Awakening Victory: How Iraqi Tribes and American Troops Reclaimed Al Anbar and Defeated Al Qaeda in Iraq

by Michael Silverman

Overview

An “instructive first-hand account of how Iraq’s insurgents were defeated” in the surge of 2007—written by a Combat Arms Battalion Commander who lived it (Publishers Weekly).
 
In August 2006, the American war in Iraq was looking grim. Control of Al Anbar Province, the seat of the Sunni insurgency, was said to be irrevocably lost to the insurgents. Al Qaeda in Iraq had planted their flag in the provincial capital, Ramadi, declaring it the capital of their new “Islamic State of Iraq.”
 
In January 2007, the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, deployed to Ramadi, spearheading a surge that would become the D-Day of the Global War on Terror. By mid-summer 2007, attacks in the province were down ninety percent. As the “awakening” swept through Iraq, it brought about the best security situation since 2003. The 3rd Battalion was the only unit to participate in this campaign from start to finish. Moreover, many of the US successes came directly from this unit’s work.
 
Awakening Victory tells the story of this incredible campaign through the eyes of the 3rd Battalion commander. It describes the battalion’s actions, including incidents previously unknown to the public, but it is not merely another war story. The author uses the actions of his battalion to describe a paradigm shift, moving from a war of bombs and bullets to one of partnership and ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612000770
Publisher:	Casemate Publishers
Publication date:	01/10/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	337
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Lt. Col. Michael E. Silverman (ret) is a political scientist and historian by education and has extensive experience in both warfare and Middle Eastern affairs, including a tour as an advisor to a Saudi Arabian infantry battalion in Riyadh. Silverman served a two-year detail to the Central Intelligence Agency at their Langley headquarters between his last two tours in Iraq. There he was privy to the Director’s Weekly Iraq Briefing, a working group that discussed issues on the war, many of which ultimately found their way into the President’s Daily Briefing. Well-versed in international affairs and world religions, he writes with the authority of someone who has both been blown-up by an IED and helped to shape US strategic policy for the Global War on Terror. In this book he describes, from the very front line, the exact turning point where the United States turned a supposedly failed war into a possibly enduring success.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Invasion 3

Chapter 2 Rise Of The Insurgency 17

Chapter 3 The Train-Up 25

Chapter 4 Through The Looking Glass 43

Chapter 5 Bad Guys And Good Guys 55

Chapter 6 A Rainy Morning In Georgia 77

Chapter 7 Changing Of The Guard 89

Chapter 8 The Dark Days 113

Chapter 9 Expensive Garbage Trucks 139

Chapter 10 Call To Freedom 155

Chapter 11 Out To Jazeera 175

Chapter 12 On The Eastern Front 197

Chapter 13 Everlasting Bomb Stoppers 223

Chapter 14 Dancing The Chobi 243

Chapter 15 Thar Thar Is Hot 261

Chapter 16 Chasing Al Queda 283

Epilogue: Muddy Bookends 301

Source Notes 305

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms 307

What People are Saying About This

Jerry D. Morelock

This is a riveting account of the 'sharp end' of fighting insurgents in Iraq. The successes Silverman reveals should give pause to the pundits who claim American forces are incapable of defeating a modern insurgency. Kudos to Casemate Publishing for another terrific book! (Jerry D. Morelock, Colonel, US Army, ret., Editor in Chief, Armchair General Magazine)

Editorial Reviews

In this instructive first-hand account of how Iraq's insurgents were defeated, Silverman recounts the operations of his unit in Anbar Province's city of Ramadi. A veteran of Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, Silverman deployed to Iraq for a third time in 2006 as the commander of a combat arms battalion assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team. When he arrived, Anbar province was viewed as "the most violent and dangerous place in Iraq", and the seat of the ongoing Sunni insurgency. The mission was to use modern counter-insurgency methods to separate Iraqi nationalists from Al-Qaeda terrorists, while winning the support of the population and its tribal and clan-based "sheikh" system. As the terrorists were separated from support, they were forced to abandon safe havens and retreat to more deserted areas where they were destroyed. This controversial strategy was opposed by those who simply distrusted or hated all Iraqis, and who were reluctant or refused to work with them, as well as those who feared the emergence of Sunni militias. Silverman is critical of the assassinations of enemies and their effect on the population. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

…an amazing book about the progress made in Ramadi during the Anbar Awakening….perfect blend...

Cybertron Reviews

This is a riveting account of the ‘sharp end’ of fighting insurgents in Iraq. The successes Silverman reveals should give pause to the pundits who claim American forces are incapable of defeating a modern insurgency. Kudos to Casemate Publishing for another terrific book!

Armchair General - Jerry Morelock

"Awakening Victory is an excellent addition to the body of works that assists Americans in understanding the complexities of the Iraq War."

Colonel Dick Camp

This is a riveting account of the ‘sharp end’ of fighting insurgents in Iraq. The successes Silverman reveals should give pause to the pundits who claim American forces are incapable of defeating a modern insurgency. Kudos to Casemate Publishing for another terrific book!

Editor Armchair General Jerry Morelock