As a writer I had the space to try to humanize him without sanitizing him. That was my mission: to try to see the world from behind his eyes in order to explain his otherwise inexplicable behavior. Steve Coll Access Episodes Ad-Free on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.edu Read Justin Kempf's essay "The Revolution Will Be Podcasted." A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com. Steve Coll is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has served as President and CEO of New America and the Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is currently a staff writer at The New Yorker. His most recent book is The Achilles’ Trap: Saddam Hussein, the CIA, and the Origins of America’s Invasion of Iraq. Key Highlights Introduction - 0:20Saddam Hussein - 2:56Iran-Iraq War - 10:22WMD - 27:062003 American Invasion - 46:03Key Links The Achilles’ Trap: Saddam Hussein, the CIA, and the Origins of America’s Invasion of Iraq by Steve Coll “How Iraq was Lost” by Robert Kaplan in The New Statesman (Book Review of The Achilles' Trap) Read more from Steve Coll at The New Yorker Democracy Paradox Podcast Robert Kaplan on the Politics of the Past and Future of the Greater Middle East Steven Simon on American Foreign Policy in the Middle East including Iran and the Wars in Iraq More Episodes from the Podcast More Information Apes of the State created all Music Email the show at [email protected] Follow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast 100 Books on Democracy Support the show