A. KRIVORUCHKO, V. ROSHCHUPKIN. BAGDAD LEADER: RISE AND FALL... Political portrait of Saddam Hussein and his regime on a regional and global background, Moscow: Prospect Publ., 2008, 560 p.

The authors of the reviewed book turned to the personality of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for a reason: like another prominent figure in the Arab world, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, he challenged the United States. But if Nasser is already history, albeit a close one, then Hussein is an integral figure of modern political history.

Here, dear reader, is an unusual book. If we evaluate it according to formal criteria, then, as the subtitle suggests, it is written in the genre of a political portrait. Well, the portrait of such an extraordinary person (in a political frame) as the recent ruler of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, is already interesting in itself.

This is due to the fact that the problems of democracy and authoritarianism, regional wars, military and border conflicts, and the inadequate role of the world community and diplomacy in their resolution have also been inherited in the twenty-first century. In the same row, there are also such acute issues as ignoring international legal norms, national, ethnic and religious contradictions, and the struggle for energy sources.

Of course, many works have been written on these topics. But in this study, the burning problems of our time are projected onto the landscape of a particular country and region in close connection with the geopolitical map of the planet. The authors analyze in detail the nature and political essence of the regime of Saddam Hussein's personal power, tell about the dizzying turns of his fate as the leader of the nation. Much attention is paid to the obvious and hidden causes of wars, which Iraq was targeted twice-at the end of the last century and at the beginning of this century. A lot of new and informative material is provided about the specific policies that the dvi uses.-

page 198
Ghali called the country to war, secret diplomacy and the activities of the special services of leading Western states and Iraq itself.

The book is so rich in up-to-date political information that it can be perceived as a kind of encyclopedia of modern Iraq and the region located in close proximity to the southern borders of the CIS and Russia. And in global terms-at the most important geostrategic and geopolitical crossroads of world civilization. The reader will find here information about the past and the present day of this region, which has become a large-scale military training ground for those who claim to be the sole owners of the modern world. But what is the risk of such a policy for the fate of the world, why does it destroy its fundamental foundations? The answer to this and many other pressing questions can be found on the pages of this publication.

In my memory, this is the first large-scale study published promptly after the execution of a former Iraqi leader. Why were those who gave the order to do away with him in such a hurry? Why wasn't Hussein tried to the end, for all the crimes he was accused of? What is the background of the fact that literally until the last day, the ex-president of Iraq was given to understand that changes were possible in his fate? The authors convincingly reveal the secret and explicit military-political, diplomatic and legal maneuvers of the United States and its allies around Saddam. And by and large-around Iraq and the region as a whole.

The political significance of this book, obviously, lies in the fact that it is a kind of warning to other countries of the world, whose policies or state structure for one reason or another do not suit the current contenders for world domination. Today Iraq has been defeated and occupied, its former leader has been executed in a swift and unjust trial, and tomorrow?

For Hussein, as the head of a secular state, the difficulty was that Iraq was intertwined with serious ethnic and religious contradictions. Here the interests of Christians and Muslims collided. Western big business tycoons are reaching out for oil here. Here, America has twice shown itself to be an international gendarme on the threshold of the twenty-first century. It tries to dictate its will to the whole world. Washington ignores the UN decision on Iraq, does not listen to the opinion of the world community on this issue.

In this situation, unfortunately, the UN and the leaders of developed countries did not take a principled position, did not show the necessary perseverance to demand that the United States stop its aggressive actions. All this can lead to more harmful consequences. The authors of the book sought to show why the world community should join forces against arbitrariness in the international arena. Who will be the next victims after Iraq?

The authors have developed and used a huge number of primary sources (more than 200), not least foreign, previously unknown or little-known in our country, including in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. This, in my opinion, helped to achieve objectivity and impartiality in the analysis of Hussein's state, political and military activities. The reader is presented with a person who aspires to power, at the top of power and has lost it, not only a strategist, but also a son, a family man, a husband, a lover, a father. He is also a master of intrigue, a shrewd, cunning and ambitious man.

In my opinion, the book may be of some interest to political scientists, historians, specialists in the Middle East and for the widest readership, for all those who are not indifferent to the fate of the world and global security. Each reader will find in the book something new and interesting for themselves.

Permanent link to this publication: