A War Against Truth: An Intimate Account of the Invasion of Iraq

An acclaimed journalist who has covered the Middle East for decades — and one of the few to have interviewed Saddam Hussein — Paul William Roberts knows Iraq better than most. This is his exposé of the politics behind the recent war — and the brutal reality the Iraqis experienced but the rest of the world didn't see. In Baghdad when the bombs started falling, Roberts witnesses the "shock and awe" campaign firsthand, mourns the loss of his friend's entire family, and escapes to Jordan, only to return two weeks later behind the American army. A scathing indictment of the Bush administration's new imperialism, A War Against Truth recounts Robert’s experiences in the newly "liberated" Iraq, where he meets looters selling priceless artifacts, interviews Tariq Aziz in hiding, is interrogated by U.S. intelligence.

In this relentless polemic, Canadian journalist Roberts (Smokescreen) declares his country's "actual role in the world... [is] to act as the conscience of America... it's a dirty job;but someone who speaks English has to do it." Roberts;who was in Baghdad when the U.S. first attacked, but escaped to Jordan and returned to Iraq two weeks later;takes on this duty with aplomb. But he seethes so uncontrollably with anti-Americanism that his credibility collapses under the weight of accusations, innuendo and conspiracy theories. Though he details ancient and recent history of the region and the book often comes alive with his on-the-ground reporting, the narrative is refracted through his "raging anger, and shame." Roberts dismisses American political parties as "merely window dressing" on a one-party imperialist, oligarchic state dominated by sinister institutions like the Pentagon and CIA. American citizens are cowed, and media outlets are "merely extensions of the state." As for the invasion itself;and the war on terror;these policies are part of America's "plan for world domination." Readers who get their news from sources other than Fox may, like Roberts, object to the war in Iraq, but his strident tone will alienate all but Chomsky adherents. (Oct.)
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