The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Governance in Iraq

Download The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Governance in Iraq PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 12 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Governance in Iraq by : Celeste J. Ward

Download or read book The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Governance in Iraq written by Celeste J. Ward and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Coalition Provisional Authority¿s Experience with Governance in Iraq

Download Coalition Provisional Authority¿s Experience with Governance in Iraq PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437904203
Total Pages : 12 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (379 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Coalition Provisional Authority¿s Experience with Governance in Iraq by : Celeste J. Ward

Download or read book Coalition Provisional Authority¿s Experience with Governance in Iraq written by Celeste J. Ward and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008-09 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is a product of the U.S. Institute of Peace¿s Iraq Experience Project. It is the third of three reports examining important lessons identified in Iraq prior to the country¿s transition to sovereignty in June 2004 and is based on extensive interviews with 113 officials, soldiers, and contractors who served there. This report is focused specifically on governance in Iraq under the Coalition Provisional Authority. The other two reports examine security and reconstruction, respectively. These reports are intended for use as training aids in programs that prepare individuals for service in peace and stability operations, so that lessons identified in Iraq may be translated into lessons learned by those assigned to future missions.

Coalition Provisional Authority¿s Experience with Public Security in Iraq

Download Coalition Provisional Authority¿s Experience with Public Security in Iraq PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437903045
Total Pages : 16 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (379 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Coalition Provisional Authority¿s Experience with Public Security in Iraq by : Robert M. Perito

Download or read book Coalition Provisional Authority¿s Experience with Public Security in Iraq written by Robert M. Perito and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008-10 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Economic Reconstruction in Iraq

Download The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Economic Reconstruction in Iraq PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 20 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (327 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Economic Reconstruction in Iraq by : Anne Ellen Henderson

Download or read book The Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Economic Reconstruction in Iraq written by Anne Ellen Henderson and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Governance in Iraq: Lessons Identified

Download Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Governance in Iraq: Lessons Identified PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (139 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Governance in Iraq: Lessons Identified by : Celeste J. Ward

Download or read book Coalition Provisional Authority's Experience with Governance in Iraq: Lessons Identified written by Celeste J. Ward and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Occupying Iraq

Download Occupying Iraq PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rand Corporation
ISBN 13 : 0833047248
Total Pages : 411 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (33 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Occupying Iraq by : James Dobbins

Download or read book Occupying Iraq written by James Dobbins and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2009-04-01 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focuses on the activities of the Coalition Provisional Authority during the first year of the occupation of Iraq. Based on interviews and nearly 100,000 never-before-released documents from CPA archives, the book recounts and evaluates the efforts of the United States and its coalition partners to restore public services, counter a burgeoning insurgency, and create the basis for representative government.

Iraq and the Politics of Oil

Download Iraq and the Politics of Oil PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700625062
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Iraq and the Politics of Oil by : Gary Vogler

Download or read book Iraq and the Politics of Oil written by Gary Vogler and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2017-12-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was the Iraq war really about oil? As a senior oil advisor for the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) and briefly as minister of oil, Gary Vogler thought he knew. But while doing research for a book about his experience in Iraq, Vogler discovered that what he knew was not the whole story—or even the true story. The Iraq war did have an oil agenda underlying it, one that Vogler had previously denied. This book is his attempt to set the record straight. Iraq and the Politics of Oil is a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of the role of the US government in the Iraqi oil sector since 2003. Vogler describes the prewar oil planning and the important decisions made during hostilities to get Iraqi oil flowing several months ahead of schedule. He reveals how, amid the instability of 2006 (largely fueled by the arrogance of early US decisions), the fixing of the Bayji Refinery contributed significantly to the success of the oil sector in the Sunni part of northern Iraq during and after the surge. Vogler gives us an expert insider’s view of the largest oilfield auctions in the history of the international oil industry, and his account shows how US Forces’ focus on a single Iraqi point of failure in 2007 was a primary factor in the record productions and exports of 2012 through 2017. But under the successes so deftly chronicled here, a darker political narrative finally emerges, one that reaches back to the decision to go to war with Iraq. Uncovering it, Vogler revises our understanding of what we were doing in Iraq, even as he gives us a critical, close-up view of that fraught enterprise.

