Includes bibliographical references (p. [291]-309) and index.

Intriguing, controversial, and terrifying, Out of the Ashes exposes for the first time ever the internal feuds between covert CIA operators that doomed the secret operations to bring down Saddam Hussein in what was the biggest intelligence debacle since the Bay of Pigs.

First-rate investigative journalists Andrew and Patrick Cockburn courted danger to cover the story from inside Iraq. They offer surprising insights into the psyche of the man who has terrorized democracy worldwide and made astonishing comebacks In the face of repeated attempts from inside and outside Iraq to eliminate him.

Out of the Ashes lifts the veil on the Iraqi royal family, introducing the sons -- Uday, once heir to Saddam's reign, and Uday's equally terrifying younger brother, Qusay -- Saddam's mistress, his bodyguards, and his extended tribal family, whose greed and power struggles may yet prove to be his undoing. Out of the Ashes also sheds new light on Saddam Hussein's most treasured possessions, his weapons of mass destruction, and why he will never give them up.