Hitchens is not an authority on the War on Iraq. He was in favor of it. So the fact that he claims Feith's work is a triumph for the pro-invasionists, pro-imperialists crowd is selfserving and prejudice.

First) the motivations, objectives, and purposes for invading Iraq was determined years before 2001. Did Feith mention that? Or did he drop everything within the 9/11/01 framework like the entire situation played out?

Second) the mastermind for the cause to invade and colonize Iraq was Paul Wolfowitz, who in turn is a student of the mastermind Samuel Huntington. Huntington wrote the pivotal Clash of Civilizations remaking of the world order wherein he called for the use of military power to advance American interests and Western 'civilization' over the Muslim world in order to thwart the rise of a Muslim state, and to insure American global primacy even at the cost and detriment to the Muslim world. Wolfowitz veered off from Huntington's definitive clash to include a modern version of classic colonization: invade, occupy, set up an native govt espousing democracy.

Third) the PNAC was the think tank which used the invasion of Iraq as the cornerstone to illustrate America's global primacy and the use of military power to retain and maintain that primacy, aka empire. The mission statement of the PNAC showed this clearly, and Feith, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Jeb Bush, Elliot Abrams, even Richard Armitage, were all signatories to this statement. Even the meaning of the PNAC suggests this: Project for a New American Century.

Fourth) the Un inspections regime was infiltrated by US spies with the unmentioned motive to justify military actions against Saddam. Clinton signed the PNAC lobbying effort to oust Saddam. So the cause was already there way back in 1996-98 when the inspectors were pulled out by US demands, not because of Saddam. UN inspector Scott Ritter, a whistleblower, has stated many times that the inspection regiment was compromised by the Neo Cons, then led by the Clinton regime, through the Pentagon, as well as through spies from other countries working with America.

I highly doubt Feith delved into the nuances of espionage and Us military fervor for the PNAC agenda as demostrated in the inspections regiment and the US blockade.