A Very Short Introduction to Trying to Invade Iraq

[Cain]

Nothing comes immediately to mind, sorry.  One of the best general books on Geopolitics is Zones of Conflict: US Foreign Policy in the Balkans and Greater Middle East by by Vassilis Fouskas, which details EU and US foreign policy to do with Greece, Turkey and Cyprus mostly, from which you could possibly glean some general ideas and principles - transport routes of major energy resources and commodities, security and buffer zones etc

[Triple Zero]

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/10/15/clinton_official_iraq_hugh_shelton

...one of the Cabinet members present leaned over to me and said, "Hugh, I know I shouldn't even be asking you this, but what we really need in order to go in and take out Saddam is a precipitous event — something that would make us look good in the eyes of the world. Could you have one of our U-2s fly low enough — and slow enough — so as to guarantee that Saddam could shoot it down?"
The hair on the back of my neck bristled, my teeth clenched, and my fists tightened. I was so mad I was about to explode. I looked across the table, thinking about the pilot in the U-2 and responded, "Of course we can ..." which prompted a big smile on the official's face.

"You can?" was the excited reply.

"Why, of course we can," I countered. "Just as soon as we get your ass qualified to fly it, I will have it flown just as low and slow as you want to go."

Hah, when I first read this bit, I thought it was sarcasm /  satire, like that story where Bush and Cheney and Powell are planning the 9/11 Inside Job