Keegan, John. The Iraq War. New York: Knopf, 2004. Keegan, John. The Iraq War. New York: Knopf, 2004.
Reese, DIJ 14.1 (2005), is impressed with the author's "picture of grand (coalition) strategy and the conflict's place in the global war on terrorism.... [H]e helps us appreciate the coalition aspects of the war." However, Keegan "is not impressed with the clumsy American transition to stability operations."
Kusnetz, Marc, with William M. Arkin, Montgomery Meigs, and Neal Shapiro. Operation Iraqi Freedom: 22 Historic Days in Words and Pictures. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel, 2003.
Warner, Studies 48.1, comments that "[f]or a brief summary of the war's events and drama, this [NBC News] volume is hard to beat." However, there is a tendency to "overemphasize the triumphs and sacrifices of the embedded NBC reporters, cameramen, and producers."
Mockaitis, Thomas R. Iraq and the Challenge of Counterinsurgency. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2008.
Keiser, Proceedings 134.10 (Oct. 2008), notes that the author believes that behind the mistakes made in Iraq "are longer term structural deficiencies." Mockaitis' "recommendations regarding the absolute need for our Services to greatly strengthen COIN training and organization make good sense."
Murray, Williamson, and Robert H. Scales, Jr. The Iraq War: A Military History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003.
Freedman, FA, Jan.-Feb. 2004, says that "the academic depth of Williamson Murray and the professional experience of Major General Robert Scales ensure that their lively account of the war against Iraq is a superior, authoritative product." Reese, DIJ 14.1 (2005), calls this a "good old-fashioned campaign study." The authors "craft a smooth narrative portraying tactics, operations, and strategy in a manner friendly to both serious and casual students of warfare."
For Warner, Studies 48.1, the authors "offer a clear and readable text ... that covers all phases of the war effort. They tell us relatively little about decisions made in Washington and London, or even at Central Command Forward in Doha, Qatar, but they nevertheless present some thoughtful observations in a chapter entitled 'Military and Political Implications.'"
Record, Jeffrey. Dark Victory: America's Second War against Iraq. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2005.
Cordesman, NWCR 59.1 (Winter 2006), finds that this critique of the Iraq war "provides many important insights into the reasons for the war and for its successes and failures." However, this book "is a policy argument, not a dispassionate analysis, and needs to be read as such. There are also times when his focus on the argument gets in the way of his analysis." Nevertheless, "this is a remarkably insightful book, one that raises precisely the issues that need to be resolved when assessing the Iraq war and shaping an American strategic posture for the future."
Ricks, Thomas E. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. New York: Penguin, 2006.
Freedman, FA 85.5 (Sep.-Oct. 2006), calls this a "thorough look at the inability of the U.S. forces to adjust quickly and sensitively after the invasion to the reality of an insurgency." However, "[t]he book suffers from its narrow focus," and "there is little on the enemy and the nature of the insurgency." In addition, "[t]he British experiences in southern Iraq are not chronicled at all."
For Little, Proceedings (Sep. 2006), this book includes "a brutal assault on the White House and Pentagon." However, it "is much more than simply a blunt condemnation of the war's military and civilian leaders, and its depth of reporting and detailed reconstruction of recent history should make it hard to ignore.... [T]he book offers a sober and enlightened account that deserves to be taken seriously."
Peake, Studies 51.1 (Mar. 2007), sees Fiasco as "a critical, although not antagonistic, depiction of the war in Iraq.... Ricks covers the Washington side of events to some extent, but his main emphasis is on the situation in Iraq, how it came about, and the ignored lessons of history.... No element of the national secuity community escapes blame" for the fiasco that is Iraq.
Robinson, Linda. Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq. New York: PublicAffairs, 2008.
Freedman, FA 88.1 (Jan.-Feb. 2009), comments that while the author's "attention is set on the high-achieving general and his steely focus on the task at hand," she also "does a good job of setting the scene and explaining the many factors that let the first glimmers of light into what had been unremitting gloom."
Tenet, George J., with Bill Harlow. At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
Click for comments and reviews.
Tucker, Mike, and Charles Faddis. Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq. Guildford, CT: Lyons, 2008.
Keiser, Proceedings 135.1 (Jan. 2009), calls this an "engaging account" of the activities of an eight-man, CIA-led counterterrorist team in Iraqi Kurdistan prior to and during the formal invasion of Iraq in March 2003. However, "the book's epilogue is disappointing because it detracts from impressive combat actions by lurching into a largely unrelated agenda."
West, Bing. The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq. New York: Random House, 2008.
Freedman, FA 88.1 (Jan.-Feb. 2009), says that the author "provides a full account of how the war has appeared to those doing the fighting."
West, Bing, and Ray L. Smith. The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division. New York: Bantam, 2003.
Warner, Studies 48.1, finds that "[t]his book is a reflection on the nature of war, and a well-told story."
Woodward, Bob. Plan of Attack. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004
Series of five articles adapted from Plan of Attack, "a behind-the-scenes account of how and why President Bush decided to go to war against Iraq."
1. "Behind Diplomatic Moves, Military Plan Was Launched: 'We're Going to Have to Go to War,' Bush Said to Rice." Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2004, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
2. "With CIA Push, Movement to War Accelerated: Agency's Estimate of Saddam Hussein's Arsenal Became the White House's Rationale for Invasion." Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2004, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
3. "Cheney Was Unwavering in Desire to Go to War: Tension Between Vice President and Powell Grew Deeper as Both Tried to Guide Bush's Decision." Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2004, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
4. "Blair Steady in Support: 'I'm There to the Very End,' Prime Minister Told Bush." Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2004, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
5. "U.S. Aimed For Hussein As War Began: CIA Informants Told of His Suspected Whereabouts." Washington Post, 22 Apr. 2004, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
Wright, Evan. Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War. New York: Putnam, 2004. New York: Berkley, 2005. [pb]
The author was an embedded journalist with a platoon of First Reconnaissance Battalion Marines in the invasion of Iraq. This book is an expanded version of a three-part series in Rolling Stone magazine.
Zinni, Tony [GEN/USA (Ret.)], and Tony Koltz. The Battle for Peace: A Frontline Vision of America's Power and Purpose. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Borene, Intelligencer 15.2 (Fall/Winter 2006-2007), refers to this work as "a stinging criticism of the White House handling of Operation Iraqi Freedom and of our 'stove-piped' national security infrastructure. Acting constructively, Zinni also presents fresh ideas to improve the defiiencies he sees.... Zinni delivers a reformation plan to enhance interagency unity of effort and provide an expeditionary capability for the civil component of civil-military operations."
Zinsmeister, Karl. Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq. New York: St. Martin's, 2003.
Warner, Studies 48.1, finds that the author tells "a fast-paced story of urban fighting," as the 82nd cleared the southern city of Samawah. The "book is a travelogue with no index or maps -- and some gratuitous political asides."
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