'Review from previous edition A uniquely clear and lucid account of the workings and background of the UN Security Council's fateful refusal to legitimize US military action against Iraq in 2003 and of the international fall-out of Operation Iraqi Freedom.' Sir Brian Urquhart, New York Review of Books 'This book provides an illuminating account of the 25 years of tangled Security Council involvement with Iraq.It is a fascinating portrait of the changing and often conflicting uses of the Security Council by the major powers, played out against a backdrop of shifting security threats, geopolitical realities, and U.S foreign policy ambitions.This book is essential reading for those who want to use the lessons of the Security Council's tumultuous encounter with Iraq to guide UN reform. ' John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs 'Iraq has long been a recurring item on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council. Drawing on unparalleled access to UN insiders, David Malone, a former Canadian ambassador to the UN and former president of the International Peace Academy, offers an illuminating and fascinating account of the impact of the Security Council on Iraq -- and Iraq's impact on the UN -- from 1980 to 2005. Though the entire work is an important addition to the understanding of modern Iraq, Malone's analysis of the recent history of UN involvement in Iraq, and the "crisis of confidence" within the UN when it was largely sidelined following the march to war by a "coalition of the willing" without a Council mandate, will stand as a vital, must-read study.

' The Toronto Globe and Mail 'David Malone's excellent and comprehensive new history of the interaction between the UN and its most troublesome member-state, Iraq, should be very welcome to Australian readers.This is a work of history written for the specialist, but the layperson will benefit from it too.' Australian Book Review 'Avoiding the politics- and media-driven ideological assaults that characterize much of the public discussion of the UN these days, this scholarly book analyzes the flow of events to build towards conclusions on how the Security Council can do better in the future.' Rami G Khouri, Agence Global.