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The Man Who Pushed America to War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi
Author(s): Aram Roston (Author)
- Publisher: Nation Books
- Publication Date: 4 Mar. 2008
- Language: English
- Print length: 400 pages
- ISBN-10: 1568583532
- ISBN-13: 9781568583532
Book Description
This is the true story of Ahmad Chalabi, fraudster, statesman, banker, math whiz and aesthete, whose legendary charisma and charm – and almost hypnotic powers of persuasion – helped propel the United States to war in Iraq. This extraordinary investigative biography – written by an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works for NBC’s Investigative Unit – exposes massive white-collar mischief, sophisticated international espionage operations, and political intrigue spanning the globe from Tehran to Texas. Chalabi was a shrewd Iraqi Arab from a family of Shiite bankers. Aram Roston tracked down forgotten Chalabi business partners and friends and dug through the records from courthouses around the world. The book reveals how this convicted felon, fugitive from justice in Jordan, and ally of the Iranian government managed to charm and influence the top leaders fo the United States, including US senators like John McCain. The book has the inside story of Chalabi’s pre-war propaganda operations the exclusive details of Chalabi’s financial dealings and political access.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Chalabi comes across here as a charismatic, Machiavellian individual, fascinated with the world of intelligence from the beginning… Those who dislike him see nothing but personal ambition in Chalabi s story. But this book suggests there was something else: the idea, that an exiled 13-year-old held in his mind for 45 years, of Iraq as a tolerant and increasingly prosperous society. This child s view of his country was distorted even in 1958. By 2003, after a quarter-century of Saddam s dictatorship, it bore almost no relation to reality. –Financial Times
(A) lively and entertaining read, fast-paced and well-told, informed throughout both by Chalabi loyalists and by those who have fallen out with him… –The New Statesman
About the Author
Aram Roston is an Emmy winning journalist who has written for a variety of magazines and newspapers. He has worked as a CNN correspondent and a New York City police reporter.
