The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008

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The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 776 ratings · 114 reviews

Fiasco, Thomas E. Ricks’s #1 New York Times bestseller, transformed the political dialogue on the war in Iraq—The Gamble is the next news breaking installment

Thomas E. Ricks uses hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers in Iraq and extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to document the inside story of the Iraq War since late 2005 as only he can, examinin...more
Fiasco, Thomas E. Ricks’s #1 New York Times bestseller, transformed the political dialogue on the war in Iraq—The Gamble is the next news breaking installment

Thomas E. Ricks uses hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers in Iraq and extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to document the inside story of the Iraq War since late 2005 as only he can, examining the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself, the surge was launched, and a very different war began.

Since early 2007 a new military order has directed American strategy. Some top U.S. officials now in Iraq actually opposed the 2003 invasion, and almost all are severely critical of how the war was fought from then through 2006. At the core of the story is General David Petraeus, a military intellectual who has gathered around him an unprecedented number of officers with both combat experience and Ph.D.s. Underscoring his new and unorthodox approach, three of his key advisers are quirky foreigners—an Australian infantryman-turned- anthropologist, an antimilitary British woman who is an expert in the Middle East, and a Mennonite-educated Palestinian pacifist.

The Gamble offers news-breaking account, revealing behind-the-scenes disagreements between top commanders. We learn that almost every single officer in the chain of command fought the surge. Many of Petraeus’s closest advisers went to Iraq extremely pessimistic, doubting that the surge would have any effect, and his own boss was so skeptical that he dispatched an admiral to Baghdad in the summer of 2007 to come up with a strategy to replace Petraeus’s. That same boss later flew to Iraq to try to talk Petraeus out of his planned congressional testimony. The Gamble examines the congressional hearings through the eyes of Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and their views of the questions posed by the 2008 presidential candidates.

For Petraeus, prevailing in Iraq means extending the war. Thomas E. Ricks concludes that the war is likely to last another five to ten years—and that that outcome is a best case scenario. His stunning conclusion, stated in the last line of the book, is that “the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered by us and by the world have not yet happened.”

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Hardcover, 400 pages

Published February 10th 2009 by Penguin Press

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Mar 26, 2013 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those Interested in Understanding Controversial Wars

Shelves: current-events, war, middle-east, iraq

"Just because you invade a country stupidly doesn’t mean you leave it stupidly," says a general cited by Tome Ricks. According to Ricks, The United States came close to losing the Iraq War during 2005-2006. Some predicted that U.S. forces might have to fight their way home through a “Mesopotamian stampede”--even as insurgents fire upon the last helicopters out. Many Americans, having tuned out the war, did not realize how close the U.S. came to ignominious retreat.

Journalist Tom Ricks, in “The...more

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Feb 27, 2009 Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book follows up on Ricks' work in Fiasco with the story of the way forward in the Iraq War. While this is probably a war that didn't need to be fought, it is one that we need to finish.

In spending a lot of time with those responsible for the new way we fight in Iraq, General Petraeus and Odierno, Ricks determines that what we are doing is working, though we may be in Iraq much longer then many people think. If you read Fiasco, I would recommend this book to you.

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Feb 27, 2009 Brendan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Straight forward, even handed account that crystallizes the last two years of the Iraq War. If your ignorant of where America is in Iraq or how we got there, I strongly recommend reading Ricks' previous book on Iraq 'Fiasco' followed by 'The Gamble'.

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Mar 14, 2009 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

A really interesting book that had me both admiring the surge and saying but what about...? No doubt Ricks was to some degree won over by Petraeus and Odierno (who took over Iraq when Petraeus went to CentCom), but he nonetheless presents a fairly even-handed report of the origin of the surge, its tortuous rise from an idea to a strategy, and its successes and failures. With all the rhetoric in the recent presidential campaign about whether or not the surge "worked," we have to keep in mind that...more

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Mar 10, 2009 Richt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sad and frighting how we got in this mess in the first place.

This book describes how a group of active duty and retired generals, and colonels and civilian experts (Petraeus,et.al) who were against the war in the first place were able to redirect the Iraq war, because the Republicans got whipped in the 2006 elections. After their losses in the election, the old regime had to finally admit that we were about to lose the war, fire Rumsfeld, and hand over the keys to Petraeus and company.

