Rating: 
Summary: Good account of an unnecessary, diversionary war
Review:
Historian and journalist Dilip Hiro has written a detailed account of the continuing Bush/Blair attack on Iraq. He examines the preparations for the invasion, the attack itself and the continuing war since Bush declared victory in May 2003. Hiro shows how the attack on Iraq has diverted us from defeating Al Qa'ida, and how it has increased the terrorist threat.
He details the Bush and Blair governments' systematic lies to the UN, to Parliament and Congress, to the British and American peoples, and to the Hutton and other inquiries. Almost everything that we are told about the war comes from `embedded' reporters, who are required by contract to agree to obey Bush's instructions.
The occupation is causing chaos - 60% unemployment, worsening health and education, an estimated 100,000 killed, shortages of water, fuel and electricity, and minimal rebuilding. The occupying forces are not seeking, and will never achieve, a friendly, stable or democratic Iraq.
The US and British forces are using cluster bombs, heavy artillery and napalm, real weapons of mass destruction, just like in Vietnam. So, as in Vietnam, they are losing hearts and minds, and losing the war.
The January election will not improve security or `change the atmosphere', as Blair claims. Their aim is not election but dereliction. In years to come, if we let it happen, they will sigh, `to save Iraq we had to destroy it'.
Not surprisingly, the occupation is generating popular hatred of the occupier, fuelling the national resistance. The vast majority of the Iraqi people want the occupying forces out as soon as possible, as do the majority of the British and American peoples.
But Blair says that the troops will stay to oversee the 30 January election, then that they will stay till December 2005. The US commanders say that they will leave in 2006, if the security situation allows. Chief of the General Staff Sir Michael Walker says that British troops will stay indefinitely, `depending on the security threat to the Iraqi authorities'. But we can all see that the occupation itself causes the insecurity and chaos.
Rating: 
Summary: Dilip Hiro: Just another conspiracy nut.
Review:
In some ways, this book is a great deal more distressing than the various pundit books slamming Bush (Moore, Hightower, Frankel, Krugman, Carville, etc.) because there is not a single caustic turn of phrase, not a single line of satire, not a single double entendre in the entire work. This is a brutally straight-forward, earnestly researched, ably footnoted, totally credible review of all of the secrets and lies that led to the war in Iraq.
It did not quite bring me to tears, it did very nearly make me want to throw a chair through the garden window. According to this book, and its incontrovertible documentation, we were lied to. We were deceived. Untold fighting men and women, not just from the US but also from other countries, have died and been wounded and according to this book the number of wounded is CLASSIFIED. It is a secret, an official secret from the American public, how many of their sons and daughters have died to support this ideological conquest, this extremist religious crusade. We must also acknowledge the thousands of dead Iraqis and the hundreds of thousands of displaced and impoverished Iraqis. Another official secret from the American public are the results of the open survey by the Department of State of how the Iraqis feels about the US invasion and occupation--classified AFTER we discovered that Chalabi had lied to Cheney and there were no hearts and flowers, only hostility. Yet another official secret from the American public is the estimate of the damage done by US forces to the Iraqi infrastructure, and how much it will cost the US taxpayer to pay for this mindless destruction in the heart of the Middle East. Not discussed by the author, but very much on my mind, is the jungle drum word from the retired veterans with access to Bethesda and other military hospitals---on the basis of the 250,000 disabled veterans from Gulf 1, and the "word" filtering out from the wards, we are looking at upwards of 25,000, perhaps as many as 100,000 disabled veterans from this war--all from depleted uranium, a killer of our own making. Worse, this disability is multi-generational and will lead to blind and maimed children among those veterans who are able to have children. This book is a cold-hearted look--so cold-hearted it ignites a flame of righteous anger in any careful reader--at how America has destroyed its credibility and its ability to have a positive influence in the Middle East. If I have one small criticism, it is that the author, a stellar authority with solid sources to call upon, did not do an appendix that laid out an entire timeline of what Bush and Blair said that was false, and then the counter-vailing truth. Although the author makes a number of these points clear throughout the book, for example, the UN never passed a resolution calling for the removal of Saddam Hussein from power, an opportunity has been lost here. Truth matters. Paul O'Neil is correct to speculate that we will heal ourselves, and equally correct to point out that this will happen only if we speak and hear the truth about these grievous circumstances in which great evil was done "in our name." This book, more so than the others that I cited above, is perhaps the first serious building block toward righting our ship of state.
