War and Decision by by former Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith is an important book that has received far too little attention. Feith was Undersecretary for Policy during the first part of the Bush Administration (43, not 41) and as such had an important role in shaping Defense Department policy in the wars both in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is hard to have any rational discussion of the Iraq War if you haven’t read Feith’s book.

The book is well researched and well documented, as one would expect from an author who is also a lawyer. Feith provides copies of supporting documents in the book and more importantly, links to source documents on his web site and others.

He does a good job dispelling some of the myths of the rationale for going to war against Iraq, as well as insights into the policy battles between the State Department and the Department of Defense. Perhaps this is the most important topic in the book as Feith shows how the State Department implemented it’s preferred policy in Iraq even though the President had authorized a totally different approach.

No matter which side of the debate you are on, this is a must read book to have any understanding of what transpired.