The Reckoning
Sandra Mackey is the author of The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein, published by W.W. Norton and Company. Ms. Mackey trace… read more
Sandra Mackey is the author of The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein, published by W.W. Norton and Company. Ms. Mackey traces the history of Iraq from its biblical roots to the present day. She contends that the Iraqi people, a combination of Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims and Kurds, have never had a national identity or a sense of common purpose. She further asserts that a post-Saddam Iraq could experience conflict at an even more volatile level. Ms. Mackey states that Saddam Hussein seized power after a prolonged period of local chaos. His regime, with its emphasis on the country’s Arab roots, has pitted the various ethnic groups, religious interests, and tribes against each other, thereby causing destruction of Iraq’s middle class and civilized society. She concludes that the country will disintegrate into separate warring factions unless there is a strong American presence in the region for several years. A question and answer period follows Ms. Mackey’s presentation. close
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Sandra Mackey Author
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The Reckoning