Breaking Iraq: The Ten Mistakes That Broke Iraq

"This is an important book, because it gives us the unvarnished account of one brigade commander s tour of duty in Baghdad during the tumultuous first year of the American occupation," writes Tom Ricks in the Foreword. "From it the reader will learn much about what went wrong in Iraq, and also what was wrong with the American military. There, also, are valuable lessons for anyone about command in any war."

Ten decisions in Washington and in the battle zone broke Iraq; only cosmetic cement holds it together today. The crack started in Washington and widened early in the battle zones. The authors, who know much about law enforcement and the maintenance of order, identify those decisions. Starting with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld s failure to plan for post-invasion law and order, the appointment of inept generals and political opportunists,the confusion spawned by the cobweb of agreement woven by the Coalition of the Willing to the development of a police force that was slowed by political interference has created an effect that may be longer lasting than any political cement can hold together This is an inside look at how the failure to understand and implement basic fundamentals in creating structure in nation building, can slow the process or even invite failure.

Colonel (Retired) Ted Spain is a native of Wendell, North Carolina and entered the Army as a Private First Class. He is an inductee into both the US Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame and the US Army Military Police Regimental Hall of Fame. Before joining the Army he was a police officer in Greenville, North Carolina.

In the Army he served in key leadership positions, culminating as Commander of the 18th Military Police Brigade during the ground war and first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is currently the Director of the Tactical Force Operations Division, at the Department of Energy s Savannah River Site, a major storage site for special nuclear material and resides in Aiken,South Carolina.

Terry D. Turchie is a former Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division of the FBI. His leadership was the driving force behind the capture of the two most elusive and solitary domestic terrorists in U.S. history.In 1999, he was called to Washington, D.C. as Deputy Assistant Director in the new Counterterrorism Division of the FBI. Between 1999 and 2001, he testified before Congress and traveled extensively overseas with former FBI Director Louis Freeh to facilitate joint investigations of international terrorism in the Middle East, Asia and the former Soviet Union.

He is a recipient of the FBI Director s Award as well as the Attorney General s Award for Distinguished Service