No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah

This description of the various attempts to control the Sunni city of Fallujah by the US forces tries to be scrupulously fair though its author is unashamedly ex-USMC. It repeatedly exposes the problems and inconsistencies of the imperial model of control. Americans would like the Iraqis the run their own city (there is unanimity here) but sadly the wrong sort of Iraqis are the ones with the experience to do it. No Iraqi seems to welcome US involvement, and the practical effect of the combat is a delight to Al-Jazeera, but equally the murderous regime within the city leave one unsurprised that its inhabitants decided to flee. When titans fight men must hide.

The book covers the overlapping levels on control over US policy and the consequences of failures and successes. But its great part is the accounts of the close fighting between the two sides. Both willing to take casualties, both constantly adapting and improving their tactics, neither for a moment contemplating defeat.

good book (0/0 people found this helpful)

ive read loads of books on modern warfare mainly the british SAS but his is also good, about america's rapid deployment force the us marines, this book is about the marines in the siege of fallujah and some other battles around the area its a great read and even terrifying when there in the 'house of hell'

Battle for Fallujah (0/0 people found this helpful)

Bing West caputures the full emotions of the troops on the ground the way this book was written made you feel as if you were there. A first class account of the battle.

Urban Fighting in Iraq (3/3 people found this helpful)

The battle of Fallujah pivoted around Iraq's most dangerous city, which emerged as a major battleground for the Iraqi insurgants and the American marines tasked to take it. In 2004 this bitterly contested urban battle cost the marines nearly 200 fatalities and the insurgents some several thousand. It was a bitterly fought battle with the insurgents fighting to the death with rudimentary weapons against the might and techno how of the US armed forces. The bravery and determination shown by both sides was of the highest order and the text flows with countless tales of fire fights, sniper battles and ambushes......sadly it is mainly about plain old fashioned brutal killing!

Meanwhile the whole narrative is tinged with the wasteful tale of political incompetence as Whitehouse meddling cancels the original assault mid way only to have to recommence it a few months later much to the chagrin of the embittered marines. 'No True Glory' is a testiment to the bravery of the US Marines and a cautionary tale about the political complexity of such battles.

A tale of brutal fighting which reads well and gives an insight to the dangers of urban conflict and the sacrifices involved. I also quite liked the insight that this book gives the reader about the equipment and back up available to the present day US soldier...it is really quite awesome! A first class read about a modern conflict from a good author.

Excellent Companion to The March Up (11/18 people found this helpful)

Bing West's co-authored book, The March Up, was one of the definitive books of Gulf War 2. Now, No True Glory forms an excellent companion to the troubled aftermath of that war.

West writes in the same style as Mark Bowden and other combat journalists, taking you from the highest levels of politics and command to the front lines and the Marines who must implement their policy. This book deals with the troublesome Iraqi city of Fallujah, a historic backwater in Iraq but also a nest of Sunni Baathist loyalists.

West briefly details the initial US Army and Marine units that were assigned responsibility for the city. Unfortunately, the city's needs were greater than the military could provide for and the populace less cooperative than in other Iraqi cities. Soon, Fallujah became a nest for insurgents. The US 1st Marine Division, responsible for Fallujah, have a go slow strategy to slowly control the city. The strategy begins to pay off. But when four American security contractors are captured and executed, displayed brutallly on a bridge for the world's TV cameras to witness, Washington wants the US Marines to close and clear the city. The Marines, despite their disagreement with the shift in strategy, move on the city. But when the insurgents skillfully manipulate Arab satellite TV networks and other international media into reporting "high" civilian casualties, President Bush orders the Marines to back off. Fallujah is handed over to a questionable Fallujah Brigade led by ex-Saddam Army officers. Of course, what results is predictable. Fallujah gets even worse and Al Qaeda operative Zarqawi begins using it as a base for kidnapping and execution. The Marines are then ordered to clear the city again, once and for all, and the cost will be greater than before.

Two things are striking in this account. If West's account of the high-level politics are correct, then those against the war in Iraq are incorrect about there being "no plan" for postwar Iraq. The problem was too many plans but not enough resources. West outlines no less than three chains of command in Iraq: the Coalition Provisional Authority led by Paul Bremer; the Coalition Joint Task Force (military) led by Lt. General Sanchez; and then a murkier chain led by a representative who reported back to the National Security Council and Dr. Condoleeza Rice. The three reporting avenues often clashed as to the true nature of events in Fallujah and what the response should be.

The other striking characteristic of the battles for Fallujah is how, despite all the technologies the US Marines and the US Army soldiers who supported them had at their disposal, the bloody task of clearing building after building and street after street required the same effort and cost of house-to-house fighting throughout the ages. West's accounts of bloody firefights begin to get repetitive: Marines patrol, encounter fire from a building, take wounded, storm building, take more wounded and dead, bring overwhelming firepower to silence attackers. But the point is to show that these battles were made up of hundreds if not thousands of these sequences. Twenty-first century or not, some things in war never change.

Whatever your feeling on the war, you will be hard hearted not to come away with respect and sympathy for the United States fighting man.

No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah

Bing West

Reader Reviews:

Manichean Struggle (0/0 people found this helpful)

good book (0/0 people found this helpful)

Battle for Fallujah (0/0 people found this helpful)

Urban Fighting in Iraq (3/3 people found this helpful)

Excellent Companion to The March Up (11/18 people found this helpful)

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