The Iraq Papers [Paperback]

John Ehrenberg (Editor), J. Patrice McSherry (Editor), Jose Ramon Sanchez (Editor), Caroleen Marji Sayej (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0195398599 | ISBN-13: 978-0195398595 | Edition: 1

No foreign policy decision in recent history has had greater repercussions than President George W. Bush's decision to invade and occupy Iraq. It launched a new doctrine of preemptive war, mired the American military in an intractable armed conflict, disrupted world petroleum supplies, cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars, and damaged or ended the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and Iraqis. Its impact on international politics and America's standing in the world remains incalculable.

The Iraq Papers offers a compelling documentary narrative and interpretation of this momentous conflict. With keen editing and incisive commentary, the book weaves together original documents that range from presidential addresses to redacted memos, carrying us from the ideology behind the invasion to negotiations for withdrawal. These papers trace the rise of the neoconservatives and reveal the role of strategic thinking about oil supplies. In moving to the planning for the war itself, the authors not only provide Congressional resolutions and speeches by President Bush, but internal security papers, Pentagon planning documents, the report of the Future of Iraq Project, and eloquent opposition statements by Senator Robert Byrd, other world governments, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the World Council of Churches. This collection addresses every aspect of the conflict, from the military's evolving counterinsurgency strategy to declarations by Iraqi resisters and political figures-from Coalition Provisional Authority orders to Donald Rumsfeld's dismissal of the insurgents as "dead-enders" and Iraqi discussions of state- and nationbuilding under the shadow of occupation. The economics of petroleum, the legal and ethical questions surrounding terrorism and torture, international agreements, the theory of the "unitary presidency," and the Bush administration's use of presidential signing statements all receive in-depth coverage.

The Iraq War has reshaped the domestic and international landscape. The Iraq Papers offers the authoritative one-volume source for understanding the conflict and its many repercussions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This uneven compendium of primary sources on the Iraq War grew out of a course that the editors taught at Long Island University, where all are political science professors. The hundreds of documents—an eclectic selection ranging from official government documents to op-ed pieces, press releases and religious fatwas—are organized around the key analytical theme of preemptive war, and the editors introduce each chapter with an interpretive essay with a clear political bent: they roundly condemn Bush for cynically exploiting the tragedy of 9/11 and regard the invasion as a tactic to gain access to Iraq's oil, a move that has effectively destabilized international politics, brought chaos to the Persian Gulf, strengthened international terrorism, devastated Iraqi society, damaged the U.S. economy, threatened its democracy, and made the United States an international pariah. As rigorously as the authors make their case, their reluctance to seriously engage with dissenting views might ensure that the collection will find an appreciative audience only among the converted. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

As the U.S. involvement in Iraq winds down, one can expect a rush of postmortems, even if a sober analysis should allow for a greater passage of time. The editors of this collection of source material have already made up their minds, as their introductory remarks make clear. They regard the war as a political, military, and moral disaster, backed by a justification of preemption that has dangerous implications for the future. Still, this selection of speeches, memos, articles, and position papers, although highly selective, makes for compelling and often disturbing reading. Some of these documents are already familiar, such as Francis Fukuyama’s now seemingly absurd proclamation of the final triumph of Western-style liberal democracy. Others, including Henry Kissinger’s cautionary article about the danger of enforcing a “new world order,” are prophetic. Other writers, particularly “neo-conservatives” who urge a muscular assertion of American power all over the world, appear arrogant and reckless in retrospect. This compilation is far from the final word on the subject, but it is likely to generate healthy debate. --Jay Freeman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (January 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195398599
• ISBN-13: 978-0195398595
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.4 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,323,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible collection February 4, 2010

By Frank Eldridge

Format:Paperback

This comprehensive, judicious and hard-hitting collection of documents, with valuable explanations and excellent introductory and concluding chapters, is indispensable for anyone who wants to understand the origins, history, and implications of the greatest foreign-policy debacle in recent American history. The editors make no secret of their views, but they are well within the framework of current thinking and are to be commended for presenting a careful, fair and informative collection of primary documents. This is a very valuable and important book that will be used for generations in helping to understand this war.

