Book Review: The Achilles Trap by Patrick
"The Achilles Trap is an investigation into how this failure of comprehension unfolded." --Steve Coll, The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq
The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq by Steve Coll
In March 2024, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and investigative journalist, Steve Coll, published his long-awaited exposé on the increasingly contentious foreign relations between the Saddam Hussein-led Iraqi government and successive US presidential administrations, from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush. The decisions underpinning the 2003 invasion of Iraq have been well-chronicled over the past two decades, but Coll provides unique and unparalleled insight and access into the decision-making miscalculations that fostered ever-increasing paranoia in both governments about the strategic threat each posed to the geopolitical landscape. Yet, The Achilles Trap demonstrates that conflict between Iraq and the United States was far from inevitable, rather, the tragedy that unfolded following the 2003 invasion was preempted by successive diplomatic failures, rampant egotism, and fundamentally incompatible world views at the highest echelons of government.
ABOUT THE BOOKSELLER
Born in Hawaii, Patrick possesses an MA in Foreign Policy and National Security and has studied in Kingston, Jamaica. Unsurprisingly, Ian Fleming rests at the top of his favorite author list. Patrick is an avid reader of history, politics, and spy thrillers.