First published 2007
Rajiv Chandrasekaran, who served as The Washington Post's Baghdad bureau chief, exposes the failures inside the Green Zone during America's occupation of Iraq. He reveals how this isolated headquarters became a surreal bubble complete with bars, discos, and shopping centers operated by Halliburton, all disconnected from the war raging outside its walls. Chandrasekaran documents how the Bush administration filled crucial reconstruction positions with inexperienced young Republicans selected for party loyalty rather than qualifications, while screening potential candidates based on their stance on abortion rights. He shows how these appointees ignored Iraqi voices and pursued ideological pet projects instead of addressing urgent needs like restoring power grids and repairing damaged infrastructure. The author traces how these misguided priorities and tone-deaf policies alienated the Iraqi population and strengthened the growing insurgency. This account reveals the institutional incompetence that derailed Iraq's reconstruction during the critical early period when success might still have been possible.
Genres: history, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: ideological-pet-projects, institutional-incompetence
Setting: Iraq, Green Zone
Period: Iraq Occupation
11 pages · MP3 CD · Blackstone Audio, Inc.