Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq

"Squandered Victory" is, I submit, a book which will have wide appeal to those who are intellectually interested in America's recent intrusion into Iraq, its justification for that intrusion, and its problem with "building a peace" after defeating the Iraqi military, bringing down Saddam Hussein, and occupying the country. The general reader, however, may run into difficulty handling the depth of detail that Larry Diamond provides and upon which he bases his evaluation of the current Iraq situation and his recommendations for establishing a stable and prosperous Iraq in the future. Therefore, I suggest that the general reader may be better served by reading the Introduction and then Chapters 1 and 2, followed by reading the last two chapters (10 and 11), before tackling the other chapters in the book. I don't often recommend this procedure but, in this particular case, I'm afraid the ordinary reader may get bogged down amongst the "trees," and fail to complete a reading of the book, thereby missing the "forest." Diamond's book is steeped in detail. And rightly so. But his conclusions (Chapters 10 and 11) should not be ignored and, indeed, in my opinion, constitute the most important part of the entire work. The author is eminently qualified to draw the conclusions he does, criticizing the policies and practices of the American occupation, pointing out what went wrong, and suggesting possibilities for making things right. He certainly has the proper credentials: senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, well-respected political scientist and sociologist, academic position at Stanford University; and the appropriate experience: an activist expert and lecturer on democratic institutions, coeditor of the "Journal of Democracy," and, of course, serving as a senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq, this latter position providing the experience which forms the basis for what he has to say in "Squandered Victory." It was Dr. Condoleezza Rice who asked Professor Diamond to go to Iraq as an advisor to the CPA. In January of 2004 he arrived in Baghdad and worked inside the now famous (infamous to some) "Green Zone" until April of that year. He experienced firsthand the frustrations, the fears, the angers, the ups and downs, the hopes and disappointments, not only of his fellow coworkers in the CPA, but of the Iraqi people as well. Diamond's accounts of his personal experiences while in Iraq are secondary to the main intent of the book, but he relates them in a vivid exposition of the dangers and frustrations of daily living within what was and still is a war zone ((I mean, how would you feel about going out for a pizza, realizing you were risking your life in the process?). The author was not a supporter of the war in Iraq; he makes that announcement at the outset. He felt, however, that since the war and occupation were now realities and the Saddam Hussein had been overthrown, and being, if my interpretation of his position

In Squandered Victory, Diamond provides an insightful and penetrating analysis of how poor planning, bad decision-making, and a stubborn insistence on an ideological point of view, in the face of clear facts to the contrary, contributed to the mess that is now a fact of daily life for the Iraqi people and for the world community. Diamond does an excellent job of sorting through a mountain of detail to provide a clear and compelling picture from an insider's point of view. This is a must read for anyone who wants to be informed about the nature of this historic American occupation and effort.

Dr. Diamond gives us a fascinating, insider's look at the genesis, history, present, and likely future of the debacle in Iraq. Most Conservative Americans have a hard time acknowledging that we have a serious problem in Iraq, let alone think about anything other than supporting and staying behind the President and our troops over there. So, like most reality-based serious works this will probably not be on their reading list this summer. But it should be. Dr. Diamond is one of Condi's friends, he was part of the Coalition Provisional Authority with L. Paul "Jerry" Bremer's team, he was in Iraq from the beginning of the occupation, through the early months, and into the beginning of the current situation. His viewpoints and ideas are invaluable, and very worthwhile looking into, even if all you need is a book to help you counteract "Liberal Media Bias" and spin and give you some facts from one of Condi's friends who was actually THERE to help you in your arguments with Libs. Dr. Diamond says no one can deny, at this stage in the game, that Iraq ia a HUGE problem. No one can deny it will have serious implications for America's future security, for us and for our kids and grandkids. No one can deny that every American life lost in Iraq ia an American family destroyed. Before we can find a way out, we need to understand very clearly how we got to where we are. And that's what this book is all about. Buy it. Recommended A+++.

Dr. Diamond's wisdom, expertise and insight unfold like a well-written novel. For those of us who have had difficulty grasping Iraq's history, culture, religious tensions and social intricacies (let alone its geography), and who have struggled to understand why we first went to and still remain in Iraq today, Diamond's honest account is enlightening and captivating. We find ourselves wanting to turn the next page. We immediately admire his youthful optimism at the beginning of the quest but predict, as he takes us through and beyond the Green Zone in graphic detail, the likely path of misfortune that lies ahead. And yet, like Diamond, we come away from the final pages with still a glimmer of hope. Surely, Diamond's critical analysis will anger some, but we must respect his courage for accepting Dr. Rice's challenge (and apparent plea) to embark on the monstrous journey to plant the seeds of democracy in Iraq. What also shines admirably through this book is its lessons (in simple English) of what a democracy is all about, how it must evolve with baby steps, respect and patience. Diamond clearly has volumes to teach about building a democracy; we have a lot to learn. This is a must read!

I thought I knew just how badly the Bush administration was at governing, until I read this book about how badly they governed Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the war. This book will make you even angrier about every single death since the war ended, every dollar spend, every new enemy made. Not because the author is a saint in academia who stood above the fray, but because he went there to make a contribution and discovered there was no way to talk to Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice, Bremer or anyone else about making better decisions. He gives the insider's, blow-by-blow account of just what went wrong--and account you aren't going to get from anyone working for the white house these days...or, sadly, from many in the corporate media.