The Assassin's Gate by George Packer

George Packer's account of the war in Iraq has been named by the NY Times as one of the 10 best books of 2005. Packer writes for the New Yorker, and the book is based on his articles and research both prior to the war and throughout its tragic unraveling.

I'm almost finished my own reading and I would add my own recommendation, for what it's worth.

Packer is one of those who saw the removal of Saddam, and the ending of his brutal regime, as a good thing. But as Packer demonstrates, and as we all have observed, Bush and Rumsfeld have been so incompetent that whatever good might have been achieved has been drowned in a pool of negligence and unintended consequences.

You might think you already know all that -- but the quality of Packer's reporting and intelligence of his writing make the telling of this story worthwhile.

For a review, click here.

To read the first chapter, click here.

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