Why we lost: a general's inside account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

Description

Over a thirty-five year career, Daniel Bolger rose through the army infantry to become a three-star general, commanding in both theaters of the U.S. campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He participated in meetings with top level military and civilian players, where strategy was made and managed. At the same time, he regularly carried a rifle alongside rank-and-file soldiers in combat actions, unusual for a general. Now, as a witness to all levels of military command, Bolger offers a unique assessment of these wars, from 9/11 to the final withdrawal from the region. Writing with hard-won experience and unflinching honesty, Bolger makes the firm case that in Iraq and in Afghanistan, we lost -- but we didn't have to. Intelligence was garbled. Key decision makers were blinded by spreadsheets or theories. And, at the root of our failure, we never really understood our enemy. Why We Lost is a timely, forceful, and compulsively readable account of these wars from a fresh and authoritative perspective.;A three-star general offers a gripping insider account of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how it all went wrong. Apocalypse then -- Triumph : the Global War on Terrorism, September 2001 to April 2003. Harbingers 9/11 The Hindu Kush Anaconda A weapon of mass destruction Apocalypse then redux -- Hubris : the Iraq Campaign, April 2003 to December 2011. "Mission accomplished" What happened in Fallujah The color purple Implosion Malik Daoud Requiem on the Tigris -- Nemesis : the Afghan Campaign, April 2003 to December 2014. Undone The good war Taliban heartland Malik Daoud again Attrition Green on blue -- Infinite justice.