Talking to strangers: The struggle to rebuild Iraq's foreign ministry

This book is written by an Iraqi (Ghassan) and an American (David), both professional diplomats, caught up in the chaos of Baghdad following the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. The two of us came together in late April of 2003 at the looted and burned Foreign Ministry and worked to get the Ministry up and running. Our personal stories unfold against the backdrop of events familiar to all who followed the news in Iraqi in 2003: the switch in U.S. civilian leadership from Jay Gardner to Jerry Bremer, the May 16 de-Ba'athification decree and the steady unraveling of the security situation.