After a r...more Sad and frighting how we got in this mess in the first place.

This book describes how a group of active duty and retired generals, and colonels and civilian experts (Petraeus,et.al) who were against the war in the first place were able to redirect the Iraq war, because the Republicans got whipped in the 2006 elections. After their losses in the election, the old regime had to finally admit that we were about to lose the war, fire Rumsfeld, and hand over the keys to Petraeus and company.

After a recounting of the stupidity and horrors surrounding the run up and conduct of the war from 2003 to 2007, we get an inside look on how we averted total disaster by changing commanders and strategy.

The new commanders changed to focus to protecting, communicating with, and making allies of the Iraqi people (including many insurgents). Our troops started staying in the Iraqi cities 24x7, instead of hiding out in isolated bases. This change in strategy (well there was really no strategy before this) and tactics, had more to do with the change in status than the surge in troop numbers. Though the surge certainly made it easier. It is the classic counter-insurgency strategy that was ignored by Rumsfeld and his yes-man generals. Petraeus literally wrote the counter-insurgency book for the US military.

A great irony can be found here. Had the election not forced the old regime to change things, the war would have been over for the USA by now, with us leaving in disgrace and Iraq in an full-fledged civil war, and Iran controlling a big part of Iraq. So by voting anti-war, we are getting a longer war, which may have an outcome that is better than the total disaster that the old regime was leading us to.

The sad part is that all this has accomplished was a relatively stable, safer Iraq that now has the opportunity to move towards a self-governing society. It is more likely we will get another Saddam than democracy. Obama's plans for Iraq match up with the advise of Petreaus. We will have 35 to 50 thousand troops in Iraq for decades. They just won't be doing so much dying and killing. They are more of a peacekeeping force than an invading army now. So it is not a victory, it is an incomplete with hope. At least it beats having 130,000 troops there killing and dying for little or no reason.

The best thing would have been to not invade in the first place. DUH!(less)

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Dec 14, 2012 Brick rated it 5 of 5 stars

My brother, an Army Reservist, was mobilized for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and again for the Surge. As a result, I watched and listened to the media reports throughout, very carefully. I was well aware of the discrepancies between what was reported and what I learned about what was going on, in large part because of the many reporters and authors who were bringing us alternative points of view, generally not covered in the evening news. As a result, I thought I was pretty well informed about...more My brother, an Army Reservist, was mobilized for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and again for the Surge. As a result, I watched and listened to the media reports throughout, very carefully. I was well aware of the discrepancies between what was reported and what I learned about what was going on, in large part because of the many reporters and authors who were bringing us alternative points of view, generally not covered in the evening news. As a result, I thought I was pretty well informed about the facts of this time period. My mistake!!

Ricks two books, Fiasco, and this one, lay out details that fill in the blanks. I am left with several conclusions: a group of arrogant and ignorant ideologues led us into this war, and misled us about the lack of progress on the ground for three years, costing many American lives, Iraqi lives, billions of dollars. I hold George W. Bush responsible, but after reading these two books, I conclude that he was in large part misled about the lack of progress and the wholly inadequate planning by his top direct reports. When he finally 'got it' he and the White House staff worked around the folks who were holding the line on 'happy talk' and enabled the change in strategy that accompanied the surge. Astonishingly, many highly placed professional military and diplomatic personnel saw what was coming, and then saw what was happening on the ground, and worked diligently to make the facts known. They were extremely important in turning things around from 2006 on, making the best of the bad choices available. Some of these people left their very successful careers behind, leaving and speaking out, finally even leading the change from outside the official organization. Odierno, Petraeus, and the troops on the ground deserve incredible credit for what they accomplished, as do the others who worked from outside.

Many of the careerist top brass of the military failed their troops and the country by going along with their civilian leaders without sufficient pushback. I have seen situations like this, in other context, and heard the leadership say after the facts became clear, "you did not push hard enough, the blame resides with you". !!

The Army's institutionalized introspection shows up very strongly in these accounts and is surprising, in light of how this 10 year effort played out, but the lessons learned were learned by the professionals, not by the civilians who came in and then left, ignorant and arrogant.

Overall, an incredibly important account, should be required reading for all who might presume to participate in national governance. But infuriatingly sad reading at many points.(less)

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Jan 10, 2012 Jack rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: politics-and-social-thought, history

Kudos to Ricks for once again writing a masterful account of the now latter half of the American War in Iraq. This book, in sharp contrast to Fiasco, is a portrait of hypercompetence and thoughtful decision-making, whereas Ricks portrayed the first half of the war as a disaster of incompetence and intellectual arrogance.

Interestingly, one of the examples of arrogance and stubbornness in Fiasco, General Ray Odierno of the Fourth Infantry Division who implemented heavy-handed policies against insu...more Kudos to Ricks for once again writing a masterful account of the now latter half of the American War in Iraq. This book, in sharp contrast to Fiasco, is a portrait of hypercompetence and thoughtful decision-making, whereas Ricks portrayed the first half of the war as a disaster of incompetence and intellectual arrogance.

Interestingly, one of the examples of arrogance and stubbornness in Fiasco, General Ray Odierno of the Fourth Infantry Division who implemented heavy-handed policies against insurgencies as well as the local populace, is no presented as a convert to the counter-insurgency school within the US army alongside David Patraeus. Perhaps the best part of this book is the portrayal of the colorful military personalities who make up the major cast of the turnaround that is the surge. The triumvirate who drove forward the surge was Patraeus, perhaps the most directly responsible for the initiative and definitely the most responsible for its execution, Odierno, who was critical to the new doctrine's uniform acceptance within the army and also its execution, and retired General Jack Keane, who as the former mentor of both Odierno and Patraeus, helped to maneuver the two into positions of command, and pulls much of the strings behind the scene to turn around US strategy in Iraq.

Keane, the devoted soldier who broke precedence by actively influencing military strategy and policy by giving the White House advice bypassing the Joint Chiefs, fits the mold as the insightful, self-starting, devoted public servant. Odierno also provides a riveting portrait of a soldier going down the wrong strategic path, but was humble and wise enough to turn 180 degrees towards the right direction. Lastly, Patraeus is the centerpiece of the book. He is the consummate soldier but also the consummate intellectual. With just the right about of arrogance/confidence, he was the perfect man to implement a good plan in a difficult climate both politically (in the US and Iraq) and militarily with extreme levels of insurgent violence.

Ricks weaves a masterful narrative about how these three men along with others in the military and political spaces, managed to regain the strategic initiative in what looked to be America's second Vietnam, and it proved to be a very compelling story.(less)

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Oct 17, 2011 Christopher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, politics

A great follow up to his previous book on the Iraq war, Fiasco, Ricks shows how American troops, led by Gens. David Petraeus and Ray Odierno, did a complete 180º turn in terms of strategy and brought a relative amount of security to the country. Ricks also added something that I thought was lacking from his previous book: short, biographical info on key figures like Petraeus, Odierno and Keane. And, just like before, Ricks has a knack for illustrating the facts both on the ground and in the hall...more

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Sep 25, 2011 Dan Rheingans rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ricks' well researched work examines the strategic shift in Iraq during the Surge under General Petraeus. He does an excellent job of informing the reader about the problems with pre-surge strategic thinking, the buildup to the new move to counter-insurgency tactics, and the actual efforts on the ground from 2006-2008 that altered the course of the war. While Ricks' work is obviously in support of the US mission in Iraq, as well as the counter-insurgency strategy formulated and enacted by Petrae...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Kash rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is a great work on the surge and the magnificent job done by the US military in Iraq from late 2006 to late 2008 as this book came out. I admit I am not a fan of Rick's way of thinking on matters of foreign policy and especially I dont like his liberal bias. Why would one ruin a good book by showing his liberal bias? Mocking the president or vice president? why? Can't you just report what has happened without commentary of your own? There are dozens of this bias through out the book bu...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Michael Burnam-fink rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, war, 2011

