The unraveling : high hopes and missed opportunities in Iraq / Emma Sky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sky, Emma, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Iraq War, 2003-2011--Personal narratives, British.

Iraq War, 2003-2011.

Iraq--History--2003-.

Iraq.

History.

Iraq--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

United States--Foreign relations--Iraq.

United States.

International relations.

Iraq--Foreign relations--United States.

Sky, Emma.

Genre:

Personal narratives.

Personal narratives -- British.

Physical Description:

xiii, 383 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : PublicAffairs, 2015.

Summary:

"When Emma Sky volunteered to help rebuild Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, she had little idea what she was getting in to. Her assignment was only supposed to last three months. She went on to serve there longer than any other senior military or diplomatic figure, giving her an unrivaled perspective of the entire conflict. As the representative of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Kirkuk in 2003 and then the political advisor to US General Odierno from 2007-2010, Sky was valued for her knowledge of the region and her outspoken voice. She became a tireless witness to American efforts to transform a country traumatized by decades of war, sanctions, and brutal dictatorship; to insurgencies and civil war; to the planning and implementation of the surge and the subsequent drawdown of US troops; to the corrupt political elites who used sectarianism to mobilize support; and to the takeover of a third of the country by the Islamic State. With sharp detail and tremendous empathy, Sky provides unique insights into the US military as well as the complexities, diversity, and evolution of Iraqi society. The Unraveling is an intimate insider's portrait of how and why the Iraq adventure failed and contains a unique analysis of the course of the war. Highlighting how nothing that happened in Iraq after 2003 was inevitable, Sky exposes the failures of the policies of both Republicans and Democrats, and the lessons that must be learned about the limitations of power."--Book jacket.

Contents:

The Iraq inquiry

Direct rule : June 2003-June 2004. To the land of two rivers ; Sky soldiers ; "Our Miss Bell" ; Scramble for Kirkuk ; Life in the republican Palace ; The assassination of Sheikh Agar ; Goodbye to all that

Surge : January-December 2007. Back to Baghdad ; Fard al-Qanun ; Awakening to reconciliation ; Surging through the summer ; Sadrist ceasefire ; Victory

Drawdown : May 2008-September 2010. Melian dialogue ; Uncomfortable SOFA ; Out of the cities ; Trouble along the Green Line ; Election shenanigans ; Losing Iraq

Aftermath : January 2012-July 2014. things fall apart

Glossary : political parties and militias.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9781610395939

161039593X

OCLC:

897345660