Take a photo of a barcode or cover
mburnamfink 's review for:
The Battle of Fallujah was the most intense fighting American forces have faced in the 21st century, a Marine battle to stand with Okinawa and Hue for a tenacious enemy and destruction unleashed. Bing West has admirably recorded the heroism of the Marines who went into Fallujah, and the context of the battle in Iraq in 2004. The book's image of a Marine Division astride a shattered city, ruefully shaking its head and saying "Look at what you made me do", is not the most objective take. That image, like so much else about the Iraq War, left a sour taste in my mouth. But the story of Fallujah is one that must be told.
Make no mistake, West is biased. He's Marine to the bone, and the world is divided into Marines and those who stand in their way. Marines are always righteous: heroes who brave insurmountable odds to cover their brothers; precise killers who use sniper rifles against enemy fighters and guided bombs only on identified strong points; extraordinary men who keep on going no matter how hard it gets.
Others do not come off as well. The Bush White House and CPA are gently rebuked (by comparison with other histories) for mismanaging the big picture and holding the Marines back. Bing has some sympathy for Iraqi soldiers and policemen intimidated into uselessness by threats against their families, but none at all for Iraqi 'leaders' who promise to keep the peace but fail to deliver repeatedly. The news network Al Jazeera is portrayed as an Al Qaeda propaganda wing; pouring gasoline on the embers of Iraq for ratings, in the same way that local clerics preached jihad for political and criminal power. West disgust at how those he deems responsible for sending thousands of Iraqis in front of American guns while avoiding real danger themselves is a blow to his objectivity.
This book succeeds in it's goal of commemorating the Battle of Fallujah and the men who fought it. West understands the nature of combat like few other writers--100 patrols as a Marine Vietnam will do that for you. This isn't as good as the The Village, but few books are. If there's a lesson to be learned, it's that you should *not* fuck with the United States Marines Corps. Hopefully, that will be obvious to others without having to blow up their cities first.
Make no mistake, West is biased. He's Marine to the bone, and the world is divided into Marines and those who stand in their way. Marines are always righteous: heroes who brave insurmountable odds to cover their brothers; precise killers who use sniper rifles against enemy fighters and guided bombs only on identified strong points; extraordinary men who keep on going no matter how hard it gets.
Others do not come off as well. The Bush White House and CPA are gently rebuked (by comparison with other histories) for mismanaging the big picture and holding the Marines back. Bing has some sympathy for Iraqi soldiers and policemen intimidated into uselessness by threats against their families, but none at all for Iraqi 'leaders' who promise to keep the peace but fail to deliver repeatedly. The news network Al Jazeera is portrayed as an Al Qaeda propaganda wing; pouring gasoline on the embers of Iraq for ratings, in the same way that local clerics preached jihad for political and criminal power. West disgust at how those he deems responsible for sending thousands of Iraqis in front of American guns while avoiding real danger themselves is a blow to his objectivity.
This book succeeds in it's goal of commemorating the Battle of Fallujah and the men who fought it. West understands the nature of combat like few other writers--100 patrols as a Marine Vietnam will do that for you. This isn't as good as the The Village, but few books are. If there's a lesson to be learned, it's that you should *not* fuck with the United States Marines Corps. Hopefully, that will be obvious to others without having to blow up their cities first.