Offering a portrait of the clandestine world of international arms dealing, this is an investigative report on the men, companies and governments who, since the mid-1970s, have helped to transform Iraq from a relatively insignificant oil state into a regional superpower. After the triumph of Operation Desert Storm, questions are still unanswered: what is Iraq's military capability?; and where did Saddam Hussein get the armaments to provoke the Gulf War? In detailing the Iraqi arms build-up, this book apportions blame to the Western countries and companies which supplied Saddam with weapons. Over a six-year period, Kenneth Timmerman made frequent visits to Iraq and interviewed men involved in its strategic weapons programme. He exposes what he describes as a conspiracy of silence in London, Washington, Paris and Bonn, where repeated warnings of Iraq's intentions were ignored, and argues that Saddam could never have brought about the Gulf War without the co-operation of Western governments.