The Gamble: General David Petraeus & the American Military Adventure in Iraq 2006-08 by Thomas E. Ricks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A fascinating indepth analysis of changling military strategy in Iraq focused mostly 2006-7. Basically, this covers the period from obvious need of reassessment to a policy of greater engagement and ultiamtely the surge. From Bush to the dawn of Obama's involvement, this is centered around Petraeus' entre into the mess. It is particularly enlightening how cooperation and engagement went further than bullets and bombs and I was moved by the comment of British peace activist and Mideast expert (and Petraeus advisor) that she hated war but loved the U.S. military and that America "doesn't deserve it's military"
By and large, this recalls to me Sir Winston Churchill’s analysis of the American way of addressing challenges: "The Americans Will Always Do the Right Thing…After They Have Exhausted All the Alternatives". Unfortunately for Iraq, and us, the consequences of those alternatives will last into the forseeable future.
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