As long as there have been wars, victors have written the prevailing histories of the world's conflicts. An army that loses -- and especially one that is destroyed or disbanded -- is often forgotten. Nevertheless, the experiences of defeated forces can provide important insights, lessons, and perspectives not always apparent to the winning side. In Wars of Modern Babylon, Pesach Malovany provides a comprehensive and detailed history of the Iraqi military from its formation in 1921 to its collapse in 2003. Malovany analyzes Iraqi participation in the 1948, 1967, and 1973 Arab wars against Israel as well as Iraq's wars with the Kurds during the twentieth century. His primary focus, however, is the era of Saddam Hussein (1979--2003), who implemented rapid and significant military growth and fought three major wars: against Iran from 1980 to 1988, and against coalition forces led by the United States in 1991 and 2003. He examines the Iraqi military at the strategic, operative, and tactical levels; explains its forces and branches; and investigates its use of both conventional and unconventional weapons. The first study to offer a portrait of an Arab army from its own point of view, Wars of Modern Babylon features interviews with and personal accounts from officers at various levels, as well as press accounts covering the politics and conflicts of the period. Malovany also analyzes books written by key figures in the Iraqi government and the army high command. His definitive chronicle offers English speakers new and overlooked perspectives on critical developments in twentieth-century history. The book won the Israel Yitzhak Sade Award for Military Literature in 2010.

As long as there have been wars, victors have written the prevailing histories of the world's conflicts. An army that loses - and especially one that is destroyed or disbanded - is often forgotten. Nevertheless, the experiences of defeated forces can provide important insights, lessons, and perspectives not always apparent to the winning side. In this work, Pesach Malovany provides a comprehensive and detailed history of the Iraqi military from its formation in 1921 to its collapse in 2003. Malovany analyses Iraqi participation in the 1948, 1967, and 1973 Arab wars against Israel as well as Iraq's wars with the Kurds during the twentieth century.

Groundbreaking and compelling, Watching Babylon examines the experience of watching the war against Iraq on television, on the internet, in the cinema and in print media. Mirzoeff shows how the endless stream of images flowing from the Gulf has necessitated a new form of visual thinking, one which recognises that the war has turned images themselves into weapons. Drawing connections between the history and legend of ancient Babylon, the metaphorical Babylon of Western modernity, and everyday life in the modern suburb of Babylon, New York, Mirzoeff explores ancient concerns which have found new resonance in the present day. In the tradition of Walter Benjamin, Watching Babylon illuminates the Western experience of the Iraqi war and makes us re-examine the very way we look at images of conflict.

From 1980 to 1988, Iran and Iraq fought the longest conventional war of the twentieth century. The tragedies included the slaughter of child soldiers, the use of chemical weapons, the striking of civilian shipping in the Gulf, and the destruction of cities. The Iran-Iraq War offers an unflinching look at a conflict seared into the region’s collective memory but little understood in the West. Pierre Razoux shows why this war remains central to understanding Middle Eastern geopolitics, from the deep-rooted distrust between Sunni and Shia Muslims, to Iran’s obsession with nuclear power, to the continuing struggles in Iraq. He provides invaluable keys to decipher Iran’s behavior and internal struggle today. Razoux’s account is based on unpublished military archives, oral histories, and interviews, as well as audio recordings seized by the U.S. Army detailing Saddam Hussein’s debates with his generals. Tracing the war’s shifting strategies and political dynamics—military operations, the jockeying of opposition forces within each regime, the impact on oil production so essential to both countries—Razoux also looks at the international picture. From the United States and Soviet Union to Israel, Europe, China, and the Arab powers, many nations meddled in this conflict, supporting one side or the other and sometimes switching allegiances. The Iran-Iraq War answers questions that have puzzled historians. Why did Saddam embark on this expensive, ultimately fruitless conflict? Why did the war last eight years when it could have ended in months? Who, if anyone, was the true winner when so much was lost?

"John Cooley uncovered the truth about the west's creation of the extreme forces that attacked the US on 9/11. As an authority on the Middle East, he has been right so often he has few equals. In An Alliance Against Babylon: the US, Israel and Iraq, he breaks the silence on the pivotal role Israel has played in the west's imperial adventure in Iraq: indeed, how the tail in Tel Aviv has so often wagged the dog in Washington. This book is typically Cooley: much needed and brilliant." John Pilger*BR**BR*'A major contribution... John Cooley's face-to-face exchanges with so many of the key personalities who have shaped [the Arab world] give his observations a depth and a vitality that will captivate many people. ... Only someone who has been 'embedded' in the region for almost half a century could catch the nuances of the underlying tragedy that has contributed to the threat we refer to in simplistic terms as 'terrorism'.' Ray Close, former CIA Station Chief in Saudi Arabia*BR**BR*'The Iraq war is unintelligible without the history John Cooley's brave new book provides. The ancient Jewish communities of the Middle East were sacrificed during the 20th century to the selfish games of nationalist politicians and spy/entrepreneurs. British, Americans and Israelis had better read Cooley carefully if they hope to save the Christians and Kurds of Iraq from the deadly consequences of the current intervention.' Brady Kiesling, former US Diplomat in various Arab capitals who resigned in protest against George W. Bush's middle east policy*BR**BR*The ruins of ancient Babylon still stand in Iraq. They are a reminder that today's conflict is only one of many that have engulfed the country, and the wider Middle East, over the centuries.*BR**BR*John Cooley, a former correspondent for ABC News and the Christian Science Monitor, argues that America's new invasion and occupation of Iraq marks a turning point in the West's relationship with the Arab world, and alters the balance of power within the Middle East. *BR**BR*He argues that the crucial factor in this new development is the relationship between Israel and the United States. Examining today's problems from this unique perspective, Cooley covers a broad sweep of history, from biblical Babylonian times until now. He shows how US and Israeli interests in the Middle East were contradictory at first. He explains how and why the US-Israel alliance gradually evolved.*BR**BR*Drawing from unpublished sources, as well as from John Cooley's personal encounters with principal players such as David ben-Gurion, the Shah of Iran, Anwar al-Sadat, King Hussein of Jordan and Saddam Hussein himself, this book gives a uniquely valuable perspective on the complex history of Iraq and why it continues to be at the heart of world affairs.*BR**BR*Praise for John Cooley's previous book, Unholy Wars:*BR**BR*'The definitive account.' Guardian*BR**BR*'[A] masterpiece of reportorial thoroughness, painstaking research, and serious reflection.'Edward W. Said*BR**BR*'Cooley's first-hand familiarity with both the Middle East and Central Asia is nearly unrivaled.' Los Angeles Times Book Review

Tired of Cold War political analysis about post-Cold War events, zero-sum game theories, and world history as only one war after another? Disobedient Histories in Ancient and Modern Times: Regionalism, Governance, War and Peace breaks tradition by considering some alternative Western and non-Western international relations theories found in historical, anthropological, literary, archaeological, genetic and physical evidence from some ancient and modern societies in Europe, Africa and Asia. Chapters in this comparative history book explore the deep backstory of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Association for Southeast Asian Nations, Scandinavian Progressivism in international development, Welsh cultural preservation, North African feminism and political traditions in Tunisia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Other chapters explore the backstory of ideas leading to the rise of the ultranationalist National Front political party and the Charlie Hebdo magazine attack in France and also the zombie economics behind Boko Haram in Nigeria. The international relations theories in these disobedient histories suggest that the global peace, prosperity and dignity present in the United Nations Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals are viable.

The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world.