Tyranny's Ally: America's Failure to Defeat Saddam Hussein

The 1991 Persian Gulf War was the greatest direct military investment the United States has ever made in the Middle East. The objective was to remove Saddam Hussein as a threat to the region. Seven years after the war, Saddam's regime remains in place, his power is rising, and his diplomatic situation is steadily improving. And the coalition to contain Saddam is rickety and in danger of scattering. In Tyranny's Ally, David Wurmser argues that current policy, even if invigorated by more aggressive military efforts, will not bring the United States victory over Saddam and his regime. All previous efforts have failed because they have targeted only the tyrant, not the institution of tyranny in Iraq and the region. The Iraq crisis is only the latest chapter in a broad upheaval that has gripped the region for eighty years. By tolerating centralized, statist tyranny, the United States has assisted its enemies-totalitarian despots-and encouraged the violent politics and shattering of societies attending such predatory regimes. Wurmser offers historical and contemporary analysis of the Iraqi morass and outlines credible and effective strategies for U.S. policy to adopt.