The Iraq Papers opens the door on the Bush administration's war in Iraq and the central strategic doctrine that guided it -- preemption. Proposed by a grouping of neoconservatives in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a "unipolar moment," preemption was the unifying theme in the administration's foreign and domestic policies. Although the United States had carried out previous invasions and preemptive attacks under the Cold War "rollback" strategy, the Bush administration was the first to elevate preemption into a formal doctrine, thus challenging the UN Charter and dismissing the concerns of some of its closest allies. The doctrine shaped domestic policies as well, as the administration silenced critics, developed a position about the "unitary presidency" and bypassed normal processes to "legalize" its policies, including "enhanced interrogation techniques." As it made Saddam Hussein the target of a unilateral and militaristic approach in the self-proclaimed "new American century," Washington sought to reorder the international and domestic systems.... Its inability to do so, despite overwhelming military power, carries important lessons for scholars and citizens alike. Read more ›

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The under-the-table details of the Iraq debacle February 17, 2010

By Fernando Lopez

Format:Paperback

By now most people around the world know that the leading up towards the Iraq War was a considerable scandal. This work is an important contribution to all those interested in understanding the intricacies of US foreign policy during the Bush Jr. era. The "Iraq Papers" reveal with painstaking detail how big and embarrassing this scandal was. Most readers, even those with some background knowledge in the field, will find interesting and revealing documents connecting high-ranking officials of the neo-conservative administration with controversial "counterinsurgency" programs such Phoenix in Vietnam and other infamous similar projects throughout Latin America.
A detailed discussion of Iraq's internal situation before, during, and after the conflict not only demonstrates the lack of preparedness and oversimplification of the political situation in this country, but also the somehow arrogant approach towards the whole middle east region. The documentation and the careful analysis and discussion provided by the authors also demonstrates that it is dangerously simplistic to minimize the conflict in this important region to a simple group of jihadist maniacs whose only aim is to carry out random terrorist acts throughout the middle east for the sake of religion. There are, as the Iraq Papers show, a myriad of issues which are intimate linked with decades of US failed policies which will require a great deal of effort to overcome, if peace is finally to be reached in the Middle East.... Furthermore, one of the underlying conclusions from this work is that the concepts of "Freedom" and "Democracy" as defined by US officials in the Bush administration (and even today with Obama's) are not necessarily the same as those of the Iraqi people, Afghanis, and those of many other regions where similar conflicts are being held.
Powerlessness, frustration and hopelessness are all valid words to explain the sensation I felt after reading this book. I am sure that when assimilating this valuable and rich information, many readers will, as I did, feel as if during this entire period they were powerless back-sit passengers in a fast car driven by a very drunk and careless driver. Furthermore, most will reach the end of this book asking, Now what? Who is going to pay for these blunt violations of international law? Is anyone ever going to be charged for this, or is this just another scandal in a long and bloody list where people continue to die, while officials like those involved in this campaign continue to enjoy impunity for their actions. Read more ›

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book! February 7, 2010

By Francis Furey

Format:Paperback

Winston Churchill, the old reactionary who often failed to consistently pay attention to his bons mots once famously said, "Those who fail to learn from History are doomed to repeat it." The "Iraq Papers" edited by John Ehrenberg et al. aims to remind America of this all too-truism. But looking at the news these days one is reminded more of the Faulknerian view of history, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." Faulkner was talking about the American South, but that region's amnesia could stand for the USA of the here and now as one sees Lynn Cheney, John Yoo, Charles Krauthammer, Richard Perle, Newt Gingrich et al. parade in front of deferential TV hosts to justify their war crimes and call for more. The 'Iraq Papers" provides a chilling counterpoint to their not so crypto-fascist agenda. Beware: the neoconservative war party is itching to seize the reins of the battle chariot once again. Instead of being taken to account in a court of law, the war criminals who brought us Iraq, parade their feats shamelessly, talk up torture, rendition, preemptive war, constitutional law-lawbreaking--all in the name of civilization and freedom. Just what they did before the run-up to the Iraq War as the book points out! The point is the events that the "Iraq Papers" summarize so grippingly are not past, they are frighteningly present in our body-politic and the "Iraq Papers" is a shout-out to an America that is asleep at the wheel. Read this book!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential, Foundational Work February 15, 2011

By Clare Keefe Coleman

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As the bombing of the World Trade Center nears its ten-year anniversary, focus has shifted from immediate horror to analysis and context of the attacks and their aftermath. The Iraq Papers takes on the enormous task of negotiating this space where history is contextualized even as it continues to be made. The Iraq Papers is more than a collection of primary source materials from the Bush Administration's War on Terror (several of those collections are already in print). Instead, this work collects and presents material that places the War in Iraq in historical context, showing how the War was an outgrowth of the neoconservative movement and its theories of prevention/preemption. The work shows the policy groundwork laid by members of the Bush administration that lead to the decisions to first isolate prisoners and then torture them.

The Iraq Papers is as eminently readable as it is important. In presenting and contextualizing the material, the Editors state clearly their organizing framework and draw helpful and well-supported conclusions. The selection of primary source material is rich.

We can ask no more of a work of political history than that it give the reader a sound jumping-off point for more discussion and more analysis. The Iraq Papers bravely starts the discussion of why the Iraq War happened. Readers and future scholars may supplement or disagree with the rich scaffolding provided by Prof. Ehrenberg and his colleagues; but all future scholarship will lean on The Iraq Papers as a foundational work.