An interesting book on a subject that does not have a lot of coverage. It's chapter arrangement by actor is sometimes confusing but in the end I saw why the writer used that method rather than a strictly chronological narrative.

One error in the book was that it talked about Reagan campaign staffers meeting with Iranians in Paris prior to November 1980 elections. This story has been debunked by many reliable sources.

Now that the U. S. led coalition has invaded Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power, the current fashion is to demonize him as much as possible. However, there was a time when the United States was strongly allied with Iraq when it was at war with Iran. The Iraqi invasion of Iran was launched by Saddam Hussein at a time when Iran appeared weak. His goal was to achieve a quick victory and gain control over the Shatt al Arab waterway and perhaps even some of the Iranian oilfields. Therefore, there was no doubt that Iraq was the aggressor.
However, this was a serious miscalculation on the part of Hussein, Iran did not fold and was able to counterattack and even occupy significant segments of Iraq. Once it appeared that Iran was militarily gaining the upper hand the United States weighed in heavily on the side of Iraq, even launching military attacks against Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf. In fact, it can be strongly argued that American support kept Iraq from being defeated. All throughout the war, U. S. spy satellites provided regular intelligence on Iranian troop movements, enabling the Iraqi forces to anticipate their attacks. The second reason why Iraq was able to fend off the Iranians is due to their extensive use of several types of poison gas in combat. Therefore, as is explained very well in this book, the United States was allied with a nation that launched an aggressive war against another nation and used poison gas, an explicit violation of several major international treaties. However, because an Iranian victory was considered contrary to U. S. interests, these actions were met with implicit approval.
The Iran-Iraq war was the longest declared war of the twentieth century, lasting eight years and ending right where it started. The political machinations among all the nations in that area were extensive, and they were very complex. Hiro explains the background of the shifting and partial alliances among the Muslim nations, detailing why each nation adopted the policies that they did. Considering that Iraq has been involved in two wars since then, one where Iraq invaded Kuwait and was clearly the aggressor, the Iran-Iraq war has not received the attention that it should. Many nations were eager to engage in commercial relations with Iraq during the conflict, even against stated international embargoes. Those contacts continued after the first gulf war, when Iraq was hit with economic sanctions. Some of these violations are now coming to light, but the origins are clearly described by Hiro.
With American troops now fighting in Iraq under the pretext that Saddam Hussein possessed chemical weapons and was willing to use them, it is forgotten that he received tacit approval when he used them against the Iranians. Given the dependence of Iraq on American assistance in the middle years of the Iran-Iraq war, Iraq could not have ignored a strong statement of U. S. disapproval of their use of chemical weapons. The U. S. sided with Iraq because it considered strong Iranian influence in Iraq to be contrary to the national interest. Now, recent reports are that Iranian agents are exerting strong influence in Iraq and the Iraqi Shi'ites are poised to take power in Iraq. This may lead to a religious based government in Iraq with close ties to Iran. Therefore, the American invasion may accomplish an Iranian goal that eight years of war could not.

"The Longest War" by Dilip Hiro provides a thorough political history of the Iran-Iraq conflict. Those with little to moderate exposure to the war will probably find it interesting, while more knowledgeable students of the era will most likely gain little insight, as it is largely based on press clippings.

Readers of other military histories will be disappointed to find a lack of primary evidence into motives; however, it is important remember that such evidence was not available at the time of publication, as it is with, for example, a history of World War II.

One interesting factor about this book is that it was (apparently) written prior to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991. This has positive and negative effects. For instance:

(1) Hiro does not have the benefit of being able to use future events to improve his analysis. For example, given the later invasion of Kuwait, Sadaam Hussein's invasion of Iran seems much more like a megalomaniac stab at natural resources (and their commensurate power) than the establishment of a bulwark against Shi'ite Islamism.

(2) Hiro's analysis does not suffer from bias created by later events. For example, American support of the Iraqi regime in the latter stages of the war is presented in the context of (a) Cold War competition with the Soviet Union, (b) protecting American interests in the gulf states from Iranian interference and (c) the political climate in America following the Iran-Contra affair. Today, it is common to see such support described as misguided or even hypocritical, given what happened in 1990-1 and in 2003. Hiro lays out reasons for American support to Iraq that were indeed very rational given what was known to American policymakers at the time.

Despite its small and squeezed font, the content is attractive as the book thoroughly covers the 8-year Iraq-Iran war.
With a good amount of information, mostly from news reports, Hiro produces an account of the history of animosity between the two oil rich neigbors.
Hiro extensively covers statements by Iraqi and Iranians officials and also includes statements by officials of foreign governments who were involced in the conflict.
Hiro, however, fails to describe the brutality of the Saddam Hussein regime and at times writes that the deposed Iraqi dictator enjoyed popular support. This is, by most other accounts, far from the truth.
Despite its extensive coverage, the book sometimes quickly surveys important issues such as the Iraqi usage of WMDs.
Hiro also reports, with minimum details, the tip of the balance in Iraqi favor. He does not provide enough information about the Iraqi military operations that reversed the course of the war.
Overall, the book is one of a few that documents one of the longest wars in modern history.

As Pres. Bush tries to talk everyone into supporting an attack on Iraq, this is a wonderful book for getting a little background on Saddam Hussein and Iraq. It doesn't give too much detail over his chemical weapons program, except how the use of Nerve and Mustard gas on the front was the tool that gave Saddam the ability to push the Iranians out of Iraq(and influence Iran's ability to recruit for the frontlines). The book uses GDP and other economic indicators throughout the middle east repeatedly to tell how the war was affecting the populaces involved. A very interesting read.

A thorough review of the religious and geopolitical, but not militry, history of the Iran Iraq war. The author provides little critical analysis in what is an almost textbook like format. There is extensive coverage of the political issues and of the internal battles fought by both of the combatants, especially Iraq, to maintain internal public support. When one reads how well Hussien managed the internal political challenges of the Iran Iraq war, his survival of the Gulf War seems less of a surprise. The economic issues of waging the war, an issue often left out of military history, is well documented. There is good analysis of the involvement of the superpowers and the legal and illegal sale of arms to both sides. There is only very minimal coverage of military strategy, tactics, and weapons and only a cursory description of the campaigns.

A thorough review of the religious and geopolitical, but not militry, history of the Iran Iraq war. The author provides little critical analysis in what is an almost textbook like format. There is extensive coverage of the political issues and of the internal battles fought by both of the combatants, especially Iraq, to maintain internal public support. When one reads how well Hussien managed the internal political challenges of the Iran Iraq war, his survival of the Gulf War seems less of a surprise. The economic issues of waging the war, an issue often left out of military history, is well documented. There is good analysis of the involvement of the superpowers and the legal and illegal sale of arms to both sides. There is only very minimal coverage of military strategy, tactics, and weapons and only a cursory description of the campaigns.

Read some of what we all been missing to know about the gulf war.

Lasting eight years, and at a cost of over a trillion dollars and a million casualties, this savage conflict (which featured chemical weapons and genocide against the Kurds), largely unknown to most Westerners, is far from over.
Hiro, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs, traces the ancient animosities and territorial aspirations which animated the slaughter, describes in detail the actual fighting, and connects the war to the Great Powers which covertly aided the belligerents.
Finally, in his Epilogue, he notes the "no war, no peace" status of the region and warns of an arms-race between Iran and Iraq, which bodes ill for the stability of an area which contains most of the world's crude oil reserves.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)