The book follows the administration of Iraq under the CPA, through the eyes of Washington Post journalist Rajiv Chandraserkaran.
Most of his stories are a little bizaare, in a smack-your-forehead kind of way: the CPA staffer rejecting a chance to learn more about the history of Iraq because the contents of 70s travel brochure is all he needs, for example, or the young staffers who were flown in to rebuild the Iraqi ministries, many of whom were fresh out of college (the story was later adapted as an article in the Washington Post; I believe it was discussed here before).
The author makes the case that some actions may have made the war effort more difficult than it had to be: After being told to lay down their arms and not to resist the American forces during the invasion, much of the Iraqi army was simply released. The CPA's economic plan canceled many debts, but effectively bankrupted Iraq's few strong companies by erasing what money they had in the national banks. A general "Everything is Going Fine" mentality in the compound prevented the staff from realizing what the situation was like in Baghdad ... et cetera, et cetera.
John Argresto describes himself as having been "mugged by reality" upon reaching Iraq. He volunteered to help rebuild the nation's university system, but finds himself with looted facilities and a lack of funds (which was apparently a common problem). Near the end of the book, the author includes the text of a note Argresto wrote to a friend before leaving the country. Here's a bit:
quote:The problem with democracy building is that I think we think democracy is easy -- get rid of the bad guys, call for elections, encourage "power-sharing," and see to it somebody writes a bill of rights. The truth is exactly the opposite -- government by the few, or government by one person is what's easy to build; even putting together good autocratic rule doesn't seem to be that hard. It's good, stable and free democracies that are really the hardest thing.
It was a very good read. L. Paul Bremer's My Year in Iraq might be next, if I can find a copy of it in the library. Could be an interesting compare and contrast.
--j_k, who wasn't sure if he wanted to start Another Iraq Thread
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Al Gore's new book has a lot of great information on the misteps and atrocities in the war, among other things. Gore isn't the best writer, I've been reading this thing for more than a month and I'm only halfway through it, it's a tough read, but his information is good, and it's an eye opening book.
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