Revolt on the Tigris: The Al-Sadr Uprising and the Governing of Iraq

In October of 2003, fresh from a Cambridge degree in international relations, ex-paratrooper and conflict management expert Etherington—who served with the European Community Monitor Force in the former Yugoslavia—was charged by the Coalition Provisional Authority with the nearly impossible task of governing the Wasit province in southern Iraq. Etherington's literate, stoic and dryly humorous prose echoes his self-acknowledged "English sense of reserve" and his low-key management style, and is in sharply ironic contrast to the chaos, mismanagement and physical danger he finds in postinvasion Iraq. His climactic account of the uprising that occurred under the leadership of Moqtada al-Sadr is a tour-de-force of war reporting; at times a comedy of errors and, at others, a terrifying drama of suspense, it brings the surrealism of the 21st century battlefield sharply to life. Though a qualified supporter of the war, Etherington provides a measured and intelligent critique of almost every aspect of the coalition's postwar planning. Particularly devastating are his detailed descriptions of the chronic lack of security caused by too few troops and the influence that corporations had on operational planning. But Etherington's annoyance is neither cynical nor defeatist, and his faith in the ultimate viability of a renewed Iraqi state—with intelligent planning and support—is convincing no matter which way one stands on the invasion. Anyone seriously interested either in the future of that beleaguered nation or the possibilities of intelligent diplomacy would do well to read this firsthand account. (Nov.)