I am a retired Army officer who served for 43 years. I was also in the Pentagon on 9/11 and knew that life as we knew it would change dramatically. The book I wrote, called The Impossible Mission, is about the drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq and the birth of a small contingent called OSC-I, which I had the privilege to command, with the mission to build the Iraqi security systems. This command allowed me to bring closure to the many years I had to deal with “the war on terrorism” both from a policy perspective and by leading America’s soldiers who were at the front lines fighting the war.
This book covers many of the topics my book is about, but from a perspective of serving in Iraq immediately after the Saddam Hussain defeat.
I know the author well, and she did a marvelous job laying the groundwork of Iraq’s challenges immediately after Saddam was captured, to where my book covers 8 years later at the U.S. Forces withdrawal.
I loved this book because the author did a great job capturing some very sensitive topics the U.S. forces faced early on in Iraq. The author also did a great job describing herself as an independent advisor who earned and won the respect of the U.S. senior commanders and became a huge influencer in developing U.S. policy in Iraq.
When Emma Sky volunteered to help rebuild Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, she had little idea what she was getting in to. Her assignment was only supposed to last three months. She went on to serve there longer than any other senior military or diplomatic figure, giving her an unrivaled perspective of the entire conflict.As the representative of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Kirkuk in 2003 and then the political advisor to US General Odierno from 2007-2010, Sky was valued for her knowledge of the region and her outspoken voice. She became a tireless witness to…
The author, Doug Feith, served as the Department of Defense’s Under Secretary for Policy and was the principal author of the rationale to go to war in Iraq. I served on the Joint Staff for Strategy and Policy, and worked extensively with Mr. Feith.
Why we went to war in Iraq was controversial, but Doug Feith does a marvelous job of connecting the dots, making the case why war with Iraq was essential in the War on Terror, and then developing the strategy to fight that war.
If anyone wants to know the background on why we went to war, you must read this book.
In War and Decision, former Pentagon policy chief Douglas J. Feith puts readers in the room with President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and others as they considered how to prevent another 9/11. Drawing on thousands of previously undisclosed written sources, Feith offers the first inside view of these events as they unfolded. Through vivid narrative, frank analysis, and elegant writing, his account forever changes our understanding of this challenging era.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
This book tells the story of war from a Soldier’s perspective. He tells the story of what war “actually feels like.”
You get to feel the fear, the bonds of brotherhood, the joys of living, the pain of loss, and to face mortal danger from the eyes of those who face it every day. You will experience war in ways no other American can experience it, and it will move you in a powerful way.
From the author of The Perfect Storm, a gripping book about Sebastian Junger's almost fatal year with the 2nd battalion of the American Army.
For 15 months, Sebastian Junger accompanied a single platoon of thirty men from the celebrated 2nd battalion of the U.S. Army, as they fought their way through a remote valley in Eastern Afghanistan. Over the course of five trips, Junger was in more firefights than he could count, men he knew were killed or wounded, and he himself was almost killed. His relationship with these soldiers grew so close that they considered him part of the…
As the former Commandant and Superintendent of West Point, I came to love and admire the young cadets who came to West Point to serve their country, knowing full well they would join an Army at war, putting their lives at risk, and yet they still came.
This book is about a West Point graduate who was not only a West Point graduate, but also a Rhodes Scholar, and after all of his education, found himself in the harsh and most deadly places in Afghanistan, leading a platoon of 40 young men who were in combat fighting for their lives and each other, almost every day.
This is a marvelous story, and it brought me closely into the lives of the junior leaders who are standing in the gap between the evil that threatens our nation and the American people. I can’t help but admire their strength, wisdom, commitment, honor, and character.
“The Unforgiving Minute is one of the most compelling memoirs yet to emerge from America's 9/11 era. Craig Mullaney has given us an unusually honest, funny, accessible, and vivid account of a soldier's coming of age. This is more than a soldier's story; it is a work of literature." —Steve Coll, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars and The Bin Ladens
"One of the most thoughtful and honest accounts ever written by a young Army officer confronting all the tests of life." —Bob Woodward
In this surprise bestseller, West Point grad, Rhodes scholar, Airborne Ranger, and U. S. Army…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
This is an emotional and moving story of a young officer who was badly injured in Iraq and lost all his eyesight from that injury.
But that did not stop him. He stayed on active duty, went to Duke and got his master's degree, returned to his alma mater, West Point, to command the headquarters company, and then taught the next generation of America’s Army leaders while at West Point.
If I want to see what is right with America, I need to go no further than to read this book about Captain Scotty Smiley. His story made me proud. It made me hurt for him. But it made me admire and respect him so much.
This is a story that will enlighten all of America, as it has enlightened me.
The inspiring, unflinching true story of "blind" faith, as Major Scotty Smiley awakes in a hospital bed and realizes his world is permanently dark he must stretch his faith like never before. Courageous, heartfelt, and honest, Hope Unseen challenges readers to question their doubts, not their beliefs, and depend upon God no matter what.
A nervous glance from a man in a parked car. Muted instincts from a soldier on patrol. Violent destruction followed by total darkness. Two weeks later, Scotty Smiley woke up in Walter Reed Army Medical Center, helpless . . . and blind.
This book will walk you through our decision to go to war in Iraq, President Obama’s decision to withdraw, and strategic issues behind that withdrawal. It is an eyewitness account of what occurred both during and after the withdrawal from both the U.S. and Iraqi perspectives.
It will show how a disenfranchised Sunni provided a safe haven for a resurrected radical Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and subsequently created a caliphate, which ultimately led to the return of U.S. forces working with the Iraqi military to defeat ISIS and their caliphate. It studies the Kurd and Arab issues over time, highlights Iranian influence on key Iraqi leadership, and the role of the U.S. military and diplomats through this sensitive time.
