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Anonymous
Posted April 30, 2008
Informative and nausea-inducing.
So much of what I read in this book was almost unbelievable, but based on what else I know about the Bush administration, I believe it. The level of incompetence and corruption in our government is astounding, and I think we need many more books such as this that exposes it. As for the book specifically, the writing is solid, and the author mixes enough humorous or shocking anecdotes with hard facts to keep the reader from getting bored or overwhelmed. The book gives you the information you need, without being pumped full of overly specialized facts that are useless to the general reader, and it manages to do this without dumbing anything down. An excellent piece of non-fiction.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 15, 2007
Let's the Sunshine In
Rajiv Chandrasekaran has done a service to the American public by writing this book. He has described the immediate reaction to the defeat of Saddam by the administration and the military, not always on the same page, and provided the clues we had been seeking as to what went wrong. Now we know. The viceroy assigned to 'lead the Iraqis', Paul Bremer, repeatedly demonstrated poor judgments, hired staff members with their own agenda and demonstrated a general ineptness of the entire Baghdad team that boggles the mind. Of course, when assignments were made to top posts based not on experience and knowledge but on their political connection or viewpoint, you are going to make serious errors. Children almost, people in their early 20's were given titles like Minister of Finance or assignments to overhaul the stock exchange. It does not take a genius to figure the folly of that plan. In fact, decisions given by all staff members, made filmdom's Keystone Kops look like a pristine Navy Seal unit by comparison. Having talked to others who have read this marvelous book that gives us insights not to be found elsewhere, the most common thread follows one theme. They say, 'I had to put the book down over and over because I was so outraged by the information. This is America, we are better than that.' I share their sentiments, and found this book disturbing because of the reality of what took place. The outrage comes because now we know the conditions, and it is a precarious almost untenable position. All of that could have been avoided if only people of honor, knowledge of the region and a purpose of serving their country instead of themselves were selected.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted January 6, 2007
You need to know how this Orwellian Administration is wasting your money
The Author's style of writing is such that it makes one visualize his writings as if you were there with him. Finally more of the truth is coming out to show Bremer was just there to write a book for when he departed. What a waste he was, there must be better people to do a job, except good people don't get a job there unless they swear their support of the Orwellian Administration lead by Cheney, Rumsfield and Bush reading the teleprompter.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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MauriusOreilly
Posted March 4, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Provocative, Comical, & Sad
This was an excellent depiction of the American run government after the toppling of the Baathist regime in Iraq. It is full of vignettes that depict the absolute chaos that ensued: a sad and comic example of ideology mixed with a lack of planning, foresight, coordination, and direction. A must read for those who want to get a flavor of the time.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted January 17, 2007
Depressing
If this book was written as a work of fiction in 2003, no one would have thought it possible. It is amazing the level of incompetence displayed by the Americans in Iraq. Appointing political hacks to very important positions, people who have no knowledge of Iraq and refused to learn and just a general sense of 'Oh course I'm right, I'm an American.' Anyone with some sense will not be surprised by this book and those who could learn the most from it will probably never read it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted August 1, 2010
A Must Read
Staggering. Never assume your leadership is competent. Question them. This book is a stunning example of people in power being blinded by their own convictions and acting irresponsibly. It makes much more sense now in seeing how Iraq fell apart. The endless examples of foolhardy behavior by our leadership and the people inside the Green Zone are outrageous and after a time make you embarassed for our country. We sent a lot of brave soliders over there who did their best in trying conditions, but we sent buffoons to lead them or plan their actions.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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GCinAZ
Posted December 28, 2011
Must read this book!
This was, without question, the best account of America's post-invasion of Iraq. The author gave a very detailed description not only of the Green Zone, but of the Coalition Provisional Authority and it's ineptitude. The author also exposed the Bush Administration's efforts to force Iraqis to accept the governing body of exiles that were hand-picked puppets. He (author) demonstrated his credibility by actually talking to Iraqi citizens who were impacted by America's decision to put Paul Bremer in charge.
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Anonymous
Posted April 1, 2010
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Anonymous
Posted August 3, 2010
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Anonymous
Posted January 26, 2010
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Anonymous
Posted March 1, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted October 10, 2008
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Anonymous
Posted February 2, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted November 26, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted April 24, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted November 23, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted August 3, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted July 22, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted February 13, 2011
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Anonymous
Posted August 27, 2010
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