Hard Lessons: the Iraq Reconstruction Experience

Download Hard Lessons: the Iraq Reconstruction Experience PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437912745
Total Pages : 508 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (379 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Hard Lessons: the Iraq Reconstruction Experience by : Stuart W. Bowen

Download or read book Hard Lessons: the Iraq Reconstruction Experience written by Stuart W. Bowen and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2009-05 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A combination of poor planning, weak oversight and greed cheated U.S. taxpayers and undermined American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. taxpayers have paid nearly $51 billion for projects in Iraq, including training the Iraqi army and police and rebuilding Iraq's oil, electric, justice, health and transportation sectors. Many of the projects did not succeed, partly because of violence in Iraq and friction between U.S. officials in Washington and Iraqi officials in Baghdad. The U.S. gov¿t. "was neither prepared for nor able to respond quickly to the ever-changing demands" of stabilizing Iraq and then rebuilding it. This report reviews the problems in the war effort, which the Bush admin. claimed would cost $2.4 billion. Charts and tables.

Reconstructing Iraq

Download Reconstructing Iraq PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700617795
Total Pages : 478 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Reconstructing Iraq by : Gordon W. Rudd

Download or read book Reconstructing Iraq written by Gordon W. Rudd and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2011-05-30 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When President George W. Bush stood on the decks of the U.S.S. Lincoln in May 2003 and announced the victorious end to major combat operations in Iraq, he did so in front of a huge banner that proclaimed "Mission Accomplished." American forces had successfully removed the regime of Saddam Hussein with "rapid decisive operations"-and yet the United States was unprepared to effectively replace that regime. Gordon Rudd's excellent history reveals why in stark detail. Between the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the creation of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) that May, the Allied forces struggled to plug the governance gap created by the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime. Plugging that gap became the job of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Cobbled together with staff from diverse federal agencies and military branches, ORHA was led by Jay Garner, a key figure in assisting Kurdish refugees following Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Garner and ORHA were given mere weeks to stabilize a nation that had come completely apart at the seams. Iraq's infrastructure was in such a shambles-thanks to years of poor maintenance, international sanctions, and massive looting-that the mission was doomed to fail from the start. Rudd, field historian for ORHA and CPA, offers a critical look at this impossible effort. He shows that, while military planning for the invasion of Iraq had been conducted for over a decade, planning for regime replacement was haphazard at best. The result was an unnecessarily large loss of lives, treasure, time, and American prestige, despite the inspired efforts of Garner and his staff. Based on nearly 300 interviews and time on the ground in Iraq, Rudd's account also provides an unsettling look at the awkward transition from ORHA to CPA, revealing how Ambassador Paul Bremer managed to make things even worse. Garner here emerges as both heroic and tragic, a charismatic leader of great enthusiasm who took on a task of grand proportions but was poorly served by those who chose him for the mission. As Rudd makes clear, the key lesson of this experience is that regime removal solves nothing without effective regime replacement. That lesson, learned the hard way, serves as a cautionary tale for our engagement in future foreign conflicts.

Squandered Victory

Download Squandered Victory PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1429900261
Total Pages : 420 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Squandered Victory by : Larry Diamond

Download or read book Squandered Victory written by Larry Diamond and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's leading expert on democracy delivers the first insider's account of the U.S. occupation of Iraq-a sobering and critical assessment of America's effort to implant democracy In the fall of 2003, Stanford professor Larry Diamond received a call from Condoleezza Rice, asking if he would spend several months in Baghdad as an adviser to the American occupation authorities. Diamond had not been a supporter of the war in Iraq, but he felt that the task of building a viable democracy was a worthy goal now that Saddam Hussein's regime had been overthrown. He also thought he could do some good by putting his academic expertise to work in the real world. So in January 2004 he went to Iraq, and the next three months proved to be more of an education than he bargained for. Diamond found himself part of one of the most audacious undertakings of our time. In Squandered Victory he shows how the American effort to establish democracy in Iraq was hampered not only by insurgents and terrorists but also by a long chain of miscalculations, missed opportunities, and acts of ideological blindness that helped assure that the transition to independence would be neither peaceful nor entirely democratic. He brings us inside the Green Zone, into a world where ideals were often trumped by power politics and where U.S. officials routinely issued edicts that later had to be squared (at great cost) with Iraqi realities. His provocative and vivid account makes clear that Iraq-and by extension, the United States-will spend many years climbing its way out of the hole that was dug during the fourteen months of the American occupation.

Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy

Download Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317470397
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (174 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy by : Louis A. Picard

Download or read book Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy written by Louis A. Picard and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely work presents cutting-edge analysis of the problems of U.S. foreign assistance programs - why these problems have not been solved in the past, and how they might be solved in the future. The book focuses primarily on U.S. foreign assistance and foreign policy as they apply to nation building, governance, and democratization. The expert contributors examine issues currently in play, and also trace the history and evolution of many of these problems over the years. They address policy concerns as well as management and organizational factors as they affect programs and policies. "Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy" includes several chapter-length case studies (on Iraq, Pakistan, Ghana, Haiti, and various countries in Eastern Europe and Africa), but the bulk of the book presents broad coverage of general topics such as foreign aid and security, NGOs and foreign aid, capacity building, and building democracy abroad. Each chapter offers recommendations on how to improve the U.S. system of aid in the context of foreign policy.

Hard Lessons

Download Hard Lessons PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Government Printing Office
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (3 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Hard Lessons by : United States. Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

Download or read book Hard Lessons written by United States. Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Product Description: The billions of dollars expended in Iraq constitute the largest relief and reconstruction exercise in American history. SIGIR's lessons learned capping report characterizes this effort in four phases (pre-war to ORHA, CPA, post-CPA/Negroponte era, and Khalilzad, Crocker, and the Surge). From this history, SIGIR forwards a series of conclusions and recommendations for Congress to consider when organizing for the next post-conflict reconstruction situation. Over the past five years, the United States has provided nearly fifty billion dollars for the relief and reconstruction of Iraq. This unprecedented rebuilding program, implemented after the March 2003 invasion, was developed to restore Iraq's essential services, build Iraq's security forces, create a market-based economy, and establish a democratic government--all in pursuit of U.S. interests in a stable and free Iraq. Did the U.S. rebuilding program achieve its objectives? Was the money provided well-spent or wasted? What lessons have we learned from the experience? Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience, a report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), answers these and other important questions by presenting a comprehensive history of the U.S. program, chiefly derived from SIGIR's body of extensive oversight work in Iraq, hundreds of interviews with key figures involved with the reconstruction program, and thousands of documents evidencing the reconstruction work that was - or was not - done. The report examines the limited pre-war planning for reconstruction, the shift from a large infrastructure program to a more community-based one, and the success of the Surge in 2007 and beyond. Hard Lessons concludes that the U.S. government did not have the structure or resources in place to execute the mammoth relief and reconstruction plan it took on in 2003. The lessons learned from this experience create a basis for reviewing and reforming the U.S. approach to contingency relief and reconstruction operations.

After Saddam

Download After Saddam PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rand Corporation
ISBN 13 : 0833046381
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (33 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis After Saddam by : Nora Bensahel

Download or read book After Saddam written by Nora Bensahel and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2008-07-15 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph examines prewar planning efforts for the reconstruction of postwar Iraq. It then examines the role of U.S. military forces after major combat officially ended on May 1, 2003, through June 2004. Finally, it examines civilian efforts at reconstruction, focusing on the activities of the Coalition Provisional Authority and its efforts to rebuild structures of governance, security forces, economic policy, and essential services.

