Writing the War

The Iraq War promises to be the Lewinsky scandal of George W. Bush’s presidency: the most interesting event and the occasion for an outpouring of books.

Three new ones are all valuable in their ways. The Assassins’ Gate by the New Yorker writer George Packer was published last year to much acclaim. Packer was a liberal hawk, which sometimes seems to mean someone whose support of the war was contingent on nothing going wrong. His book reflects the conventional State Department/mainstream media analysis of the administration’s mistakes in Iraq (i.e., all the Pentagon’s fault), but it has literary flair and affecting on-the-ground reporting.

About the Author

Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry is the editor in chief of National Review.

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The Iraq War promises to be the Lewinsky scandal of George W. Bush’s presidency: the most interesting event and the occasion for an outpouring of books.

Three new ones are all valuable in their ways. The Assassins’ Gate by the New Yorker writer George Packer was published last year to much acclaim. Packer was a liberal hawk, which sometimes seems to mean someone whose support of the war was contingent on nothing going wrong. His book reflects the conventional State Department/mainstream media analysis of the administration’s mistakes in Iraq (i.e., all the Pentagon’s fault), but it has literary flair and affecting on-the-ground reporting.