High Command: British Military Leadership in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

SIGNED BY AUTHOR Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. FIRST EDITION with dust jacket - rare and collectable From 2001 Britain supported the United States in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'Victory' in such conflicts is always hard to gauge and domestic political backing for them was never robust. For this, the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were held responsible, and paid the price, but the role played by the High Command in the Ministry of Defence also bears examination. Critics have noted that the armed services were riven by internal rivalry and their leadership was dysfunctional, but the truth is more complicated. In his book Elliott explores the circumstances that led to these wars and how the Ministry of Defence coped with the challenges presented. He reveals how the Service Chiefs were set at odds by the system, almost as rivals in the making, with responsibility diffuse and authority ambiguous. The MoD concentrated on making things work, rather than questioning whether what they were being asked to do was practicable. Review Long overdue, 'High Command' is a study of what's wrong at the MoD, and an excellent primer for the Chilcot report. . . . Elliott sets out an agenda for reform as well as a narrative. He does so in terms that Evelyn Waugh could not have bettered. ― The Spectator Britain will lose more wars unless military chiefs stop agreeing to impossible missions after a decade of errors in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new book warns. High Command, based on interviews with many of those at the helm of the military and the Ministry of Defence from the turn of the century, also identifies fundamental flaws inside the ministry that set the conditions for failure. Offering a rare insight into the turmoil within the armed forces during one of the most critical decisions of the two wars -- the deployment of British forces to Helmand in 2006 when they were still fighting in southern Iraq. -- Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor, The Times Enthralling, gripping and brutally honest . . . With a gentle, skilful hand Elliott guides the reader through the complex world of 'High Command' to explain why a valiant and well-trained military force was not afforded the proper conditions to succeed -- neither in resources nor in leadership at a political level. -- General Jack Keane, former Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army.…