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 CollAccess Episodes Ad-Free on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.Proudly sponsored by the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Learn more at https://kellogg.nd.eduRead 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 HighlightsIntroduction - 0:20Saddam Hussein - 2:56Iran-Iraq War - 10:22WMD - 27:062003 American Invasion - 46:03Key LinksThe 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 YorkerDemocracy Paradox PodcastRobert Kaplan on the Politics of the Past and Future of the Greater Middle EastSteven Simon on American Foreign Policy in the Middle East including Iran and the Wars in IraqMore Episodes from the PodcastMore InformationApes of the State created all MusicEmail the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.comFollow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast100 Books on DemocracySupport the show