The End Of Iraq -- Peter W. Galbraith: A Book Review

The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created A War Without End

Peter W. Galbraith

Simon and Schuster, 2006

There are many who speak with authority, credibility and conviction about the dereliction and gross mismanagement that has highlighted the Bush administration, but none so scathingly and pointed as Peter W. Galbraith.  And the subtitle of the book says it all:  How American Incompetence Created A War Without End. 

Galbraith starts swinging from go, using his expertise and vast knowledge of the diplomatic arena to lend creedence to his words.  He maintains that the Bush administration not only did not plan well for the war in Iraq, they did not plan at all for the continuing occupation and administration of a conquered land.  He bemoans the many failures diplomatically, militarily, and politically made by an administraton driven more by its ideals of what it thought Iraq should be than by the reality in place.  Succinctly, Galbraith accuses the Bush administration of operating with regard to Iraq on pure ignorance before, during, and after the majore military operations in 2003.

Stinging and well written, The End Of Iraq is a no-holds-barred indictment of an inept and arrogant administration.  Galbraith takes us through every stage of the war in Iraq and illustrates point-by-point how, where, and why the Bush admininistration failed -- and continues to fail.

Galbraith also has a solution to the Iraq situation, one where American and Coalition forces can withdraw without too much hardship.  He believes that a divided Iraq may be better for the region, offering it stability through three independent states:  one Kurd, one Sunni, and one Shiite.  He also believes there is little hope for a solution for Baghdad other than to let the factions fight it out.  Regardless, Galbraith believes that Iraq is engaged in a de facto civil war and remain so for quite some time.

The End Of Iraq:  How American Incompetence Created A War Without End is an excellent book.  It focuses on the problems created by the Bush administration and places the blame for the current state of affairs in the Middle East squarely where it belongs:  on the Bush administration.  Anyone who thinks he knows exactly what is going on in Iraq and how it got to this state should read this book.  It will certainly open your eyes to the gross incompetence of an arrogant president and his administration.