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Saddam Hussein
When the United States and its allies launched Operation Desert Storm against
Iraq in 1991 in retaliation for that nation's invasion of Kuwait, the plans to bomb
"command and control" centers had a clear, albeit largely unspoken, objective:
"We don't do assassinations," National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft has
acknowledged, "but yes, we targeted all the places where Saddam might have
been." The only problem: he wasn't there and, nearly a decade after the
Gulf War, he continues to remain in power.
See also: Schwarzkopf
- Powell
- Air Power - General's
Debrief -
Policy & Logistics
From Kirkus Reviews
A fascinating history of the global and regional intrigues and miscues that have allowed
Saddam Hussein to defiantly survive. The authors, both widely published
journalists in the fields of international relations and Middle East politics, contend
that in the wake of the Gulf War, if Saddam was to survive, his enemies would have to make
a lot of mistakes. And this they did. Central to the story, of course, is the
US, which could never quite decide what it wanted. Wishing to be rid of Saddam but fearing
a destabilized Iraq, the US called publicly for a popular uprising but gave only lukewarm
support to such efforts. Rebellion in the south was thought to be backed by
Iran. Rebellion in the north, among Iraqi Kurds, was seen as a threat to US ally Turkey,
with its own growing Kurdish rebellions. For their part, resistance groups
could never get their acts together. Two CIA-sponsored exile groups ended up
fighting each other. The Kurds ended up in a civil war among competing
factions, allowing Saddam to reassert his power in the north. Economic
sanctions did work to cripple Iraq's economy but at the cost of extreme deprivation among
the Iraqi people, a public relations disaster both in Iraq and around the world.
More effective have been arms inspections in Iraq to uncover weapons of mass
destruction. Yet once it was clear that economic sanctions would end only with
the end of Saddam himself, he had little incentive to comply with the demands of weapons
inspectors. And all the while, through absolute cruelty and terrorand the
skillful manipulation of clan and religious factions among Iraq's elite Saddam has remained
firmly in power. With access to top US foreign policy makers as well as to Iraqi
officials, the Cockburns authoritatively, and with clarity, recount a series of events
that would be comic if they were not so tragic. Among the best books yet
written on the malignant enigma that is Saddam Hussein. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus
Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Scott Ritter -- the U.N. weapons inspector whose
resignation in August prompted an international outcry -- proposes a bold and innovative
solution to the ongoing crisis in Iraq. Ritter's book is an account of his life as
an UNSCOM arms inspector. Throughout his book he provides intimate details
about Saddam Hussein and the life he led prior to assuming power, and his ability to
eliminate and outmaneuver his rivals in order to consolidate that power. Unfortunately, as
a scholarly piece of work, this book contains NO footnotes. He makes a weak
attempt to identify sources that he used to write, but again, there are no footnotes to
validate his assumptions and the historical references mentioned in Iraqi history.
As a criticism of US foreign policy, this book portrays the US very
negatively. He takes the US to task for using the CIA to perform their duties
under the auspices of UNSCOM, but nowhere does he criticize the ISRAELIs, who
coincidentally, where not invited to the coalition against IRAQ for obvious reasons.
In fact, Ritter's coziness with the Israelis led to his being investigated for
espionage, which he lightly paints over. Ritter complains about US lack of
resolve in forcing Iraqi compliance. From a layman's point of view, his
arguments are valid. Many people see the ineptitude of US foreign policy in the Balkans,
much less the Persian Gulf. However, Ritter does not have access to the
National Command Authority, the National Security Council or any other National
policy-making or implementing body within this country. He can only assert from his point
of view. The book itself is an interesting read with some good insight into
the Iraq's program of concealment and deception. Had Ritter stuck to facts
that he knew, his credibility would be better. Finally, to get a real picture
of his adventures, check out the "Frontline" Documentary "Spying on
Saddam" on the PBS website.
In this timely, highly informed account, Tim Trevan -- a
British expert on biological warfare and a former strategist and spokesman for the UN
Special Commission for Iraq (UNSCOM) -- details the cat-and-mouse tactics employed against
a master of brinksmanship. In the face of
stonewalling, intimidation, obstruction, and death threats, UN inspectors managed to
devise a strategy to thwart Saddam Hussein's repeated attempts to divide the Security
Council and to monitor his covert efforts to rebuild Iraq's banned weapons program.
Aided by superior intelligence data, new sensor technology, infrared
satellite imagery, high-level Iraqi defectors,
and unswerving dedication, the inspectors succeeded largely in exposing Iraq's deceptions.
Yet, as the author warns, Iraq remains a menace to international peace and
security, persisting in its claim that it is in full compliance with the terms of
the1991ceasefire. A riveting eyewitness account of one of the most threatening
conflicts of the20th century.
In this frightening reassessment of the 1991 Gulf War, a strategic
analyst reveals that the war was not the high-tech victory that many Americans perceive,
but a nearly catastrophic event. Focusing on the role played by weapons of mass
destructionin particular biological and chemical weapons -- Avigdor Haselkorn argues that
these have redefined the meaning of deterrence and have set in motion trends that are
hazardous to world peace.
The 1991 Persian Gulf War was the greatest direct military
investment the United States has ever made in the Middle East. The objective
was to remove Saddam Hussein as a threat to the region. Seven years after the war,
Saddam's regime remains in place, his power is rising, and his diplomatic situation is
steadily improving. And the coalition to contain Saddam is rickety and in
danger of scattering.
Biological
Terrorism & Weapons of Mass Destruction
by Gary McCuen
Hardcover (1999)
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