tunes on Sesame Street and produced Marlo Thomas' classic 1974 children's program, Free to Be You and Me.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quick reference guide for our short memory society, May 16, 2008

By	J. L LaRegina "Jim LaRegina" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Keep MISSION ACCOMPLISHED handy as you read news publications or take in radio and television commentary. When some prognosticator talks up reasons for war - whether it regards Iraq or what may be in Iran - look up that person in this book, as chances are they've been wrong before.

While MISSION ACCOMPLISHED is an easy read, if nothing else pay attention to the quotes in reverse type at the bottom of each page. Names of purportedly qualified commentators such as Thomas Friedman show up again and again predicting a conclusion to the Iraq disaster. These know-nothings don't quit after missing the mark once or twice. From 2002 through 2007, dingbats such as Friedman, William Kristol and Michael Ledeen provide consistently wrong forecasts, as if they were weathermen on acid. But they're not predicting sunshine only to get caught in the rain. These smug blowhards are responsible for promoting this illegal, immoral war and occupation that's cost millions life and limb.

Why do the NEW YORK TIMES, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO and other news organizations continue to provide a forum to these clowns? I've heard of short memories, but the people at the TIMES and N.P.R. are more forgetful than a Republican under oath.

Next time your news sources present pundits blathering about things getting better in Iraq or how quick and easy attacking Iran will be, reach for MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Then call or write to ask why they present as "experts" individuals who couldn't qualify for Psychic Friends Network.

Buy MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughing & Crying!, April 5, 2008

By	Tina Keane (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Institute of Expertology has done it again! This timely book is clever, informative and highly entertaining, in spite of the subject matter. Cerf & Navasky have managed to capture every single absurd word uttered by this highly quotable group of "experts" running our nation and influencing our people. With the election right around the corner, buy a copy for yourself and get one for a friend. Let the words of the so called "experts" remind you that it's time for a change!

If I wasn't laughing so hard, I would be crying.