In other Iraq news, a former Iraqi cabinet member has authored a new book harshly criticizing the U.S. occupation. Ali Allawi has served as Iraq’s trade, defense and finance minister since 2003. Allawi writes: “The corroded and corrupt state of Saddam was replaced by the corroded, inefficient, incompetent and corrupt state of the new order.” Allawi also criticizes what he calls the Bush administration’s “monumental ignorance,” “rank amateurism” and “swaggering arrogance” in running Iraq.