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The Gamble by Thomas E. Ricks
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The Gamble

General Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq

General Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq

General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008

By Thomas E. Ricks

By Thomas E. Ricks

By Thomas E. Ricks

By Thomas E. Ricks

By Thomas E. Ricks
Read by James Lurie

By Thomas E. Ricks
Read by James Lurie

Best Seller
Paperback $24.00

Jan 06, 2010 | ISBN 9780143116912

Ebook $4.99

Jan 06, 2010 | ISBN 9781101192061

Audiobook Download $20.00

Feb 10, 2009 | 617 Minutes

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    The Gamble by Thomas E. Ricks
    Paperback $24.00
    Jan 06, 2010 | ISBN 9780143116912

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    • $24.00

      Jan 06, 2010 | ISBN 9780143116912

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Jan 06, 2010 | ISBN 9781101192061

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    • Feb 10, 2009 | ISBN 9781101043974

      617 Minutes

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    About The Gamble

    Thomas E. Rick’s news-breaking follow up to the #1 New York Times bestseller Fiasco

    Now updated to fully document the inside story of the Iraq war since late 2005, The Gamble is the definitive account of the insurgency within the U.S. military that led to a radical shift in America’s strategy. Based on unprecedented real-time access to the military’s entire chain of command, Ricks examines the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself, the surge was launched, and a very different war began. His stunning conclusion, stated in the last line of the book, is that “the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered probably have not yet happened.”

    About The Gamble

    Fiasco, Thomas E. Ricks’s #1 New York Times bestseller, transformed the political dialogue on the war in Iraq—The Gamble is the next news breaking installment

    Thomas E. Ricks uses hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers in Iraq and extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to document the inside story of the Iraq War since late 2005 as only he can, examining the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself, the surge was launched, and a very different war began.

    Since early 2007 a new military order has directed American strategy. Some top U.S. officials now in Iraq actually opposed the 2003 invasion, and almost all are severely critical of how the war was fought from then through 2006. At the core of the story is General David Petraeus, a military intellectual who has gathered around him an unprecedented number of officers with both combat experience and Ph.D.s. Underscoring his new and unorthodox approach, three of his key advisers are quirky foreigners—an Australian infantryman-turned- anthropologist, an antimilitary British woman who is an expert in the Middle East, and a Mennonite-educated Palestinian pacifist.

    The Gamble offers news-breaking account, revealing behind-the-scenes disagreements between top commanders. We learn that almost every single officer in the chain of command fought the surge. Many of Petraeus’s closest advisers went to Iraq extremely pessimistic, doubting that the surge would have any effect, and his own boss was so skeptical that he dispatched an admiral to Baghdad in the summer of 2007 to come up with a strategy to replace Petraeus’s. That same boss later flew to Iraq to try to talk Petraeus out of his planned congressional testimony. The Gamble examines the congressional hearings through the eyes of Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and their views of the questions posed by the 2008 presidential candidates.

    For Petraeus, prevailing in Iraq means extending the war. Thomas E. Ricks concludes that the war is likely to last another five to ten years—and that that outcome is a best case scenario. His stunning conclusion, stated in the last line of the book, is that “the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered by us and by the world have not yet happened.”

    About The Gamble

    Fiasco, Thomas E. Ricks’s #1 New York Times bestseller, transformed the political dialogue on the war in Iraq—The Gamble is the next news breaking installment

    Thomas E. Ricks uses hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers in Iraq and extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to document the inside story of the Iraq War since late 2005 as only he can, examining the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself, the surge was launched, and a very different war began.

    Since early 2007 a new military order has directed American strategy. Some top U.S. officials now in Iraq actually opposed the 2003 invasion, and almost all are severely critical of how the war was fought from then through 2006. At the core of the story is General David Petraeus, a military intellectual who has gathered around him an unprecedented number of officers with both combat experience and Ph.D.s. Underscoring his new and unorthodox approach, three of his key advisers are quirky foreigners—an Australian infantryman-turned- anthropologist, an antimilitary British woman who is an expert in the Middle East, and a Mennonite-educated Palestinian pacifist.

    The Gamble offers news-breaking account, revealing behind-the-scenes disagreements between top commanders. We learn that almost every single officer in the chain of command fought the surge. Many of Petraeus’s closest advisers went to Iraq extremely pessimistic, doubting that the surge would have any effect, and his own boss was so skeptical that he dispatched an admiral to Baghdad in the summer of 2007 to come up with a strategy to replace Petraeus’s. That same boss later flew to Iraq to try to talk Petraeus out of his planned congressional testimony. The Gamble examines the congressional hearings through the eyes of Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and their views of the questions posed by the 2008 presidential candidates.

    For Petraeus, prevailing in Iraq means extending the war. Thomas E. Ricks concludes that the war is likely to last another five to ten years—and that that outcome is a best case scenario. His stunning conclusion, stated in the last line of the book, is that “the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered by us and by the world have not yet happened.”

    Also by Thomas E. Ricks

    Churchill and Orwell
    The Generals
    The Unraveling
    Fiasco
    A Soldier's Duty
    See all books by Thomas E. Ricks

    Also by Thomas E. Ricks

    Churchill and Orwell
    The Generals
    The Unraveling
    Fiasco
    A Soldier's Duty
    See all books by Thomas E. Ricks

    Also by Thomas E. Ricks

    Churchill and Orwell
    The Generals
    The Unraveling
    Fiasco
    A Soldier's Duty
    See all books by Thomas E. Ricks

    About Thomas E. Ricks

    Thomas E. Ricks is an adviser on national security at the New America Foundation, where he participates in its “Future of War” project. He was previously a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and is a contributing editor of Foreign… More about Thomas E. Ricks

    About Thomas E. Ricks

    Thomas E. Ricks is an adviser on national security at the New America Foundation, where he participates in its “Future of War” project. He was previously a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and is a contributing editor of Foreign… More about Thomas E. Ricks

    About Thomas E. Ricks

    Thomas E. Ricks is an adviser on national security at the New America Foundation, where he participates in its “Future of War” project. He was previously a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and is a contributing editor of Foreign… More about Thomas E. Ricks

    Product Details

    Category: Military History | Middle Eastern World History

    Paperback | $24.00
    Published by Penguin Books
    Jan 06, 2010 | 416 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-7/16 | ISBN 9780143116912

    Category: Military History | Middle Eastern World History

    Ebook | $4.99
    Published by Penguin Books
    Jan 06, 2010 | 416 Pages | ISBN 9781101192061

    Category: Military History | Middle Eastern World History | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $20.00
    Published by Penguin Audio
    Feb 10, 2009 | 617 Minutes | ISBN 9781101043974

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