The Foreign Policies of Arab States

Download The Foreign Policies of Arab States PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : American University in Cairo Press
ISBN 13 : 1617973874
Total Pages : 706 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (179 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Foreign Policies of Arab States by : Bahgat Korany

Download or read book The Foreign Policies of Arab States written by Bahgat Korany and published by American University in Cairo Press. This book was released on 2010-03-01 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first edition of this book was praised as "a milestone for present and future research on Arab and Third World foreign policies" (American Political Science Review), and "an indispensable aid for those studying or teaching the foreign policies of the contemporary Middle East" (International Journal of Middle East Studies). It has become a standard textbook in Middle East studies curricula all over the world. This third edition, now in paperback, with new material reflecting the earth-shaking events at the end of the Cold War and the continuation of violence and terrorism, examines foreign policies of nine Arab states in the context of globalization. The editors first establish an analytical framework for assessing foreign policy, which they and other contributors then apply chapter by chapter to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Iraq. Contributors: Moataz A. Fattah, Karen Abul Kheir, Ali E. Hillal Dessouki, Hazem Kandil, Bahgat Korany, Ann M. Lesch, Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat, Paul Noble, Jennifer Rosenblum, Bassel F. Salloukh, Mohamed Soffar. William Zartman. Foreign Policy Analysis in the Global Era and the World of the Arabs Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hillal Dessouki Foreign Policy Approaches and Arab Countries: A Critical Evaluation and an Alternative Framework Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hillal Dessouki Globalization and Arab Foreign Policies: Constraints or Marginalization? Ali E. Hillal Dessouki and Bahgat Korany From Arab System to Middle Eastern System: Regional Pressures and Constraints Paul Noble Regional leadership: Balancing off Costs and Dividends: Foreign Policy of Egypt Ali E. Hillal Dessouki Foreign Policy under Occupation: Does Iraq Need a Foreign Policy? Mohamed Soffar Does the Successor Make a Difference? The Foreign Policy of Jordan Ali E. Hillal Dessouki and Karen Abul Kheir The Art of the Impossible: The Foreign Policy of Lebanon Bassel F. Salloukh The Far West of the Near East: The Foreign Policy of Morocco Jennifer Rosenblum and William Zartman Irreconcilable Role-Partners? Saudi Foreign Policy between the Ulama and the U.S. Bahgat Korany and Moataz A. Fattah From Fragmentation to Fragmentation? Sudan's Foreign Policy Ann M. Lesch The Challenge of Restructuring: Syrian Foreign Policy Hazem Kandil Politics of Constructive Engagement: The Foreign Policy of the United Arab Emirates Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat Conclusion: Foreign Policy, Globalization and the Arab Dilemma of Change Bahgat Korany and Ali E. Hillal Dessouki

The Occupation of Iraq

Download The Occupation of Iraq PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300135378
Total Pages : 544 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (1 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Occupation of Iraq by : Ali A. Allawi

Download or read book The Occupation of Iraq written by Ali A. Allawi and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Involved for over thirty years in the politics of Iraq, Ali A. Allawi was a long-time opposition leader against the Baathist regime. In the post-Saddam years he has held important government positions and participated in crucial national decisions and events. In this book, the former Minister of Defense and Finance draws on his unique personal experience, extensive relationships with members of the main political groups and parties in Iraq, and deep understanding of the history and society of his country to answer the baffling questions that persist about its current crises. What really led the United States to invade Iraq, and why have events failed to unfold as planned? The Occupation of Iraq examines what the United States did and didn't know at the time of the invasion, the reasons for the confused and contradictory policies that were enacted, and the emergence of the Iraqi political class during the difficult transition process. The book tracks the growth of the insurgency and illuminates the complex relationships among Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds. Bringing the discussion forward to the reconfiguration of political forces in 2006, Allawi provides in these pages the clearest view to date of the modern history of Iraq and the invasion that changed its course in unpredicted ways.

