The Endgame : The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, From George W. Bush to Barack Obama

A Wall Street Journal Best Nonfiction Book of 2012 In this follow-up to their national bestseller Cobra II , Michael Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor deftly piece together the story of the most widely reported but least understood war in American history. This stunning account of the political and military struggle between American, Iraqi, and Iranian forces brings together vivid reporting of diplomatic intrigue and gripping accounts of the blow-by-blow fighting that lasted nearly a decade. Informed by brilliant research and extensive interviews with key figures—including everyone from the intelligence community to Sunni and Shi’ite leaders and former insurgents to senior Iraqi military officers— The Endgame presents a riveting chronicle of the occupation of Iraq to the withdrawal of American troops that is sure to remain the essential account of the war for years to come. This E-book edition also contains a new Appendix collecting twenty-three classified documents, with commentary, that shed new light on some of the military’s crucial mistakes and missed opportunities. This Book Is A Work Of Investigative Journalism And Historical Recreation Ranging From 2003 To 2012, Giving A Comprehensive, Inside Account Of Arguably The Most Widely Reported Yet Least Understood War In American History, From The Occupation Of Iraq To The Withdrawal Of American Troops. Provides A Blow-by-blow Chronicle Of The Fighting, But Also Deftly Pieces Together The Puzzle Of The Prosecution Of American, Iraqi, And Iranian Objectives, And The Diplomatic Intrigue And Political Struggle Within Iraq Since The American Invasion. Iraqi Freedom : The Occupation And Its Discontents, 2003-2006. Desert Crossing ; Politics Of The Gun ; Sovereignty With Limits ; Vigilant Resolve ; A Lost Cause? ; Our Man In Baghdad ; New Dawn ; The Long Telegram ; Papa Jaafari ; The Red Team ; The Year Of Living Dangerously ; Together Forward ; The Perfect Storm ; Out West -- Double Down : The Surge And Its Aftermath, 2006-2008. Some Friendly Advice ; Back To The Drawing Board ; League Of The Righteous ; Petraeus Takes Command ; The Enemy Within ; The Former-insurgent Counterinsurgent ; Phantom Thunder ; The Uss Centcom ; General Petraeus Goes To Washington ; No Plan B ; Charge Of The Knights ; March Madness ; Strange Justice -- New Dawn : Obama, Maliki, And Beyond, 2008-2012. Let's Make A Deal ; The Home Stretch ; Change At The Top ; The Odd Couple ; Trouble Up North ; Crises Of Confidence ; Team Of Rivals ; The Numbers Game ; Mission Accomplished. Michael R. Gordon And Bernard E. Trainor. Originally Published In Hardcover: New York : Pantheon Books, C2012. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [701]-764) And Index. Eagerly anticipated in the wake of their national best seller Cobra II (The superb, must-read military history of the invasion of IraqThomas L. Friedman), The Endgame is Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainors most ambitious and news-breaking book to date. A peerless work of investigative journalism and historical recreation ranging from 2003 to 2012, it gives us the first comprehensive, inside account of arguably the most widely reported yet least understood war in American historyfrom the occupation of Iraq to the withdrawal of American troops. Prodigiously researched, The Endgame is not only based on an abundance of highly classified, still-secret government documents but is also brilliantly informed by access to key figures in the White House, the military, the State and Defense departments, the intelligence community, and, most strikingly, by extensive interviews with both Sunni and Shiite leaders, key Kurdish politicians, tribal sheikhs, former insurgents, Sadrists, and senior Iraqi military officers, whose insights about critical turning points and previously unknown decisions made during the war have heretofore been conspicuously missing from the medias coverage of it. The Endgame is riveting as a blow-by-blow chronicle of the fighting. It is also relentlessly revealing, as it deftly pieces together the puzzle of the prosecution of American, Iraqi, and Iranian objectives, and the diplomatic intrigue and political struggle within Iraq since the American invasion. This Book Is A Work Of Investigative Journalism And Historical Recreation Ranging From 2003 To 2012, Giving A Comprehensive, Inside Account Of