Denial and deceit: pulling back the curtain

(Read time: 3 minutes. AP book review: 3 minutes.)

On 23 September 2004, George W. Bush stood in the Rose Garden to host a press conference (LINK) with Iraq’s then Prime Minister Ayad Allawi:

“I'm honored to stand with the Prime Minister of a free and sovereign Iraq,” Bush said. “Welcome, Mr. Prime Minister. I applaud your leadership and your courage. It's my honor to welcome a friend to the White House.”

That day Ayad Allawi addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress. (LINK) In a speech which was, it seemed blatantly transparent to many, probably penned by Bush speechwriter Karen Hughes, Allawi wanted to make three points to Congress before he stated his plan for Iraq:

* “We are succeeding in Iraq.”
* Allawi then talked about the violent images seen on American TV, including “the brutal and barbaric murder of two American hostages this week.” “We Iraqis are grateful … for your leadership and your sacrifices.”
* “Third, I stand here today as the prime minister of a country emerging finally from dark ages of violence, aggression, corruption and greed.” Allawi then talked about the millions who were “murdered, tortured or raped by the regime of Saddam Hussein.”

FAST FORWARD to 2007: Ayad Allawi’s cousin, Ali A. Allawi, has written a book which bypasses the rosy scenarios and exposes how things really were in the first days of this so-called democracy.

Ali A. Allawi writes with authority, having served, at various times since 2003, as Iraq's trade, defense and finance minister. Before the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq, Ali A. Allawi was an academic at Oxford University.

In “The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace,” published by the Yale University Press, Ali A. Allawi writes:

“The corroded and corrupt state of Saddam was replaced by the corroded, inefficient, incompetent and corrupt state of the new order."

Ali writes of the U.S. handling of Iraq:

* “Monumental ignorance” of Iraq’s realities.
* “Rank amateurism and swaggering arrogance” of the occupation, under L. Paul Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority.
* The American government’s "insipid retelling of `success' stories" merely hid "the huge black hole that lay underneath."

I highly recomment that you read the Associated Press’ review of “The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace:” LINK

Order the book at Amazon.com: LINK