The Iraq Papers
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No foreign policy decision in recent history has had greater repercussions than President George W. Bush's decision to invade and occupy Iraq. It launched a new doctrine of preemptive war, mired the American military in an intractable armed conflict, disrupted world petroleum supplies, cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars,and damaged or ended the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and Iraqis. Its impact on international politics and America's standing in the world remains incalculable.
The Iraq Papers offers a compelling documentary narrative and interpretation of this momentous conflict. With keen editing and incisive commentary, the book weaves together original documents that range from presidential addresses to redacted memos, carrying us from the ideology behind the invasion to negotiations for withdrawal. These papers trace the rise of the neoconservatives and reveal the role of strategic thinking about oil supplies. In moving to the planning for the war itself, the authors not only provide Congressional resolutions and speeches by President Bush, but internal security papers, Pentagon planning documents, the report of the Future of Iraq Project, and eloquent opposition statements by Senator Robert Byrd, other world governments, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the World Council of Churches. This collection addresses every aspect of the conflict, from the military's evolving counterinsurgency strategy to declarations by Iraqi resisters and political figures-from Coalition Provisional Authority orders to Donald Rumsfeld's dismissal of the insurgents as "dead-enders" and Iraqi discussions of state- and nationbuilding under the shadow of occupation. The economics of petroleum, the legal and ethical questions surrounding terrorism and torture, international agreements, the theory of the "unitary presidency," and the Bush administration's use of presidential signing statements all receive in-depth coverage.
The Iraq War has reshaped the domestic and international landscape. The Iraq Papers offers the authoritative one-volume source for understanding the conflict and its many repercussions.
Reviews
"The editors of this book have created an indispensable depository of documents and commentary on what Ambassador Richard Haass has called a 'War of Choice.' Even though I witnessed first-hand some of the arrogance, incompetence and deceit that led to the war, I was still stunned when poring through the cataloguing thereof-as well as others' reaction to it. I strongly recommend this compilation to the specialist or the general reader alike-but particularly to the citizen concerned about our democratic republic."-Lawrence B. Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell and visiting Harriman Professor of Government and Public Policy at the College of William and Mary
"This is a comprehensive collection of primary documents that illuminate topics ranging from the ideological path to war, to the nature of the insurgency, to oil policy, to the legal road to torture. A must-read for any serious student of the War on Terror."-Karen Greenberg, editor of The Torture Papers
and author of The Least Worst Place
"The Iraq Papers
is an indispensable book for understanding the war in Iraq. It is also a superb book for teaching, combining an excellent selection of documents with helpful head notes that contextualize and analyze."-Marilyn Young, author of The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990
About the Author(s)
John Ehrenberg
is the author of such books as Servants of Wealth
and Civil Society: The Critical History of an Idea
, winner of the Michael Harrington Prize. J. Patrice McSherry's
books include Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America
(winner of a Choice award for Outstanding Academic Title of 2006) and Incomplete Transition: Military Power and Democracy in Argentina
. Both are Professors of Political Science at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University.
Jose Ramon Sanchez
is the author of Boricua Power: A Political History of Puerto Ricans in the United States
and is Associate Professor of Political Science at Long Island University.
Caroleen Marji Sayej
is Assistant Professor of Government and International Relations at Connecticut College.