Arguably The Most Widely Reported Yet Least Understood War In American History, From The Occupation Of Iraq To The Withdrawal Of American Troops. Provides A Blow-by-blow Chronicle Of The Fighting, But Also Deftly Pieces Together The Puzzle Of The Prosecution Of American, Iraqi, And Iranian Objectives, And The Diplomatic Intrigue And Political Struggle Within Iraq Since The American Invasion. Desert Crossing -- Politics Of The Gun -- Sovereignty With Limits -- Vigilant Resolve -- A Lost Cause? -- Our Man In Baghdad -- New Dawn -- The Long Telegram -- Papa Jaafari -- The Red Team -- The Year Of Living Dangerously -- Together Forward -- The Perfect Storm -- Out West -- Some Friendly Advice -- Back To The Drawing Board -- League Of The Righteous -- Petraeus Takes Command -- The Enemy Within -- The Former Insurgent Counterinsurgent -- Phantom Thunder -- The U.s.s. Centcom -- General Petraeus Goes To Washington -- No Plan B -- Charge Of The Knights -- March Madness -- Strange Justice -- Let's Make A Deal -- The Home Stretch -- Change At The Top -- The Odd Couple -- Trouble Up North -- Crises Of Confidence -- Team Of Rivals -- The Numbers Game -- Mission Accomplished. Michael R. Gordon And Bernard E. Trainor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "A Wall Street Journal Best Nonfiction Book of 2012 In this follow-up to their national bestseller Cobra II, Michael Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor deftly piece together the story of the most widely reported but least understood war in American history. This stunning account of the political and military struggle between American, Iraqi, and Iranian forces brings together vivid reporting of diplomatic intrigue and gripping accounts of the blow-by-blow fighting that lasted nearly a decade. Informed by brilliant research and extensive interviews with key figures--including everyone from the intelligence community to Sunni and Shi'ite leaders and former insurgents to senior Iraqi military officers--The Endgame presents a riveting chronicle of the occupation of Iraq to the withdrawal of American troops that is sure to remain the essential account of the war for years to come. This E-book edition also contains a new Appendix collecting twenty-three classified documents, with commentary, that shed new light on some of the military's crucial mistakes and missed opportunities"--Publisher's description The Endgame is the gripping and authoritative account of the secret military and political effort to pull Iraq from the precipice of full-scale civil war. The book fuses unrivalled access to the in-fighting of Washington policymakers with analysis of strategizing by the generals and hard-fought operations on the battlefield. Along with access to classified documents, the authors draw from sources including military commanders, high-level intelligence operatives, White House aides, Iraqi officials and the soldiers who have tested both the Bush and Obama Administrations' strategies to their limits.This is a book that will be discussed in the White House, the Pentagon and the command centres in Baghdad. It will be an enduring account of the most decisive period of this bitterly divisive war. It is the third volume in the Gordon-Trainor collaboration on the United States military involvement in Iraq; magisterial accounts that have stood the test of time A Wall Street Journal Best Nonfiction Book of 2012 In this follow-up to their national bestseller Cobra II, Michael Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor deftly piece together the story of the most widely reported but least understood war in American history. This stunning account of the political and military struggle between American, Iraqi, and Iranian forces brings together vivid reporting of diplomatic intrigue and gripping accounts of the blow-by-blow fighting that lasted nearly a decade. Informed by brilliant research, classified documents, and extensive interviews with key figures—including everyone from the intelligence community to Sunni and Shi’ite leaders and former insurgents to senior Iraqi military officers—The Endgame presents a riveting chronicle of the occupation of Iraq to the withdrawal of American troops that is sure to remain the essential account of the war for years to come. An inside account based on extensive reporting from Iraq between 2006 and 2011 as well as highly classified military and diplomatic information offers insight into the political struggles shaping the war in Iraq