4-31 Infantry in Iraq's Triangle of Death

by Darrell E Fawley

The Iraqi Triangle of Death, south of Baghdad, was a raging inferno of insurgent activity in August of 2006; by November 2007, attacks had been suppressed to such an extent as to return the area to near obscurity. In the intervening months, the U.S. Army 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry ("Polar Bears") employed a counterinsurgency approach that set the conditions for a landmark peace agreement that has held to the present. With a focus on counterinsurgency, this book is the first to look at the breadth of military operations in Yusifiyah, Iraq, and to analyze the methods the Polar Bears employed. It is a story not of those who fought in the Triangle of Death, but of how they fought.

229 pages, Paperback

Published January 12, 2020

Reviews

[Hj Reichen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, at the time a lieutenant today an accomplished scholar and officer describes his unit’s actions in the Irak from 2006 to 2007. The book successfully combines the big picture of counterinsurgency and the challenges facing the troops on the ground. The author reminds us of the price paid by US troops trying to stabilize Irak and the ethical conundrum faced by junior leadership
The author is able to honestly appreciate the actions of his unit, as his own and asks the right questions. As western armies turn (again) to peer to peer conflict and the lessons of counterinsurgency are already fading, this book is an essential contribution to any officer willing to maintain understanding of mission command and operations against an un conventional enemy.