MetaFilter posts tagged with Book and Iraq

The War Within

McGuillicuddy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:03:52 -0800

Bob Woodward has a new book released today titled The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008. The Politico has a lengthy review by Mike Allen. Bloomberg also has an early, less flattering, review. From the Politico:

“[Bush] remains a man of few doubts, still following his gut, convinced that the path he has chosen is right. But in other ways, the 61-year-old president I encountered in May 2008 was a different man entirely. … Seven years of war have taken a visible toll. His hair is much grayer, and the line in his face deeper and more pronounced. … “During the first years of the Iraq War, the president always spoke about ‘winning’ or ‘victory.’ By 2008, he seemed to have tempered his expectations. Twice in the interview when he mentioned ‘win,’ he immediately corrected himself and said ‘succeed,’ a subtle but definite scaling back of his one fiery rhetoric. …

While hard to believe, the Politico also reports from the book that:

“Bush later acknowledged in interviews with me that he did not seek recommendations [on Iraq] from four key people: his father, former President George H.W. Bush, who had overseen the first Gulf War in 1991; Secretary of State Colin Powell; Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; and CIA Director George Tenet.”

The Bloomberg review delivers an excellent one-liner:

"The War Within,'' the fourth volume of Bob Woodward's Bush administration chronicles, radiating certainty, strength and presidentialness. It must have been a challenge for him to walk so confidently with Woodward's lips attached to his backside.

"The Uncontainable Kurds"

stbalbach — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 09:49:20 -0800

"The Uncontainable Kurds" (NYRB). Nice summary of recent Kurdish politics in Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

The Art Of War

Gator — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 07:48:12 -0800

At least one commander told him, "Follow the soldiers' instructions, because they'll put their lives at risk to save you." But no one tried to censor his drawings or discourage him from going out on missions. -- Steve Mumford is a New York painter who was embedded as a "combat artist" in Iraq. The archives of his Baghdad Journal make for fascinating reading. He has recently published a large book of the art he created on this voyage.

Fisk Interview

nromanek — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 15:42:11 -0800

Staggering reading by Robert Fisk then an interview with Fisk by Amy Goodman - from a 9/2005 program at the ever-wonderful Lannan Foundation.

IEDs vs. Wookiees

digaman — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 09:52:06 -0800

Rumsfeld, shmumsfeld. Indiana Jones to the rescue in The Battle for Falluja. "Militarily, the battle of Falluja was an unqualified success," says Bing West, the former assistant defense secretary whose not-yet-published book will be turned into the fast-paced actioner.

The Interesting Yezidis

plep — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 05:44:25 -0800

Devil Worship: The Sacred Books and Traditions of the Yezidiz , by Isya Joseph, 1919. 'This is one of the only public domain sources of information on the religious beliefs of the Yezidi, a small group originally from the northern region of Iraq. Although they speak Kurdish, they are a distinct population from the Kurds. The Yezidi are notable because they have been described as devil-worshippers, which has naturally led to constant persecution by the dominant Islamic culture of the region ... They have many unique beliefs, such as that the first Yezidi were created by Adam by parthenogenesis separately from Eve ... ' New on sacred-texts.com.