Debriefing the President Audiobook By John Nixon cover art

Debriefing the President

The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein

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Debriefing the President

By: John Nixon
Narrated by: John Nixon
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Debriefing the President presents an astounding, candid portrait of one of our era’s most notorious strongmen. John Nixon, the first man to conduct a prolonged interrogation of Hussein after his capture, offers expert insight into the history and mind of America’s most enigmatic enemy.

In December 2003, after one of the largest, most aggressive manhunts in history, US military forces captured Iraqi president Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit. Beset by body-double rumors and false alarms during a nine-month search, the Bush administration needed positive identification of the prisoner before it could make the announcement that would rocket around the world.

At the time John Nixon was a senior CIA leadership analyst who had spent years studying the Iraqi dictator. Called upon to make the official ID, Nixon looked for telltale scars and tribal tattoos and asked Hussein a list of questions only he could answer. The man was indeed Saddam Hussein, but, as Nixon learned in the ensuing weeks, both he and America had greatly misunderstood just who Saddam Hussein really was.

After years of parsing Hussein's leadership from afar, Nixon faithfully recounts his debriefing sessions and subsequently strips away the mythology surrounding an equally brutal and complex man. His account is not an apology but a sobering examination of how preconceived ideas led Washington policymakers - and the Bush White House - astray. Unflinching and unprecedented, Debriefing the President exposes a fundamental misreading of one of the modern world's most central figures and presents a new narrative that boldly counters the received account.

©2016 John Nixon (P)2016 Penguin Audio
21st Century Freedom & Security History & Theory Intelligence & Espionage Iraq War Middle East Military Modern National & International Security Political Science Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Presidents & Heads of State Wars & Conflicts World Thought-Provoking Inspiring
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Critic reviews

"A damning indictment of the perversion of a major intelligence service by little minds inside and above it." (The Times of London)

“That a CIA officer should hold power to account in a memoir is unusual, and patriotic. John Nixon has done so with insight and style. Debriefing the President is a page turner of historical consequence - excellent news for the republic in treacherous times.” (Nick McDonell, author of Twelve and The End of Major Combat Operations)

"A fascinating glimpse of the "tough, shrewd, manipulative" leader and his views on the U.S. invasion, Iraqi history, and his own role in the Middle East...An intelligent and readable postscript to the Iraq War that will be valuable for future historians." (Kirkus, starred review)

Fascinating Insights • Historical Significance • Engaging Narration • Honest Approach • Valuable Perspective
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Enjoyed listening to a historical event told by someone with firsthand knowledge, learned a lot about Iraq Sadam & our players in this mess

Great story Very educational

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I really enjoyed the book, but I wish it hadn't been so heavily redacted by the CIA. You still follow the basics of the story, but it would be much richer with the details that have been cut out to protect secrets.

Great Story

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The writer clearly knows a lot about Saddam, and it really shows through in this book. unfortunately, he also clearly has a grudge the CIA and political leadership. I understand his frustration, and it's good to point out the political and beaurocrat problems. But it consumes large swaths of an otherwise short book, and smacks of complaining without any road to resolution.

insightful, but very biased

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This production reflected... [ The following 16 lines has been redacted by the reviewer ] .. and that's the core value attained.

Good insights.. please read review

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If you take out “the following phrase has been redacted by the CIA publication review board” then you would have a much more enjoyable book. However, it seems that the author is making a passive aggressive stab his old organization Bilo leaving this unseemly, clunky, disruption throughout the book rather than simply re-riding those passages and a way that would make sense to the reader And still satisfy the Secret obsessed bureaucratic overlords of the CIA. This disruption we’re not so great in the flow of the book, it would definitely be a five star very worthwhile enjoyable listen with Jean in size worth serious consideration by An expert on the subject.

Following phrase has been redacted

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The image of through-mainstream-media-pitched Saddam Hussein has been given a realistic mundane and real world, much more day-to-day side of the man by the author of this mind boggling read!
This story is bound to leave each of its readers feeling regretful of the fate of the man!

Furthermore , THE MORE one is bound to feel pity for Saddam, after having read this personal account of conversations with the man, THE MORE ONE IS BOUND TO FEEL SHAME FOR THE FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS AND OUT-OF-THEIR-INTELLECTUAL-DEPTH depiction of what jerks G.W. BUSH and the NEOCONS (most of whom with considerable ties to Jewish and Israeli institutions, activists and contacts among those who were in charge of the USA at the time! Great read, perfect story!

I HOPE THE UNCLASSIFIED BITS WILL BE CONTINUOUSLY PUBLISHED WHEN CIA CENSORSHIP WILL CEASE TO STAY CLASSIFIED!

What a starý! WHAT A READ!

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The author demonstrates a very incisive intelligence. He has first-hand knowledge of the events that he is writing about. This is not an opinion book.
I recommend this book to everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and learning from it.

Great Book

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Huge insight into the Bush administration and more so into Saddam Hussein. There's a lot that went on in the Iraq war that was clearly not covered by the American media, press, or intelligence regarding who Saddam was or why he did what he did. It also remains as a cautionary tale for future administrations of the presidency and why it is so important to have a president that can both deal with domestic issues as well as foreign issues as well and for the last three administrations, it's hard to see why the rest of the world disliked the United States so much, given our level of irresponsibility.

This audiobook is a must listen for anyone interested in political science, Saddam Hussein, or just want some insight into what happened in Iraq.

Great Listen

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Wasn't really interested in all the CIA and president stuff. It was just okay but wanted more insight into Sadam.

Not what I expected..

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I am greatly impressed with John Nixon's book. It shows an intimate look at Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush and the Administration from 2001-2009 and the first year of Barack Obama's Presidency and Administration, specifically on Iraq. For those whom protested or supported the 2003 Iraq war, this is the book we have been waiting for. A book with an honest and knowledgeable view of that war and the attitudes during that time.

Yes Saddam was evil, yet the Arab spring could have destroyed him or his successor. But whether then or earlier the best solution would have been for Iraq to overthrow him via another General after Saddam, or popular uprising. John Nixon was right in that even though we could have salvaged our fight in Iraq, we made no effort to save it out of Intellectual Laziness or crude ego over our pride (Our and We referring to Bush's Government) to have won the war.

I appreciated his honest approach in the book and explanation on how American leaders misunderstanding of the tools like the CIA and intelligence hurt our countries effort to be number one in the world (even gave dirt on Bill Clinton) which is a lesson I feel our Current Leader Donald Trump may repeat this mistake.

I highly recommend this book.

An Engaged look at 2003-2009 in Iraq and America

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