The Occupation, by Patrick Cockburn, is a rousing political expose on the real reasons behind the Iraq war, the manipulations by the US government against the peoples of Iraq, and virtually states that the war has destroyed Iraq, worsened the prospects of peace and justice for the Palestinian people and strengthened the al Qaeda terrorists. Cockburn who in 1978, as an independent Middle East correspondent, who became familiar with Iraq began his coverage of the war prior to the US invasion and occupation making his reports perhaps the most informed and passionate to come out of Iraq during the last three years. Additionally Cockburn brings a clarity to what is happening in the Middle East as he opines on the long term view of the Iraqi invasion and occupation and its place in US history while clearly depicting how the current disaster is the result of something more sinister that just bad planning.
The sinister aspect that Cockburn refers to concerns the Bush Administration’s claim that toppling Saddam would stabilize the Middle East (which has turned out to be bogus) but has in actuality caused a destabilization of the region’s countries resulting in rampant corruption fueled by the economic chaos it created. Despite the political aspects of the book, however, Cockburn does an amazing job of illustrating the large-scale events, from the prewar lies to justify invasion to the spiraling violence and chaos that has pushed the country to the brink of civil war, as he details through his own personal account, the brutalities of the occupation. Recently, Cockburn points out that US General William Odom, former head of the NSA (National Security Agency), called the war “the greatest strategic disaster in American history.” Statements like these add to the picture Cockburn paints showing that the governments of both the United States and England handled the region without any proven expertise shown by military or civilian leadership. Furthermore he shows how through a series of miscalculations, poor communication and outright blunders, the occupying army has managed to turn the bulk of Iraqis against it, deepening the resistance and the growing civil war.
Unfortunately, for the people of Iraq the U.S. has drawn on the vile tradition of setting the country’s separate factions (Shia, Sunnis, and Kurds) against one another in order ot maintain its rule preventing the war from being consigned to history. To complicate this gross miscarrage of responsibility Cockburn claims that no management at all makes is timpossible to see any light at the end of the anarchy. Overall, I found the book, which makes a compelling case for withdrawal, to be very well written, as well as, insightful making for a highly desirable read for anyone who wants more than the corporate media’s twist and bias on what is really happening in the Middle East.
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