Breaking Iraq

by Terry Turchie, Ted Spain

The unvarnished account of a brigade commander’s tour of duty in Baghdad during the first chaotic year of the American occupation following the 2003 invasion. What went wrong and what was wrong with the U.S. military is closely examined.

The ten major mistakes made in Washington and on the battlefield are brought to light in this fascinating book. Foreword by Pulitzer Prize author, Tom Ricks.

310 pages, Hardcover

First published March 19, 2013

Reviews

[Brian Thiem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, I met COL Ted Spain, served in Iraq at the same time as he did, and have enormous respect for him as a leader and military cop. His book took me back to 2003 and the challenges of the Iraq War. I agree with 95% of the problems he highlights in his interesting and well-written book (I don't care who it is, but I always disagree with some of their opinions). Along with his discussion of the problems, he presents solutions for future wars of this sort, interspaced with enough narrative stories to keep the book interesting and not merely an academic or government white paper. Those in the know who served in the early days of the Iraq War knew the strategy at the command authority level was largely based on wishful thinking, and if the people of Baghdad didn't waive flags and throw rose petals along the route of our U.S. military, we would need to figure out what to do next. That's not the way military leaders plan operations. I hope future leaders read this book before setting out on future wars so that maybe...just maybe...we don't make the same mistakes again.