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THE MARINES TAKE ANBAR

THE FOUR YEAR FIGHT AGAINST
By RICHARD H. SHULTZ JR.
The Iraq War may have been a debacle, but the story of United States Marines in Anbar province constitutes a triumph of innovation and practicality over adversity. Richard Shultz has given us the glorious, comprehensive history of marines in Anbar. In doing so, he has shown why counterinsurgency, while thankless and controversial, will remain relevant as long as ground forces encounter civilian populations.
ROBERT D. KAPLAN, author of Imperial Grunts and The
Revenge of Geography

AL

QAEDA

The Marines campaign to secure Anbar Province in Iraq will rank as one of the Corps historic battle achievements. Dick Shultzs brilliant account of that campaign is rich in lessons learned and examples of adaptability. The Marines Take Anbar will be a classic study in counterinsurgency.
GEN. ANTHONY C. ZINNI, USMC (RET.)

Finally, a bold narrative that captures the truth of the four-year struggle in the Anbar Province. Dr. Schultz so effectively chronicles the historic interaction amongst the tribes, the strategic mistakes, and the brutality of the fighting, that it seems almost as if he was there. Marines, sailors, and soldiers who fought in Anbar will rejoice that the story of their sacrifices and successeswhich created conditions for winning the war in Iraqhas been told.
GEN. JAMES T. CONWAY, USMC (RET.), 34th Commandant of the Marine
Corps

While there are many who might prefer to forget about Americas troubled involvement in Iraq, Professor Schultz masterfully provides the best reason to study and learn from it: the experience of the U.S. Marines in Anbar Province between 2004 and 2008. It is a story of doctrinal and operational innovation and persistence leading to a triumph as important and memorable as any in the Marines long and battle-honored history. The Marines Take Anbar is required reading for anyone trying to understand the security complications and challenges of irregular warfare in the 21st Century.
PROFESSOR BRUCE HOFFMAN, Director for Security
Studies, Georgetown University

An MCA-USNI Marine Corps Leatherneck Originals Book Published in Partnership with the Marine Corps Association

A BOOK FOR REVIEW

Richard Shultz has written a gripping account of the Anbar Awakening, and of the role of the Marines in taking that province back from Al Qaeda. It teaches two large lessons: that all counterinsurgency campaigns are unique, and that no matter how much is done to win over a population and enable it to defend itself, hard fighting needs to be done. An invaluable contribution to the literature on the Iraq war.DR. ELIOT A. COHEN, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS

he U.S. Marine Corps four-year campaign against al Qaeda in Anbar is a fight certain to take its place next to such legendary clashes as Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Chosin, and Khe Sanh. Its success, the author contends, constituted a major turning point in the Iraq War and helped alter the course of events and set the stage for the surge in Baghdad a year later. This book brings to light all the decisive details of how the Marines, between 2004 and 2008, adapted and improvised as they applied the hard lessons of past mistakes. In March 2004, when part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) was deployed to Anbar Province in the heart of the Sunni triangle, the Marines quickly found themselves locked in a bloody test of wills with al Qaeda and a burgeoning violent insurgency. By the spring of 2006, according to all accounts, enemy violence was skyrocketing, while predictions for any U.S. success were plummeting. But at that same time new counterinsurgency initiatives were put in place when I MEF returned for its second tour in Anbar, and the Marines began to gain control. By September 2008 the fight was over. Richard Shultz, a well-known author and international security studies expert, has thoroughly researched this subject and provides a definitive work. His book effectively argues the case for the Marines changing the course of the war at Anbar, which is contrary to the conventional wisdom that the surge was the turning point.
RICHARD H. SHULTZ JR. is professor of international politics at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, where he directs its International Security Studies Program. He also is director of research at the National Strategy Information Center in Washington, D.C. His many books include the widely reviewed Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias and The Secret War against Hanoi. He lives in Medford, Massachusetts.

THE MARINES TAKE ANBAR: THE FOUR YEAR FIGHT AGAINST AL QAEDA
By Richard H. Shultz Jr. Publication date: 15 March 2013 326 pages, 33 b/w photos & 4 maps. Hardcover / list price: $39.95 / ISBN: 978-1-61251-140-5 eBook edition also available. History Iraq War
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