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by: Douglas J. Feith  List Price: $27.95 Amazon.com's Price: $18.45 You Save: $9.50 (34%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 973.931 EAN: 9780060899738 ISBN: 0060899735 Label: Harper Manufacturer: Harper Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 688 Publication Date: March 01, 2008 Publisher: Harper Release Date: April 08, 2008 Studio: Harper Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: In the years since the attacks of September 11, 2001, journalists, commentators, and others have published accounts of the Bush Administration's war on terrorism. But no senior Pentagon official has offered an inside view of those years, or has challenged the prevailing narrative of that war—until now. Douglas J. Feith, the head of the Pentagon's Policy organization, was a key member of Donald Rumsfeld's inner circle as the Administration weighed how to protect the nation from another 9/11. In War and Decision, he puts readers in the room with President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, General Tommy Franks, and other key players as the Administration devised its strategy and war plans. Drawing on thousands of previously undisclosed documents, notes, and other written sources, Feith details how the Administration launched a global effort to attack and disrupt terrorist networks; how it decided to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime; how it came to impose an occupation on Iraq even though it had avoided one in Afghanistan; how some officials postponed or impeded important early steps that could have averted major problems in Iraq's post-Saddam period; and how the Administration's errors in war-related communications undermined the nation's credibility and put U.S. war efforts at risk. Even close followers of reporting on the Iraq war will be surprised at the new information Feith provides—presented here with balance and rigorous attention to detail. Among other revelations, War and Decision demonstrates that the most far-reaching warning of danger in Iraq was produced not by State or by the CIA, but by the Pentagon. It reveals the actual story behind the allegations that the Pentagon wanted to "anoint" Ahmad Chalabi as ruler of Iraq, and what really happened when the Pentagon challenged the CIA's work on the Iraq-al Qaida relationship. It offers the first accurate account of Iraq postwar planning—a topic widely misreported to date. And it presents surprising new portraits of Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, Richard Armitage, L. Paul Bremer, and others—revealing how differences among them shaped U.S. policy. With its blend of vivid narrative, frank analysis, and elegant writing, War and Decision is like no other book on the Iraq war. It will interest those who have been troubled by conflicting accounts of the planning of the war, frustrated by the lack of firsthand insight into the decision-making process, or skeptical of conventional wisdom about Operation Iraqi Freedom and the global war on terrorism—efforts the author continues to support. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Timeline facts on the war on terrorismThis book is not an attempt to revise history, but rather to set the record straight. It was written by an author who was in a unique position to observe the Pentagon decision making process leading to the war in Iraq. Feith's attention to a detailed timeline and the facts as then known at the time in question, and his extensive documentation references are most impressive. I predict this will become recognized as a historically important work. Those who believe in "Cowboy Bush" and "Bush Lied" will ... Read More Rating: - One hopes for more books of this type about the Iraq war.This is an essential fact book for every person curious about the U.S. government's decision making that led to the Afghan and Iraq wars and their pursuit in the early years. Douglas Feith's memoir includes the period in which he served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He covers discussions in which he was personally involved and clearly identifies information that he did not personally observe. As such, important pieces of the puzzle are left to the observations of the actual participants. ... Read More Rating:  - Feith is a typically brilliant Bush appointeeAlthough General Tommy Franks famously referred to Feith as "the f****ng stupidest guy on the face of the earth.", this book demonstrates that he is in fact one of the most brilliant defense strategeists who ever walked the face of the earth. Feith has openly admitted that he had no desire to serve in Viet Nam because he was afraid of getting killed or having his beloved hair mussed up. But as undersecratary of something-or-other at the Defense Department, Feith was one of the fiercest proponents of going to war ... Read More Rating:  - It wasn't my fault, honest. Somewhat informative though.Feith's book is largely an attempt to justify his actions and policies as #3 in the Pentagon under Rumsfeld, more specifically with regards to the Iraq war. Well, if your boss calls you in to grill on some mistakes you've made you can: - admit failure and throw yourself at her mercy - justify every single issue by saying that it wasn't your fault - tactically admit some failures and defend your record on the rest. Most people, but not Feith apparently, would recognize ... Read More Rating: - a good first draft of historyThis is an excellent background and first draft of history for the last seven years. Feith was a policy/ analyst guy. He is not a foaming at the mouth, neo-con ideologue. He is a DC area lawyer, that worked in the NSC under Reagan/ Bush the elder and then more law work during Clinton, while keeping an amateur hand in the defense/ policy world. As far as managing an office goes, I understood, that he was leading up an office of about a hundred civilian and uniform policy wonk type of guys, who ... Read More 
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