Curveball

Bob Drogin

2007 • 343 pages

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A thrilling true-life account of how deceit, lies and incompetence within the US intelligence services led us into the most disastrous and bloody conflict of recent years"Curveball' was the codename given to the mysterious defector whose first-hand evidence on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction proved vital in giving the Bush administration the excuse it needed to invade Iraq.The only problem – this "evidence' was nothing more than a pack of lies.Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bob Drogin has written the definitive account of the most notorious intelligence fiasco in US history, revealing how squabbling, arrogance and incompetence within the various intelligence agencies allowed one man's lies to spread higher and higher up the chain of authority, eventually reaching the White House itself.Breathlessly paced and shockingly revelatory, Curveball is an explosive true-life account of how honour and dishonesty amongst spies led to the UK and the US becoming embroiled in a catastrophic war.

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Jer

All right, so, I have not done a ton of reading on Iraq, possibly because it still feels too close for much objective debate. I would NOT categorize this book as objective (it's very kind to the case officers at CIA), but it IS a very interesting look at a failure of a number of different elements to work together. It is an indictment of the policy-centric bureaucratic sycophancy that drove a major political and military decision: the Iraq invasion.

Now, to be fair, I'm rating this as a must read for people who want to understand how the intelligence world can be spoiled by policy interests. I am sure that opinions will vary, but it came across as well-researched (given the subject matter) - again, NOT unbiased, but still worthwhile. Oh, and it's short!

Consider pairing with “Arrows of the Night” (about Ahmed Chalabi) and/or “Code Name: Johnnie Walker” (about an Iraqi interpreter) for a broader perspective on Iraq.

May 28, 2016