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Thorough and very enlightening narrative and analysis of what we did right and what we did wrong
I most heartily recommend this book for anyone who wants a balanced and critical analyis of why the immediate aftermath of the defeat of Iraq went so badly. The book relates how the Bush administration and its thoroughly incompetent administrators turned what could possibly have been a benign peace into a ruthless and violent insurgency. The book also relates how abominably the Iraqi people themselves can pull together with any measure of decency or competence. The author does not reserve all of his political criticisms to the Bush people. The democrats also come in for their fair share, some of it scathing. However the truly scorching political criticism is given to the totally ineffectual, corrupt, and venal Iraqi politicians. General Petraeus has co-authored a book on the surge. I recommend Mr. West's book instead since West pulls no punches and does not have a military career to protect. He thus portrays all of the fools and miscreants in a harsh light. Our own fighting troops come in for deserved and unrestrained praise. As an interesting aside. Our oversight of Iraq can be compared to the Army of occupation of Japan after World War II. In the latter instance, General MacArthur was literally the head of state and ruled absolutely. He was the total and complete sovereign and would simply over rule any of the perfidies of the Japanese politicians, and would blythly ignore or accept Washington directives as he saw fit. He also brooked no interference or dissent from the Pentagon or the press. Perhaps if we had had a wise and omnipotent ruler like General MacArthur who would have simply turned a deaf ear to the stupidities of the Bush people, or sent them packing, things would be much different.
[Saturday, November 22, 2008]
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One of the best overviews of Iraq to date
Bing West provides an outstanding look at why Iraq was heading off of cliff and what it took to stabilize the country. His in depth writing covers a wide range of challenges facing the Unites States and Iraqi's. For me the book really hit home as to how much of an undertaking must occur to secure a few city blocks let alone an entire region. The honor and ferocity of how hard our armed forces have worked is a tremendous achievement. Take into conisderation the multiple times Mr. West has visited Iraq and you will gain an even deeper sense of appreciation and respect for his writing. Mr. West pulls no punches discussing our failures as well as our victories. It is tragic that the book ranks so low on Amazon's list.
[Friday, November 21, 2008]
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The best book on Iraq so far
I am a fan of Michael Yon and have written a review of his book Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope. This book is quite similar in that Bing West is an old Marine in far better shape than I could be and has spent months with the troops beginning early in the war. His book goes beyond Yon's book in that he has a background of strategic thought going back to Vietnam and a book he wrote about that war. It is not better, just more complete and I recommend both. He is harsh in his criticism of the army in the early days of the war, as is Yon. Both believe Fallujah to have been a mistake. West is also very critical of President Bush and his failure to take control of overall strategy when it became apparent that the army was drifting and had lost the initiative. Both Yon and West are very critical of General Sanchez. West doesn't say so but hints at something I have been aware of; the Marines were far better prepared for this war than the army was. They have been training for COIN tactics for a decade. The book goes into almost mind numbing detail on units but will be very useful to families and veterans who will want that detail about their own service or that of loved ones. His last few chapters detail exactly how we won and why. He has harsh criticism for John Murtha and some of the other sunshine patriots in Congress. This will be the definitive book on Iraq for some time and is a classic. I have already passed it on to some Marine friends for their reading. I recommend it.
[Tuesday, November 18, 2008]
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