Richard H. Curtiss

The topsy-turvy world of U.S. politics and the Middle East: AIPAC's spies, Abbas' election delays, Sharon's unilateral Gaza disengagement plan and much, much more.

By Richard H. Curtiss

By Richard H. Curtiss

The Ziggarat at Abu Ghraib is a tower that has stood for more than 3,000 years. It is a Baghdad landmark that can be seen for miles. Every spring during plowing new pots and ceramic shards are found in the fields.

Abu Ghraib is also an Iraqi experimental farm. Not far away, there is a prison that dates back to the time of Saddam Hussain's mass murders. About once a year, when the prison would become too full, dozens or hundreds of Iraqis were executed-with or without trial-in order to clear the decks for more victims.

A good friend of mine was seized in one of the real or fancied coups against the Iraqi president and held at Abu Ghraib for at least three years. Each time a new purge was proclaimed, I dreaded that I would see his name. One day, after a brand new purge, my friend, along with dozens of others who had been held in this bestial prison, was listed among the victims. By that time even I couldn't remember why he had been arrested.

Much more recently, when it was clear that the Saddam Hussain regime was about to fall, thousands of Iraqi prisoners were freed. They probably would have liberated themselves anyway as the jailers fled. The suddenly liberated prisoners were part of the flotsam and jetsam who had no place to go just as U.S. soldiers and Marines arrived after their lightning dash from Kuwait to Baghdad and beyond in a matter of days.

By Richard H. Curtiss

Best-selling author Robert Woodward has written a dramatic book on President George W. Bush's decision to go to war against Iraqi President Saddam Hussain. Whether you oppose George Bush for starting an unnecessary war, or believe he was motivated by a real fear of weapons of mass destruction, you will find depth and insight in Plan of Attack. The book also will help you decide whether Bush believed he had a divine mission to wage that war.

When you finish the book, moreover, you will be very well informed about the various motivations of the people whom Woodward interviewed in depth. The author, who has a natural empathy and talent for getting it right, explores very frankly what each person has to say. Some of the players, particularly Vice President Richard Cheney, remain enigmatic, but it would be hard to find anyone who could do a better job than Woodward at putting it all together.