The sequel to Fiasco, The Gamble is the story of two insurgencies; one fought one the streets of Bagdad with AK-47s, RPGs, and IEDs, the other fought in the halls of power with email, power point, and political connections. By 2006, Iraq was in shambles, and fast descending into civil war. In Ricks' appraisal, it was primarily the insight of General Petraeus and his skill at navigating the political tides than enabled the Surge that ended the insurgency. Unlike his predecessors in Vietnam, Petra...more

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May 18, 2011 Bojan Tunguz rated it 4 of 5 stars

The travails of us policy and military engagement in Iraq have been dominating the news for the better part of five years since the invasion in 2003 until some time in 2008. The reason is quite obvious: what was supposed to be a very quick and decisive military operation that would turn Iraq into a free and peaceful society turned out to be a military and political disaster. And yet the news from Iraq stopped dominating the headlines some time in 2008. The reason for this dramatic turnaround is...more The travails of us policy and military engagement in Iraq have been dominating the news for the better part of five years since the invasion in 2003 until some time in 2008. The reason is quite obvious: what was supposed to be a very quick and decisive military operation that would turn Iraq into a free and peaceful society turned out to be a military and political disaster. And yet the news from Iraq stopped dominating the headlines some time in 2008. The reason for this dramatic turnaround is quite clear: it is the new US strategy that was designed to increase the number of US troops on the ground and engage with the Iraqi society on a much more direct basis. This strategy and the way that it came about is the theme of this book. Unlike many other books that have come out in recent years, this one is largely written from the military's point of view. If there is a single name that come to symbolize "The Surge" that would be the name of general Petraeus. Unjustifiably maligned by some war opponents early on in his new assignment of turning the situation in Iraq around, he has become a stellar example of professionalism and success with one of the most difficult military assignments ever. But Petraeus was not the only one in the military who contributed to the development of the new strategy. There are many others, either on active duty or as civilian advisers, who have helped shape and develop the new strategy. This book does a very good job of describing those contributions and giving credit to people who have largely labored behind the scenes. It features many combat commanders and their troops, and it gives many examples from the frontlines that help illustrate and affirm the main points.

What makes this book particularly interesting and valuable is the sheer amount of first-hand interview material. Almost all of the main military protagonists are featured, and many of their most important experiences recoded and presented in an easy journalistic style. The approach to policy that the book adopts is pragmatic rather than ideological. It gives as sober of an assessment of what happened during the war as one can find these days. It concludes with a sobering prediction of where the military engagement is headed, and a prediction that a substantial US presence is likely to remain in Iraq for many more years, if not decades.

The only issue that I have with the book is that it may contain too much information: some of the points could have been made with far less material. But otherwise this is an excellent read and a must for anyone who is interested in what has really been happening with The Surge and why it worked in the end.(less)

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Jul 07, 2010 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fiasco is the story of the mess we made following invasion and Pres. Busch's historic "mission accomplished" gaffe. The Gamble is the follow up, and the story of General Petraeus's groundbreaking work on the US's counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq, and the surge that was its implementation. Gen. Petraeus was given the job of cleaning up the Augean Stables, and though it seems his leadership and troops have done as much as possible Iraq is and will remain a mess for years to come, and if we're no...more

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Jul 25, 2009 Ken Bronsil rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ricks, whose previous book "Fiasco" covers the first three years of the Iraqi War, continues his coverage in a book that draws from a large number of interviews with military and political leaders.

In 2006 American casualties were very high, the Iraqi government was not holding the country together, and domestic opposition to the war was at its highest peak yet. Military leaders, from the Joint Chiefs down, were stymied while the Bush administration continued to give overly-optimistic pictures o...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is Ricks' follow-up to his previous book called Fiasco that covered the build up and first 4 to 5 years of the Iraq War. While Fiasco literally made me stick to my stomach - reading the incompetency of U.S. leadership in getting into and conducting the war, The Gamble provides some glimpse of hope for the road ahead. The books covers the rise of General Petraeus and General Odierno and the rise of the counterinsurgency school of thought in fighting in Iraq. I thought the most interesting pa...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Dave rated it 5 of 5 stars

A great read in the best journalistic tradition. The book is in three parts

1. Things begin to fly apart in 2006
2. A new strategy is conceived, which includes the surge, but it definitely not limited to it
3. Does the new strategy work? His answer is, 'Yes, no, and we'll have to wait and see.'

