Arrows of the Night

Ahmad Chalabi and the Selling of the Iraq War

By: Richard Bonin

Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1958, Ahmad Chalabi’s wealthy Shiite family was exiled from Iraq after a revolution that ultimately put Saddam Hussein in power. The young Chalabi devoted his life to restoring his family to prominence. His first coup attempt was in 1963 at age 19, while on a school break from MIT. His next was aided by Iranian intelligence. But as the years passed and Saddam stayed in power, Chalabi made an audacious decision: he needed the support of both Iran and its powerful archenemy, the United States.

Drawing on unparalleled access to Chalabi, Bonin traces the exile’s ingenious efforts to stoke a desire for Iraqi regime change in the U.S. He narrates Chalabi’s ill-fated engage­ment with the CIA and his later focus on neoconservative policy makers who rose to power under George W. Bush. As a result, from day two of the Bush presidency, the push for a new Iraq was on, with the intent to install Ahmad Chalabi as overseer of U.S. interests in the Middle East. The outcome was perhaps the biggest foreign policy disaster in our history and a triumphant end to Chalabi’s 45-year quest.

Today, as we prepare to withdraw our troops from Iraq, Arrows of the Night is full of shocking revelations about how we got there, including the true story of Chalabi’s relation­ship with Iran. With its definitive account of the war, this book irrevocably alters a story we thought we knew.

©2011 Richard Bonin (P)2011 Random House Audio

This One Will Scare Your Socks Off

Do you vaguely remember the overthrow of Saddam Hussein? Do you recall the newspapers reporting that one person mislead the Bush administration and manipulated Congress to involved the US in war? Does Ahmad Chalabi ring a bell? Well, most people in the US don’t and Richard Bonin’s Arrows in the Night tells the whole sordid story. This is one page turner no American should miss. Chalabi worked for years to restore his family name and bring regime change to Iraq. He manipulated his way into the halls of American power and got his way. The resulting story does not defy belief, but will scare the socks off of anyone naïve about how Washington works. The reading o Kaleo Griffith sings.

When the TRUTH comes out.

Would you consider the audio edition of Arrows of the Night to be better than the print version?

Yes, I prefer listening.

Have you listened to any of Kaleo Griffith’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I don't have the time.

Any additional comments?

Very informative to the real reason the US went to war in Iraq. Something everyone needs to know.