Baghdad at Sunrise

Starred review from July 7, 2008
This is a unique contribution to the burgeoning literature on the Iraq war, analyzing the day-to-day performance of a U.S. brigade in Baghdad during 2004-2005. Mansoor uses a broad spectrum of sources to address the military, political and cultural aspects of an operation undertaken with almost no relevant preparation, which tested officers and men to their limits and generated mistakes and misjudgments on a daily basis. The critique is balanced, perceptive and merciless—and Mansoor was the brigade commander. Military history is replete with “command memoirs.” Most are more or less self-exculpatory. Even the honest ones rarely achieve this level of analysis. The effect is like watching a surgeon perform an operation on himself. Mansoor has been simultaneously a soldier and a scholar, able to synergize directly his military and academic experiences. He presents an eloquent critique of the armed forces’ post-Vietnam neglect of counterinsurgency and makes a strong case for integrating military forces with civilian experts who can aid reconstruction in counterinsurgency operations. Above all, Mansoor reasserts the enduring impact of “fog and friction” on war. There is never an easy solution, he says—or an easy exit. Maps.

October 15, 2008
Colonel Mansoor was one of the officers who rewrote the counterinsurgency manual at Fort Leavenworth for General Petraeus, based in part on his experiences as a commander. His insights on this chapter of the war make up a crucial part of the history of the campaign. Important for any Iraq collection. [This reviewer oversees the library at Fort Leavenworth but did not undertake direct work for Mansoor and is not personally familiar with him.Ed.]

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2008
In 2004, Mansoor stirred controversy by sending scores of correspondents a lengthy e-mail challenging media representations of the Iraq War with his own personal experience as an on-the-ground soldier. This compelling narrative goes much further, offering not only factual corrections of published accounts of battlefield events but also incisive analysis of overall American strategy. In reportage that crackles with the gunfire of street fighting, then segues into candid reflections on Americas military doctrines and policies, Mansoor draws readers directly into the tension of the Iraqi conflict. Readers feel the frustrations of American military leaders as victory over Saddam Husseins brutal regime unexpectedly lets loose a bloody cycle of sectarian violence. Those planning to establish a unified Iraqi democracy thus find themselves trying to defuse the lethal animosities dividing Baathists, Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, and Syrian Catholics. Mansoor frankly confronts American errorshighlighting the wholesale disbanding of the Iraqi army, the initial deployment of American troops far from urban centers, and the abuse of Iraqi detaineesand he exposes serious deficiencies in American military training. But he strongly affirms the valor and resourcefulness of the American soldier, and he defends a cautiously optimistic assessment of the surge of U.S. troops in Baghdad. A sober and balanced perspective.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)