In more than half a century of living in, visiting, reading about, and discussing events in Iraq, four years of planning American policy on Iraq and many months of writing essays and books on Iraq, I have incurred debts to many friends, colleagues, teachers, and students in Iraq, America, Britain, Russia, and elsewhere. I cannot name them all but I must name a few: Costa Halkias, my first host in Baghdad; Adib al-Jadir, my first guide to Iraqi affairs; Sumaiyah Zahawi, who in 1952 illuminated a then-new dimension of Iraq for me; Michael Adams, the late Howard K. Smith, the late Murray Kempton, Neil Sheehan, John Cooley, Saïd Aburish, Jonathan Randal, Eric Rouleau, Peter Scholl-Latour, and Charles Glass were among the outstanding journalists it has been my privilege to count as friends. From them and, above all, from my brother, George Polk, I have received early and constant inspiration. To Sir Hamilton Gibb, Sir Edward Evans Pritchard, Emrys Peters, Albert Hourani, and Chaim Rabin I owe unmeasurable debts for teaching facts, techniques, and inspiration. Among fellow historians, I can name but a few from whose works on aspects of this book I have profited, Jacques Berque, Moshe Ma’oz, Charles Issawi, Philip Ireland, Steven Longrigg, Frank Stoakes, Majid Khadduri, Gabriel Baer, Hanna Batatu, Yitzhak Nakash, and Phoebe Marr. Among government officials, I have shared opinions, agreements, and arguments with Evgeni Primakov, McGeorge Bundy, Walt Rostow, Chester Bowles, Hume Horan, James Spain, Thomas Hughes, Lord Caradon, U Thant, Sir David Gore-Booth, Zaid ar-Rifai, and Nadia Younes. None of the above, of course, should be blamed for any mistakes I may have made.
My editor, Cass Canfield, Jr., and my literary agent, Sterling Lord, have been supportive throughout the task of writing. The generosity of William Polk Carey made the devotion of my time to the project possible. Last, I am greatly indebted to my wife, Elisabeth, and to my children, Milbry, Alison, George, and Eliza, and to my longtime dear friend Cooper Blankenship, for their continued support and affection through this literary venture and other trials and tribulations.