Normally I shy away from accounts of so recent events, but I make an exception here. He puts us in the middle of the story and does not promise us ultimate answers.

I should also add the book, aside from some...more

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May 09, 2009 Rogier rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent follow-up to Fiasco, describing the shift in Iraq from a war strategy to a counter-insurgency strategy, which appears to be bearing fruit...

Great writing, and great analysis. At one point the author observes that in World War II it took Roosevelt just three months to figure out the US started off on the wrong foot strategically, and in this case it took three years. I don't find that so amazing, for the Petraeus strategy in fact implies that it was useless to go to war in the first pla...more

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Apr 15, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: may-june-2009

By and large, critics were less eager to assess Ricks's work as an author and more interested in his opinions about the success of the "surge" and the future of Iraq. But this is perhaps the book's greatest endorsement; whether they were liberal or conservative, American or British, critics viewed Ricks's facts as unassailable and his analysis as strong. They were impressed not just with his unparalleled access to the main actors in Iraq but also with his ability to integrate two commonly held b

...more

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Feb 09, 2010 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, journalism, non-fiction, war

The best book I've read so far on the conflict(s) in Iraq. I thought about giving this 5 stars, but the last 30 pages or so has Ricks trying to guess where this is all going. Nothing wrong with that, since the situation in Iraq is ongoing (and is now our longest war), but at that point it moves from history toward crystal ball gazing. (But in this case, it's very informed crystal ball gazing.) General Petraeus, the focus of much of book, comes across as one of the rare, transformative figures th...more

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May 25, 2009 Bart rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is a well-reported effort with multiple citations and sources and a somewhat coherent, if ultimately un-hopeful (as opposed to hopeless), conclusion in its epilogue.

For those who read the book as a weather forecast, the epilogue will provide all that you seek. For those that read this book for a tapestry of the way the United States military operates, the entire book is recommended. For those that seek insights on the formulation, and revision, of strategy and tactics, really, you'll g...more This book is a well-reported effort with multiple citations and sources and a somewhat coherent, if ultimately un-hopeful (as opposed to hopeless), conclusion in its epilogue.

For those who read the book as a weather forecast, the epilogue will provide all that you seek. For those that read this book for a tapestry of the way the United States military operates, the entire book is recommended. For those that seek insights on the formulation, and revision, of strategy and tactics, really, you'll get the most out of the opening 150 pages.

Those are the ones I enjoyed most. The complete revision of U.S. strategy as it pertained to counterinsurgency. Counterinsurgency has interested me ever since reading Ernesto "Che" Guevara's Guerra de Guerrillas. It is a fine conundrum: If a state fails to protect the utilities from the guerrillas - fails to keep the lights on and the water running - the state appears incompetent, and so why not go with the guerrillas? If the state wages full war against the guerrillas, hidden within the population, it converts bystanders to guerrillas and loses by numbers alone.

The solution, as the US apparently learned in Vietnam and then refused to teach a generation of our officers, is to protect the populace at all cost - once the insurgency is underway (always to be considered an initial failure). That is, kill and capture is a surefire way to lose an insurgency.

The US spent most of the years 2004-2006 killing and capturing insurgents, while "commuting to war" from its forward operating bases: Drive 90 minutes, patrol 90 minutes, drive back 90 minutes. All the time, the focus was on finding and killing insurgents - and when civilians popped up and asked for basic services, they were provided bread or money or told to shut up. Always, the populace was an obstacle standing between the US military and the enemy.

The fundamental change brought by General David Petraeus was to focus always on the populace - and when insurgents popped up, they were to be killed or captured as a means of removing them as obstacles, not as the ends in themselves. Petraeus's job was to regain the strategic initiative, a task that appeared impossible when it was first undertaken. Petraeus succeeded, though, in the unlikely and proud American tradition of generals like Washington, Sherman, Grant and MacArthur.

