Undoing Saddam: From Occupation to Sovereignty in Northern Iraq

Undoing Saddam tells the story of northern Iraq during the transition from U.S. occupation to local sovereignty. During 2004, U.S. and Iraqi government forces faced numerous challenges: insurrection, reconstruction, the creation of a new government, and how to portray the nation, its people, and the governments’ actions accurately. Wayne H. Bowen was a U.S. Army Reserve civil affairs officer in charge of higher education and antiquities in the provinces of Nineveh, Dohuk, and Erbil, where he played a critical role in promoting peace and stability. He managed reconstruction projects, served as a key intermediary between Iraqi educational leaders and U.S. forces, and assisted in the search for weapons of mass destruction.Undoing Saddam goes beyond the attacks and violence to detail the day-to-day problems of rebuilding a nation, including constructing schools, digging wells, completing roads, and building new power plants. Bowen also examines functioning village, city, and provincial councils as they endeavor to practice democracy. Based on Bowen’s diary, this book presents the daily fight to build a new Iraq despite terrorist attacks, ethnic conflict, and missteps by the Coalition Provisional Authority and U.S. forces. Undoing Saddam will be of interest to everyone interested in the Iraqi occupation and reconstruction efforts.

Wayne H. Bowen is an associate professor of history at Ouachita Baptist University and a major in the U.S. Army Reserve.