Customer Reviews

Reconstructing Eden: A Comprehensive Plan for the Post-War Political and Economic Development of Iraq

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In this comprehensive, yet succinct book, Tom White, former Secretary of the Army and a retired General lays out a clear roadmap for rebuilding Iraq. It is timely, and there is no doubt that it's release has sent waves throughout the Department of Defense, and inner circles of Bush's policy makers.

While most people will be aware that White clashed with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld on several policy matters, there is no doubt he has an elightening perspective into the strengths and weaknesses of the DOD Iraq policy to date. Furthermore, his expertise in the field of energy and infrastructure only bolster the validity of his claims, that the Pentagon underestimated the investment and resources required to rebuild a post-war Iraq.

Hopefully, folks inside the beltway will invest a little time to read this quick study on what it will take to bring this state back to economic self-sufficency in a post Hussein world.

White's book examines the Iraqi conflict and makes suggestions for rebuilding the nation of Iraq. As most people familiar with the subject know, White was President George W. Bush's first Secretary of the Army, but was forced out by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as Rumsfeld took actions to clear out the Defense Department of certain key individuals who held dissenting views that he thought might impede his plan for restructuring the Defense Department. Army GEN Eric Shinseki was yet another individual who was forced out after suggesting in Congressional testimony that it would take several hundred thousand troops to occupy Iraq after the invasion. The White and Shinseki camp was proven right with regards to Iraq and this work explores some of the reasons why we are in the current situation in Iraq.

The book presents a balanced account of past events, offering the reader both the Administration perspective and a critic's perspective. However, much of the book is comprised of raw statistics, which demonstrates that a good deal of research has been conducted, but it is somewhat dry for the average reader.

Many of the suggestions for improving Iraq are now somewhat obvious, although at the time the book was published that was not necessarily the case.

I would recommend reading this book if you want a balanced account of U.S. policy in Iraq and are interested in exploring different strategies for the rebuilding of Iraq. The book does not flow in the same manner as a novel or even as well as the 9/11 Commission report, but it is worthwhile reading for those individuals with more than a passing interest in rebuilding Iraq.

Thomas White was fired for being a scumbag Secretary of the Army. He's an Enron Exec responsible for everything you've heard about Enron, as well as manipulating CA's electricy market. He even used military assets in his personal business deals. Just read the papers. This book is a desperate attempt to counter punch his those that fired him. It's poorly done too: full of typo's, WAY too much white space, hundreds of pages of "appendices" (verbatim text of UN resolutions, macroeconomic charts and tables, etc.), poor binding on the book, cheap paper in the text. Here's a quick summary: to rebuild Iraq we need to take our time to develop a solid democracy with foundations of economic, social, and political development. DUH. Mixed in with these vague suggestions are questionable macroeconomic conclusions based on sketchy data. It's full of unreliable estimates for timetables and targets. Don't waste your time on this book. Also, he was paid to write it by his buddies from West Point. This is the same shadey group that got him employed at Enron and got him into the Bush Administration (before he was fired for being a buffoon). Obviously they're just trying to help him pay his legal bills with this book!!! Shame on you! White, have a blast in obscurity!

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