How the occupation of Iraq ends, though, is an entirely different, and less-hopeful, matter. Thomas Ricks seems to conclude that a force of between 25,000-50,000 US soldiers will need to remain till at least 2015 for there to be any chance of stability. And Petraeus has already taken the notion of a flourishing democracy off the table. A disloyal (to Iran) Shiite government in Baghdad that looks suspiciously like an Iranian puppet but isn't completely, Ricks concludes, might be the best hope we have. Un-hopeful as that reads, it beats every realistic alternative.(less)

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Apr 09, 2011 Hotavio rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Hotavio by: HIST 577

Shelves: books-on-the-mid-east, books-on-america

The Iraq War has kind of faded from the forefront of the American conscience, but is far over. At least this is one of the assertions that Thomas E. Ricks makes in Gamble: General Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq as he advocates the continuance of the militarily supporting the “democracy” of Iraq. “Even as security improved in Iraq in 2008, I found myself consistently saddened by the war, not just by its obvious costs to Iraqis and Americans, but also by the incompetence and...more The Iraq War has kind of faded from the forefront of the American conscience, but is far over. At least this is one of the assertions that Thomas E. Ricks makes in Gamble: General Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq as he advocates the continuance of the militarily supporting the “democracy” of Iraq. “Even as security improved in Iraq in 2008, I found myself consistently saddened by the war, not just by its obvious costs to Iraqis and Americans, but also by the incompetence and profligacy with which the Bush administration conducted it. Yet I also came to believe that we can’t leave.” With this statement, Ricks echoes much of the sentiment that Americans have towards this woe begotten intervention. Still, in The Gamble, Rick’s unearths some aspects of the military affair that he has enthusiasm over, particularly in General David Petraeus and the 2007 military surge of Iraq. Amidst the complications of supporting change in Iraq, Ricks elevates Petraeus to a mythic level, a relatively comfortable task when juxtaposing the effects of the Surge with the directionless military policies of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and former top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey.
Being from Penguin Books, The Gamble is written to appeal to wider audiences (as indicated by the book’s pronouncement of making the New York Times Best Sellers List. To appeal to a broader audience’s taste for the controversial and grisly details and to frame the success of the Surge, Ricks makes liberal use of atrocities committed by the US forces under the directionless pre-surge policies. This is evident from Rick’s mention of the military’s “door busting” approach to locating insurgents that ended up in 24 dead civilians in the town of Hadith in 2005. The first chapters of The Gamble relay familiar aspects of a misguided war quickly coming unraveled, but also hint at the hope of realignment back home with a cabal of officers aimed at reversing the policy of Iraq in favor of one based on counter insurgency. This group was to identify a figure head in Rick’s hero, General Petraeus.
Ricks is hard pressed to find fault with Petraeus. While providing some of the common criticisms of Petraeus, he is quick to detract from them by adding his own rebuttals. One area of particular concern to Ricks was the September 2007 and April 2008 congressional hearings on the effectiveness of Petraeus and his methods in Iraq. The author relays the concerns of congress in supporting the troop levels in Iraq, particularly at a time when both political parties were feeling especially accountable to voters. Petraeus, who had to stand by for the effectiveness of the Surge, was grilled by several presidential hopefuls. Two areas where Ricks was particularly disgusted were MoveOn.org’s defamation of Petraeus and then Senator Hillary Rodham Clintons’ claim, “I think the reports that you provide us really require the willing suspension of disbelief.” Ricks identifies Petreaus’ victories over Clinton by masterfully evading her questions and claims, upholding Congress’ confidence in his direction in Iraq. Rick’s support of the Surge is capped by the quote from Al-Qaeda’s second in command Ayman al Zawahiri, “Today, the wind-by the grace of Allah-is blowing against Washington,” as the reader is reminded who this political squabbling benefits.
When identifying Petraeus as a hero, Ricks does not neglect us of the general’s contributions to Iraq. Among the many is a complete reversal of mission, from the military eliminating insurgents and handing power over to a democratically elected Iraqi government in a timely manner to the commitment to understand and provide the Iraqi citizens protection from Shiite militants, al Qaeda, and even the religious inspired cleansing of the Iraqi National forces. Refraining from the timetable approach to withdrawal, the author believes in the necessity of prolonged occupation, comparative to America’s role in Western Europe after World War II.
Regardless of the Surge’s successes, Ricks does not paint a rosy post-Surge picture of Iraq. He reminds us of the tribal nature of Iraq, its division based on religion and ethnicity, and warns heavily of the Iranian influences in a now Shia run country. Contradicting American hopes that intervention in Iraq has not been in vain, Ricks provides a poignant quote from the police chief in Fallujah, “No democracy in Iraq. Ever.”
The Gamble is a reader friendly book, with plenty of opportunities for advanced study. Appreciable is the addition of generous appendices, allowing for easy comparison of the Casey and Petraeus missions in Iraq. There are several illustrations, some attributing to counter-insurgency techniques, like Captain Travis Patriquin’s cartoonish diagrams on building rapport with the sheiks of Anbar, some more amusing like the comparison of Generals Petraeus and Ambassador in Iraq Ryan Crocker to Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier in “The Defiant Ones”. Also helpful is the list of military abbreviations in the begging of the book, though the author often provides explanation of the abbreviations in the text. One unusual, but beneficial, addendum is that of the “Cast of Characters,” which identifies the wars participants, along with their positions and the year that they were important. With all of these generous features, author notes and sources are slight. This could be attributed to Rick’s reliance on interviews for most of his information, not necessarily a bad thing given the timeliness of the subject matter.
The Gamble outlines an ever important change in American policy in Iraq, identifying the Surge as the turning point, with Petraeus as its hero. While “the gamble” is a won battle, Ricks is careful to remind the reader that the war is far from over and will never be a victory in the way that former president George W. Bush had envisioned. In recognizing this, Ricks raises some legitimate concerns for the future of Iraq making The Gamble a useful source for information on the war, while posing questions about the feasibility of American withdrawal.
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Mar 18, 2009 Jack rated it 4 of 5 stars

