Target Basra

Target Basra
Author: Mike Rossiter
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2008-09-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1407034138

In the dead of night on 20 March 2003, Royal Navy Marines from 40 and 42 Commando board a fleet of twenty helicopters. With faces blackened and mouths dry at the thought of what lies ahead, they have been given the job of capturing the oil pipelines and pumping stations through which 90 per cent of Iraq's oil is exported, to seal off the whole of the Faw peninsula and hold it against any counter-attack by the Iraqi Army. They will be the first troops on the ground in Iraq, literally kicking the door down. They will also suffer the first allied casualties in the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Operation Telic was a bold and audacious break with military doctrine, a night-time airborne assault against heavily defended positions. With the Commandos lightly armed and isolated, the night-time landing was just the beginning. They were engaged in a series of fast-moving and hard-fought battles as they moved rapidly north until they reached the outskirts of Basra. Finally, after a two-day battle that broke the back of the Iraqi resistance, and eighteen days after their first contact with the enemy, Royal Marine Commandos entered the presidential palace in Basra. Told from the perspective, and with the cooperation of officers and men in the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, Target Basra is a story of courage, fortitude and the harsh realities of modern war, fought in the context of the turmoil of the Middle East.

On Target

On Target
Author: Richard G. Davis
Publisher: Department of the Air Force
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN:

Advise and Dissent is the personal odyssey of James Abourezk, from his coming of age as the son of Lebanese immigrants in South Dakota, through his hardscrabble days as a farmhand, bartender, bouncer, and cook, to his entrance into and voluntary exit from the U.S. Senate. His is a quintessentially American story that entertains as it challenges the thinking of our nation. Abourezk refused to compromise his beliefs. He championed Native American self-determination and demanded the creation of a Palestinian state. He challenged the flow of special interest money through political action committees and tried to overthrow the structure that keeps small farmers in an economic stranglehold. His memoir takes the reader on a remarkable and wise tour through the corridors of power. At a time of waning public confidence in government, he makes us realize the importance of participatory democracy.

Off Target

Off Target
Author: Jill Ammon Vanderwood
Publisher: Human Rights Watch
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2019-01-28
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN:

What would you do if your friend showed you a gun?You are new in town and it's your first day at a new school. Your neighbor, Trevor introduces you to a group of three boys and two girls. Right away you notice that Eric, one of the guys in the group, is being bullied at school. When you go to Eric's house with your new friends, he shows the group a fully loaded handgun that is left in his mother's nightstand. You are faced with some hard choices when someone suggests that Eric should take the gun to school.___________________________________________What should you do? It's time to choose a path: If you're worried that Eric will take the gun to school-continue on page 7.If you decide to take the gun to prevent anyone from being hurt-continue on page 9.If you leave the house with the others and plan to come back for target practice the next day-continue on page 10.____________________________________________Off Target is the first book in The Path You Choose series. You, the reader determine the outcome by the choices you make. Once you read one story, go back and choose a different story. There are thirteen possible endings in this book.What path will you choose

The Army Lawyer

The Army Lawyer
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 1176
Release: 2010
Genre: Courts-martial and courts of inquiry
ISBN:

From Kabul to Baghdad and Back

From Kabul to Baghdad and Back
Author: John R Ballard
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 410
Release: 2012-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612511686

From Kabul to Baghdad and Back provides insight into the key strategic decisions of the Afghan and Iraq campaigns as the United States attempted to wage both simultaneously against al-Qaeda and its supporting affiliates. It also evaluates the strategic execution of those military campaigns to identify how well the two operations were conducted in light of their political objectives. The book identifies the elements that made the 2001 military operation to oust the Taliban successful, then with combat operations in Iraq as a standard of comparison, the authors analyze the remainder of the Afghan campaign and the essential problems that plagued that effort, from the decision to go to war with Iraq in 2002, through the ill-fated transition to NATO lead in Afghanistan in 2006, the dismissal of Generals McKiernan and McChrystal, the eventual decision by President Obama to make the Afghan campaign the main effort in the war on extremism, and the final development of drawdown plans following the end of the war in Iraq. No other book successfully compares and contrasts the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan from a national strategic perspective, analyzing the impact of fighting the Iraq War on the success of the United States campaign in Afghanistan. It is also the first book to specifically question several key operational decisions in Afghanistan including: the decision to give NATO the lead in Afghanistan, the decisions to fire Generals McKiernan and McChrystal and the decision to conduct an Iraq War-style surge in Afghanistan. It also compares the Afghan campaigns fought by the Soviet Union and the United States, the counterinsurgency campaigns styles in Iraq and Afghanistan and the leadership of senior American officials in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In the final chapter, the key lessons of the two campaigns are outlined, including the importance of effective strategic decision-making, the utility of population focused counterinsurgency practices, the challenges of building partner capacity during combat, and the mindset required to prosecute modern war.

