Professor John Mearsheimer is perhaps the most well-known political scientist in the world today. This is due in large part to his many appearances on important podcast platforms regarding Israel's war on Iran. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor in the University of Chicago's prestigious department of political science. His teaching and research are in the field of international relations. In addition to this book, I have purchased two of his other books that I look forward to reading: Liddell Hart and the Weight of History (1988) and The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy with Stephen M. Walt (2007).

The topic of lying is limited in the book to international affairs, a topic that is relatively underdeveloped in political science literature, despite its empirical relevance. Political lying in the domestic realm is rampant, even epidemic, and, of course, long standing. Politicians in a democratic setting lie about their campaign promises and daily activities on a regular basis. Perhaps this is something that the majority of voters just assume to be a constant and uncontrollable state of affairs.

It is interesting that Mearsheimer uses the example of the US's lies about Saddam Hussain to introduce the subject of the book. While 3 out of the 4 listed lies are clearly true, the first and primary lie is open to interpretation. The "lie" was the Bush administration claim that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction but never were able to reveal any evidence of such WMDs after conquering the nation.

The reason I hesitate to blame the Bush administration is that the US and the UK governments did provide Saddam with WMD in his previous invasion of Iran, and he even gassed his own people! The Reagan administration's provision of Saddam with WMD led me to accept the notion that Saddam did have WMDs and I was mightily surprised they could find no evidence. What kind of dictatorship, empire, or fascist state would renounce and dispose of their WMDs and production facilities?