Contents
Foreword by William R. Polk / xi Map of Iraq and neighboring countries / xiii Introduction / 1
1 The Babylonian heritage / 7 Ancestral memories / 8 Captives of Babylon / 9 Babylon rebuilt? / 11 The Mother of All Harlots / 13 The Jewish exiles / 14 A shrine restored / 16 “Seek the peace of the city” / 17 Ottoman power declines / 18
2 The Ottoman Empire divided / 23 Antecedents of war / 25 Britain captures Baghdad / 27 Betrayal in the Levant / 29 Enter the U.S. / 30 The Hashemites arrive / 32 Dividing the oily spoils / 34 Wilson opens doors / 35 Palestine to center stage / 37
3 “Operation Ezra and Nehemiah”: bittersweet flight to Zion / 40 A guided tour / 40 Jewish survivors / 43 Independence ... sort of / 46 Violence and rescue / 47 Wheeling, dealing, and mishaps / 49 “Arab” Jews who made it / 52 Whose terrorism? / 54
4 Iraq enters the Palestine arena / 59 The roots of Israeli intelligence / 60 Resisting the British / 62 The Arabs prepare for war 63 Iraq fights the new Israeli state 66 Stalemate and Israeli victory 68 Armistice agreements—minus Iraq 71 Ben-Gurion speaks 74
5 Ménage à quatre: the U.S., Israel, Iran, and the Iraqi Kurds / 76 The Kurds’ faded dreams / 77 The Kurds’ new friends: the State of Israel / 79 Kassem contra Kurds / 81 The Israeli–Kurdish honeymoon / 83 Uncle Sam’s role / 85 The Nixon–Kissinger–Shah Axis / 86 The oil equation / 88 Iraq and the Kurds in the Cold War / 89
6 How the CIA gave Saddam a leg up / 93 Kassem, Nasser, and Saddam / 94 James Critchfield: Cold Warrior par excellence / 96 The first Ba’athist coup / 98 Anglo-American cooperation / 99 Saddam’s sway begins / 101 Iraq’s strategic threat to Israel / 104 Iraq in the 1967 war / 106
7 Saddam’s reign (I): business with the U.S.; warfare with Israel / 110 U.S. business and Saddam’s triumph / 110 The July Ba’athist takeover / 112 Programs and power struggles / 114 Israel’s covert war on Saddam / 116 The MIG-21 caper / 119 Saddam’s real and imagined foes / 122 Saddam and the Palestinians / 123 Black September in Jordan / 125 Syria repulsed; Iraq withdraws / 128
8 Saddam’s reign (II): power plays and war, 1970–80 / 133 The reassurance of U.S. aid / 134 Sadat plans for war / 135 Israel’s “concept” / 136 U.S. complacency and the “oil weapon” / 138 Israeli intelligence failure 140 Iraq to the rescue of Syria 142 Saddam gets a breather 144 Saddam clamps down—and seeks total power 145 The downfall of Baqr 147 A “cynical embrace’” 151 Saddam attacks Iran 152
9 Saddam’s reign (III): defeat and defiance, 1980–90 / 154 Israel, Irangate, and the Iran–Iraq War / 155 The Osirak caper / 159 Retribution for Inman / 162 Tilting toward Saddam / 163 Reagan, Rumsfeld, and Saddam / 166 Israel’s oil concerns / 166 Western arms for Iraq / 168 Saddam’s largess for Palestinians / 171 Good cop, bad cop / 172
10 From Jerusalem to Washington: an alliance strengthened and confirmed / 175 Missiles, “superguns,” and profits / 176 Saddam brews the Kuwait crisis / 178 Israel and “Desert Storm” / 180 Target: Saddam Hussein / 185 Kuwait freed: Saddam spared / 185 Clinton’s containment; the CIA’s bungles / 188 An Israeli peace with Saddam? / 189 Misadventures of the UN arms inspectors / 190 Clinton: “Oust Saddam” / 192 U.S. policy shifts / 196 The “neocons” at work / 197
11 Endgame: Iraq democratized or dismembered? / 201 “Get Saddam” / 202 The Palestinian disconnection / 203 The cabal in action / 205 Mechanics of an alliance / 206 Israeli intelligence input / 207 A (militarily) well-planned campaign / 210 The unplanned occupation / 212 Intelligence fiascos / 213 Israel’s Steinitz Inquiry / 216 Shared weapons, shared training / 217 The Abu Ghraib nightmare / 220 Israel, Turkey, and the Iraqi Kurds / 224 Nation-building—or dissolution? / 225 An endgame begins; an alliance holds firm / 229
Notes / 233 Selected bibliography / 242 Index / 247 |