Out of the Ashes : The Resurrection of Saddam Hussein

Rating:
Summary: A Hidden Gem
Review: In the lead up to the latest Iraq war, there was no end to books and press on the weapons of mass destruction, terrorist links, and just how nasty Saddam was. In my opinion, the one area that was ignored or just not fully covered was the period of time between the two wars. This book fills a major part of that time gap. The authors give a concise and readable history of Saddam up to 1991, which is no small feat given the rather obscure political situation and tribal consideration of Middle East Politics or more accurately coup engineering. The book really focuses on three main areas, the effect of the UN economic sanctions on the general population of Iraqi, the way Saddam kept power and dealt with the Kurdish area, and the internal Saddam family relations.

The section on the sanctions is very eye opening. What is disappointing about the U.S. media is that for ten years conditions deteriorated daily in Iraq, yet the general U.S. public really did not have an idea of the conditions in Iraq. A policy that was put in place to punish and hopefully remove Saddam was in fact responsible for the misery and death of many of the population of Iraq. One can only assume that uninspired or lazy world leadership left a policy that did not work in place for so long. The one area that I would have been interested in would have been more coverage from the authors on the effect of the sanctions on the Iraqi military, but this interest is primarily driven by the events of the last year so it is not fair to ding the book for this. I also felt that at times the book dragged or became a bit dry, this is the reason I am not giving it a five star rating. Overall I enjoyed the book and found it covered new ground for me given the reading I have done over the last year on Iraq.

Rating:
Summary: Life inside the regime of Saddam Hussein
Review: This book will fascinate anyone with a deep interest in the Gulf War. The Cockburns show us what was happening on the other side, within Iraq. We're given a rich portrait of what life is like in Hussein's inner circle, the functioning of the various anti-Hussein factions, and the CIA's unsuccessful efforts to foment Hussein's overthrow. Hussein's atrocities are fully documented, as is the incompetence of the CIA - no one comes out of this book smelling like a rose. The Cockburns argue that the US should have pushed on to Baghdad during the Gulf War, and they're harsh toward the US for its naive hope that somehow, against all odds, someone will overthrow Hussein. The most shocking part of the book is an account of an attempted CIA-backed coup in 1996, in which the CIA allowed the coup to go forward in spite of hard evidence that Iraqi authorities had advance knowledge. The result was that many Iraqi dissidents, working under the CIA's leadership, were sent to their imprisonment and death.

The Cockburns harshly criticize the US's ongoing blockade of Iraq, despite their own account of Hussein's determination to develop biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. The Cockburns end their book with the prediction that somehow the Iraqi people will rise up against Hussein. Yet the authors spent most of the book criticizing the US for taking exactly that same stance - naively hoping for an uprising. This glaring inconsistency is an incredible flaw in an otherwise fascinating book.

Rating:
Summary: In the end, there is only Hope
Review: To paraphrase the philosopher Walter Benjamin, 'hope was given to us precisely for the sake of the hopeless.' I recall here Benjamin's brilliant apercu because there might not be another people so utterly lacking in hope and so desperately in need of the consolations and opportunities provided by such hope as the Iraqis. These people have been fated to suffer not only the murderous clan led by Saddam Hussein but also the scheming and witless 'help' of their morally defective 'protector,' the United States. This conclusion is given ample support by Andrew and Patrick Cockburn's fine book on Saddam Hussein's Iraq, 'Out of the Ashes.'

The authors cover all of the relevant topics, including: The sanctions regime and the dreadful effects the regime has had on most Iraqis. The British creation of Iraq and its Monarch. The rise of Iraq's Baath party and Saddam Hussein. The mindlessness of Iraqi nationalism as represented by the Baath party. The nature and extent of Iraq's police state. Gulf war I and the many American betrayals of the Iraqi people. Hussein's pursuit and use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Palace politics in Baghdad and Washington. The vicious fools at Langley, with their telling preference for dictators and military men.

It all makes for a dreary read, although the authors cannot be faulted for this since they keep the story moving along with clear prose and adequate organization. It's the story they tell. At the very least a million Iraqis have died because of the Baath party and Saddam Hussein. Many more will die because of Gulf War II. There was nothing inevitable about the catastrophe just as Gulf War II will be the product of the ill-formed men and women willing it into being.

The Cockburns end their book on a hopeful note by asserting that only the Iraqi people could effect the downfall of Saddam Hussein and Iraq's Baath party. But they published their book in 1999 and could not know that fate would again deal the Iraqis another disastrous hand with the election of George W. Bush to the presidency. Harboring the sinister men of The Project for the New American Century and using the horror veiling 9.11 as political cover, the Bush administration now seeks to transform the remnants of America's Cold War system of alliances, treaties and institutional commitments into a self'conscious and self'perpetuating imperium founded on the control of oil and an overwhelming military power. The coming war is merely a part of that grandiose effort. Given the sorry record of those now leading the country, it is also prudent to expect the American effort in Iraq to undermine any revolt of the Iraqis themselves just as Desert Storm ended with the United States enabling the Republican Guard to crush the rebellion that arose in the wake its victory. Neither democracy nor Iraqi sovereignty will be a war aim of the United States, notwithstanding Bush claims to the contrary.

But, then again, these are matters to be decided by the Iraqis themselves. The next war will only delay the just settling of accounts.