Document created: 26 April 2007
Air & S pace Power Journal-Spring 2008

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks. Penguin Group (http://www .penguinputnam.com), 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, 2006, 416 pages, $27.95 (hardcover).

Thomas E. Ricks—senior Pentagon correspondent for the Washington Post, author, and Pulitzer prize winner—dedicates his most recent work, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, to “the war dead.” This simple but powerful recognition sets the tone for the rest of the book. In Fiasco, Ricks has produced an extremely well researched, well written, and, at times, painfully detailed chronicle of the political posturing, military planning, and information campaigning that set the stage for America’s engagement in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His comprehensive writing presents the reader with a fully developed portrayal of the lightning pace of phase one, the segue into phase two, and the onset of prolonged phase-three operations that eventually morphed into the protracted phase-four under­taking in which the nation remains engaged after the cessation of principal combat. The author also provides historical context for Iraqi Freedom by concisely summarizing the political and military environment as it transitioned from the first Gulf War in 1991 to deliberations preceding the national-­security decisions in 2002 and 2003 to displace Saddam Hussein’s regime. He offers in-depth, though at times pointedly opinionated, explanations regarding the reasons and arguments for the national-security shift away from a policy of containment toward a policy of preemption as the precursor to the US decision to displace Hussein. His efforts are instructive and thought provoking.

The book’s title and the opening salvos hurled in the first several pages leave no doubt that Ricks views the American-led invasion of Iraq as reckless and devoid of sufficient military planning and strategic forethought regarding an extended occupation of the country. He explains that “this book’s subtitle terms the U.S. effort in Iraq an adventure in the critical sense of adventurism—that is, with the view that the U.S.-led invasion was launched recklessly, with a flawed plan for war and a worse approach to occupation” (p. 3).

No one is spared Ricks’s biting comments that indict our most senior civilian political, diplomatic, defense, and intelligence leaders as well as some major uniformed players, blaming them for the current situation in Iraq. He is quick to point out what he perceives as personality flaws, professional egotism, and decision-making ineptness among the senior leadership involved in deliberations to invade; indeed, some readers may find the criticisms characteristic of an exposé. However, no student of social, political, diplomatic, and military history should allow the book’s title or its early passages to deter him or her from making this work a must-read.

The author’s research on broad strategic issues and his often excruciatingly meticulous accounts of tactical planning and events are impressive. His heuristic, consistent use of anecdotal material to explain broader planning and engagement discussions and implementation not only validates his points, but also provides context rarely seen in mass-appeal publications.

Ricks’s fine definition of people and events is indicative of his enormous access to the people involved and to details of the deliberative-planning documents. His arguments regarding the evolution of the insurgency that now persists in Iraq are intriguing and essential to a critical evaluation of our engagement there.

The author has designed Fiasco to spur public debate regarding use of the military instrument to achieve national-security objectives. For the most part, he directs his frequent criticisms toward America’s most senior leaders. His treatment of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines responsible for conducting the mission in Iraq is both compassionate and patriotic. Throughout, Ricks heralds the bravery, sacrifice, and commitment they exhibit in performing the war-fighting, security-enhancing, and nation-building tasks that form the foundation of our stated intent in that country. He credits senior leadership where appropriate yet freely and frequently takes to task those people, decisions, and events he deems counterproductive to the publicly communicated mission there.

Exceptional in its depth and breadth of reporting, Fiasco displays a panoramic view of all the major political and military actions that contributed to Iraqi Freedom. Readers would do well to invest time in fully appreciating its war-reporting value and importance.

Col Robert A. Potter, USAF, Retired
Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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