5 out of 5 stars
"Fiasco" it was
Reviewed in Canada on 11 March 2016
Verified Purchase
"Adventure" is the perfect; description - disaster, ineptitude. Characters involved such as Rumsfeld, Bremer, Wolfowitz should have been charged for their errors in judgement which costs lives and treasury.
Emphasizes how politicians and diplomats should only set objectives and then leave it up to the military to establish the "how".
Failure to understand differences in cultures which have developed over centuries.
5 out of 5 stars
A brilliant exposé of the ineptitude and almost certainly criminal US war in Iraq.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 May 2019
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase
I thought I knew a lot about this war and how the stupidity and incompetence, downright ignorance in many areas, has caused thousands, if not millions of people to die and suffer. This book describes in great detail the unfolding horrors that power in the wrong hands can impose on the world. Emails, reports, conversations and comments take you step by step through the wrongheaded decisions and the complete lack of forward planning and foresight leaves the reader astounded at the sheer ineptitude of those who decide the fate of millions. A must read.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed in Germany on 7 August 2006
Format: Audio CD
Surely, you remember all of those Weapons of Mass Destruction that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Powell, Secretary Rumsfeld, and The New York Times assured us were being hidden in Iraq. If you have a short memory about what we were told, Fiasco will remind you what came out of those horses' mouths in 2002 and 2003.
If you think back even further, you may also recall an attack on the United States in New York and Washington D.C. that led to about 3,000 deaths caused by an outfit called al-Qaeda headed by a fellow named Osama bin Laden. We haven't found that fellow yet, and we've invaded at least two countries to locate him. He doesn't seem to be in Iraq, either. Fiasco points out that there never was an Iraqi connection to that group of terrorists, but in the aftermath of our invasion Iraq has become the headquarters and training ground for the most active and effective terrorists in the world. Maybe we'll eventually lure bin Laden there.
So why read this book? Well, Mr. Ricks does a superb job of tracking down all of the planning, training and preparation for the post-invasion period that did not occur. As a result, it seems like the United States made virtually every major mistake possible in turning a liberation into a heavy-handed, insensitive occupation that turned the majority of the Iraqi people into opponents of the United States from being favorably disposed. As early as five months after Saddam Hussein was captured, 55% of Iraqis felt that it was more dangerous having American troops in Iraq than to have them all leave immediately.
If you are like me, you'll be disgusted, appalled and ashamed at the travesty of how the United States mismanaged the reconstruction of Iraq. Who is at fault? Well, it's hard to find people who aren't at fault. Feel free to list the usual Republican and Pentagon leaders, but add those in Congress who backed off from providing civilian oversight.
Can you imagine that serious counter-insurgency planning only began in August 2004? And we lost ground in 2005 on that front.
So where are we now? Apparently, we're worse off than if we had stayed home in 2003. The book ends with several scenarios of what might happen next, all of which are even more unpleasant than the reality we have today. Tens of thousands more will die, including thousands of Americans. Power will shift into less friendly hands. More terrorists will be trained. Our supply of oil will be less secure. Gasoline will hit $9.00 a gallon in one scenario.
The book also upholds the honor of the ordinary soldiers and Marines who have done tough duty, far beyond what could have been expected of them . . . without the proper training, support, leadership resources.
My sense from this book is that a sequel will be written ten years from now called Quagmire.
Why did I grade the book down? Despite doing a fine job of tracking down the untold parts of the story, I found that Mr. Ricks loves to editorialize a little too much before he proves his point. Here's an example in the first sentence of the book: "President George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003 ultimately may come to be seen as one of the most profligate actions in the history of American foreign policy."
So what are the lessons for us as U.S. citizens? It looks like we should be sure that no one (of either political party) ever gets enough power to head off on such ego trips again. Gridlock looks pretty good as our primary option for getting the government back under control.
