War & Destiny: How the Bush Revolution in Foreign and Military Affairs Redefined American Power

401 Pages·2005·3.5 MB·English

by  James Kitfield

WAR
&
DESTINY
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Also by James Kitfield
ProdigalSoldiers:HowtheGenerationofOfficers BornofVietnam
RevolutionizedtheAmericanStyle ofWar
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WAR
&
DESTINY
How the Bush Revolution
in Foreign and Military Affairs
Redefined American Power
JAMES KITFIELD
Potomac Books, Inc.
Washington, D.C.
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Copyright(cid:2)2005byPotomacBooks,Inc.
PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyPotomacBooks,Inc.Allrightsreserved.Nopart
ofthisbookmaybereproducedinanymannerwhatsoeverwithoutwritten
permissionfromthepublisher,exceptinthecaseofbriefquotationsembodiedin
criticalarticlesandreviews.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Kitfield,James.
Waranddestiny:howtheBushrevolutioninforeignandmilitaryaffairs
redefinedAmericanpower/JamesKitfield.—1sted.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN1-57488-959-1(hardcover:alk.paper)
1.UnitedStates—Foreignrelations—2001– 2.UnitedStates—Military
policy. 3.Bush,GeorgeW.(GeorgeWalker),1946– 4.WaronTerrorism,
2001– 5.IraqWar,2003. 6.Kitfield,James. 7.Embeddedwar
correspondent—UnitedStates—Biography. 8.Embeddedwar
correspondents—Iraq—Biography. I.Title.
E902.K58 2005
327.73(cid:2)009(cid:2)0511—dc22 2005003860
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaonacid-freepaperthatmeetsthe
AmericanNationalStandardsInstituteZ39-48Standard.
PotomacBooks,Inc.
22841QuicksilverDrive
Dulles,Virginia20166
FirstEdition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To my father, David Brewster Kitfield, former Marine
Corps fighter pilot, for teaching me respect for the warrior
spirit; to Lydia, for showing me the rest.
And to Michael Kelly
A good friend we had, a good friend we lost,
along the way
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‘‘No cause has he to say his doom is harsh,
Who’s made the master of his destiny.’’
Friedrich Von Schiller
WilhelmTell
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C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments ix
Prologue xi
Part I—Revolution
1 Atlas Shakes 3
2 Three-Dimensional Chess 20
3 A Darker Prism 33
Part II—Cataclysm
4 Assassins at the Gate 51
5 A Fork in the Road 66
6 A Familiar Nemesis 80
7 Pox Americana 96
8 A Perfect Storm 107
Part III—War
9 Fear City 125
10 Eve of Destruction 133
11 American Centurions 150
12 March Madness 160
13 Gates of Babylon 176
14 The Enemy Votes 184
15 Fuel Masters, Water Dogs, and Gorilla Snot 194
16 Baghdad Calling 200
vii
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viii Contents
17 Brothers in Arms 206
18 Iraq and a Hard Place 216
19 Homecoming 235
Part IV—Blowback
20 Transplanting Democracy 243
21 The Ramadan Offensive 260
22 Transformation and Revolt 268
23 Nation Building in a Time of Terror 291
24 Razor’s Edge 313
25 Clouds in the West 326
26 Twilight Warriors 347
Notes 359
Index 373
The Author 386
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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
T
here are a number of people without whom this book could not have
been completed. I would like to thank Nadia Schadlow and the Smith
Richardson Foundation for the financial support that made the book
possible.ThepublisherandeditorsofNationalJournalmagazinenotonly
regularlyprovidemewithoneofthemoreinterestingjobsinallofWash-
ington, D.C., but theywere also supportive of this effortfrom the start. I
would especially like to thank Charlie Green and Pat Pexton, the editor
anddeputyeditorofNationalJournal,respectively.AttheAtlanticMonthly,
Cullen Murphy and P. J. O’Rourke were instrumental in helping me to
visualizethisstoryasalong-formnarrative,andeventuallyabook.Lydia
Pearcewasaconstantsupportandessentialsoundingboard.
SpecialthanksgotoLt.Gen.William‘‘Scott’’Wallaceandthemenand
women of V Corps; to Maj. Gen. Buford Blount and the commanders
and troops of the Third Infantry Division; and to Col. Ralph ‘‘Rob’’
BakerandtheofficersandsoldiersofSecondBattalion,FirstArmoredDi-
vision, all of whom embraced the essential spirit of the experiment to
embed journalists into their ranks and into their confidences, the better
toilluminateaseminalendeavorinU.S.militaryhistory.
ix
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