The Marines Take Anbar

The Marines Take Anbar
Author: Robert Shultz
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2013-03-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612511414
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The U.S. Marine Corps’ four-year campaign against al Qaeda in Anbar is a fight certain to take its place next to such legendary clashes as Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Chosin, and Khe Sanh. Its success, the author contends, constituted a major turning point in the Iraq War and helped alter the course of events and set the stage for the Surge in Baghdad a year later. This book brings to light all the decisive details of how the Marines, between 2004 and 2008, adapted and improvised as they applied the hard lessons of past mistakes. In March 2004, when part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) was deployed to Anbar Province in the heart of the Sunni triangle, the Marines quickly found themselves locked in a bloody test of wills with al Qaeda, and a burgeoning violent insurgency. By the spring of 2006, according to all accounts, enemy violence was skyrocketing, while predictions for any U.S. success were plummeting. But at that same time new counterinsurgency initiatives were put in place when I MEF returned for its second tour in Anbar, and the Marines began to gain control. By September 2008 the fight was over. Richard Shultz, a well-known author and international security studies expert, has thoroughly researched this subject. His book effectively argues the case for the Marines changing the course of the war at Anbar, which is contrary to the conventional wisdom that the Surge was the turning point."

The Warriors of Anbar

The Warriors of Anbar
Author: Ed Darack
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2019-11-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 0306922665
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A riveting, edge-of-your seat account of how a battalion of Marines faced off against the most brutal of Al Qaeda at its most desperate and vicious moment--and how the Marines decisively crushed the terrorists When the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment ("2/3") arrived in the little-known "Haditha Triad" region of western Iraq's Al Anbar Province in September of 2006, the region exploded in a storm of terrorist violence. The most battle-hardened of Al Qaeda had fled to the Triad, and, taking their last, desperate gasps for survival after years of bloody war, lashed out at the battalion with everything they could muster. The Marines sent into this firestorm of violence immediately lunged into a complex, double-edged mission: crush Al Qaeda and help the locals rebuild their terrorist-smashed lives and homes. After months of grueling, fearsome battle--and the loss of twenty-three of their ranks--the warriors of 2/3 stood tall in victory. This is their incredible story. Warriors of Anbar is one of the greatest untold stories of modern war, one of grit, incredible courage, and utmost sacrifice. It is a story that illustrates the U.S. Marine Corps at its very finest.

Hearts and Mines

Hearts and Mines
Author: Russell Snyder
Publisher: Casemate
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2011-10-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612001327
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This is a true story of war, the story of one manÕs transformation as he retraces the mine-strewn roads of a land itself transformed by mankindÕs most shockingly inhuman practice. It is the firsthand account of a member of one of the United States ArmyÕs three-man Tactical Psychological Operations Teams, groups of men tasked with winning the hearts and minds of IraqÕs civilian population through leaflets, loudspeakers, conversation, and bribery. Transcribed from and inspired by the authorÕs personal wartime journal, it is a story of introspection. It relates how the feelings of eagerness and uncertainty in a young man unfamiliar with war were replaced with the dread knowledge that, buried within his soul, beneath a facade of goodwill and morality, lurked the capacity to kill his fellow men. There are scenes of battle retold within the pages of Hearts and Mines. There are descriptions of the feelings of seeing once-familiar human bodies destroyed beyond recognition. Some days are described as being full of hope and appreciation for the beauty of the world, others with despair for the omnipresent cruelty and destruction which has a habit of consuming men when they feel unaccountable for their actions. It captures the sensory experience of living in a singular environment full of strange plants and animals, friends true and false, and determined enemies, encapsulating the existential fear of mortar and rocket attacks, and the ever-present threat of IEDs, as well as the ridiculousness of military bureaucracy, such as was demonstrated by a sergeant majorÕs decision to punish graffiti artists by removing the doors of all the campÕs toilets. In late 2001 Russell Snyder joined the United States Army as a psychological operations specialist. As a member of the 9th PSYOP Battalion, the armyÕs only active-duty, tactical psychological operations unit he deployed to Iraq, the experience that inspired him to write Hearts and Mines. Subsequently he was deployed twice more to Iraq. He is a recipient of various military awards including the Bronze Star medal. Now a civilian, he lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Al-Anbar Awakening

