The Greatest Threat Iraq Weapons Of Mass Destruction And The Crisis Of Global Security

"The Greatest Threat is the ""brutally candid"" inside story of the West's failure to stop Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from building weapons of mass destruction (Booklist)."

Richard Butler, the retiring head of UNSCOM, the organisation set up by the UN after the Gulf War to monitor and isolate Saddam Hussein's military capacity, on how he tried to deal forcefully with Saddam while never certain that he had a fully committed UN behind him. Although Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 had been the only instance since the founding of the UN of a member state seeking to absorb another member state, the UN was never united in how to deal with the aggressor. Butler tells how his staff's efforts to carry out inspections were met by force. He tells of his meetings with Saddam's leading lieutenant, Tariq Aziz, who lied even in the face of incontrovertible evidence over biological testing and other weaponry. Butler also gives his views of the UN, in particular the activities of secretary-General Annan, with whom Butler was increasingly at odds.

Since the Gulf War, Iraq has attempted to win through confrontation, diplomacy, and bluster what it could not achieve on the battlefield. Defense analyst Anthony Cordesman suggests that this war of sanctions may be a struggle that Iraq has begun to win. Saddam Hussein's regime remains aggressive and ambitious, and its military capabilities cannot be judged solely by the current state of Iraq's armed forces. Most dangerous of all is Iraq's continuing effort to build an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Cordesman analyzes Iraqi strategic intentions and diplomatic opportunities, and assesses the options available to the international community to counter the Iraqi threat. Iraq has effectively used diplomatic means to divide the United Nations and exploit Arab sympathies, while using its oil wealth as an incentive to win support for an easing of sanctions. The military potential of Iraq, and especially its development of weapons of mass destruction, must be considered as much for its intimidation value as for any actual utility in a possible war. A realistic assessment of Iraq's future capabilities, says Cordesman, must take into account these political and strategic factors as purely military considerations.

The implementation of disarmament requirements imposed by the Security Council after the Second Gulf War established a strong and unequal power relationship between the United Nations and Iraq. Although the ensuing struggle over imposed disarmament has been a major issue in world politics, international relations theorists continue to ignore it. Deaver argues that this case has important theoretical implications. Using sociological insights and a behavioral approach, he examines the power relationship as well as Iraqi resistance from 1991 to 1998. Theorists are likely to find these analytic tools useful since they provide a ready means of studying the micro-foundations of power relations in generalized terms. Behavior such as supervision, surveillance, inspection, and monitoring are widespread and growing in world politics. A focus on tactics demonstrates the role of monitoring in maintaining and strengthening the relationship between the United Nations and Iraq. An analysis of dynamics makes comprehensible Iraqi losses of sovereignty and the eventual collapse of the relationship. Contrary to popular opinion, whoever escalated tensions hurt their own cause: Iraqi resistance contributed greatly to United Nations gains, while the United Nations successes led to the collapse of its relationship with Iraq.

Saddam Hussein and Usama Bin Laden... Saddam and the 9/11 attacks, There's no shortage of ties between the two. There was a relationship, but there's no concrete evidence of a collaborative relationship to 911. of confusion about Saddam and Bin Laden, and how close there were or were not. The smoke left by shadowy terrorists, Iraqi Intelligence Services agents, Western spies, and anonymous international media sources makes the haze even more impenetrable. Adding to this blindness is the curtain of political partisanship that was cast over the issue by both sides in the 2004 Presidential campaign. So what is the truth? reports, bi-partisan investigations, hundreds of media and literary sources, newly discovered documents found in post-war Iraq, interrogation reports of Saddam and captured senior Al Queda leaders. Coupled with the 20-20 hindsight vision of history and reports secured through the Freedom of Information Act, this book shows very clearly what is known, what the public is allowed to know, and not only allows readers to make their own assessments, but encourages just that.