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Saddam Hussein

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The bombing of Baghdad during the US invasion of Iraq, March 21, 2003.

A Terrible Mistake

The long history of confusions, misconceptions, and miscalculations in the relationship between the US and Iraq, from 1979 to 2003.
U.S. Army soldiers stand guard near a portrait of Saddam Hussein while others search an Iraqi police station in March 2003.

Steve Coll’s Latest Shows Saddam Hussein’s Practical Side

‘The Achilles Trap’ reexamines the relationship between Hussein and four U.S. administrations.
Censored text and George W. Bush with a black bar covering his eyes. Art by Alex Cochran.

What Really Took America to War in Iraq

A fatal combination of fear, power, and hubris.
Hands manipulating the earth like a Rubik's cube.

When the C.I.A. Messes Up

Its agents are often depicted as malevolent puppet masters—or as bumbling idiots. The truth is even less comforting.
George w. Bush delivers a speech on the USS Abraham Lincoln under a banner reading "Mission Accomplished."

The Worst Crime of the 21st Century

The United States’ destruction of Iraq remains the worst international crime of our time. Its perpetrators remain free and its horrors are buried.
Montage of photographs from Operation Desert Storm.

How to Kill a Country

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was no turning point. It was a slow-burning tale of how Britain and the US armed a nation, and then betrayed it.
The Iraq flag waving in the wind.

Confronting the Iraq War

Melvyn Leffler’s book on the roots of the Iraq invasion demonstrates the pitfalls of excessive trust in one’s sources, especially when they're top policymakers.
Then-President George W. Bush meets with his father, former president George H.W. Bush, and former president Bill Clinton in the Oval Office in 2005.
partner

Biden’s Putin Comments Could Warp U.S. Policy

The lesson of the first Gulf War and its aftermath for handling Russia.
George W. Bush speaking to marines

Why Did We Invade Iraq?

The most complete account we are likely to get of the deceptions and duplicities that led to war leaves some crucial mysteries unsolved.

I Don't Care How Good His Paintings Are, He Still Belongs in Prison

George W. Bush committed an international crime that killed hundreds of thousands of people.
George W. Bush at a press conference on Iraq, March 3, 2003.

The First Casualty

The selling of the Iraq war.
A group of Asian men standing with towels around their necks

“Endless Bad Infinity”

A conversation with the creators of a podcast series on the feedback loop of American empire.
New York City's Twin Towers.

New 9/11 Evidence Points to Deep Saudi Complicity

Two decades of U.S. policy appear to be rooted in a mistaken understanding of what happened that day.
Joe Biden and George W. Bush.

Biden Is Repeating Bush’s Post-9/11 Playbook. It’s Not Working.

Like his predecessor, the president is decrying anti-Arab and Muslim hatred while helping fuel it. People are refusing to let him get away with this hypocrisy.
Photo of George Bush giving a speech.

Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? The Debate at 20 Years.

The invasion is still the most important foreign policy decision by a 21st century U.S. president, so the surfeit of analysis should surprise no one.
George W. Bush on the day of the 9/11 attacks, which were used to publicly justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But by many accounts, the plan to invade Iraq had already started taking shape months before.

George W. Bush Misrepresented Our Work at CIA to Sell the Iraq Invasion

Two former CIA officials weigh in: "It's time to call him what he is: 'A liar.'"

A Known and Unknown War

Twenty years later, I am living through the making of the Iraq War as history.

Iraq and the Pathologies of Primacy

The flawed logic that produced the war is alive and well.
A U.S. Army officer posing after a battle at the Baghdad airport, April 2003.

Blundering Into Baghdad

The right—and wrong—lessons of the Iraq War.
US Soldiers in armored cars in Iraq.

Our Invasions

If we’re never going to hold U.S. war criminals accountable, what moral credibility do we have when we condemn Russia and others?