Al-Anbar Awakening
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2009
Genre: Anbār (Iraq : Province)
ISBN:
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Illusions of Victory

Illusions of Victory
Author: Carter Malkasian
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2017-07-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0190659440
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In the immediate aftermath of the 2007 "Surge" of American troops in Iraq, the defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in Anbar Province was widely hailed as one of America's signature victories. US Marines and soldiers fought for years there, in grinding battles such as Fallujah and Ramadi that define the experience of Iraq. Eventually, the fractious tribal sheiks in that province, with the help of American troops, united in an "Awakening" that dealt AQI a stunning defeat. The Awakening's success argued that the United States could intervene in a war-torn country and, with the right strategy, bring stability and peace. It seemed to exemplify snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. A decade later, the situation in Anbar Province is dramatically different. In 2014, much of Anbar fell to the AQI's successor organization, the Islamic State, which swept through the region with shocking ease. In Illusions of Victory, Carter Malkasian looks at the wreckage to explain why the Awakening's initial promise proved misleading and why victory was unsustainable. Malkasian begins by tracing the origins of the Awakening, then turns his attention to what happened in its wake. After the United States left, Iraq's Shi'a government sidelined Sunni leaders throughout the country. AQI, brought back to life as the Islamic State, expanded in northern and western Iraq and quickly found a receptive audience among marginalized Sunnis. In short order, the progress that had resulted from the Awakening fell apart. Malkasian draws many lessons from Anbar. Chief among them, the most stunning of victories may not last. The fact that the leading model of success fell apart severely damages the idea that the United States can send the military to a country for a few years and create lasting peace. Even the most successful example was bound to deeper social, sectarian, and religious forces insensitive to temporary boots on the ground. From today's perspective, rather than decisive success, Anbar exemplifies how intervention itself is a costly, long-term project. The most brilliant victory could not escape this wisdom.

The Sheriff of Ramadi

The Sheriff of Ramadi
Author: Dick R Couch
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612514189
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The Sheriff of Ramadi is the first book written about the courage and success of the Navy SEALs in Ramadi. The Battle of Ramadi was the most sustained and vicious engagement fought by Navy SEALs since their inception in 1962. Never has a conventional commander fought a battle using Special Operations Forces as an intricate part of his battle plan. The operational and intelligence-gathering capabilities of a SEAL Task Unit produced startling and unprecedented success on the battlefield and in this urban battlespace. The book is an account of the Navy SEAL Task Unit in Ramadi from October 2005 through October 2007. The text follows the Battle of Ramadi (often called the Second Battle of Ramadi) and the deployment of the SEAL Task Unit in that battle. The book is based on extensive interviews with Army, Navy, and Marine command and operational personnel who fought in this battle, and the author personally spent time in Ramadi in 2007 for a first hand assessment of the situation. Couch considers the Battle of Ramadi to be the most significant military engagement in the Global War Against Terrorism since 9/11. The Battle of Ramadi and the Battle for al-Anbar Province was the first battle where SOF/Navy SEALs and conventional forces fought side by side to achieve victory. The Battle of Ramadi and the lessons learned provides a template for future joint combined Special Operations Forces and Conventional Forces cooperation in the new battles pace in the war against al-Qaeda and their allies. The lethal component SEALs can bring to an active, insurgent battle space. The Battle of Ramadi was fought with 5,500 soldiers and marines, 2,300 soldiers from the new Iraqi army, and 32 operational SEALS. Of the 1,100+ insurgents killed in the Battle, Navy SEALs accounted for a third of them.

