Just finished reading Imperial Live in the Emerald City, a must read

[Hamlette]

It's about Bremmer and the CPA in the Green Zone in Iraq. The author was on The Daily Show recently.

It will piss you off more than you thought possible.

It actually helps put some of the pieces in place for me about how we could have gotten it so wrong. When we failed to find WMD, Rumsfeld's plan for a small force going in and getting out quickly faded. If there were no WMD, why were we there? Enter plan B: to build a democracy. So we send a bunch of 24 year old kids with no experience. With illusions of grandure in their eyes, they think they can turn Iraq into a utopia.

It also shows how incredibly paranoid Bush et al are. The most important thing to the admin was loyalty, not competence. Why would that be unless they were scared someone might say "maybe these people need clean drinking water more than they need a new traffic code or computerized stock market."

It's a different perspective on the problem so is not just a repeat of what you've read in Hubris, State of Denial, Assassins Gate, Cobra II, or Fiasco. The author lived in the Green Zone for over a year as a reporter.

[pnorman]

1. Sounds interesting.

I had never heard of him until now, but here's his website: http://www.rajivc.com/

pnorman

[elocs]

2. I must admit that I do not read much anymore. It's an eye thing.

When I do read I do not seek out things that will piss me off. I can and do read enough of those things here.

[Kagemusha]

3. I recently got back into novel reading more...

I had it pushed on me by friends because they felt it kept me more sane. I'm an anomaly in terms of how fast I read (that is, it's fast) and a lot of it ends being news and blogs and stuff just because it's there.

I've pretty much finished going through the Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter series. Can't recommend the very last ones to anyone not interested in a much larger helping of sexual content rather than mostly sexual tension but, the author mouthpieces at one point (it's 1st person perspective via the title character) that it's a mix of "As The Casket Turns" and "Rambo". Well, the "Rambo" part trails off real late but books 1-11 tended to be pretty good, most of the time. It's a mature read but, it makes a jaded eye really laugh, IMHO. Just in case anyone cares since I feel it's rude to say "I'm back into reading novels" and not say what's been helping me stay sane and have a good laugh. It's just not for everyone.

[elocs]

4. I used to love to read for pleasure,

but as I have gotten older and need bifocals, it has gotten harder to read. Plus, spending more time online now, there just does not seem to be the time anymore. On the computer with just a couple of clicks I can make the print as large as I need.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

7. I had same problem.

First of all I got Lasik surgery and that solved the eye problem. Second, I do most of my "reading" with book CD's whenever I'm in the car. I travel from five to twenty five miles every day and you can get a lot of "reading" done in that time. Since July I have finished four of the six Harry Potter books and the narration is so good, I don't think I would have enjoyed them as much had I actually read the books.

[LSK]

5. so many books, so little time

Adding this one to the list. Just starting Fiasco right now.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Just got it yesterday. Will read it after I finish 'American Fascists' by Chris Hedges.

[CrispyQ]

8. You are right -- it pissed me off unbelievably!

One of the things that pissed me off the most was that the US doesn't support the local economy -- like shipping in tomatoes & cucumbers for their salad bar even though this is a local product. I think it was very telling that they shipped in labor from other countries to cook for them out of fear that Iraqi's might poison them. As I read more & more of the book I could see why they feared that.

There were a few people who really did try to do what they were hired to do & were genuinely concerned about the Iraqi people & actaul reconstruction, but those people didn't last in their positions very long. When you hear about the pallet of missing cash that was reported last week, you wonder how many people in the Green Zone made out with a brick of two of that taxpayer money.