Spreading the Blame in Iraq

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq
by Thomas E. Ricks
Penguin, 416 pp., $27.95

What happens when a timely book with a brilliant title and a searing dust-jacket photo of an American casualty in Iraq hits the bookstores before a heated election season?

Just look atop the bestseller lists: "Fiasco" is definitely no publishing accident.

"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." That's the opening line of "Fiasco," the latest narrative about the ongoing war in Iraq now in its fourth year. It is also a direct indictment of the American military, especially the generals in charge of Iraq and their Pentagon civilian leaders. There is also plenty of Bush-bashing and Cheney-chopping.

Thomas E. Ricks, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning military journalist at the Washington Post reviewed over 37,000 pages of official documents and interviewed dozens of civilian and military leaders. He also made several trips to Iraq, the latest in the spring of this year.

Ricks writes that the current war began because of a "bad ending" of the 1991 gulf war, when American leaders made serious mistakes in containing Saddam Hussein. Different from dozens of generals' reflections, grunt memoirs, heroic rescue tales and journalists' dispatches, "Fiasco" picks up in May 2003, after the toppling of Hussein and the American military's waltz into Baghdad.

"Shock and awe" were all for naught. That's the first takeaway from perhaps the most comprehensive Iraq war book to date. Ricks' exquisite writing makes "Fiasco" an easy read for those who already have an interest in Iraq or the military in general. For others, the cast of characters alone can be dizzying to keep track.

Starting with the media and especially Judith Miller of the New York Times in covering the prewar run-up and the WMD hoopla, blame is spread around in this book. Ricks refers to the role of Congress, which has yet to hold an oversight hearing on the conduct of the war, as the "silence of the lambs." Two of the main culprits, retired Gen. Tommy Franks and former Ambassador Paul Bremer III, have already published their memoirs tooting their own horns.

Ricks deftly weaves numerous anecdotes and covers countless mistakes made by the Coalition Provisional Authority (also known as Can't Produce Anything) and its decision to disband the Iraqi Army and push away the Sunnis. These errors in effect lead to the burgeoning insurgency. It appears no one in uniform reviewed the lessons of Vietnam regarding the use of overwhelming firepower and its impact on the civilian populace. Counterinsurgency manuals rot in military libraries; apparently, the training of the new Iraqi army and police don't require reading about "Vietnamization" that took place in Southeast Asia nearly four decades ago.

There are several military heroes in "Fiasco," mostly generals who warned about the occupation or have spoken out against the war. Of all the commanders who have led troops in Iraq, only one stands out, but Ricks does not expand on how this colonel's one-year success in one province can be applied on a wider scale. Apparently the lessons learned aren't being adapted quickly enough.

Despite the deft writing, Ricks concludes like every author who has penned a book about Iraq : No one has a clue how to exit. Surprisingly he believes the war is still salvageable. Thus he gives readers four possible scenarios, ranging from the U.S. experience in the Philippines in the late 19th century to the nightmarish emergence of an Iraqi leader like Saladin, the 12th century Kurdish Muslim warrior.

Will we "stay the course" or "cut and run"? Most likely, the fiasco in Iraq , similar to the quagmire in Vietnam, will depend on the outcome at the American voting booth in November, rather than on the battlefields or at the polls in Saigon or Baghdad.

This article first appeared in The Orange County Register.

Listen to Military.com's podcast interview with Tom Ricks.
Military.com

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