But the strength of the book comes from new details from untapped sources, including two key former associates of Saddam, a previously unknown young Iraqi rebel and several former CIA officers. The Cockburns argue that the Americans had decided from the beginning not to lift international trade sanctions on Iraq so long as Hussein remained in power. But efforts to support a rebellion against him have failed miserably. They say Washington fell victim to its ignorance of the nature of its Iraqi adversary and its potential allies.
American failures are self-evident.
But what the book fails to show is what should have been done differently. These are some of the lacunae in this otherwise quite interesting book.