The Greatest Threat Audiobook By Richard Butler cover art

The Greatest Threat

Iraq, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the Crisis of Global Security

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The Greatest Threat

By: Richard Butler
Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
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About this listen

 Civilization may face no greater enemy than Saddam Hussein, and yet, as Richard Butler makes clear in his gripping and terrifying The Greatest Threat, the major powers allowed Saddam to face them down. Richard Butler was not the type to surrender to the Iraqis, not when he knew what was at stake. As the head of UNSCOM, the special United Nations Commission that was supposed to regularly inspect Iraq for weapons violations, Butler was the world's "sheriff" - the one person on the ground with the authority to shut the Iraqis down if he caught them cheating. But that authority was undermined behind his back. Kofi Annan, in the name of diplomacy, agreed to Hussein's outrageous demands and then claimed victory. Russia's Foreign Minister took secret payoffs from the Iraqis in exchange for his support. The French, eager to do business with the dictator, undercut American efforts to force Hussein to comply. Butler found himself the target of a major Iraqi and Russian propaganda campaign and, ultimately, alone.

The Greatest Threat tells the inside story of the UN's failed attempt to stop Saddam and explains the terrible cost of that failure. A disturbing and important work, The Greatest Threat is essential listening for anyone who cares about the fate of the globe.

©2000 Richard Butler (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks Arms Control Freedom & Security Genre Fiction History & Theory International Relations Military Military Science National & International Security Political Science Politics & Government War & Military World United Nations History
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Critic reviews

"A story rich in vivid detail." (The New York Times Book Review )
"Butler's remarkable story can be ignored only at the world's peril." (Publishers Weekly )

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for rogerbrad

Excellent read

With the insights and background of Iraqi inspections revealed it helps to complete the understanding of why Iraq had to be stopped.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for David

Democrats are French

Clearly outlines overwhelming evidence that Sadam was amassing WMDs and the French, Russians and Chinese were stabbing the US in the back and turning a blind eye to Sadam's madness all for the sake of cheap oil. It also exposes the corruption and hypocrisy of the UN and its secretary general. It illustrates how wrong disloyal the democratic party was (again) and how they were willing to sell out the security our children and the world for quick political capital. Thank God someone had the courage to finally standup and actually stop Sadam, before we slipped past the point of no return into another holocaust... or worse.

BTW: Butler was an anti-republican Australian who dedicated his life to world peace and the reduction of nuclear and other WMDs. No puppet of the US, he was appointed by the UN as the cheif UNSCOM inspector and charged with ensure Sadam disarmed.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Greg

Outstanding and very enlightening

Thsi book details the events in Iraq up to 1999, and shows very explicitly the deceit, lies, concealment and cover ups by the regime in Iraq. It also details the back door dealing by the UN Security Council and the apparent weak stance toward Iraq. Worse, the three permanent members (France, Russia, China) are shown as courting Iraq in the UN and aiding their efforts to eliminate the inspections and continue to develop WMD. It is scary how close Iraq had come to getting this by the world. Worth a very serious and objective read.

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5 people found this helpful