Why We Lost

Why We Lost
Author: Daniel P. Bolger
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 565
Release: 2014
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0544370481

A high-ranking general's gripping insider account of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how it all went wrong. Over a thirty-five-year career, Daniel Bolger rose through the army infantry to become a three-star general, commanding in both theaters of the U.S. campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He participated in meetings with top-level military and civilian players, where strategy was made and managed. At the same time, he regularly carried a rifle alongside rank-and-file soldiers in combat actions, unusual for a general. Now, as a witness to all levels of military command, Bolger offers a unique assessment of these wars, from 9/11 to the final withdrawal from the region. Writing with hard-won experience and unflinching honesty, Bolger makes the firm case that in Iraq and in Afghanistan, we lost -- but we didn't have to. Intelligence was garbled. Key decision makers were blinded by spreadsheets or theories. And, at the root of our failure, we never really understood our enemy. Why We Lost is a timely, forceful, and compulsively readable account of these wars from a fresh and authoritative perspective.

Revisions in Need of Revising: What Went Wrong in the Iraq War

Revisions in Need of Revising: What Went Wrong in the Iraq War
Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 44
Release: 2005
Genre:
ISBN: 1428916431

David C. Hendrickson and Robert W. Tucker examine the contentious debate over the Iraq war and occupation, focusing on the critique that the Bush administration squandered an historic opportunity to reconstruct the Iraqi state because of various critical blunders in planning. Though they conclude that critics have made a number of telling points against the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war, they argue that the most serious problems facing Iraq and its American occupiers -- criminal anarchy and lawlessness, a raging insurgency, and a society divided into rival and antagonistic groups -- were virtually inevitable consequences that flowed from the act of war itself. Military and civilian planners were culpable in failing to plan for certain tasks, but the most serious problems had no good solution. The authors draw attention to a variety of lessons, including the danger that the imperatives of "force protection" may sacrifice the broader political mission of U.S. forces and the need for skepticism over the capacity of outsiders to develop the skill and expertise required to reconstruct decapitated states.

Every War Must End

Every War Must End
Author: Fred Charles Iklé
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2005
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780231136662

"Every War Must End" analyzes the many critical obstacles to ending a war -- an aspect of military strategy that is frequently and tragically overlooked. Ikli considers a variety of examples from twentieth-century history and examines specific strategies that effectively "won the peace." In the new preface, Ikli explains how U.S. political decisions and military strategy and tactics in Iraq have delayed, and indeed jeopardized, a successful end to hostilities.

Revisions in Need of Revising

Revisions in Need of Revising
Author: David C. Hendrickson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005
Genre: Electronic government information
ISBN: 9781584872191

Though critics have made a number of telling points against the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war, the most serious problems facing Iraq and its American occupiers--criminal anarchy and lawlessness, a raging insurgency and a society divided into rival and antagonistic groups--were virtually inevitable consequences that flowed from the act of war itself. Military and civilian planners were culpable in failing to plan for certain tasks, but the most serious problems had no good solution. Even so, there are lessons to be learned. These include the danger that the imperatives of "force protection" may sacrifice the broader political mission of U.S. forces and the need for skepticism over the capacity of outsiders to develop the skill and expertise required to reconstruct decapitated states.

Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy

Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy
Author: Ole R. Holsti
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 1996
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780472066193

Explores the role of public opinion in the conduct of foreign relations.

The Iraq Study Group Report

The Iraq Study Group Report
Author: Iraq Study Group (U.S.)
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2006-12-06
Genre: History
ISBN:

Presents the findings of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which was formed in 2006 to examine the situation in Iraq and offer suggestions for the American military's future involvement in the region.

Intelligence Wars

Intelligence Wars
Author: Thomas Powers
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Total Pages: 548
Release: 2004-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781590170984

This updated edition contains new analysis on the situation in Iraq and the war against terrorism. Sold over 10,000 copies in hardcover. No one outside the intelligence services knows more about their culture than Thomas Powers. In this book he tells stories of shadowy successes, ghastly failures, and, more often, gripping uncertainties. They range from the CIA's long cold war struggle with its Russian adversary to debates about the use of secret intelligence in a democratic society, and urgent contemporary issues such as whether the CIA and the FBI can defend America against terrorism.

Lies My Teacher Told Me

Lies My Teacher Told Me
Author: James W. Loewen
Publisher: The New Press
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN: 1595583262

Criticizes the way history is presented in current textbooks, and suggests a more accurate approach to teaching American history.

They Fought for Each Other

They Fought for Each Other
Author: Kelly Kennedy
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2010-03-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1429910046

They Fought for Each Other presents a searing chronicle of the soldiers of Battalion 1-26 who confronted the worst neighborhood in Baghdad and lost more men than any battalion since the Vietnam War. Based on "Blood Brothers," the award-nominated series that ran in Army Times, this is the remarkable story of a courageous military unit that sacrificed their lives to change Adhamiya, Iraq from a lawless town where insurgents roamed freely, to a safe and secure neighborhood. Army Times writer Kelly Kennedy was embedded with Charlie Company in 2007, went on patrol with the soldiers and spent hours in combat support hospitals, leading to this riveting chronicle of an Army battalion that lost 31 soldiers in Iraq. During that period, one soldier threw himself on a grenade to save his friends, a well-liked first sergeant shot himself to death in front of his troops, and a platoon staged a mutiny. The men of Charlie 1-26 would earn at least 95 combat awards, including one soldier who would go home with three Purple Hearts and a lost dream. This is a timeless story of men at war and a heartbreaking account of American sacrifice in Iraq.

Seducing America

Seducing America
Author: Roderick P. Hart
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Total Pages: 223
Release: 1998-07-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1452251460

Roderick P. Hart′s revised edition of Seducing America is an eye-opening look at how television′s format of presenting politics to its viewers has changed the way television-watching citizens act, vote, and feel about politics in this country. While television makes us feel knowledgeable, important, informed, and close to our political representatives, it disguises dissatisfaction with the political system and with ourselves. Hart′s rigorous blend of rhetorical and statistical research plus his eloquent and passionate writing make this book a superb supplementary text for political communication and media studies courses that will help engage students in provocative discussions about media and politics.