Rating: 
Summary: Prescient, Incisive, Expert Analysis
Review: Dilip Hiro has been studying Iraq and military affairs in the Middle East for decades, and is among the world's top experts in this field. Most of what he predicted in his previous book, "In The Eye of the Storm," has, as he points out in this new and exciting work, come to pass. Not that the neocons in the Bush-Cheney administration - who wage war, in our name, just because they can and just because they think America is their messianic empire with which they may run roughshod all over the world - would care. But the American people should, and do care, especially when they are lied to, repeatedly, and loudly, and to this day, about the reality behind the illegal conquest and occupation of a sovereign nation that posed no grave or immediate threat to the USA. This war has been a defeat for America's arrogant and imperial, military and political goals in the Middle East, and in November of 2004, the Bush administration will taste what it hath wrought.
Rating:
Summary: A Surgeon with a Scalpel
Review: Dilip Hiro is one of the world's renowned experts on the Middle East. Based in London, he commentates and writes frequently and authoritatively on the subject for CNN, MSNBC, BBC, The Observer and The Nation. He takes the scalpel to the rationale for the United States-Great Britain rush to war with Iraq in the manner of a talented surgeon. Ironically, Hiro was plagiarized by none other than British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he sought to use his information as a pretext to conflict, receiving a sharp denunciation from Hiro, who opposed the action from the outset. Hiro demonstrates how the forces of Bush and Blair used facts, such as those written by himself, to their own advantage. He also adroitly reveals how propaganda was used to create a "rally round the flag" effect in stirring mass opinion. He analyzes the story of Private Jessica Lynch in this vein. In citing the important role played by oil executive as well as Vice President Dick Cheney in the march to war, Hiro refers to his as someone "who is for all practical purposes the executive prime minister to a president uninterested in and incapable of running the day-to-day administration of his government."
Rating: 
Summary: So who has the real facts?
Review: Events of course can be observed and documented, but the inner moods and intentions of humans cannot. This fact is forgotten by historians, political commentators, journalists, pundits, writers, and government officials unfortunately. Instead of documenting the events as they occur, and as can be perceived by everyone, the main goal instead is to impute certain frames of mind in the individuals who are involved in these events. The author of this book is no exception to this trend, and the title of the book is a dead giveaway to this fact. It may be true that George Bush knew that the reasons he spoke of for invading Iraq were false; it is just as plausible to believe that he really believed in the reasons he gave. No matter how "reasonable" it seems to believe that Bush was lying, the fact remains that one cannot look inside his mind to determine if he really was. There is a large uncertainty involved in any conclusion reached regarding the intents and motivations of human beings. Science is just not sophisticated enough to judge by external behavior whether a person is lying, and until it is it must remain an open question as to whether that person is or not. The author does document the pain and horror felt by the citizens of Iraq when exposed to the horrific act of terror brought onto them by U.S. and coalition forces. He does this by interjecting certain journal entries kept by a few Iraqis during the illegal and immoral invasion of their country. One can only hope in their authenticity, and such skepticism or doubt regarding their authenticity raises other issues involving the claims of certain individuals to have access to information that others do not. In this regard, is the author of this book privy to information that the rest of us do not have? And if the president can engage in such blatant twisting of the facts, why should the reader not believe that the author has also done the same? A closely related issue is one that also plagues modern journalism and political commentary, namely that the intent of a writer or government official often gets confused with the truth of their claims. It does not matter if the author of this book wrote the book with the intent of financial gain. All that matters is whether the content of the book is true. Many commentators constantly commit this error: the intent of the person for producing a given work is thought to negate the conclusions of the work. The author may have an axe to grind against the current administration, or he may be trying to propagate certain political beliefs or doctrines, or he may be interested in filling his bank account. None of this is relevant regarding the truth of what appears in his book. But then, how would one verify that what the author is claiming as historical fact is really the way it happened? Should we trust him in this regard? No, we shouldn't. What we should do is engage in the research ourselves in an attempt to verify his assertions. This will be difficult and time-consuming, but such is the nature of seeking the truth. It is easy to form opinions. It is quite another matter to find and verify genuine knowledge. The book opens with a statement by Bush that he supposedly spoke to (the now former) Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas: "God told me to strike at Al Qaida and I struck them, and then He instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did." I did not hear this statement directly from Bush on television or radio. Did Bush say it? Maybe. Does he believe it? If he does, then Bush is a very disturbed individual. Is it relevant to the author's case in the book, to the historical facts which he takes aim to delineate? No, it is not. It could be omitted without affecting the author's case. It serves no scholarly purpose at all.
Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Masterpiece!
Review: It is difficult for people who have grown up on today's mainstream media to deal with the fact that we are living in a world where the puppets of CNN, NBC, and most especially FOX are in the pockets of today's politicians. I feel this book is a must-read for that very reason. It's important to stand back and take an objective look at our situation from other perspectives and with a little luck maybe we'll realize that America should not be number one in the world but that the world should be number one to America. Dilip Hiro provides just that. Not only is it an objective view about today's administration, but it is one that you can tell is thoroughly researched exhausting both main stream media, foreign media and personal contacts of the author. After all, when seaking an honest opinion of ones beauty, one should not seek out the opinion of a friend or family member. They will be biased. An honest opinion comes from someone who will be straight forward and that is just what Dilip offers to his readers. It's sad to think that some will judge this book as anti-American instead of applying its lesson to their political views and rising above thinking only of OUR economy, OUR losses, and OUR wins. Please read this book with an open mind. Afterall, if we keep going where we're going, we might just end up where we're headed! :)
Rating:
Summary: Bloody Brilliant!
Review: The Administration revealed for its deceitful ways. It is a delightful read, informative as well as sheerly entertaining for the power of its revelations. Read only if you are willing to look at the truth and consider its validity, not if you plan to regain your composure by looking at your Bush-draped-in-an-American-flag poster.
Rating:
Summary: Bloody Brilliant!
Review: This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know why the US military invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Dilip Hiro has compiled a very detailed history of the lead-up to the invasion, the first four weeks, and the aftermath. He starts with the post-9/11 White House, where the neoconservative Bush administration shifted their focus from fighting terrorism (and fundamentalism in south central Asia and the Middle East) to Iraq. The neocons were dedicated to removing Saddam Hussein, but no one else was. They had to convince Colin Powell, the US population, and the rest of the world. Dilip Hiro shows how the upcoming invasion was marketed using carefully-selected intelligence reports, creating a false crisis. From the yellowcake from Africa to the lies about ongoing inspections by the UN, Dilip Hiro documents it all. But the invasion takes place anyway. He shifts his focus to the war, using detailed maps and newspaper sources to describe the battles, the setbacks, and the strategies the US military used. He covers the first month of the invasion, ending with the occupation and Bush claiming 'mission accomplished.' This is a devastating critique of a US foreign policy completely divorced from democracy and world opinion. Every fact in this book, stacked up in page after page, creates a chilling picture of the wrong war for the wrong reasons. If you are only going to read one book on the invasion (and occupation) of Iraq, make it this one. You'll end up referring to it over and over in the next few years, reminding yourself of how we got into this mess.
Rating:
Summary: The best book on the topic
Review: This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know why the US military invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Dilip Hiro has compiled a very detailed history of the lead-up to the invasion, the first four weeks, and the aftermath. He starts with the post-9/11 White House, where the neoconservative Bush administration shifted their focus from fighting terrorism (and fundamentalism in south central Asia and the Middle East) to Iraq. The neocons were dedicated to removing Saddam Hussein, but no one else was. They had to convince Colin Powell, the US population, and the rest of the world. Dilip Hiro shows how the upcoming invasion was marketed using carefully-selected intelligence reports, creating a false crisis. From the yellowcake from Africa to the lies about ongoing inspections by the UN, Dilip Hiro documents it all. But the invasion takes place anyway. He shifts his focus to the war, using detailed maps and newspaper sources to describe the battles, the setbacks, and the strategies the US military used. He covers the first month of the invasion, ending with the occupation and Bush claiming 'mission accomplished.' This is a devastating critique of a US foreign policy completely divorced from democracy and world opinion. Every fact in this book, stacked up in page after page, creates a chilling picture of the wrong war for the wrong reasons. If you are only going to read one book on the invasion (and occupation) of Iraq, make it this one. You'll end up referring to it over and over in the next few years, reminding yourself of how we got into this mess.
Rating:
Summary: Bottoming out at the bottom line
Review: This book is good background to the current unraveling going on in Iraq and essentially prophesies what is happening. The equivalent of compressed news coverage with editorial critique it takes up a year's worth of file copy minus the noise factor and disinformation that makes it hard to see what is going on. Tonic for the propaganda barrage.
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