Ali argues against the view that sees imperialist occupation as the only viable solution to bring about regime-change in corrupt and dictatorial states. He argues that economic, Political and strategic interests are clear.

Imperial interventions in the past created a layer of collaborators who could only be removed via a revolution; but the tragedy of Iraq is also self-inflicted, as the radical colonels, courageous communists and burnt-out Ba'athists failed to establish a stable and just democratic republic, thus enabling a return visit by imperialism. Like the author's previous work, "Clash of Fundamentalisms", this work presents a cultural history and a heart-felt homage to the great poets of Iraq and the Arab world whose influence remained strong throughout their long periods of exile, and who are united in poetic resistance to the latest catastrophe.