I just finished "Armagedon" by Leon Uris. No, its not a biblical epic. Its about how we took a conquered Germany and turned it into an ally--specifically the early years.
This book is a good 20 years old or more. I reading a used copy, which means it should have no signifigance for today's leaders. That is wrong.
It discusses the political planning done by the armed forces to create a stable government in every city we conquered. Were such units even considered for Iraq? It discusses how quickly the American public wanted to finish fighting and get the troops home, which would have resulted in the entire loss of Europe to the Soviet Union.
It discusses the pressure one Major was under to do acts and enforce policy that was against everything he believed the US stood for.
It discusses the plots and political machinations used by the Soviets to undermine the "Western" attempts at rebuilding Germany--many of which are being copied by Sadr and others in Iraq, and their leaders in Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
Its not a great book. Two characters die only to make sure we have a sad ending to the book.
However the tie in to today's politics kept me turning pages.
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