Download or read book Breaking Ranks written by Matthew C. Gutmann and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010-08-04 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Breaking Ranks eloquently documents the many ways that militarism infiltrates ordinary lives, and is a powerful reminder of the personal costs of war. A model of sensitive and perceptive analysis of oral history interviews, Breaking Ranks reaches its audience on many levels. It is essential reading for anyone concerned about better connecting intellectually and humanly with the current political moment."—Robert A. Rubinstein, The Maxwell School of Syracuse University "Breaking Ranks is extraordinarily well written, lively and compelling. This is the first book to combine gripping, personal stories of anti-war Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with rigorous academic analysis."—Aaron Glantz, author of The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans "As Matthew Gutmann and Catherine Lutz show in this timely and important book, soldiers can and do think on their own and come to political and ethical conclusions that often run contrary to what the military might want, expect, or portray. In Breaking Ranks, Gutmann and Lutz give us a valuable addition to our understanding of soldiers, politics, and ethics."—Andrew Bickford, George Mason University

Download or read book Breaking Iraq written by Ted Spain and published by History Publishing Company LLC. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unvarnished account of a brigade commander's tour of duty in Baghdad during the first chaotic year of the American occupation following the 2003 invasion. What went wrong and what was wrong with the U.S. military is closely examined. The ten major mistakes made in Washington and on the battlefield are brought to light in this fascinating book. Foreword by Pulitzer Prize author, Tom Ricks.

Download or read book Breaking Ranks written by Matthew C. Gutmann and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010-08-04 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Breaking Ranks brings a new and deeply personal perspective to the war in Iraq by looking into the lives of six veterans who turned against the war they helped to fight. Based on extensive interviews with each of the six, the book relates why they enlisted, their experiences in training and in early missions, their tours of combat, and what has happened to them since returning home. The compelling stories of this diverse cross section of the military recount how each journey to Iraq began with the sincere desire to do good. Matthew Gutmann and Catherine Anne Lutz show how each individual's experiences led to new moral and political understandings and ultimately to opposing the war.

Download or read book Saving Iraq written by Nemir Kirdar and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2009-07-23 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nemir Kirdar has lived Iraq's history. From the country of his youth - a stable and vibrant land of great promise, to the 1958 coup that plunged Iraq into a period of terror and destruction, foreign occupation, and the fall of Saddam Hussein, he's been uniquely placed to comment on events and propose solutions. Now Kirdar shares his vision for tomorrow's Iraq, providing a blueprint for political, economic and social renewal. Calling for Iraqis to rise up and unlock their nation's potential, Kirdar affirms that Iraq can again be unified. SAVING IRAQ is a personal account but also a book of global significance, offering steps towards resolution in a shattered country.

Download or read book Blind Into Baghdad written by James Fallows and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2009-02-25 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the autumn of 2002, Atlantic Monthly national correspondent James Fallows wrote an article predicting many of the problems America would face if it invaded Iraq. After events confirmed many of his predictions, Fallows went on to write some of the most acclaimed, award-winning journalism on the planning and execution of the war, much of which has been assigned as required reading within the U.S. military. In Blind Into Baghdad, Fallows takes us from the planning of the war through the struggles of reconstruction. With unparalleled access and incisive analysis, he shows us how many of the difficulties were anticipated by experts whom the administration ignored. Fallows examines how the war in Iraq undercut the larger ”war on terror” and why Iraq still had no army two years after the invasion. In a sobering conclusion, he interviews soldiers, spies, and diplomats to imagine how a war in Iran might play out. This is an important and essential book to understand where and how the war went wrong, and what it means for America.

