Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War in Iraq: The Experts Speak | 
 enlarge | Authors: Christopher Cerf, Victor S. Navasky
Creator: Robert Grossman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 3303
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 1416569936
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.70443
EAN: 9781416569930
ASIN: 1416569936
Publication Date: March 25, 2008
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won the War in Iraq is the definitive collection -- systematically categorized, indexed, and footnoted for your convenience -- of authoritative misinformation, disinformation, misunderstanding, miscalculation, egregious prognostication, boo-boos, and just plain lies, about the Iraq War. "Never before has such a large and diverse group of experts been so unanimously in favor of a particular national policy as they were in the case of the U.S. invasion of Iraq," note Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky, who, as co-founders of the Institute of Expertology, the nation's leading purveyor of expertise on expertise, were uniquely qualified to assemble this impressive collection. "In the face of such a consensus, we had no choice but to ask ourselves, 'Could the iron law of expertology -- the experts are never right -- be wrong?'" At once an entertainment, a cautionary tale, a critique of mass media, a reference tool, and a postwar manifesto, Mission Accomplished! presents, as no book has before, the collective wisdom of all those who are presumed to know what they talking about on the subject of America's adventure in Iraq. As this hilarious, yet depressing, volume demonstrates, they don't. From MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." -- President George W. Bush, May 2, 2003 "[Insurgents] pose no strategic threat to the United States or to the Coalition Forces." -- L. Paul Bremer III, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, November 17, 2003 "Military action will not last more than a week." -- Bill O'Reilly, The O'Reilly Factor, January 23, 2003 "I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah." -- President George W. Bush, at a White House menorah lighting ceremony, December 10, 2001
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
Incredible, and Humorous! May 21, 2008
"Mission Accomplished" documents an almost infinite number of people of all political persuasions (though mostly conservatives) and at high levels of government, media, and think-tanks, making statements either provably false, unlikely, or simply "me-too" support prior to, during, and post Iraq War II. The list even includes two of today's presidential contenders. Documentation even shows contradictions between varying members of the administration at about the same period of time.
"Mission Accomplished" also documents an incredible number of instances and individuals stating that "we have turned the corner in Iraq" or that "the next six months will be crucial in Iraq."
How could so many "experts" get it so wrong for so long? Would we be better off setting foreign policy with a dart board and roulette wheel?
The "experts" in their own words May 21, 2008
"Mission Accomplished!", a terrific retrospective about how the Iraq venture failed, is an accurate and compelling look at the ongoing quagmire with humor on the side. Certifying those who framed the debate and carried out the execution of the war is assembled by authors Cerf and Navasky with an acuity that allows the reader to partake in the words of those who got us into this mess. Justice Brandeis said that "sunshine is the best disinfectant" and the words presented here are devastating in that exposition.
Nicely framed with quotes from Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others, we are reminded about how this war never had a clear purpose, let alone a clear strategy. This book is an equal opportunity employer...Democrats get the royal treatment, too, as they should. Cerf and Navasky present quotes then give "in fact" responses...all well-cited. Then, in the lower right-hand corner of each opposing page they offer remarks about predictions on how those experts thought the war and reconstruction would go. Everyone will have a favorite...mine is Thomas L. Friedman. An expert of limitless self-confidence, he's reduced to words after one should eat one's hat.
I think the authors hit things just right when they talk about the cost of the war, both in human and economic terms. Sure, this is a book with a light-hearted nature, but when the text is revealed, we understand about the folly of this war and the Bush administration who gave it to us...an administration that has never figured out what to do with all the shattered pieces. "Mission Accomplished!" is a good and timely read, especially in an election year. I highly recommend it.
A quick reference guide for our short memory society May 16, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Keep MISSION ACCOMPLISHED handy as you read news publications or take in radio and television commentary. When some prognosticator talks up reasons for war - whether it regards Iraq or what may be in Iran - look up that person in this book, as chances are they've been wrong before.
While MISSION ACCOMPLISHED is an easy read, if nothing else pay attention to the quotes in reverse type at the bottom of each page. Names of purportedly qualified commentators such as Thomas Friedman show up again and again predicting a conclusion to the Iraq disaster. These know-nothings don't quit after missing the mark once or twice. From 2002 through 2007, dingbats such as Friedman, William Kristol and Michael Ledeen provide consistently wrong forecasts, as if they were weathermen on acid. But they're not predicting sunshine only to get caught in the rain. These smug blowhards are responsible for promoting this illegal, immoral war and occupation that's cost millions life and limb.
Why do the NEW YORK TIMES, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO and other news organizations continue to provide a forum to these clowns? I've heard of short memories, but the people at the TIMES and N.P.R. are more forgetful than a Republican under oath.
Next time your news sources present pundits blathering about things getting better in Iraq or how quick and easy attacking Iran will be, reach for MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Then call or write to ask why they present as "experts" individuals who couldn't qualify for Psychic Friends Network.
Buy MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Unfortunately, indispensible May 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Even if you have no interest in the War in Iraq, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Here the inmates, in their own words, reveal the the extent and depth of their delusions. Never right, yet never uncertain, they happily lead the country into a disastrous war with nothing but their vivid imaginations to back them up. The justifications change, but not the need, first to go, and then to remain. No news discourages them. No facts upset them. They are right and they know it. In a sense the press bears ultimate responsibility for allowing this madness to go on unchallenged year after year. As the authors make clear, the next six months will be critical in determining the outcome of this adventure (after all, the experts have been saying that for years...). I wonder what else the inmates have been up to?
 what a sad book May 14, 2008
what a sad book. It shows how gullible people are. no memory of history in their own lifetime.
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