Iraq Confidential : The Untold Story of America's Intelligence Conspiracy

Cover ; Contents; Foreword by Seymour Hersh; Preface; Glossary; Maps; Prologue: In the Eye of the Storm; Part One: Baptism; 1. A Delicate Balancing Act: September -- December 1991; 2. The Bumpy Road to Independence: December 1991 -- February 1992 ; 3. Showdown in Baghdad: March -- July 1992; 4. Counterattack: August -- October 1992; 5. Assassinating the Truth: October 1992 -- January 1993; 6. Shifting the Goalposts: February -- March 1994; Part Two: Crusade; 7. New Friends: March -- November 1994; 8. A Fresh Start: December 1994 -- July 1995; 9. Adventures in Amman: July -- November 1995.;As the Anglo-American occupation of Iraq peters out in failure, the historical debate is just beginning. How were we so misled in to such a disastrous war? What were its real goals? What did it achieve? Former UN Weapons inspector Scott Ritter offers a rare first-hand account of the build up to the war, and how the CIA exploited weapons inspections in pursuit of its secret regime-change agenda. The CIA tried to silence him. But in this book, he speaks out. Operating in a fog of espionage and counter-espionage, Ritter and his team were determined to find out the truth about Saddam's WMD after t. "... After the 1991 Gulf War Ritter helped lead the UN weapons inspections of Iraq, and found himself at the centre of a dangerous game between the Iraqi and US regimes. As Ritter now reveals in this book, Washington was only ever interested in disarmament as a tool for its own agenda: regime change. Operating in a fog of espionage and counter-espionage, Ritter and his team were determined to find out the truth about Iraq's WMD. The CIA was equally determined to stop them. For the truth, we now know, was that Iraq was playing a deadly game of double-bluff, and actually had no WMD. But to have revealed this would have derailed America's drive to topple Saddam Hussein.Iraq Confidential charts the disillusionment of a true patriot, who came to realise that his own government sought to undermine weapons control in the Middle East. Ritter shows us a world of deceit and betrayal, in which nothing is as it seems. Ricocheting between trigger-happy Iraqi soldiers in the desert and duplicitous spymasters in Washington, this book provides glimpses into the real workings of international diplomacy - Ritter reveals the truth about Saddam's so-called secret SCUD force, the chief CIA intelligence source 'Curveball', the involvement of the Israelis and the full extent to which the CIA simply commandeered the UN disarmament mission. A host of characters from MI6 to the Romanian intelligence services flesh out this narrative, which will radically affect the ongoing debates about Iraq"--BOOK JACKET As the Anglo-American occupation of Iraq peters out in failure, the historical debate is just beginning. How were we so misled in to such a disastrous war? What were its real goals? What did it achieve? Former UN Weapons inspector Scott Ritter offers a rare first-hand account of the build up to the war, and how the CIA exploited weapons inspections in pursuit of its secret regime-change agenda. The CIA tried to silence him. But in this book, he speaks out. Operating in a fog of espionage and counter-espionage, Ritter and his team were determined to find out the truth about Saddam's WMD after the 1991 Gulf war. The CIA, and Saddam Hussein, were determined to stop them. For the truth, we now know, was that Iraq was playing a deadly game of double-bluff. Iraq Confidential charts the disillusionment of a true patriot, who came to realise that his own government was trying to undermine weapons control in the Middle East. A host of characters from MI6 to Qusay Hussein flesh out this powerful story, which is an essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Iraq, the war on terror, and American power.'a rermarkable book'- the Daily Mail'Ritter's revealing testimony confirms what some of us have suspected, but never heard set out so vividly.'- John Kampfner, Editor of the New Statesman Cover 1 Contents 6 Foreword by Seymour Hersh 8 Preface 12 Glossary 16 Maps 22 Prologue: In the Eye of the Storm 26 Part One: Baptism 32 1. A Delicate Balancing Act: September - December 1991 34 2. The Bumpy Road to Independence: December 1991 - February 1992 47 3. Showdown in Baghdad: March - July 1992 59 4. Counterattack: August - October 1992 77 5. Assassinating the Truth: October 1992 - January 1993 92 6. Shifting the Goalposts: February - March 1994 102 Part Two: Crusade 114 7. New Friends: March - November 1994 116 8. A Fresh Start: December 1994 - July 1995 128 9. Adventures in Amman: July - November 1995 134 10. A Breach of Trust: November 1995 - January 1996 147 11. The Listening Post: January - March 1996 158 12. The Managers: March - May 1996 169 13. Blowback: June 1996 186 14. The Poison Pill: July - August 1996 195 15. The Con Game: August - December 1996 208 16. White House Blues: January - March 1997 221 Part Three: Betrayal 232 17. The Truth Emerges: March - May 1997 234 18. Unraveling Concealment: June 1997 249 19. New Directions: July - October 1997 259 20. False Starts: October - December 1997 271 21. The Death of Inspections: January - August 1998 290 Epilogue: All those Lies 314 Notes 318 Index 328 Scott Ritter is the straight-talking former marine officer whom the CIA wants to silence. After the 1991 Gulf war Ritter helped lead the UN weapons inspections of Iraq, and found himself at the centre of a dangerous game between the Iraqi and US regimes. As Ritter reveals in this explosive book, Washington was only ever interested in disarmament as a tool for its own agenda. Operating in a fog of espionage and counter-espionage, Ritter and his team were determined to find out the truth about Iraq's WMD. The CIA were equally determined to stop them. For the truth, we now know, was that Iraq was playing a deadly game of double-bluff, and actually had no WMD. But to have revealed this would have derailed America's drive for regime change. Iraq Confidential charts the disillusionment of a staunch patriot who came to realise that his own government sought to undermine effective arms control in the Middle East. Ritter shows us a world of deceit and betrayal, in which nothing is as it seems. A host of characters from Mossad, MI6 and the CIA pepper this powerful narrative, which contains revelations that will permanently affect the ongoing debates about Iraq. -- Publisher description After the 1991 Gulf war, Scott Ritter helped lead the UN weapons inspections of Iraq, and found himself at the centre of a dangerous game between the Iraqi and US regimes. As Ritter reveals in this book, Washington was only ever interested in disarmament as a tool for its own agenda. The long convoy of white Nissan Patrol vehicles snaked its way along the Baghdad thoroughfare towards the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.