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jdarnold's review against another edition
Sorry, but this was just too depressing, even thought I think Ricks was pretty optomistic about how it will turn out, thinking that lessons were learned about "nation building". I got about 1/2 thru the book.
zmull's review against another edition
4.0
The Gamble is the follow-up to Rick's fantastic history of the Iraq War, Fiasco. While it matches Fiasco in tone, it's a much different book in perspective. Fiasco traced the Bush administrations fumbling of the early years of the war and Iraq's slide into chaos. The Gamble starts with the turning of the war and leads into the Surge. The great thing about both books is Ricks' access. As a military writer the top leaders in Iraq have given Ricks interviews and permissions above many other journalists covering the war. It's to Ricks' credit that he doesn't churn out puff. He bites quite a few hands in both books. I think these accounts are essential to understanding where we are in Iraq and how we got there.
jackwwang's review against another edition
4.0
Kudos to Ricks for once again writing a masterful account of the now latter half of the American War in Iraq. This book, in sharp contrast to Fiasco, is a portrait of hypercompetence and thoughtful decision-making, whereas Ricks portrayed the first half of the war as a disaster of incompetence and intellectual arrogance.
Interestingly, one of the examples of arrogance and stubbornness in Fiasco, General Ray Odierno of the Fourth Infantry Division who implemented heavy-handed policies against insurgencies as well as the local populace, is no presented as a convert to the counter-insurgency school within the US army alongside David Patraeus. Perhaps the best part of this book is the portrayal of the colorful military personalities who make up the major cast of the turnaround that is the surge. The triumvirate who drove forward the surge was Patraeus, perhaps the most directly responsible for the initiative and definitely the most responsible for its execution, Odierno, who was critical to the new doctrine's uniform acceptance within the army and also its execution, and retired General Jack Keane, who as the former mentor of both Odierno and Patraeus, helped to maneuver the two into positions of command, and pulls much of the strings behind the scene to turn around US strategy in Iraq.
Keane, the devoted soldier who broke precedence by actively influencing military strategy and policy by giving the White House advice bypassing the Joint Chiefs, fits the mold as the insightful, self-starting, devoted public servant. Odierno also provides a riveting portrait of a soldier going down the wrong strategic path, but was humble and wise enough to turn 180 degrees towards the right direction. Lastly, Patraeus is the centerpiece of the book. He is the consummate soldier but also the consummate intellectual. With just the right about of arrogance/confidence, he was the perfect man to implement a good plan in a difficult climate both politically (in the US and Iraq) and militarily with extreme levels of insurgent violence.
Ricks weaves a masterful narrative about how these three men along with others in the military and political spaces, managed to regain the strategic initiative in what looked to be America's second Vietnam, and it proved to be a very compelling story.
Interestingly, one of the examples of arrogance and stubbornness in Fiasco, General Ray Odierno of the Fourth Infantry Division who implemented heavy-handed policies against insurgencies as well as the local populace, is no presented as a convert to the counter-insurgency school within the US army alongside David Patraeus. Perhaps the best part of this book is the portrayal of the colorful military personalities who make up the major cast of the turnaround that is the surge. The triumvirate who drove forward the surge was Patraeus, perhaps the most directly responsible for the initiative and definitely the most responsible for its execution, Odierno, who was critical to the new doctrine's uniform acceptance within the army and also its execution, and retired General Jack Keane, who as the former mentor of both Odierno and Patraeus, helped to maneuver the two into positions of command, and pulls much of the strings behind the scene to turn around US strategy in Iraq.
Keane, the devoted soldier who broke precedence by actively influencing military strategy and policy by giving the White House advice bypassing the Joint Chiefs, fits the mold as the insightful, self-starting, devoted public servant. Odierno also provides a riveting portrait of a soldier going down the wrong strategic path, but was humble and wise enough to turn 180 degrees towards the right direction. Lastly, Patraeus is the centerpiece of the book. He is the consummate soldier but also the consummate intellectual. With just the right about of arrogance/confidence, he was the perfect man to implement a good plan in a difficult climate both politically (in the US and Iraq) and militarily with extreme levels of insurgent violence.
Ricks weaves a masterful narrative about how these three men along with others in the military and political spaces, managed to regain the strategic initiative in what looked to be America's second Vietnam, and it proved to be a very compelling story.
richardwells's review against another edition
4.0
Fiasco is the story of the mess we made following invasion and Pres. Busch's historic "mission accomplished" gaffe. The Gamble is the follow up, and the story of General Petraeus's groundbreaking work on the US's counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq, and the surge that was its implementation. Gen. Petraeus was given the job of cleaning up the Augean Stables, and though it seems his leadership and troops have done as much as possible Iraq is and will remain a mess for years to come, and if we're not in it for the "Long War," then it will unravel much more quickly than anyone can imagine. In essence, we may never be able to leave.