Download or read book How to Break a Terrorist written by Matthew Alexander and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-11-27 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finding Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, had long been the U.S. military's top priority -- trumping even the search for Osama bin Laden. No brutality was spared in trying to squeeze intelligence from Zarqawi's suspected associates. But these "force on force" techniques yielded exactly nothing, and, in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal, the military rushed a new breed of interrogator to Iraq. Matthew Alexander, a former criminal investigator and head of a handpicked interrogation team, gives us the first inside look at the U.S. military's attempt at more civilized interrogation techniques -- and their astounding success. The intelligence coup that enabled the June 7, 2006, air strike onZarqawi's rural safe house was the result of several keenly strategized interrogations, none of which involved torture or even "control" tactics. Matthew and his team decided instead to get to know their opponents. Who were these monsters? Who were they working for? What were they trying to protect? Every day the "'gators" matched wits with a rogues' gallery of suspects brought in by Special Forces ("door kickers"): egomaniacs, bloodthirsty adolescents, opportunistic stereo repairmen, Sunni clerics horrified by the sectarian bloodbath, Al Qaeda fanatics, and good people in the wrong place at the wrong time. With most prisoners, negotiation was possible and psychological manipulation stunningly effective. But Matthew's commitment to cracking the case with these methods sometimes isolated his superiors and put his own career at risk. This account is an unputdownable thriller -- more of a psychological suspense story than a war memoir. And indeed, the story reaches far past the current conflict in Iraq with a reminder that we don't have to become our enemy to defeat him. Matthew Alexander and his ilk, subtle enough and flexible enough to adapt to the challenges of modern, asymmetrical warfare, have proved to be our best weapons against terrorists all over the world.

Download or read book Pipe Dreams written by Erin Banco and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A fascinating and revealing dive into the murky world of oil contracts that shape power and politics in Iraq." -- Loveday Morris, The Washington Post Jerusalem bureau chief Iraq sits on top of more than 140 billion barrels of oil, making it the owner of the world's fifth largest reserves. When the United States invaded in 2003, the Bush Administration promised that oil revenue would be used to rebuild and democratize the country. But fifteen years later, those dreams have been shattered. The Iraqi economy has flatlined, millions of people are internally displaced, and international institutions have had to provide billions of dollars in assistance to the country every year. Where did all the oil revenue go? Reporter Erin Banco traveled to oil-rich Iraqi Kurdistan--an autonomous region that holds, according to the regional government, some 45 billion barrels of crude--to uncover how widespread corruption, tribal cronyism, kickbacks to political parties, and the war with ISIS have contributed to the plundering of Iraq's oil wealth. The region's economy and political stability have been on the brink of collapse, and local people are suffering. Based on court documents and on exclusive interviews with sources who have investigated energy companies and their dealings with government officials, Pipe Dreams is a cautionary tale that reveals how the dream of an oil-financed, American-style democracy in Iraqi Kurdistan now looks like a completely unrealistic fantasy.

Download or read book What We Owe Iraq written by Noah Feldman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-10 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do we owe Iraq? America is up to its neck in nation building--but the public debate, focused on getting the troops home, devotes little attention to why we are building a new Iraqi nation, what success would look like, or what principles should guide us. What We Owe Iraq sets out to shift the terms of the debate, acknowledging that we are nation building to protect ourselves while demanding that we put the interests of the people being governed--whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, or elsewhere--ahead of our own when we exercise power over them. Noah Feldman argues that to prevent nation building from turning into a paternalistic, colonialist charade, we urgently need a new, humbler approach. Nation builders should focus on providing security, without arrogantly claiming any special expertise in how successful nation-states should be made. Drawing on his personal experiences in Iraq as a constitutional adviser, Feldman offers enduring insights into the power dynamics between the American occupiers and the Iraqis, and tackles issues such as Iraqi elections, the prospect of successful democratization, and the way home. Elections do not end the occupier's responsibility. Unless asked to leave, we must resist the temptation of a military pullout before a legitimately elected government can maintain order and govern effectively. But elections that create a legitimate democracy are also the only way a nation builder can put itself out of business and--eventually--send its troops home. Feldman's new afterword brings the Iraq story up-to-date since the book's original publication in 2004, and asks whether the United States has acted ethically in pushing the political process in Iraq while failing to control the security situation; it also revisits the question of when, and how, to withdraw.

