iraq war, 2003-2011

At Foreward Operating Base Triumph, a combat-avoiding staff sergeant named Chance Gooding spends his time composing press releases that spin grim events into statements more palatable to the public.

Raviv Chandrasekaran, takes us into the Green Zone, headquarters for the American occupation of Iraq. Ignoring what Iraqis say they want or need, the team pursues irrelevant neoconservative solutions and pie-in-the-sky policies instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity. Their almost comic initiatives anger the locals and fuel the insurgency.

A family of women drawn together by the terrors and trials of the times. Louise is coping with the possible loss of the young man she has improbably fallen in love with, especially now that he has vowed revenge for the injuries suffered by his twin brother in Iraq. Winifred's fiance flew to New York for an early morning meeting at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Now, just as she is starting to experience life again, the war once more threatens to take away what happiness she has found. And for Olivia, the strong-willed independent editor of a newspaper, the Iraqi War is a subject for editorials, a far-off conflict that she can write about with both passion and detachment until her own newly wedded husband gets called up for service.

Draws on over 100 senior military officers and over 30,000 pages of official documents to present the failures of the civilian and military leadership in Iraq. Argues that American military leaders lead their soldiers to use methods that guaranteed insurgency. Chronicles the war to mid-2006 and describes such battles as 2nd Fallujah and Tall Afar.

"An examination of controversial issues and events that have arisen during the ongoing war against Islamic extremists, spotlighting such topics as prisoner treatment and the invasion of Iraq"--Provided by publisher.

Describes events of the 2003 battle in Iraq's capital city, Baghdad, in which a coalition of nations led by the United States and Great Britain attempted to remove Saddam Hussein from power in order to set up a new government.

Discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of the real-time reporting of the 2003 Iraq War and provides some background on the history of war correspondents.

Lt. Cornel Jay Kopelman describes his experiences after returning to the United States with his dog Lava--who was rescued from an abandoned house in Fallujah, Iraq--and details how Lava suffered symptoms comparable to post-traumatic stress disorder, which led Kopelman to recognize his own issues.

In January 2005 Kirk Johnson arrived in Bagdad as USAID's only Arabic-speaking employee. Although opposed to the war he wanted to help rebuild Iraq. He worked alongside idealistic Iraqi young men and women (Iraqi traslators) who were enchanted with the idea of a peaceful, democratic Iraq. Instead, sectarian violence increased and Iraqis employed by the U.S. coalition soon found themselves kidnapped, tortured, and assassinated. On his brief first vacation, Johnson attempted suicide and spiraled into a deep depression. Then one day he received an e-mail from an Iraqi friend who had received death threats because of his work with Americans. In response to this, Johnson started The List Project, which has helped evacuate 1,500 Iraqis to find refuge in America.

This is the first book written by a female Marine about the war in Iraq and one of the only books written by a woman who has experienced combat firsthand.