A Solitary War: A Diplomat's Chronicle of the Iraq War and Its Lessons

by Heraldo Muñoz

Beginning with a "telling phone call from Condi," the former president of the UN Security Council tells for the first time the behind-the-scenes story of the Iraq War, as seen from an international... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555916767
• ISBN13: 9781555916763
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

The failure of unilateralism

This is a very readable account from the Chilean ambassador to the United Nations. He tells the story of the international maneuverings and manipulations during the run-up to the Iraq war as well as its aftermath. Much of the first part of the book adds little to what we already knew of the debates and interactions of the members of the UN Security Council. It is not a colorful account, but the author does add details as the story develops of the Bush administration's attempts to cajole and even threaten other members of the Security Council to bend to the will of the USA. As the US involvement in Iraq deepens, Bush is forced to turn to the UN for help, a tacit acknowledgment at least of the stupidity of our Iraq policy. Most interesting is the story of Katharine Gun, a translator at Government Communications Headquarters in the United Kingdom who blew the whistle on a joint American/British spy plan to wiretap the other members of the UN Security Council. Ms. Gun was fired and was threatened with prosecution for a time but the British government decided to back down. Perhaps the incident was embarassing enough for British intelligence (and the USA). A trial might have focused too much attention on the issue. This story was not covered much at all by American media. I'm glad to see it here. But why wasn't this investigated in the USA? Our Congress continues to ignore its oversight responsibilities of our "intelligence" agencies. The plan was apparently hatched at the National Security Agency, one of our least regulated spy agencies. For anyone who thinks a unilateral approach to international affairs still works for the USA, this is a good book that will make you think. Too bad George W. Bush and co. did not see things that way sooner.