"War without End" is the title of the final section of this book, and that exactly describes the reality of the war in Iraq within the perspective of the new counter-insurgency thinking. More than just the surge, the new strategy involved a radical change in military operations - a turn of objectives to protect the population, to engage the civilians with respect and in an non-confrontational manner, and to take a nuanced view against the insurgency. The book emphasizes that this surge, and the...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Jon rated it 4 of 5 stars

This may prove to be a more important book than Fiasco. Fiasco made me angry; The Gamble scares me. It is the story of "the surge": not simply an increase in troop numbers, but a change in strategy to counterinsurgency, requiring more manpower. Ricks makes clear, in a way I have not seen in any other account, just how badly fractured Iraq was (and is). This was not a two-sides conflict of "the government" vs. "the insurgency". With the surge, the US military (and US money) stepped in the middle...more

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Apr 05, 2009 Drake rated it 4 of 5 stars

In ‘The Gamble,’ by Thomas E. Ricks, documents the recent ‘Surge’ policy in the Iraq War. It is a great companion to Bob Woodward’s ‘The War Within.’ Where Woodward has almost unlimited access to the political figures involved with the surge, Ricks mirrors with his extensive access to the military generals who helped shape the changing policy in Iraq. Being a top Pentagon reporter for the Washington Post, his analysis of the surge is well thought out, lacking the usual punditry of the extremes o...more In ‘The Gamble,’ by Thomas E. Ricks, documents the recent ‘Surge’ policy in the Iraq War. It is a great companion to Bob Woodward’s ‘The War Within.’ Where Woodward has almost unlimited access to the political figures involved with the surge, Ricks mirrors with his extensive access to the military generals who helped shape the changing policy in Iraq. Being a top Pentagon reporter for the Washington Post, his analysis of the surge is well thought out, lacking the usual punditry of the extremes on either side. His personal views, although I disagree with some, are intelligent, sharp, and first hand, from a man who not only directly knows the military actors in the drama, but likewise the participants on the ground in Iraq. In an era where good reporting has died in the face of televised punditry, I think his valuable reporting on the war in Iraq is needed more than ever. If you want to read a book about the military policies in Iraq, how the surge came to be, what success or failure means, this is the book to read.