Beyond the war story, this is a great look at the functioning, thinking, and intellectual makeup of the US military. It's a primer on strategy v. tactics, how to get a huge organization to change course, how politics play out in the conduct of war, and how the new guard of military leaders has replaced the old.
If I have one reservation, it's that Thomas Ricks has cast the General in a hero's mold, and may be a bit uncritical.
Beyond the war story, this is a great look at the functioning, thinking, and intellectual makeup of the US military. It's a primer on strategy v. tactics, how to get a huge organization to change course, how politics play out in the conduct of war, and how the new guard of military leaders has replaced the old.
If I have one reservation, it's that Thomas Ricks has cast the General in a hero's mold, and may be a bit uncritical.
jackpando's review against another edition
4.0
If you want a good explanation of one of the reasons Iraq has crumbled into more complete chaos since the US pulled out, I recommend that you read Thomas Ricks Fiasco and The Gamble. In his first book Ricks goes into detail about the failed logic and strategy in invading Iraq. In the Gamble Ricks describes to his readers the new strategy and almost unified front that the US takes from 2007-2008. Instead of focusing on crushing al Qaeda and insurgents, General Petreaus and other US military and politicians decide it is time they "protect the population." American troops began to patrol Iraqi streets on foot instead of in humvees, patrolled and trained Iraqi military and police, created an Iraqi militia, and paid Iraqi insurgents to fight for Iraq instead of receiving aid from al Qaeda or Iran. Ricks explains that while the tactics were successful in making Iraq a little more peaceful the over all strategy of having a stable Iraqi government was not as successful.
Further, Ricks has a way of making a presumably boring topic of military strategy and political rhetoric very interesting. He does this by really explaining the effects that every decision and meeting had on the outcome of the war in Iraq. Ricks is definitely one of my favorite authors.
Further, Ricks has a way of making a presumably boring topic of military strategy and political rhetoric very interesting. He does this by really explaining the effects that every decision and meeting had on the outcome of the war in Iraq. Ricks is definitely one of my favorite authors.
mburnamfink's review against another edition
4.0
The sequel to Fiasco, The Gamble is the story of two insurgencies; one fought one the streets of Bagdad with AK-47s, RPGs, and IEDs, the other fought in the halls of power with email, power point, and political connections. By 2006, Iraq was in shambles, and fast descending into civil war. In Ricks' appraisal, it was primarily the insight of General Petraeus and his skill at navigating the political tides than enabled the Surge that ended the insurgency. Unlike his predecessors in Vietnam, Petraeus brought not just larger numbers, but a change in strategy, bringing American forces into contested neighborhoods and cutting deals with former insurgents. In doing so, he broke the cycle of violence and positioned the Americans as the most neutral and trustworthy force in Iraq. Of course, even today Iraqi politics are far from stable, and the long term success of mission remains in doubt.
Compared to the previous book, this one is less critical and less interesting. It's harder to find general lessons in it, the anecdotes more scattered and frequently hard to relate to COIN or the methods of leadership. But for that, it's an interesting and important tale about how large institutions can adapt and win, when before they were headed for defeat.
Compared to the previous book, this one is less critical and less interesting. It's harder to find general lessons in it, the anecdotes more scattered and frequently hard to relate to COIN or the methods of leadership. But for that, it's an interesting and important tale about how large institutions can adapt and win, when before they were headed for defeat.
skitch41's review against another edition
4.0
A great follow up to his previous book on the Iraq war, Fiasco, Ricks shows how American troops, led by Gens. David Petraeus and Ray Odierno, did a complete 180ยบ turn in terms of strategy and brought a relative amount of security to the country. Ricks also added something that I thought was lacking from his previous book: short, biographical info on key figures like Petraeus, Odierno and Keane. And, just like before, Ricks has a knack for illustrating the facts both on the ground and in the hallways of power. Strangely though, I found this book to be far more lacking in in-depth details and reflections than Fiasco, especially in part 3. Although he makes up for it in the epilogue, I felt that Ricks could have said more than he did on the surge's consequences before the epilogue. He probably was hampered by the fact that he had little time to finish the book before publishing it (1-3 months by my guess) and because we still aren't sure what the lasting consequences of the surge are. Having said that, Ricks once again shows that he is the authority on what has been going on, both good and bad, in Iraq.