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Muhammad Idrees Ahmad
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The Road to Iraq: The Making of a Neoconservative War 1st Edition

by Muhammad Idrees Ahmad (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
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The Iraq war – its causes, agency and execution – has been shrouded in an ideological mist. Now, Muhammad Idrees Ahmad dispels the myths surrounding the war, taking a sociological approach to establish the war’s causes, identify its agents and describe how it was sold. Ahmad presents a social history of the war’s leading agents – the neoconservatives – and shows how this ideologically coherent group of determined political agents used the contingency of 9/11 to overwhelm a sceptical foreign policy establishment, military brass and intelligence apparatus, propelling the US into a war that a significant portion of the public opposed. The book includes an historical exploration of American militarism and of the increased post-WWII US role in the Middle East, as well as a reconsideration of the debates that John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt sparked after the publication of 'The Israel lobby and US Foreign Policy'.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0748693033
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0748693030
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Edinburgh University Press
  5. Publication date
    June 30, 2014
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    9.2 x 0.9 x 6.1 inches
  8. Print length
    256 pages
  9. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
7 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Robert K.
5.0 out of 5 stars A necessary book for all who still doubt that bending ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
A necessary book for all who still doubt that bending a few elite ears, playing on certain sympathies, and forcing action through fear can't hijack the u.s. Government and force it into a six trillion dollar war it had no right to be in.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A tour de force.
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2016
This is a must read book about one of the pivotal events of the modern era. It's now widely acknowledged that the invasion of Iraq was a colossal strategic blunder based on two lies (that Saddam was in league with al-Qaeda and that he was producing WMD) and that 13 years later we are still paying the price of that blunder.

What is less commonly understood is why America went to war. This is probably due to a number of reasons. On the left it is commonly supposed that it was a war for oil. The right, who (with a few honourable exceptions) shrieked for war, understandably would prefer to forget the issue. President Obama has said he wants to look forward not backwards and doesn’t see the point in opening up old wounds but in many ways his reticence has left the wound to fester.

The past is always with us. By refusing to acknowledge it we constrain our freedom of movement in dealing with the present. Guantanamo Bay remains open, presidential candidates are promising to bring back waterboarding, the Republicans are promising to tear up Obama’s deal with Iran in favour of a more confrontationist policy.

Muhammad Idrees Ahmad focusses upon the players who marketed the war in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. In so doing he quickly demolishes the “war for oil” argument by noting that throughout the 1990s Big Oil consistently advocated for a lifting of sanctions against Iraq and that none of the major oil companies advocated for an invasion in Iraq following 9/11. Rather he identifies the key instigators of the war as a network of fanatical Jews whose first loyalty was to Greater Israel, otherwise known as the neoconservatives.

A remarkably concise book of only 205 pages (plus 60 pages of footnotes!), it contains a great many gems including the role played by Bernard Lewis (Edward Said’s orientalist bugbear) in convincing Dick Cheney that the Arabs’ loathing of the West was deeply rooted in history and that only an attack on Iraq would restore their respect for America, how Middle East experts in the State Department and CIA were systematically sidelined and bullied into compliance when they objected to the assumptions upon which the war was founded, and a fascinating appendix on the historical role of the Israel lobby in shaping US foreign policy.

Disappointingly, this book has received much less attention than it deserves. When I liked in on Facebook I discovered that I was the only person who had. When I looked it up on Amazon I found that, although it had three glowing editorial reviews, it had no customer reviews. That is why I decided to write my own. History never sleeps and those who ignore it do so at their peril. This is a book that should be widely read and discussed.
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Top reviews from other countries

william steenburgh
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
Disturbing insight into how the econd iraq war happened.
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rmaster
5.0 out of 5 stars Rise of the Neocons.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
If you wish to distinguish neocon from neoliberal, and get an insight into the complex forces that allowed a once marginal group to seize the time in the aftermath of 9/11, I highly recommend The Road to Iraq.

This non doctrinal analysis of the forces that shape US foreign policy makes the confusing networks of interests, ideas, and actors a lot clearer to the lay reader, as well as having a wealth of detailed research that will be invaluable to specialists in the field.

It's fortunate that Dr. Ahmad writes in such a fluid and engaging style, as I never felt I was wading through data, and found myself unexpectedly at the end, due to the sheer size of the appendices!
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Wassim
4.0 out of 5 stars Separating the Myth from Fact
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
A well researched and thorough analysis of the factors that let to the 2003 invasion as well as a debunking of the more common myths (ie. It was all about oil, all about one group of people, or all about one ideology). I haven't read IR books in a very long time out of sheer fatigue, but with everything going on right now the subject matter of this book couldn't be more timely. Idrees Ahmed is tackling an ambitious project here , so reading can be tough going sometimes, but the conclusion to each chapter helps to sum up the main premise and keep you focused on the subject matter.
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D. Thomson
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Revealing, and Important
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2014
Verified Purchase
Why did the United States invade Iraq? In The Israel Lobby, by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, the authors attribute much of the responsibility for the war to the neoconservatives. The Road to Iraq is a must-read book for those wanting a more detailed analysis of this neoconservative involvement.

According to Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University, The Road to Iraq is 'a superb analysis of how and why a small band of neoconservatives helped push the United States into a disastrous war,' and Ahmad's 'analysis is nuanced, his research comprehensive, and the story he tells is profoundly disturbing.'
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AAK
5.0 out of 5 stars The influence that a small but well linked cohort of people had on the policies of one of the world great powers is frightening
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a very well written book.

It presents an enlightening, well constructed and well referenced academic argument.

The neo-conservative role in the Iraq invasion has finally been thoroughly studied. The influence that a small but well linked cohort of people had on the policies of one of the world great powers is frightening to comprehend!!!

The book is a must read book for any Middle East or world policy enthusiast.
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