Books : War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism

Rating: - War and Decision
A very deep, well-researched and informed book. An important work which should be read by anyone for or against the Iraq war

---

Rating: - An Interesting Inside View Of What Is Going On.
I found this book to be an interesting inside view of what was going on. I first saw the book on the daily show with John Stewart, and thought i'd pick it up. Wether or not you agree with Douglas Feith on the issue of deception, this book is filled with information you should probably know.
Factual, mostly unbiased accounts of what was going on, and also what is in the official records too, is what this book is filled with. I personally liked that it has a map of that region of the world in the front, a good idea what with only 1 in 7 people in the U.S. able to find Iraq according to the latest statistics spread by news media. 4 stars.

---

Rating: - Don't be a Hater.
I picked up this book after watching Jon Stewart do his best to bring the leftist attack to the author on his show. When checking the reviews on Amazon, I appeared that those who rated the book the lowest were drinking the code pink cool-aid while writing their review. After listening to the book, it is obvious that those who rated the book as one star never read the book. If you are on the right or the left and have an open and intelligent mind I recommend the book as an accurate recounting of history from the author's point of view. However, if you are not into politics, policy, or history you may find the book a little tedious.

---

Rating: - Excellent "inside baseball" memoir
This is a must-read for anyone who wants to get a firsthand view of the origins of the State/CIA war on Defense and eventually Bush 43. According to Feith, it began because Rumsfeld vehemently objected to Gen. Jay Garner hiring a staff composed nearly entirely of State Dept. officials.

If you've only gotten your accounts of the war behind the war from the major media, you need to read this book. If you've followed it via the alternative media, you're probably familiar with many of the anecdotes and facts related herein (such as State wanting a long-term American presence in and dominion over Iraq, while Defense wanted something like the eventual Iraqi temporary administration years before it finally happened; or State's willingness to sacrifice American lives just so long as they could have any possibility of Chalabi not gaining power). Even so, you'll find it a good read.

Perhaps the most interesting correction to the record (one that was new to me) is the idea that Garner was not fired, but was always intended to be a stop-gap, and that the disastrous reign of Paul Bremer was at Rumsfeld's recommendation. Only after his appointment did Bremer apparently forget he reported to the SecDef and became infatuated with pursuing State's policies rather than those of the administration. Bringing an end to Bremer's megalomania only happened after a self-aggrandizing editorial in the Washington Post, run without any apparent clearance from anyone in his chain of command.

Feith does a good job portraying most of those he was able to observe closely. Rumsfeld is brusque, brilliant, and difficult. Rice is always looking to trinagulate and please everyone. Powell consistently is reported as saying one thing in the media and then denying it to Feith and his colleagues. Armitage uses the media to wage a near-coup against the President. The lone cipher in all this is Wolfowitz; he's nearly a ghost in the book, and you'll learn nothing about the man from it.

All in all, a solid read, and highly recommended.

---

Rating: - The Rosetta Stone of George W. Bush's Iraq Policy
The sheer magnitude of misinformation concerning the run-up to and the current U.S. policy in Iraq is simply withering. FINALLY, an insider not only lays everything out for anyone seriously interested in looking and understanding (which doubtless will exclude much of the dominant, old-line media), but one who provides significant documentation for everything he says! That fact alone is worth the price. Barak Obama, et al, should take a break, and read this book!

Unlike the fact-free, free-standing assertions of many (most?) books (and, significantly, of politicians from both Parties) on this subject, Secretary Feith thoughtfully has provided a web site (www.waranddecision.com) containing easy (one-click) access to the unclassified versions of the documents upon which his tome relies.

One may disagree with Iraq policy, in comfortable reflection based on a degree of knowledge concerning past events, but this book sets forth in engaging, easy-to-read narrative, what was happening and when. It leaves no excuse for the sort of ignorance that is so pervasive in discussions of these issues. Yes, yes, sometimes the presentation can be tedious; but isn't that in the very nature of policy? Especially Middle East Policy?

Far from being an "Apologia-Pro-Vita-Sua" exercise, Secretary Feith frankly sets forth where and when he could have made better "calls." This, alone, is refreshing -- especially if one has slogged through, or is familiar with the vacuous, ego-driven volumes of Zinni and McClelland (Franks is another story).

All in all, this is The Essential Read on this subject. It should be on every serious history reader's shelf. It is an unparalleled single point of reference on the matter.