Posted on 06/16/2004 8:08:52 AM PDT by Maigret
Secret History of the Iraq War
by Yossef Bodansky
In the months leading up to March 2003, fresh from its swift and heady victory in Afghanistan, the Bush administration mobilized the United States armed forces to overthrow the government of Iraq. Eight months after the president declared an end to major combat operations, Saddam Hussein was captured in a farmhouse in Al-Dawr. And yet neither peace nor democracy has taken hold in Iraq; instead the country has plunged into terrorist insurgency and guerrilla warfare, with no end in sight. What went wrong?
In The Secret History of the Iraq War, bestselling author Yossef Bodansky offers an astonishing new account of the war and its aftermath -- a war that was doomed from the start, he argues, by the massive and systemic failures of the American intelligence community. Drawing back the curtain of politicized debate, Bodansky -- a longtime expert and director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare -- reveals that nearly every aspect of America's conflict with Iraq has been misunderstood, in both the court of public opinion and the White House itself. Among his revelations:
The most authoritative account of Saddam Hussein's support for Islamic terrorist organizations -- including extensive new reporting on his active cooperation with al-Qaeda in Iraq long after the fall of Baghdad
Extensive new information on Iraq's major chemical and biological weapons programs -- including North Korea's role in building still-undetected secret storage facilities and Iraq's transfer of banned materials to Syria, Iran, and Libya
The first account of Saddam's plan for Iraq, Syria, and Iran to join Yasser Arafat's Palestinian forces to attack Israel, throw the region into turmoil, and upend the American campaign
The untold story of Russia's attempt to launch a coup against Saddam before the war -- and how the CIA thwarted it by ensuring that Iraq was forewarned
Dramatic details about Saddam's final days on the run, including the untold story of a near miss with U.S. troops and the stunning revelation that Saddam was already in custody at the time of his capture -- and was probably betrayed by members of his own Tikriti clan
The definitive account of the anti-U.S. resistance and uprising in Iraq, as the American invasion ignited an Islamic jihad and Iran-inspired intifada, threatening to plunge the region into irreversible chaos fueled by hatred and revenge
Revelations about the direct involvement of Osama bin Laden in the terrorism campaigns in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the Middle East -- including the major role played by Iran and HizbAllah in al-Qaeda's operations
Drawing upon an extraordinary wealth of previously untapped intelligence and regional sources, The Secret History of the Iraq War presents the most detailed, fascinating, and convincing account of the most controversial war of our times -- and offers a sobering indictment of an intelligence system that failed the White House, the American military, and the people of the Middle East.
You left out the most important one---the Iraq war attracted Al Queada operatives in droves into Iraq, where we are killing them off, thus helping to keep them away from US soil and targets.
Saddam didn't really need any help sniffing-out potential coup-plotters -- his survival instincts were well-honed. This is the kind of allegation that really can't be substantiated to any great degree. People who want to believe it will, however.
Iraqi oil was largely off the market, with the exception of the corrupt Oil-for-Food Program and some smuggling. It was in Russia's interests as an oil exporter to keep it that way. It was also in French interests as the administrator & chief banker for the Oil-for-Food program.
The world couldn't go much longer with Iraqi oil reserves off the market. The recovering world economy was going to make existing supplies tight. With Saddam in power, Iraqi oil would have been converted to weaponry and nobody would have been safe. Saddam had to go.
Tinfoil alert. Full stop.
I hope the book makes more sense than this phrase from the article:
"the stunning revelation that Saddam was already in custody at the time of his capture"
Oh we'll be there for a while, but I think history is a pretty good indicator that if rebuild them and setup a functioning democracy and it can take hold, then things will work out quickly. We saw what happened in 1920s Germany when you defeat someone and then leave them alone, and applied those lessons we learned, to the post-war axis powers.
The biggest problem is that unlike a 1946 Germany or 1946 Japan, 2004 Iraq is a potential Yugoslavia.
Absolutely NONE!
According to the author Russia warned America Saddam was planning attacks and offered to help - we slapped their face with our no and according to the book the no came as a form of a CIA leak to Egypt so she can snitch on Russia's coup plotters or something close to it.
The book is written by the Republican congressional advisor on terrorisim - he has no association with Democrats or the left.
I wouldn't be too hasty to say the war is or was doomed. Hasn't been lost yet.
Or maybe tried to stop area from falling into anarchy. By the way, it was US CIA who put not just Bathaists but Saddam and his two preceeding dictators to power.
Most Iraqi oil still off market, yet the world survives. Daily are the pipes exploding.
Only one of 22 Arab nations ever republic: Lebanon when it is 51% Christian...now almost no Christians and it is dictatorial shiete hole like all Arab countries....Iraq I doubt will survive long after US leave...till coup and dictator return...unless you Christian all of them.
Do people fear anything but the party line, is that why they attack any who question their party line in America?
I just finished reading his 2002 book, The High Price of Peace, an extremely detailed presentation of the diplomatic dance between US--Israel--PLO/PA--the rest of the Arab World 1988--2002. The book sometimes reads like a rough intelligence assessment, with lots of data and minutes of meetings, but with not enough narrative to sustain interest. Nevertheless, it thoroughly establishes the thesis that the Oslo Accords and the "Peace Process" led to a severe weakening of the security position of Israel and to the USA (read: Clinton admin) obsessed with the Israel-PA problem such that the USA failed to see the larger geo-political dramas unfolding in the Middle East. Some surprising claims: 1. That Iran took possession of Atomic Weapons already in 1992; 2. That Mubarak is fully in line with the avowed agenda of Hamas, to wipe Israel off the map.
This Bodansky guy is a crackpot. He was running around after 9/11 saying that UBL had suitcase nukes.
That doesn't change the fact that world demand for oil is rising. The supply and/or the price must rise, also. It has been speculated that Iraq's reserves (but not productive capacity) rival that of Saudi Arabia.
If the price rises, the world economy slows or tanks. So, you can either go hunting for oil elsewhere (and maybe not find enough), or bring Iraqi oil back onto the market. To me, that's a no-brainer. Oh, in case you haven't noticed, major oil deposits tend to be found in the least (politically) stable portions of the world. Iraq is not different than Venezuala these days.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.