Summary

Part 8, the first in Book II, begins weeks after the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s rule due to the American invasion. Nada Bakos, interrogating a former senior intelligence official under Saddam, found her repeated queries about any ties between his organization and Zarqawi’s ineffective, as the despondent man did nothing but cry throughout questioning. This was just one of many failures throughout Iraq, as none of the weapons of mass destruction, used in part by the Bush administration to justify the invasion, could be located. Furthermore, no ties to al-Qaeda were evident, and the populace was quickly losing patience with the American presence. Eventually Bakos found a successful interrogation strategy: informing the official that he could speak to his wife for the first time since his capture. However, the resulting information was hardly satisfying: Zarqawi never worked with Saddam, he...