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Blind Into Baghdad: America's War in Iraq Paperback – August 15, 2006

by James Fallows (Author)

14 customer reviews

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In the autumn of 2002, Atlantic Monthly national correspondent James Fallows wrote an article predicting many of the problems America would face if it invaded Iraq. After events confirmed many of his predictions, Fallows went on to write some of the most acclaimed, award-winning journalism on the planning and execution of the war, much of which has been assigned as required reading within the U.S. military.

In Blind Into Baghdad, Fallows takes us from the planning of the war through the struggles of reconstruction. With unparalleled access and incisive analysis, he shows us how many of the difficulties were anticipated by experts whom the administration ignored. Fallows examines how the war in Iraq undercut the larger ”war on terror” and why Iraq still had no army two years after the invasion. In a sobering conclusion, he interviews soldiers, spies, and diplomats to imagine how a war in Iran might play out. This is an important and essential book to understand where and how the war went wrong, and what it means for America.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fallows, national correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly, compiles in this slim volume a series of five articles he wrote for that magazine between 2002 and 2005, which collectively won a National Magazine Award. Along with an original introduction and afterword, the essays systematically chronicle the mendacity, insularity and incompetence of the Bush administration while developing and implementing its Iraq policy. Relying heavily on inside sources and declassified documents, Fallows (National Defense) shows that, before the war, the government had ample intelligence to forestall many of the disastrous consequences of the occupation, but Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and others ordered their subordinates to ignore the reports. "Bush's Lost Year" addresses a topic that has received little attention: the effects of the buildup in Iraq on the campaign in Afghanistan and the broader war on terror. "Why Iraq Has No Army" studies one decision that has hampered the war effort ever since. For avid news readers, little will be new, though "Will Iran Be Next?"—an account of a high-level discussion convened by the Atlantic Monthly—may pique more interest. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Fallows' series of articles for the Atlantic Monthly between 2002 and 2005 that won the magazine a National Magazine Award are collected in this book, offering a backward look on the analysis that criticized the administration's plan for a preemptive war in Iraq and its woefully inadequate planning for the aftermath of war. Fallows' article "The Fifty-first State," published in November 2002, conveyed the complexity of dealing with Iraq after the war and the likelihood that the responsibility would be long term and consuming. The collection examines the questionable reports of Iraq's cache of weapons of mass destruction and how the administration could have known of the internal tensions within Iraq that would make managing the occupation extremely difficult. Fallows explores why Iraq has no army two years after the invasion and the threats posed by Iran. The collection provides an interesting perspective on the war, looking back on what was anticipated with uncanny accuracy, which raises even more questions about the administration's inability to foresee the difficulties of occupying Iraq. Footnotes provide additional information, background, and commentary since the articles first appeared. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Vintage; First Paperback Edition edition (August 15, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307277968
ISBN-13: 978-0307277961
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 14 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,532,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #727 in Books > History > Middle East > Iraq
- #1554 in Books > History > Military > Iraq War
- #3104 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > International & World Politics > Middle Eastern

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Excellent slice of history

March 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

An excellent “history in the moment” book about the early years of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq which should rightly anger readers of any political stripe. Blind Into Baghdad by James Fallows (@JamesFallows) is comprised of five longform stories originally published from 2002-2005 in The Atlantic magazine, bookended by an introduction and exceptional afterword written in 2006.

I’ve been a subscriber of The Atlantic for many years and have always enjoyed the work of Mr. Fallows. I recall reading most of these stories when they came out in the magazine, but still found re-reading them in this format to be beneficial. Of course from the perspective of early 2014 we know how the story ends but these essays provide snapshots of the tumultuous first few years of U.S. involvement in Iraq. Any serious study of the 2003 U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq should have Blind Into Baghdad in the bibliography.

One person found this helpful

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Should be required reading

May 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

Whether Democrat, Republican, or just an informed American, the book presents an opinion that's backed up with facts and references. Being informed means reading about history and learning from it.

Even if you don't agree with the author's conclusions--that the war in Iraq was handled badly--it DOES offer suggestions why Iraq and Iran in 2015 present such threats to America's security.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Trick people into thinking you're smart

May 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

I've never actually read this book, but I like to keep it around so people think I'm worldly, and educated. It works,

One person found this helpful

Somehow America "got through" 8 years of Bush

September 22, 2016

Verified Purchase

Accurate title of the total bungling job

One person found this helpful

This Book Works Better than It Should

September 8, 2006

Verified Purchase

This book has an unpromising premise: Publish a book based largely on essays that have already been published as articles in the Atlantic Monthly from 2002 through 2005. Despite that, this book ends up working far better than one might expect.

Fallows himself begins by describing the book's perspective (page x):

"The subject of the book is America's preparation for and conduct of its war in Iraq, whose combat phase began in March 2003. because that war played so large a part in the U. S. government response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, assessing the war naturally raises questions about the wisdom, competence, and effectiveness of the overall strategy against Islamic terrorism.

The cumulative argument of the book is that this strategy was gravely flawed in both design and execution."

The chapters cover various aspects of the Iraqi invasion and its aftermath. The chapter entitled "The Fifty-First State?" is based on interviews with knowledgeable players before the invasion of Iraq. The focus was on what was likely to happen after the invasion, since all assumed that the American forces would walk over the Iraqi army. The essay's predictions do not all pan out (and Fallows adds footnotes to note more current information). However, it is interesting to see how a number of these predictions did come to fruition.

Other chapters explore Paul Bremer's terminating the Iraqi Army and his extreme de-Baathification program, how George Bush's original war on terror focusing on Afghanistan began to lose focus with the invasion of Iraq, and so on.

His conclusions are exceedingly harsh and may irritate many readers. He notes, to provide a flavor of his reflections, that (page 229):

"The country failed because individuals who led it failed. They made the wrong choices; they did not learn or listen; they were fools. No one responsible for these errors was dismissed from the administration. No senior officer was relieved or reprimanded."

In the final analysis, because of the approach, some of the material does appear dated. However, this perspective also provides an interesting test of how well (or poorly) Fallows and those people whom he interviewed perceived accurately what the longer term situation would actually be.

29 people found this helpful30 people found this helpful

Great but disturbing book

December 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

Great and disturbing book. I had to order this for class but really enjoyed reading it, even though it was required.

One person found this helpful

Frightening and prescient essays

December 29, 2006

Verified Purchase

Blind into Baghdad is all the more impressive for the fact that nearly all of the content was researched, written, and published as events were unfolding. The book loses nothing for being an anthology of previously published articles, and it gains much force from that circumstance. The writing is clear and readable. Occasional footnotes update specific points.

For those who do not have the time or energy to read the whole array of books on the Iraq war, Blind into Baghdad may be the one best book to select from that array.

7 people found this helpful8 people found this helpful

Arlington Splendor

May 21, 2015

Verified Purchase

We showed just how stupid Dick Cheney was.

One person found this helpful

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