Blood, Metal and Dust

Blood, Metal and Dust
Author: Ben Barry
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 593
Release: 2020-11-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472831020

SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY 2021, THE BRITISH ARMY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021, AS A FINALIST FOR THE 2020 ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION DISTINGUISHED WRITING AWARDS. FIRST RUNNER UP IN THE TEMPLER MEDAL BOOK PRIZE 2021. 'With a soldier's eye for telling operational details, Ben Barry offers an authoritative, compelling and inevitably bleak account of the American and British campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.' Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London Newly revised and updated with in-depth analysis of the current situation in Afghanistan after American withdrawal, Blood, Metal and Dust is an authoritative account of how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were played out, explaining their underlying politics and telling the story of what happened on the ground. From the high-ranking officer who wrote the still-classified British military analysis of the war in Iraq comes the authoritative history of two conflicts which have overshadowed the beginning of the 21st century. Inextricably linked to the ongoing 'War on Terror', the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dominated more than a decade of international politics, and their influence is felt to this day. Blood, Metal and Dust is the first military history to offer a comprehensive overview of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, providing in-depth accounts of the operations undertaken by both US and UK forces. Brigadier Ben Barry explores the wars which shaped the modern Middle East, providing a detailed narrative of operations as they unfolded. With unparalleled access to official military accounts and extensive contacts in both the UK and the US militaries, Brigadier Barry is uniquely placed to tell the story of these controversial conflicts, and offers a rounded account of the international campaigns which irrevocably changed the global geopolitical landscape.

Special Forces in the War on Terror

Special Forces in the War on Terror
Author: Leigh Neville
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2015-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472813502

A fascinating insight into US and Coalition Special Forces operating in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Mali. Within weeks of 9/11, United States Special Operations Forces were dropping into Afghanistan to lead the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. For over a decade, special forces have been fighting a hidden war in Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, Mali and Afghanistan, facing off against a range of insurgents from organisations like al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Boko Haram and the Taliban. Leigh Neville draws on recently declassified material and first-hand-accounts from his SOF contacts to lift the veil of secrecy from these operations, giving an unprecedented blow-by-blow description of major Special Forces operations, culminating in SEAL Team 6's Operation Neptune Spear and the killing of Osama bin Laden. Detailing the special equipment, tactics, machinery and training that these Special Operatives received and used this impressive volume shows how the world's elite soldiers fought against overwhelming odds around the world.

Risk

Risk
Author: General Stanley McChrystal
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2021-10-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0593192206

From the bestselling author of Team of Teams and My Share of the Task, an entirely new way to understand risk and master the unknown. Retired four-star general Stan McChrystal has lived a life associated with the deadly risks of combat. From his first day at West Point, to his years in Afghanistan, to his efforts helping business leaders navigate a global pandemic, McChrystal has seen how individuals and organizations fail to mitigate risk. Why? Because they focus on the probability of something happening instead of the interface by which it can be managed. In this new book, General McChrystal offers a battle-tested system for detecting and responding to risk. Instead of defining risk as a force to predict, McChrystal and coauthor Anna Butrico show that there are in fact ten dimensions of control we can adjust at any given time. By closely monitoring these controls, we can maintain a healthy Risk Immune System that allows us to effectively anticipate, identify, analyze, and act upon the ever-present possibility that things will not go as planned. Drawing on examples ranging from military history to the business world, and offering practical exercises to improve preparedness, McChrystal illustrates how these ten factors are always in effect, and how by considering them, individuals and organizations can exert mastery over every conceivable sort of risk that they might face. We may not be able to see the future, but with McChrystal’s hard-won guidance, we can improve our resistance and build a strong defense against what we know—and what we don't.

Salam Pax

Salam Pax
Author: Salam Pax
Publisher: Grove Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2003
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780802140449

"Bringing these writings together for the first time, Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi provides one of the most gripping accounts of the Iraqi conflict."--Jacket.