The Collapse of Fortress Bush

Download The Collapse of Fortress Bush PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : NYU Press
ISBN 13 : 0814776256
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (147 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Collapse of Fortress Bush by : Alasdair Roberts

Download or read book The Collapse of Fortress Bush written by Alasdair Roberts and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2008-02-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Bush presidency began to collapse, pundits were quick to tell a tale of the “imperial presidency” gone awry, a story of secretive, power-hungry ideologues who guided an arrogant president down the road to ruin. But the inside story of the failures of the Bush administration is both much more complex and alarming, says leading policy analyst Alasdair Roberts. In the most comprehensive, balanced view of the Bush presidency to date, Roberts portrays a surprisingly weak president, hamstrung by bureaucratic, constitutional, cultural and economic barriers and strikingly unable to wield authority even within his own executive branch. The Collapse of Fortress Bush shows how the president fought—and lost—key battles with the defense and intelligence communities. From Homeland Security to Katrina, Bush could not coordinate agencies to meet domestic threats or disasters. Either the Bush administration refused to exercise authority, was thwarted in the attempt to exercise authority, or wielded authority but could not meet the test of legitimacy needed to enact their goals. Ultimately, the vaunted White House discipline gave way to public recriminations among key advisers. Condemned for secretiveness, the Bush administration became one of the most closely scrutinized presidencies in the modern era. Roberts links the collapse of the Bush presidency to deeper currents in American politics and culture, especially a new militarism and the supremacy of the Reagan-era consensus on low taxes, limited government, and free markets. Only in this setting was it possible to have a “total war on terrorism” in which taxes were reduced, private consumption was encouraged, and businesses were lightly regulated. A balanced, incisive account by a skilled observer of U.S. government, The Collapse of Fortress Bush turns the spotlight from the powerful cabal that launched the war in Iraq to tell a much more disturbing story about American power and the failure of executive leadership.

My Year in Iraq

Download My Year in Iraq PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0743289072
Total Pages : 433 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (432 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis My Year in Iraq by : L. Paul Bremer

Download or read book My Year in Iraq written by L. Paul Bremer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-01-09 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "BAGHDAD WAS BURNING." With these words, Ambassador L. Paul "Jerry" Bremer begins his gripping memoir of fourteen danger-filled months as America's proconsul in Iraq. My Year in Iraq is the only senior insider's perspective on the crucial period following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. In vivid, dramatic detail, Bremer reveals the previously hidden struggles among Iraqi politicians and America's leaders, taking us from the ancient lanes in the holy city of Najaf to the White House Situation Room and the Pentagon E-Ring. His memoir carries the reader behind closed doors in Baghdad during hammer-and-tongs negotiations with emerging Iraqi leaders as they struggle to forge the democratic institutions vital to Iraq's future of hope. He describes his private meetings with President Bush and his admiration for the president's firm wartime leadership. And we witness heated sessions among members of America's National Security Council -- George Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, and Condoleezza Rice -- as Bremer labors to realize the vision he and President Bush share of a free and democratic New Iraq. He admires the selfless and courageous work of thousands of American servicemen and -women and civilians in Iraq. The flames Bremer describes on arriving in Baghdad were from fires started by looters. One of his first acts was to request an additional 4,000 Military Police to help restore order in the streets. For most of the next year, as the insurgency spread, Bremer resisted efforts by generals and senior Defense Department civilians to reduce American troop strength prematurely, replacing our forces with ill-trained, poorly led Iraqi police and soldiers. And he lays to rest the myth that the Coalition disbanded Saddam's army, a force comprised of Shiite draftees who had deserted and refused to serve under their former Sunni officers. Bremer also describes his frustration with intelligence operations that concentrated on the search for weapons of mass destruction while the insurgency gathered strength. Bremer faced daunting problems working with Iraq's traumatized and divided population to find a path to a responsible and representative government. The Shia Arabs, the country's long-repressed majority, deeply distrusted the Sunni Arab minority who had held power for centuries and had controlled the detested Baath Party. Iraq's non-Arab Kurds teetered on the brink of secession when Bremer arrived. He had to find Sunnis willing to participate in the new political order. Some in the U.S. government pushed for what Bremer would come to call a cut-and-run policy that would have quickly delivered governance of Iraq to a handful of unrepresentative anti-Saddam exiles. Bremer vigorously resisted this ill-conceived course. He takes the reader inside marathon negotiations as he and his team shepherded Iraq's new leaders to write an interim constitution with guarantees for individual and minority rights unprecedented in the region. My Year in Iraq is required reading for all those interested in the real story of how America responded to its gravest recent overseas crisis.