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The Gamble: General David Petraeus And The American Military Adventure In Iraq, 2006-2008 (2009)

by Thomas E. Ricks(Favorite Author)

3.98 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1594201978 (ISBN13: 9781594201974)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Penguin Press

review 1: This is Ricks' follow-up to his previous book called Fiasco that covered the build up and first 4 to 5 years of the Iraq War. While Fiasco literally made me stick to my stomach - reading the incompetency of U.S. leadership in getting into and conducting the war, The Gamble provides some glimpse of hope for the road ahead. The books covers the rise of General Petraeus and General Odierno and the rise of the counterinsurgency school of thought in fighting in Iraq. I thought the most interesting parts revolved around the internal "coup" the went on in the U.S. military and ultimately lead to Petraeus being given control of the war. The complexity of the fight and all the factors working against one another make one's mind spin. Although the U.S. now seems to be making ma... moreny of the right moves, Ricks is realistic in his assessment that this is going to be an extremely long fight and that U.S. patience is bound to run out sooner rather than later. Perhaps the best analogy that was brought up in the book compared the Iraq War to the Cold War. A great read and I highly recommend it along with Fiasco for anyone interested in better understanding the history of the Iraq War.
review 2: A very good inside look at the "surge." I listed to the audiobook. Gives you a great understanding of the facts on the ground in Iraq before, during, and just after the surge. My criticism is that it gives little praise to Bush for deciding on the surge strategy. For example, the author is overflowing with praise for new Sec of Defense Gates, but ignores the fact that Bush would have had to select him for the role! No time is spent analyzing why Bush chose Gates. This is offset by the less-than-stellar performance Obama had in the role he played leading up to and during the surge. less

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