The Twilight War
The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
"An important and timely book that should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding how the United States and Iran went from close allies to enduring enemies." —The Washington Post
"Deserves a spot on the short list of must-read books on United States-Iran relations." —The New York Times
The dramatic secret history of the undeclared, ongoing war between the U.S. and Iran — the story behind the headlines.
The United States and Iran have been engaged in an unacknowledged secret war since the 1970s. This conflict has frustrated multiple American presidents, divided administrations, and repeatedly threatened to bring the two nations to the brink of open warfare. Drawing upon unparalleled access to senior officials and key documents of several U.S. administrations, David Crist, a senior historian in the federal government, breaks new ground on virtually every page of The Twilight War. From the Iranian Revolution to secret negotiations between Iran and the United States after 9/11, from Iran’s nuclear program to the secretive and deadly role of Qasem Soleimani, Crist brings vital new depth to our understanding of “the Iran problem”—and what the future of this tense relationship may bring.
For anyone seeing a deep perspective on the ongoing conflict between America, Israel and Iran, The Twilight War is essential reading.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this well-researched book, historian and former marine Crist makes the case that the United States is already enmeshed in a hidden war with Iran that has raged unacknowledged for decades. This shadow war is characterized by espionage, assassination plots, and frequent eruptions of open hostilities, and exacerbated by egregious missteps and blunders by both sides. (Crist loses no time in labeling the American invasion of Iraq, for instance, as one of the "worst planned campaigns ever executed by the U.S. military.") Enriched by hundreds of interviews with key players as well as the author's own experiences in the Persian Gulf, this is a comprehensive and readable account of American-Iranian hostilities since the 1979 revolution. Crist reveals many previously unreported details of recent maneuverings, such as the provenance of the Stuxnet virus and the backstory of the bizarre case of Shahram Amiri (the nuclear scientist who defected to the U.S. and then posted videos on YouTube claiming that he was being held captive by the CIA), but the broad outlines of the narrative are not nearly as "secret" as the subtitle implies. If there is a moral to this story, it may be that despite the furious machinations of the world's intelligence agencies, critical change points more often than not hinge on blind luck and happenstance.
