Waging Peace: A Special Operations Team's Battle to Rebuild Iraq

by Rob Schultheis

Gripping, on-the-ground reportage of Special Operations soldiers struggling to rebuild a shattered neighborhood in Baghdad

The U.S. Army Civil Affairs Corps has a unique role within the modern military: these elite, highly trained soldiers are sent to combat zones after the primary fighting has ended to help rebuild war-ravaged regions. Working among the local population in seven- member teams, unprotected by other US forces, they work to restore power grids and sewer lines, get hospitals and schools up and running, and bring order to devastated lands while winning the hearts and minds of a conquered people. Today, these unheralded Civil Affairs soldiers are being tested as never before in the streets and villages of Iraq—where the future of the nation could be decided by whether or not they succeed.

In Waging Peace, veteran war correspondent Rob Schultheis takes you into West Baghdad with Civil Affairs Team A-13 as they face death threats, ambushes, and roadside bombs while struggling to revitalize a neighborhood scarred by battle and three decades of corruption and neglect under Saddam Hussein’s tyrannical rule. Along the way he brings to life the unforgettable men and women of CAT-A13: a former Peace Corps volunteer whose taste for the exotic local cuisine leads to surprising alliances with the local shopkeepers; a southern California surfer girl turned language specialist who helps launch an Islamic women’s center; and a crusty ex-Marine Corps sniper whose irascible exterior masks a devotion to the suffering children of Baghdad. And leading the team is ex-Green Beret Major Mark Clark, who is equally deft at outwitting insurgents and battling bureaucrats to help the local Iraqis rebuild their lives and ensure his soldiers made it home safely when the mission is complete.

A rare and poignant portrait of what is really happening in Iraq based on an unprecedented six months of intense reporting, Waging Peace finds the street- level reality of today’s Baghdad that is too often hidden beneath the headlines and sound bites.

Genres: Military Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2005

Reviews

[Reader]

Well written and felt so close to my experience doing the same role in Iraq. Not a full of adrenaline story but well written about a short period in the country. It also is a great introduction to the Civil Affairs role in wartime. The countless meetings with local leaders, locals and why being among the people is how change can be made.

[kelley pettit]

Great

[Anthony]

This book is a good base for why the United States is losing in both wars. When a vacuum is formed by the removal of the one binding element you must have a viable component ready and in sufficient numbers to fill the void. This book is about such an element, the CA or Civil Affairs Units of the United States military. Made up of Reserve units of the military the CA's are responsible to integrate with the population and help with the the social programs and infrastructure.
In Rob Schultheis book "Waging Peace" he was given an opportunity to travel with a CA unit in the thick of Baghdad and witness the scope of work and dangers experienced by the only true military unit assigned to clean-up and work closely with the Irag populace.
You will learn of a small batch of extrodinary individuals in CAT-A 13 of the 425th. As the only Civil Affair Unit operating in the al-Khadimiyah region in Baghdad the units area of operation (AO) was vast and diversified for such a small group of specialized soldiers. The CAT-A 13 unit, minus Mr. Schultheis who was their guest, consisted of only 8 soldiers and that is where the story builds it's true character. Mr. Schultheis gives a brief background of these individuals and then of how they operate under extreme conditions to run their "projects".
The projects run from trying to open a womens community center to trying to clean up the broken sewer system in a hostile environment.
The truly interesting part of this book was how in so few words the author pretty much explains why the United States is failing and that, like here stateside, corruption and the misappropriation of funds is building a government as corrupt as the one in Washington. In fact the only bright side of this book are the soldiers that Schultheis interacts with and the Irag people actually trying to change their country for the best.
This is a book that should be required reading in every high school social studies source and should be read by every politician sitting in office. In fact the only criticism is that the book is to brief and to focused on only a couple of areas of operations. The primary in Irag, and briefly in Afghanistan at the beginning of the book.

[Ty]

Schultheis provides an interesting account of Civil Affairs in the context of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. His book is not unlike the unit he embeds with. He embraces the commander's doctrine of "Fitting In" - the CA unit becomes his unit while the neighborhood of al-Khadimiyah becomes their neighborhood. Like the soldiers, he emphasizes the importance of personal relationships - both with his "unforgettable" comrades and the Iraqis he predicts will be "the salvation of Iraq." Like the soldiers, his efforts seem haphazard at times - individual anecdotes and development projects do not always seem to build to a bigger picture. And, unfortunately, his decision not to pursue the subject of Civil Affairs in later books feels similar to well-meaning U.S. troops who made promises and then "vanished, never to be seen again." In his conclusion, Schultheis acknowledges that the field of Civil Affairs (and the nation of Iraq) deserve the benefit of more coordinated, sustained efforts.

[Stormy]

Valued the read. Found it interesting to discover we were reading it aloud while driving to Telluride CO and that is the author's home...
Wanted to find out more about this team of men after reading the book but didn't find more info or that the author had published more on this topic.
Eye opening to discover the challenges our military face and how little we follow these world events...

[Vickie]

Interesting read into a topic I know very little about, and into what's not covered on the news. Would probably have been more I sight full if I had been able to make the book club discussion.

[Lon]

Good book about CA. Was a CA soldier myself but not in war so was interested as I also served with this unit but in peace time.