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The Occupation of Iraq

Involved for over thirty years in the politics of Iraq, Ali A. Allawi was a long-time opposition leader against the Baathist regime. In the post-Saddam years he has held important government positions and participated in crucial national decisions and events. In this book, the former Minister of Defense and Finance draws on his unique personal experience, extensive relationships with members of the main political groups and parties in Iraq, and deep understanding of the history and society of his country to answer the baffling questions that persist about its current crises. What really led the United States to invade Iraq, and why have events failed to unfold as planned? The Occupation of Iraq examines what the United States did and didn’t know at the time of the invasion, the reasons for the confused and contradictory policies that were enacted, and the emergence of the Iraqi political class during the difficult transition process. The book tracks the growth of the insurgency and illuminates the complex relationships among Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds. Bringing the discussion forward to the reconfiguration of political forces in 2006, Allawi provides in these pages the clearest view to date of the modern history of Iraq and the invasion that changed its course in unpredicted ways.

Why We Lost: A General's Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

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.

The Choice of War

A longtime scholar of the Cold War deftly weaves together the tradition of "just war" and an examination of current events to show how the time-honored concepts of jus ad bellum (justice of war) and jus in bello (justice in war) apply to the U.S. military involvement in Iraq. This timely analysis of President George W. Bush's foreign policy deals with the cornerstone of his administrations--the "war on terror"--as implemented in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, and at Abu Ghraib prison. The Choice of War: The Iraq War and the "Just War" Tradition discusses NSS 2002, the national security statement that became the blueprint for the Bush Doctrine. It explains the differences and similarities between preventive and pre-emptive war and explores the administration's justification of the necessity of the March 2003 invasion. Finally, it analyzes the conduct of the war, the occupation, and the post-occupation phases of the conflict. In evaluating the Bush Doctrine, both as declared strategy and as implemented, Albert L. Weeks asks whether going it virtually alone in the global struggle against 21st-century terrorism should be incorporated permanently into American political and military policy. Answering no, he suggests an alternative to a doctrine that has isolated the United States and left the world divided.

Band of Sisters

In Iraq, the front lines are everywhere . . . and everywhere in Iraq, no matter what their job descriptions say, women in the U.S. military are fighting--more than 155,000 of them. A critical and commercial success in hardcover, Band of Sisters presents a dozen groundbreaking and often heart-wrenching stories of American women in combat in Iraq, such as the U.S.'s first female pilot to be shot down and survive, the military's first black female pilot in combat, a young turret gunner defending convoys, and a nurse struggling to save lives, including her own. AUTHOR: Kirsten Holmstedt has appeared on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, CNN, C-SPAN's BookTV, and numerous local television and radio stations nationwide. An award-winning writer with twenty years of experience, she lives in North Carolina. SELLING POINTS: Now available in paperback Winner of the 2007 American Authors Association Golden Quill Award Winner of the 2007 Military Writers Society of America Founder's Award 70 colour photos

The Girls Come Marching Home

In her award-winning Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq, Kirsten Holmstedt described how female soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are fighting on the front lines in Iraq despite the military's ban on women in combat. Now Holmstedt tells the stories of America's fighting women as they come home from Iraq. Some return with grave physical wounds, but all struggle with the psychological toll of battle while readjusting to life at home. As Holmstedt so poignantly shows, these women may have left the war, but the war will never leave them. AUTHOR: Kirsten Holmstedt graduated from Drake University's School of Journalism and the University of North Carolina Wilmington's master of fine arts program in creative writing. She has testified before Congress, spoken to countless businesses, colleges, and civic and military groups around the country, and done interviews for national TV and radio. She lives in North Carolina. SELLING POINTS: *Deeply personal and emotional accounts of more than a dozen American soldiers returning home from the war in Iraq; includes women from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard *Inspiring stories of courage while recovering from both physical and psychological wounds along with the frustrations of navigating the military bureaucracy to get help *How combat affects someone's entire life, including her family and friends ILLUSTRATIONS 16 page colour section

The Good Soldiers

The Prequel to the BestsellingThank You for Your Service, Now a Major Motion Picture WithTheGood Soldiers, Pulitzer Prize-winningreporter David Finkel has produced an eternal story -- not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time. It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. It became known as "the surge." Among those called to carry it out were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them. Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home -- forever changed. The chronicle of their tour is gripping, devastating, and deeply illuminating for anyone with an interest in human conflict. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR: THE NEW YORK TIMES CHICAGO TRIBUNE SLATE.COM THE BOSTON GLOBE THE KANSAS CITY STAR THE PLAIN DEALER (CLEVELAND) THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR WINNER OF THE HELEN BERNSTEIN BOOK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM