Post by dustdevil28 on Nov 25, 2012 12:05:45 GMT -8
This book came out a while back. I remember reading it a bit while I was in Iraq, but lost the book and just recently picked up another copy.
The book covers the battle the Marines had to undertake with Fallujah during 2004-2005. West, always a masterful historian seemlessly tells the stories of how Fallujah was when American forces arrived in 2003, and the simmering build up of the insurgency till 2004 when four blackwater guards were ambushed, killed, burned, mutilated, and strung from a bridge.
The flow of the book and the vividness of the writing is amazing, West does allow the reader to feel as though he is there, and to feel the frustrations of the Marines as they toil in a tedious counter-insurgency fight. For me the most interesting part was when the book reveals the Marines were ready to lay seige on fallujah back in April 2004, but were called off due to sunni protests against such action. The political will was not there, and marines were forced to keep a defensive position instead of attacking within the city. It was only later when the situation got so bad that US forces could then enter the city with no political ramifications.
Other than the that, people here might find the book enjoyable for it's descriptions of the type of insurgents faced, to include dozens of foreign fighters. A description of how Abu Musab al Zarqawi used Fallujah as a factory to export terrorism, and the sad demise of Nicolous Berg.
Overall a good read I think all hear would enjoy.
-DD
The book covers the battle the Marines had to undertake with Fallujah during 2004-2005. West, always a masterful historian seemlessly tells the stories of how Fallujah was when American forces arrived in 2003, and the simmering build up of the insurgency till 2004 when four blackwater guards were ambushed, killed, burned, mutilated, and strung from a bridge.
The flow of the book and the vividness of the writing is amazing, West does allow the reader to feel as though he is there, and to feel the frustrations of the Marines as they toil in a tedious counter-insurgency fight. For me the most interesting part was when the book reveals the Marines were ready to lay seige on fallujah back in April 2004, but were called off due to sunni protests against such action. The political will was not there, and marines were forced to keep a defensive position instead of attacking within the city. It was only later when the situation got so bad that US forces could then enter the city with no political ramifications.
Other than the that, people here might find the book enjoyable for it's descriptions of the type of insurgents faced, to include dozens of foreign fighters. A description of how Abu Musab al Zarqawi used Fallujah as a factory to export terrorism, and the sad demise of Nicolous Berg.
Overall a good read I think all hear would enjoy.
-DD