The Saddam Tapes

The Saddam Tapes

The Inner Workings of a Tyrant's Regime 1978-2001

Edited by Kevin M. Woods, David D Palkki and Mark E. Stout

Paperback  9781107693487

Published 23 February 2012 [UK]

392 pages, £24.99

Annotated transcripts of meetings between Saddam Hussein and his inner circle that will deepen and challenge what we thought we knew about Saddam's Iraq.

During the 2003 war that ended Saddam Hussein's regime, coalition forces captured thousands of hours of secret recordings of meetings, phone calls and conferences. Originally prepared by the Institute for Defense Analyses for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, this study presents annotated transcripts of Iraqi audio recordings of meetings between Saddam Hussein and his inner circle. The Saddam Tapes, along with the much larger digital collection of captured records at the National Defense University's Conflict Records Research Center, will provide researchers with important insights into the inner workings of the regime and, it is hoped, the nature of authoritarian regimes more generally. The collection has implications for a range of historical questions. How did Saddam react to the pressures of his wars? How did he manage the Machiavellian world he created? How did he react to the signals and actions of the international community on matters of war and peace? Was there a difference between the public and the private Saddam on critical matters of state? A close examination of this material in the context of events and other available evidence will address these and other questions.

About the Authors

Kevin M. Woods is a member of the research staff of the Institute for Defense Analyses.

David D. Palkki is the Deputy Director and senior researcher at the National Defense University's Conflict Records Research Center.

Mark E. Stout is a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences where he teaches courses in intelligence and strategic studies.

Notes to Editors

For more information, an interview with an author or a review copy, please contact Carly Bareham at Cambridge University Press on 01223 326274, cbareham@cambridge.org

Contents

1. The United States
2. The 'Zionist entity'
3. The Arab world
4. Qadisiyyah Saddam (the Iran-Iraq War)
5. The mother of all battles
6. Special munitions
7. The embargo and the special commission
8. Hussein Kamil

About Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press was founded by a royal charter granted to the University of Cambridge by King Henry VIII in 1534.  It is the oldest printer and publisher in the world, having been operating continuously since 1584, and is one of the largest academic publishers globally.  Its purpose is to further the University's objective of advancing learning, knowledge and research.  Throughout its history, the Press has maintained a reputation for innovation and enterprise, through its use of printing technologies, through publishing the latest research, and through supporting the latest methodologies for teaching and learning.