Confronting al Qaeda

Confronting al Qaeda
Author: Martha L. Cottam
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2016-03-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1442264861
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Based on in-depth interviews with tribal Sheiks involved in the Awakening and their American military counterparts, Confronting al Qaeda is a study of decision-making processes and the political psychology of the Sunni Awakening in al Anbar. It traces the change in American military strategy that made the Awakening collaboration between the Sunni tribes and the U.S. forces possible. It explains how the evolution of the tribal leaders’ perspective and of the American military strategy led to defeat al Qaeda in al Anbar. The process of these changing mutual images is detailed as well as how the cooperation between groups led to further evolution of perceptions. Political and military realities urgently forced these perceptual and social identity shifts initially, but the process of cooperation and engagement accelerated these shifts through increasingly mutually beneficial cooperation and interaction during the battle with al Qaeda in Iraq.

Awakening Victory

Awakening Victory
Author: Michael Silverman
Publisher: Casemate
Total Pages: 471
Release: 2011-10-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612000770
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An “instructive first-hand account of how Iraq’s insurgents were defeated” in the surge of 2007—written by a Combat Arms Battalion Commander who lived it (Publishers Weekly). In August 2006, the American war in Iraq was looking grim. Control of Al Anbar Province, the seat of the Sunni insurgency, was said to be irrevocably lost to the insurgents. Al Qaeda in Iraq had planted their flag in the provincial capital, Ramadi, declaring it the capital of their new “Islamic State of Iraq.” In January 2007, the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, deployed to Ramadi, spearheading a surge that would become the D-Day of the Global War on Terror. By mid-summer 2007, attacks in the province were down ninety percent. As the “awakening” swept through Iraq, it brought about the best security situation since 2003. The 3rd Battalion was the only unit to participate in this campaign from start to finish. Moreover, many of the US successes came directly from this unit’s work. Awakening Victory tells the story of this incredible campaign through the eyes of the 3rd Battalion commander. It describes the battalion’s actions, including incidents previously unknown to the public, but it is not merely another war story. The author uses the actions of his battalion to describe a paradigm shift, moving from a war of bombs and bullets to one of partnership and ideas.

Fallujah Awakens

Fallujah Awakens
Author: Bill Ardolino
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2014-03-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612511295
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The cradle of an insurgency that plunged Iraq into years of chaos and bloodshed, Fallujah conjures up images of the brutal house-to-house fighting that occurred during the 2004 U.S. invasion of the iconic city. But attacks in the area actually peaked two years later, when American and Iraqi government forces struggled with a reinvigorated insurgency and the prospect of premature withdrawal by U.S. forces. Fallujah Awakens tells the story of the remarkable turnaround that followed. Journalist Bill Ardolino explains how local tribal leaders and U.S. Marines forged a surprising alliance that helped secure the famous battleground. It is one of the few books to recount events from both American and Iraqi perspectives. Based on more than 120 interviews with Iraqis and U.S. Marines, Ardolino describes how a company of reservists, led by a medical equipment sales manager from Michigan, succeeded where previous efforts had stalled. Circumstance combined with smart, charismatic leadership enabled Americans to build relationships with members of a Sunni tribe—once written off as dangerous and intractable— who pushed al Qaeda and other insurgents from their notoriously rebellious area. Accidental killings, intertribal rivalries, insurgents, and intrigue all conspired to undo the tenuous alliance forged between the Americans and tribesmen on Fallujah’s Peninsula. But the partnership was cemented after a Marine commander’s risky decision to welcome nearly 100 injured civilians onto a secure American facility after a ruthless chemical attack by al Qaeda. The book’s gripping storyline will appeal to readers of historical nonfiction. Its exhaustive documentation will prove valuable to military students, analysts, and historians and will help policy makers better understand what is possible in counterinsurgency. Photographs and maps further enhance the reader’s understanding of everything from tribal dynamics to the geography of firefights.