The strongest tribe : war, politics, and the endgame in Iraq / Bing West.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [415]-417).

Map of Iraq -- Map of Baghdad -- How to create a mess (Sep 2003) -- Descent into chaos (Sep-Dec 2003) -- A near collapse (Jan-Jun 2004) -- War (Jul-Dec 2004) -- Inadequate means; Widescale fighting; Contradictory goals (2005) -- The second war begins; The Islamic caliphate; Haditha: explosion on the home front (2006) -- A flawed assessment (mid-2006) -- Al Qaeda: murder and intimidation; The turnaround begins; The Civil War; Bush weighs his options (Fall 2006) -- The war turns (Nov 2006) -- Washington turns (Dec 2006) -- The Sunnis change sides (Winter 2007) -- Momentum (Spring 2007) -- Overview (Summer 2007) -- Victory in Anbar; Baghdad: the surge takes hold; Washington assesses the surge (Fall 2007) -- Progress and uncertainty (2008) -- The strongest tribe (2009) -- Insurgency and unity of command in Vietnam -- Memo to Gen. George W. Casey, USA -- Bing West's counterinsurgency lessons.

In Iraq, America made mistake after mistake. Many gave up on the war. Then the war took a sharp U-turn. Two generals--David Petraeus and Raymond Odierno--displayed the leadership America expected. A universally respected combat journalist provides a history, based on five years of front-line reporting, about how the war was turned around--and the choice now facing America. In the course of fourteen extended trips over five years, West embedded with more than sixty front-line units, discussing strategy with generals and tactics with corporals. He provides an expert's account of counterinsurgency, disposing of myths. During the battle for Fallujah, West asked an Iraqi colonel why the archterrorist al-Zarqawi had fled in women's clothes. The colonel pointed to a Marine patrol walking by and said, "Americans are the strongest tribe."--From publisher description.