War of necessity, war of choice: A memoir of two Iraqi wars, by Richard Haas (*)

Author: Richard Haas

Book Review by: Ziad Hafez (**)

Published By: Simon & Schuster

Year of publication: 2009

Number of Pages: 336

ISBN: 978-1-4165-4902-4

Introduction:

Memoirs are usually self-serving documents for their authors. They rarely show the whole picture, even from the perspective of the writer. Richard Haas’s latest book is no exception, although one must acknowledge the muted tone of justifications of doubtful decisions that had direct consequences on the lives of many. The book is a relatively short one, less than 300 pages notwithstanding the notes, annexes, and index. It is made up of nine chapters evenly divided except for Chapter 5, ‘The Clinton Interregnum’, being understandably the shortest! The first four chapters are devoted to the first Iraqi war, the last four to the second Iraqi war under another President Bush.

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