About this title: "Fiasco," Ricks's #1 "New York Times" bestseller, transformed the political dialogue on the war in Iraq. "The Gamble," the story of Gen. David Petraeus and the American military, reveals that many high-level officials were opposed to the 2003 invasion.
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Description: New. 0143144103 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! NEW Book! May have remainder mark. Most orders ship within 1 BUSINESS DAY with ORDER CONFIRMATION. Great Book at a Great Value! read more
Edition: 1ST
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Date Published: 2/10/2009
ISBN-13:9781594201974ISBN:1594201978
Description: Very Good. 1594201978 Hard cover copy that has very little wear to the cover of the book. The binding is tight and the pages are clean throughout. Nice copy. Expedited shipping available. Fast shipping. read more
Description: New. AUDIOBOOK. NOT A BOOK! Please order accordingly! All Audiobooks are in the original factory sealed shrinkwrap box! Box may show signs of dents, etc. All CD's Are guaranteed to play! Audio CD, New, 2009, read more
Binding: Audio CD
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780143144106ISBN:0143144103
Description: Very Good. Unused Audio CD! ! Plastic wrapped. Remainder mark on one end. Very light shelf wear to box. Orders shipped next business day. Tracking number provided. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Former Library book. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781594201974ISBN:1594201978
Description: Fine in fine dust jacket. Near mint. Display area. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 394 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
"Much like its subject, this book demands a commitment; it is not an easy read. It is well written and worth the time, though. Focusing on Petraeus as something of a system-bucking intellectual, this book avoids the first three-four years of the war in Iraq that enrage me most of all. Successfully explaining what people mean when they say things like "the surge was tactically successful, but a strategic failure" and giving a thorough view of the strategic situation from 2006-2008, this is a far more informative source than I remember the nightly news being at the time. Not being a huge C-Span fan, all I really remembered about Petraeus' April 2008 Congressional testimony was the Daily Show's "Iraq me Dave Petraeus" theme song.
So: smart, well written, and will tell you why we're stuck in Iraq for twice the time we spent in Berlin post WWII. Read it."
"Second of Tom Rick's books about America in Iraq. Excellent and shows the tremendous difference it made when Petraeus converted the war to a counter-insurgency. The goal of war is to kill the enemy; the goal of counter-insurgency is to protect the people of the invaded country -- living among them, learning their culture and traditions, speaking their language -- in general, understanding the situation form THEIR subjectivities."
"Ricks, whose previous book "Fiasco" covers the first three years of the Iraqi War, continues his coverage in a book that draws from a large number of interviews with military and political leaders.
In 2006 American casualties were very high, the Iraqi government was not holding the country together, and domestic opposition to the war was at its highest peak yet. Military leaders, from the Joint Chiefs down, were stymied while the Bush administration continued to give overly-optimistic pictures of what was happening. A group of officers, frustrated by this trend and their immediate superiors' recalcitrance, go over those superiors' heads to higher authorities to push for a troop surge. One of them was Gen. David Petraeus.
The increased number of troops in Iraq, Ricks shows, was not the whole story. The whole American presence in Iraq changed drastically, from one of hunkering down in fortified compounds and venturing out only to raid suspected hideouts, to maintaining a constant presence in the population centers, interacting with Iraqi civilians and doing what was necessary to gain their trust. In addition, enlisting the help of Iraqi tribal leaders and militias--some came along right away, others resisted for some time--formed stronger bonds.
And, finally, General Petraeus took command of the troops in Iraq at roughly the same time.
Ricks recognizes that this conflict is far from winding down, even if casualty numbers have declined. His final chapter--projections for the future for Iraq and the region--is very sobering, but it is important to read.
I can't say I enjoyed reading this; but if you really want to understand our involvement in Iraq, this is worth reading."
"Excellent follow-up to Fiasco, describing the shift in Iraq from a war strategy to a counter-insurgency strategy, which appears to be bearing fruit...
Great writing, and great analysis. At one point the author observes that in World War II it took Roosevelt just three months to figure out the US started off on the wrong foot strategically, and in this case it took three years. I don't find that so amazing, for the Petraeus strategy in fact implies that it was useless to go to war in the first place. After all the point of his strategy is that the terrorist WANTS to provoke you into an out of proportion response, because the ensuing chaos plays into the hands of the terrorist - which is exactly what Al Qaeda proved in Iraq. There was no Al Qaeda in Iraq before the US responded to a terror attack with a full blown war. The implication of the Petraeus strategy is that it should have been a police action in the first place and very surgical, for the unwarranted escalation created the problems that now has to be solved, not to mention undermined the chances of dealing effectively with Al Qaeda. Considering all of that it's amazing that GWB managed to change his view as he did and support this turnaround, undoing years of problems.
How well it's going to end even now is difficult to foretell. But it is truly amazing that this kind of profound analysis is available almost in real time, and these two books have helped me a lot in understanding better what news I do read."
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