Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

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Location:
The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium

Here is the story that can be told only by those who actually witnessed the action of the famed 1st Marine Division’s march on Baghdad, from the shaky beginning of U.S. operations in southern Iraq to the capture of U.S. prisoners, the misreported “fierce Iraqi resistance,” and the aggressive assaults that led to a quick and decisive victory.

With over a half-century of military and combat experience between them, bestselling author F. J. “Bing” West and Major General Ray L. Smith, USMC (Ret.), combine expert military analysis with dramatic battlefield reporting. They bring the reader on a march that ended in victory – but was shadowed by second-guessing, unexpected reversals, and the threat of catastrophe. With access to three-star generals in the command centers and to privates in the field, the authors reveal how the strategic plan played out in battle, showing what went well and what failed, and detailing power struggles for military and political control never reported. The result is destined to become the definitive account of ground warfare in Iraq.

“This is the face of war as only those who have fought it can describe it.”
– Senator John McCain

“This book will stand as the definitive account about the nature of ground combat as we enter the 21st Century.

A gripping and honest account of war as told by two distinguished veterans.”
– James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense and former Director of Central Intelligence