If there were a college class on the Iraq war, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq would be the textbook. This is by far the most well written and even-handed account of the Iraq War. Written as historical text, the book highlights the undercurrents that led America to invasion, including faulty intelligence, strategic breakdowns, and ideological battles of will. The authors dedicate a substantial portion of the book to archiving the breakdowns in post-war planning within the Bush Administration, in particular, those stemming from an effort to avoid prolonged nation building: the Department of Defense accepted the responsibility for post-war Iraq instead of the Department of State.

Comprehensive and thorough in their research, the authors leave no stone unturned when crafting this record of the 2003 invasion. Most compelling in the book is the detail Gordon and Trainor provide in presenting the Iraqi planning and strategy. After interviewing senior Iraqi officers and others intimately familiar with Saddam Hussein’s planning process, the authors demonstrate that while the Iraqi defensive plan for holding off a large American force was fundamentally flawed, it nonetheless planted the seeds for the ongoing insurgency.

In the end, Gordon and Trainor keep their personal point of view close to the vest. They become critical of the invasion only at the end when they posit the five failures the United States experienced during the invasion: 1. The Misreading of the Foe, 2. The Over reliance on Technological Advancement, 3. The Failure to Adapt to Developments on the Battlefield, 4. The Dysfunction of American Military Structures, and 5. The Bush Administration's Disdain for Nation-Building.

Our country is becoming weary from the war in Iraq, and polls show that most citizens would choose to ignore rather then relive the same frustrations they have felt for the past five years. For veterans, I see this book as a way to reflect on the blur that this war has been. But more importantly, Cobra II has quickly become the standard historical account for the Iraq war, and with the authors’ reputations as renown professional reporter and warrior, respectively, coupled with their incredibly detailed research, the book’s status is deserved. If you often opine about the Iraq war and haven’t yet read this book, you are doing yourself and the people listening to you a disservice.