Excellent Review

Mac Owens reviews Cobra II:

War is never a simple thing. Armies have many moving parts and their operations are subject to friction. Even the best plan goes awry; even the most brilliant commander makes mistakes. A strategy that depends on the enemy's cooperation is not a good one. It is also the case that we don't always get to fight the war we want to fight, but the one our adversary wants us to fight. And it's also the case that the war is over when the loser says it's over — not when the winner thinks it is.

All of these observations apply in spades to Iraq. Will we learn from our mistakes? The chances that we will are improved if there is an honest account of what happened. In Cobra II, Michael Gordon and Mick Trainor have provided that sort of account. As such, it sets a high standard for investigative military history.