Alfred A. Knopf, 2006
Riveting, well-written behind the scenes account of the War and Post-war reconstruction period in Iraq (2004). Scary, sometimes depressing and downright maddening. Shows incompetence, prioritizing based on ambition, lack of planning due to over-optimism and a frightening display of partisan politics.
"When an Iraqi-American interpreter offered to loan a senior CPA staffer a copy of Hanna Batatu's The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq, a seminal work of regional history, the staffer declined. He pointed to a small book on his desk. "Everything I need is in here," he said. The interpreter picked up the book. It was a tourist guide to Iraq, written in the 1970s."
See by same author: Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan, 2012
I didn't see it but want to. I had the DVD but not sure I still do. Have been meaning to check. Yes, infuriating. Still working on the book Hubris. But hoping you'll finish it first and tell me about it, it's pretty dense.
That remark about Iraq by the American staffer--frightening! Did you ever see the movie The Green Zone? So anger-making!