We've seen four years of bloodshed and mayhem in Iraq since US President George Bush announced that major combat operations were over. A controversial new book called The Mess They Made says America is now losing the war it once believed it had won. Written by Canadian historian and author, Gwynne Dyer, it asks how this has happened and what the future holds for a badly destabilised Middle East.

Dyer has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years. Originally trained as an historian he was born in St John's, Newfoundland, Canada, and joined the Royal Canadian Navy at the age of 16, later obtaining a BA in history, an MA in military history and a PhD in Military and Middle Eastern History.

In 1973 he began writing articles for leading London newspapers on the Arab-Israeli conflict and soon abandoned academic life for a full-time career in journalism.
In 1985 he was nominated for an Oscar for his documentary television series, War, based on his own military experience, which examined the peace movement's fears about the risk of nuclear war in the 1980s.

Dyer's twice-weekly column on international affairs is published by 175 papers in 45 countries and is translated into more than a dozen languages. The most frequent subjects of the column are international military and political affairs and, more recently, the environment.
His latest book, The Mess They Made is published by Scribe. His previous publications include War: The Lethal Custom (1985) and Ignorant Armies: Sliding Into War in Iraq (2003).

Dyer, is in Australia for the Sydney Writers' Festival. He spoke this week with SUNDAY's Ray Martin …

For more information, visit www.gwynnedyer.net

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