Download or read book AL QAEDA IN IRAQ RESURGENT THE BREAKING THE WALLS CAMPAIGN PART I written by Jessica D. Lewis and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book How to Break a Terrorist written by Matthew Alexander and published by Free Press. This book was released on 2030-12-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first inside look at the U.S. military’s attempt at more civilized interrogation techniques—and their astounding success.

Download or read book Breaking the Cycle of Shame in Iraq written by Henriette Johansen and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Blunder written by Patrick Porter and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2018 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book is the first in-depth history of Britain's decision to invade Iraq since the Chilcot Inquiry released its report. The volume controversially argues that it was a blunder, or a careless failure of judgement" (ed.).

Download or read book Nowhere to Turn The Broken Road Home from Iraq written by Daniel Hutchison and published by Hutchison Publishing. This book was released on 2010-03-22 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nowhere to Turn takes you into the raw, unforgiving Iraq troop surge of 2007. Daniel Hutchison shares with you what this critical part of the war was like through the eyes of a Combat Medic. Returning home he had thought the bloody casualties and screams of the wounded were left behind in Baghdad. Yet,he is haunted by those lost on his watch and the faces of friends who did not come home with him. Nowhere to Turn takes you into the reality of one of the hardest battles our troops are facing: returning home.

Download or read book BREAKING THE CYCLE Iraq Following the Military Defeat of Islamic State written by Maria-Louise Clausen and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Iran Iraq War written by Pierre Razoux and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 679 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 1980 to 1988, Iran and Iraq fought the longest conventional war of the twentieth century. The tragedies included the slaughter of child soldiers, the use of chemical weapons, the striking of civilian shipping in the Gulf, and the destruction of cities. The Iran-Iraq War offers an unflinching look at a conflict seared into the region’s collective memory but little understood in the West. Pierre Razoux shows why this war remains central to understanding Middle Eastern geopolitics, from the deep-rooted distrust between Sunni and Shia Muslims, to Iran’s obsession with nuclear power, to the continuing struggles in Iraq. He provides invaluable keys to decipher Iran’s behavior and internal struggle today. Razoux’s account is based on unpublished military archives, oral histories, and interviews, as well as audio recordings seized by the U.S. Army detailing Saddam Hussein’s debates with his generals. Tracing the war’s shifting strategies and political dynamics—military operations, the jockeying of opposition forces within each regime, the impact on oil production so essential to both countries—Razoux also looks at the international picture. From the United States and Soviet Union to Israel, Europe, China, and the Arab powers, many nations meddled in this conflict, supporting one side or the other and sometimes switching allegiances. The Iran-Iraq War answers questions that have puzzled historians. Why did Saddam embark on this expensive, ultimately fruitless conflict? Why did the war last eight years when it could have ended in months? Who, if anyone, was the true winner when so much was lost?

Download or read book What I Heard About Iraq written by Eliot Weinberger and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Iraq War has unleashed such a torrent of opinion - impassioned polemic, neo-con apologia, world-weary cynicism - that it feels like the important truths are being lost in a media feeding-frenzy. Eliot Weinberger eschews the rehtoric of the soapbox in an extraordinary montage of facts, sound bites and testimonies. He assembles an uncompromising and blackly comic narrative, which permits the voices of the war to speak for themselves, and allows the protagonists to damn themselves in their own words. This pocket-sized volume is vast in scope, a work unlike any other you have read on Iraq, which finds an unexpected eloquence in its refusal to join in the facile grand-standing and selective amnesia of so much contemporary commentary.

Download or read book They Fought for Each Other written by Kelly Kennedy and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2010-03-02 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charlie 1-26 confronted one of the worst neighborhoods in Baghdad and lost more men than any battalion since Vietnam Based on "Blood Brothers", the Michael Kelly Awardnominated 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 secure neighborhood with open storefronts and a safe populace. 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. 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.