The March to War by Ridgeway, James

Chronicles the crisis in the Persian Gulf and the war to which it led, beginning in January, 1990, through articles and transcripts from various sources

This latest entry in the flood of postwar books offers a chronological discussion of the more pertinent issues of the war for Kuwait, highlights the variety of opinions through 31 columns and ten testimonies from such contributors as Pat Buchanan, Noam Chomsky, Alexander Cockburn, and Richard Nixon, and argues that this was a masterfully thought-out, fought, and managed war. "The war with Iraq," writes Ridgeway, the "Moving Target" columnist and Washington correspondent of The Village Voice , "is the first of many on a North-South rather than an East-West axis." Even if Baghdad was not directly set up, Ridgeway argues, Kuwait's liberation was intended to create markets for American goods and services throughout the Gulf region. The proposed military build-ups in the Middle East and President Bush's vision of a New World Order are further pieces of evidence for Ridgeway. Provocative and challenging, this deserves a fair hearing.
- Joseph A. Kechichian, Rand Corp., Santa Monica, Cal.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.