“The surge was more about how to use the troops, than it was about the number of them,” is one of the overlying themes running throughout ‘The Gamble.’ Ricks demonstrates how General Odierno (switching from his former heavy handed tactics) along with the new leadership of General Petraeus, shift the focus of the occupation from a distant and vengeful force, to one immersed in the general population and who took Iraqi life seriously. At the brink of civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites (not to mention the Kurds), the new immersion policies helped to thwart further violence along with separating the Sunni insurgency from the more radical components of Al Qaeda. As Ricks puts it “the surge was the right step to take, or more precisely, the least wrong move in a misconceived war.” It reminded me of the NYPD’s policy of hiring officers from the areas that they patrolled and how this insider step enabled them to not only get a true picture of the inner workings of the neighborhood, but likewise opened communications leading to familiarity and trust with general population. These simple steps worked in NYC and likewise later in Iraq.

Ricks, however, does not draw an unlimited bright picture of the success of the surge. He documents how the military victories did not translate to political ones. Mired of constant deadlocks, the major politicians in Iraq were not able to make the same sacrifices and compromises as their constituents, which may eventually erode this fragile government. Self serving politicians, egomaniacs, and just plain maniacs in the Iraqi government, backed away at most decisive moments (and the US government did not intercede). The de facto leadership on the street, however, displayed the exact opposite trend, consolidating power at a rapid rate. A dangerous mix, reported by Ricks.

My only criticism of the book, came with Ricks conclusion that we are only half way through the war and the best US policy is an extended occupation (indeed this may be best for policy for Iraq, but questionable best US policy). However, agree with Ricks or not, his analysis is superb, calculated, and well reasoned. If you are interested in the surge and military policies in the Iraq War, ‘The Gamble’ is the book for you.(less)

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Sep 24, 2009 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, political, read-in-2009

Much like its subject, this book demands a commitment; it is not an easy read. It is well written and worth the time, though. Focusing on Petraeus as something of a system-bucking intellectual, this book avoids the first three-four years of the war in Iraq that enrage me most of all. Successfully explaining what people mean when they say things like "the surge was tactically successful, but a strategic failure" and giving a thorough view of the strategic situation from 2006-2008, this is a far m...more

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Apr 20, 2009 Tripp rated it 5 of 5 stars

Tom Ricks' The Gamble is an excellent book about the Surge, a subject that was largely discussed in terms of the Presidential debate. Ricks doesn't ignore that context, but he is more interested in how it happened and what it means. His takes a mixed view. He argues that the operational goal, the stabilization of the situation, worked, but the long term goal, creating a means for the US to exit, did not. If you are interested in the subject, then you really need to read the book. Rather than tal...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fascinating indepth analysis of changling military strategy in Iraq focused mostly 2006-7. Basically, this covers the period from obvious need of reassessment to a policy of greater engagement and ultiamtely the surge. From Bush to the dawn of Obama's involvement, this is centered around Petraeus' entre into the mess. It is particularly enlightening how cooperation and engagement went further than bullets and bombs and I was moved by the comment of British peace activist and Mideast expert (an...more

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May 02, 2009 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-war, iraq-war, read-in-2009

Iraq War from 2005-2008 and the military re-orienting from a conventional war (killing insurgents, tank warfare, detaining suspected insurgents’ families, operating on large Forward Operating Bases) to counterinsurgency tactics (win the hearts of the people, live near them, treat detainees better, the surge in Baghdad, paying off sunni insurgents)

Early u.s. (pre-surge) counterinsurgency tactical successes in tall afar and ramadi

Formulation of main surge/counterinsurgency strategy in Baghdad with...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Peter Buren rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Gamble is Ricks’ story of the Surge, and again is as close to an objective historical accounting as we have at this point. A bit more optimistic, and a tad too cheerleaderly regarding the insights of Petraeus and the reformed Odierno, the book occasionally slips into hero worship when discussing side characters to the Surge such as Odierno advisor Emma Sky. Written before the victory of the Surge mellowed into the slow stalled lack of progress that characterizes Iraq in mid-2010, the book en...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Dan Walker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A very good inside look at the "surge." I listed to the audiobook. Gives you a great understanding of the facts on the ground in Iraq before, during, and just after the surge. My criticism is that it gives little praise to Bush for deciding on the surge strategy. For example, the author is overflowing with praise for new Sec of Defense Gates, but ignores the fact that Bush would have had to select him for the role! No time is spent analyzing why Bush chose Gates. This is offset by the less-than-...more

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