New York Times chief military correspondent Michael Gordon co-authored with retired Marine Corps Lt. General Bernard Trainor the definitive account of the Gulf War, The Generals' War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf (1995). Now they aim to repeat that feat with their second book, due out Thursday, March 16: Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq. The Sunday New York Times published a front-page teaser telling how Saddam's worst fears on the eve of Iraqi Freedom were internal--an uprising by the Shi'a whom he had crushed--within easy reach of over 500,000 US troops held in check by 41--in 1991. A second excerpt shows how far off base US intelligence sources were in targeting Saddam--the Dora Farms site we hit on the eve of the war had not seen Saddam since 1995!
Monday's paper carried two more article excerpts: one reveals that proconsul L. Paul Bremer pushed aside Zalmay Khalizad, vastly knowledgeable and now our superb Ambassador to Iraq, in order to preserve his own suzerainty; Bremer, it seems, had Douglas MacArthur's ambition but not his talent. Neither Colin Powell nor Condi Rice was consulted by the White House before this disastrous decision was made. Bremer also nixed a local elections staged by the military in Najaf because the candidate he wanted failed to win, making us perceived as occupiers rather than liberators. A second Monday excerpt traces conflicts among military commanders.
I have pre-ordered the book from Amazon. If it is anywhere near as well done as the authors' first book this one promises to be a first-rate read.
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