Synopses & Reviews
The Greatest Threat is the "brutally candid" inside story of the West's failure to stop Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from building weapons of mass destruction (
Booklist). The West may face no greater enemy than Saddam, and yet, as Butler makes so clear in this riveting and troubling book, the West would rather ignore his regime than face the problem.
As the head of UNSCOM, the special United Nations Commission assigned to inspect Iraq for weapons violations, Butler was the West's "sheriff" but his authority, and the world's security, was continually undermined from behind his back. Iraq was left armed and dangerous, to its own people, to the surrounding nations, and to the rest of the world.
The trade paperback edition of The Greatest Threat has been updated with a new chapter on new developments in the world's relationship with Iraq.
Review
"A scathing indictment of the bumbling and cynical diplomacy of the United Nations peacekeeping efforts and...a scary, vivid documentary on the distance that a madman's war-making obsession can travel when it goes unchecked." The Houston Chronicle
Review
"Butler's remarkable story can be ignored only at the world's peril." Publishers Weekly
Review
"An unnerving, first-hand glimpse at how thwarted UN policies failed to disarm dangerous Iraqi weapons....Butler writes more like a diplomat than a spy novelist, but his nightmarish scenarios are all too real." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A story rich in vivid detail....It does not rewrite the history of the world's relations with Saddam Hussein. Yet the book fills in many important gaps..." Barbara Crosette, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Saddam Hussein no longer checked by UN arm's inspectors is most likely creating weapons of mass destruction again....Richard Butler's gripping account of the unsuccessful struggle to disarm Iraq reads like a suspense thriller populated by fascinating characters. His message, however, is deadly serious: unchecked development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons is the greatest threat to life on earth." James F. Hoge, Jr., Foreign Affairs Magazine
Review
"Despite or perhaps because of Butler's palpable anger, this is a chilling and persuasive work. Strongly recommended..." Library Journal
Synopsis
"The Greatest Threat is the ""brutally candid"" inside story of the West's failure to stop Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from building weapons of mass destruction (Booklist)."
About the Author
Ambassador Richard Butler was appointed to lead UNSCOM on July 1, 1997. From 1992 to 1997, Butler was the Australian Ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations. In 1994 Butler was elected President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, in 1995 he chaired the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and in 1996 Butler led the United Nations to adopt a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. Butler is now Diplomat in Residence at the Council on Foreign Relations. He and his wife live in New York.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Map of Iraq and Surrounding Regions xiv
Introduction xv
1. A Glimpse of Terror 1
2. Peace as a Career 12
3. To Disarm Saddam 34
4. The Summons 55
5. What Honeymoon? 72
6. The Russians Make Their Move 93
7. The Resistance Stiffens 111
8. Kofi Annan Goes to Baghdad 127
9. Road Map to Nowhere 155
10. The Five-Dollar Bet 169
11. The Final Deception 187
12. Desert Fox and the Twilight of UNSCOM 200
13. Son of UNSCOM 222
14. Conclusion: The Principle of the Exception 233
Notes on Sources 243
Index 249