Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq
October 1, 2023
In The Achilles Trap, the Pulitzer Prize--winning Coll limns Saddam Hussein's decades-long relationship with the United States and considers the cultural misapprehensions that led to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Prepub Alert.
Copyright 2023 Library Journal
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from December 1, 2023
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author returns with a tour de force examination of the events leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. As Coll, author of Ghost Wars and Directorate S, points out, Saddam Hussein left thousands of hours of tapes, many of which the author's lawyers extracted from the Pentagon. Though Hussein was a vicious tyrant, Ronald Reagan preferred him to Iran's theocrats, supported his invasion of Iran, and played down his use of poison gas and genocidal atrocities against his own people. Hussein was undoubtedly cruel and paranoid, but his belief that the U.S. favored Israel was correct. American support vanished when he invaded Kuwait in 1990. After his 1991 rout, observers assumed that his days were numbered. When he proceeded to crush all opposition, U.S. leaders initially tried to control him by sanctions and actions short of war, such as no-fly zones. Ironically, he'd destroyed his atomic and chemical infrastructure so well that hundreds of inspections turned up little, but his persistent boasting convinced many that he was hiding something. By the late 1990s, a growing number of U.S. officials were urging more aggressive action. At the same time, terrorism had become a worldwide obsession. Hussein loathed Islamic fundamentalists, but there was no shortage of conspiracy theories about a top-secret connection, including "contacts between Iraq and al-Qaeda." Upon learning that intelligence agencies couldn't confirm Hussein's terrorist plots or the existence of weapons of mass destruction, administration leaders were frustrated. Speaking truth to power was never a CIA strong suit, so the agency obligingly confirmed what did not exist. This helped in the short run because the invasion was widely supported in the U.S. That the invasion ultimately proved disastrous has been well documented by others, but Coll's unparalleled research into its background turns up a great deal of unfamiliar, illuminating information. Required reading for all conscientious citizens.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
February 1, 2024
Saddam Hussein ruled with an iron hand of repression and torture, invaded his neighbors, used chemical weapons in wars internal and external, and tried to develop nuclear weapons. Through it all, American intelligence monitored and attempted to influence him. Coll (Directorate S., 2018) draws on an enormous cache of unpublished documents here, many obtained by persistent FOIA requests, pertaining to the efforts of both sides in the roller coaster of U.S. and Iraqi relations over three decades. The result is a deep dive that illuminates previously unstudied and unexamined aspects of personalities, policies, events, and reactions of great consequence to both countries. Coll's chronicle is powerful and compelling, detailing many mistakes and failures by intelligence and elected officials that led to the disastrous invasion and occupation in 2003. Weapons of mass destruction figure prominently throughout the story as readers can finally get a definitive answer to what happened to them straight from Saddam and his top scientists and advisers. Expertly researched and written, the latest from Pulitzer Prize-winner Coll is a cautionary tale for the ages.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.