Behind the War on Terror : Western Secret Strategy and the Struggle for Iraq

by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed

Following the U.S. declaration of a "war on terror," Washington hawks were quick to label Iraq part of an "axis of evil." After a tense build-up, in March 2003 the United States and Britain invaded Iraq, purportedly to protect Western publics from weapons of mass destruction (WMD). But was this the real reason, or simply a convenient pretext to veil a covert agendaUsing official sources, Ahmed investigates U.S. and British claims about Iraq's WMD programs and in the process reveals the hidden motives behind the 2003 invasion and the grand strategy of which it is a part. He shows that the true goals of U.S.-British policy in the Middle East are camouflaged by spin, P.R. declarations and seemingly noble words. The reality can only be comprehended through knowledge of the history of Western intervention in the region. Ahmed demonstrates that such intervention has been dictated ruthlessly by economic and political interests, with little regard for human rights. He traces events of the past decades, beginning with the West's support for the highly repressive Shah of Iran, his subsequent usurpation by the Ayatollah's Islamist regime and the West's resultant backing of Saddam Hussein. The sponsorship of Saddam's tyranny--a self-serving tactic intended to strategically counterbalance Iran--included the supply of technology to build WMD, as well as tacit complicity in their use against Iranians and Kurds.Ahmed's meticulous research into the secret history of Western maneuverings in the Middle East since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire reveals the actual causes of the first Gulf War, the humanitarian catastrophe created by the 12-year sanctions policy against Iraq, and the consistent obstructions of the Oil for Food program. He also provides information on the West's own widespread use of WMD, and the likely culprits of the 2001 anthrax attacks in the U.S.Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed is a human rights activist and political analyst specializing in the study of conflicts

Genres: Middle East

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Nafeez Ahmed is an investigative journalist, bestselling author and international security scholar. He is the author of the forthcoming science fiction thriller, ZERO POINT.

Nafeez is an environment writer for The Guardian, the world's third most popular newspaper website, reporting on the geopolitics of interconnected environmental, energy and economic crises via his Earth Insight blog.

Nafeez has also written for the Independent on sunday, The Independent, The Scotsman, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Huffington Post, Foreign Policy, Le Monde diplomatique, The New Statesman, and Prospect Magazine, among others.

His journalistic work combines insider information from senior government, intelligence, industry and other sources with interdisciplinary analysis of specialist literature.

Nafeez is co-producer, writer and presenter of the critically-acclaimed documentary feature film, the crisis of civilization (2011), adapted from his non-fiction book, a user’s guide to the crisis of civilization: and how to save it (pluto, macmillan, 2010). The film was endorsed by BAFTA lifetime award-winning filmmaker Nick Broomfield

He is the bestselling author of The War on Freedom: How & Why America was Attacked: September 11, 2001, which won him the Naples Prize, Italy’s most prestigious literary award, in 2003. The War on Freedom (2002), the first book to critique the official narrative of 9/11, was described by Gore Vidal in the London Observer as “the best, most balanced, analysis of 9/11”.
The book is archived in the ‘9/11 commission materials’ special collection at the US National Archives in Washington DC – it was among 99 books made available to each 9/11 commissioner of the national commission on terrorist attacks upon the united states to use during their investigations.

Nafeez’s other books include The London Bombings: An Independent Inquiry (2006), which has been profiled in the Independent on Sunday and Sunday Times; The War on Truth: 9/11, Disinformation and the Anatomy of Terrorism (2005); (2003).

His latest non-fiction book, A User's Guide to the Crisis of Civilization: And How to Save It (2010) is a peer-reviewed academic study of the interconnections between climate change, energy depletion, food scarcity, economic meltdown, terrorism, the police-state, and war.

Nafeez and his writings are cited and reviewed in the New York times (Thomas Friedman), Sunday Times (Bryan Appleyard), Times Higher Educational Supplement, The Guardian (Steven Poole), The Independent (Yasmin Alibhai Brown), The observer (Gore Vidal), Big Issue Magazine, Vanity Fair (Christopher Hitchens), among other publications

Nafeez lives in London with his wife and children, plays guitar, and writes music in his spare time.

Reviews

[Kristian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zanimljiva tema, ali ne baš toliko zanimljiva knjiga.

[dfakhrizaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

digs into whats behind the USs "war on terror".
raises a lot of provocative points and connects dots between power, intelligence, and global conflict.
can feel a bit speculative at times tbh. do read critically. very interesting read overall

[Pelvis Resley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm racked. Policy
of infanticide, sanctioned
genocide! ...Us? "Pride!"