Cobra II : the inside story of the invasion and occupation of Iraq / Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [603]-643) and index.

Informed by access to still-secret documents, interviews with top field commanders, and a review of the military's own internal after-action reports, this is the definitive chronicle of America's invasion and occupation of Iraq--a conflict that could not be lost but one that the United States failed to win decisively. From the Pentagon to the White House to the American command centers in the field, the book reveals the inside story of how the war was actually planned and fought. Drawing on classified United States government intelligence, it traces the interactions among the generals, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and President George W. Bush; provides an account of how Saddam Hussein and his high command developed and prosecuted their war strategy; reconstructs the principal battles from interviews with those who fought them; and documents with precision the failures of American intelligence and the mistakes in administering postwar Iraq. --From publisher description.

Snowflakes from the Secretary. -- The generated start. -- Smaller is beautiful. -- The other side of the hill. -- Back to the future. -- 'Round and 'round we go. -- The red line. -- A little postwar planning. -- Dora Farms. -- The opening gambit. -- Objective liberty. -- Everyone loves a parade. -- Task Force Tarawa. -- Vampire 12. -- A sanctuary for the Fedayeen. -- Back to the drawing board. -- Team tank. -- The red zone. -- The thunder run. -- The accidental victory. -- The second battle for Baghdad. -- Saddam's great escape. -- Hello, I must be going. -- Starting from scratch.