The book I read to research this post was The Iraq War by John Keegan which is an excellent book which I bought from kindle. I did recently review another book on the Iraq War and I must admit this book is a little bit better. In Britain John is a very successful historical author mostly doing wars in the 20th century. He also helped cover the Iraq War for the Daily Telegraph so has detailed knowledge. It was a war that was carried out very rapidly. The Iraqi military had experienced the relentless bombing of the earlier Gulf War and many fled both when the bombing started and the Allied military started advancing on their positions. The bombing campaign wasn't on as big a scale as the earlier because in the other war the Iraqi military positions were more concentrated around and in Kuwait making it easier. In this war they spread around the country making it more difficult to find them. Also another thing that the Iraqi militaries resolve to fight was they were poorly equipped and also many were fed up with the relentless purges where in many cases people loyal to Saddam had been tortured and put to death. Any General's who were doing their job well and appeared to be getting popular were seen as rivals and faced this fate. The Iraqi army still used T55 tanks which were Russian issue but were 50 years old and death traps against the Allies tanks. Although ultimately there were no weapons of mass destruction like nuclear or biological weapons there were thousands of chemical warheads although the problem with using these in a war theatre is it is easy for a well organized army to take counter measures not to mention the wind has to actually blow towards the enemy. The Iraqi's in the war did often comandeer cars and taxi's and post machine guns on them to fight. A lot of the general population seemed oblivious to the fact there was a war going on and on occasions almost drove into firefights where the Allies shot at them because they mistook them for suicide bombers. Also after the military action the Iraqi Army was disbanded and recruitment for a new army and police force started from scratch which probably wasn't entirely satisfatory because it meant hundreds of thousands were made unemployed and there was no subsistence in Iraq for them so many turned to terrorism. I really enjoyed this book and would wholeheartedly recommend it. It has to be one of the definitive reads on this subject.
The Iraq War written by John Keegan is a tremendous book. Maybe because I have a huge amount of interest in the military and weapons but i still think this book is really interesting. Also for all of you that doesn't know John Keegan is a respected expert in military affairs who has done a lot of studying of the Iraq War. This story is not only about the fighting going on in the war but things about how Saddam Hussien took control. After taking control he also tried to create WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction ) which was violating the rules that he had with the UN (United Nation). Also John Keegan also said that if he was still under control the country would fall in a worse anarchy that it already it is and many other, but part of the blame would be on the Iraqi Military and their police because Saddam had control of all of them. But overall this book was a good book and would recommend this book to all ages.
Outdated by the time it appeared on the shelves; it can be best read as an understanding of the mindset of that time when it still appeared possible the Iraq War would be won at minimum cost and the question of stockpiles of WNDs remained unclear. Keegan was an excellent military historian, but this was simply rushed into production too quickly. Not everything in the book is inaccurate, and many Iraq war topics included in it, no doubt, remain debated, but regardless of what you think there is more current information out there are more current titles to recommend.
—Jim
Required reading for anyone that wants to discuss the Iraq war with me. Mercifully, Keegan allots very space to the actual combat phase of the war (it was brief and the Iraqi army basically melted away). He focuses instead on the history (starting more or less around the time of the demise of the Ottoman Empire) that led us to the event. For those that have forgotten the specifics of the Bush-Blair justification for the war, Keegan provides a concise refresher. He expresses particular contempt for those the hold to what he calls the Olympian view of international politics (which encompasses just about anyone that opposed the war on the grounds that conflict ought to be resolved through diplomatic means). Keegan has high praise for the American military's logistical and technological prowess, reveres the USMC and its fighting spirit (so do I), and reveals a special place in his heart for the wisdom and experience of British forces adept at maneuvering in battlefields with non-conventional forces. Again, I'll be asking you if you've read this book because you decide to take me on on this topic.
—José
Typical Keegan: insightful with a keen strategic eye and appreciation of the background that makes a conflict happen in the form that it happens, but at times repetitive and in need of better editing.The book also suffers from being published too soon after the war's conclusion and thus is unable to take into consideration the insurgency that happened afterwards (though I've heard later editions do add some on this issue). It also doesn't delve very deeply in the intelligence used to justify the war.
—Josh Liller
