Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein
Written by John Nixon
Narrated by John Nixon
4/5
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About this audiobook
In December 2003, after one of the largest, most aggressive manhunts in history, US military forces captured Iraqi president Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit. Beset by body-double rumors and false alarms during a nine-month search, the Bush administration needed positive identification of the prisoner before it could make the announcement that would rocket around the world.
At the time, John Nixon was a senior CIA leadership analyst who had spent years studying the Iraqi dictator. Called upon to make the official ID, Nixon looked for telltale scars and tribal tattoos and asked Hussein a list of questions only he could answer. The man was indeed Saddam Hussein, but as Nixon learned in the ensuing weeks, both he and America had greatly misunderstood just who Saddam Hussein really was.
Debriefing the President presents an astounding, candid portrait of one of our era's most notorious strongmen. Nixon, the first man to conduct a prolonged interrogation of Hussein after his capture, offers expert insight into the history and mind of America's most enigmatic enemy. After years of parsing Hussein's leadership from afar, Nixon faithfully recounts his debriefing sessions and subsequently strips away the mythology surrounding an equally brutal and complex man. His account is not an apology, but a sobering examination of how preconceived ideas led Washington policymakers-and the Bush White House-astray. Unflinching and unprecedented, Debriefing the President exposes a fundamental misreading of one of the modern world's most central figures and presents a new narrative that boldly counters the received account.
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Reviews for Debriefing the President
12 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The author was one of the people assigned to debrief Saddam Hussein after his capture. The insights he provides give a unique insight into Hussein's mind. Far from the "madman" that the government and media claimed, Hussein was a complex individual. Flawed, but he had reasons for the way he acted. I found myself angered at the level of incompetence the Bush administration displayed regarding the situation. Only wanting to receive intelligence that confirmed or added to their preconceived opinions. And of the CIA, which let themselves be roped into going along with the Bush administration, rather than putting the country's interest ahead of their own careers. What really worries me is our current situation with North Korea. Once again we seem to have an administration hell bent on having their own glorious war. Cherry picking intelligence information, disregarding attempts at diplomacy ("wasting his time" is the way Trump put it, regarding Secretary Tillerson's efforts). Not letting other countries weigh in or help. And what do we do when the "little rocketman" is removed? Is there a plan for North Korea's future? It all sounds so familiar, the past repeating itself again. I can see another Iraq, with our soldiers being there for years and years.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A lot of focus on the agent itself and its background, and the debriefing process itself. A small mention of how Saddam was captured, and almost nothing on what Saddam had said.