Warrior King - Book Review

On the heels of Obama's naming of General Eric Shinseki as Secretary of Veteran's Affairs, I'd like to recommend a book written by a veteran of the Iraq war - "Warrior King - the triumph and betrayal of an American Commander in Iraq" - by Nathan Sassaman.

Nathan Sassaman was a 1985 graduate of West Point....captain and quarterback of Army football team....one of the most celebrated officers in the U.S. military....and also happened to belong to my sister and brother-in-law's church.

I borrowed this book from my brother-in-law. I was surprised to see him reading it, because I never, ever see him reading a book, except for the Bible. But he told me Nathan had been in his youth group at church and that he was an honest, stand-up citizen. Nathan sent my sister and brother-in-law a flag that had been flown in Iraq - as a thanks for their support of him throughout the years. I'm telling you this because I think it's important to understand who Nathan Sassaman is.

You might remember reading about the cover up and (apparent) drowning of two Iraqi detainees after American troops purportedly forced them to jump into the Tigris River. This was Sassaman's battalion and he was the person who was responsible for the cover up.

Nathan Sassaman Commanded 1st Battalion 8th Infantry Regiment in Iraq from 2003 - 2004. In this book, he is critical of the way the war was executed. There were errors and miscalculations from the Bush Administration (in particular, Rumsfeld), and some mid-ranking military personnel. He talks about the politicization (and cover up) of Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman. About the pay-offs to Iraqi citizens to appease their losses. About how we can't win the war, because it's not a war anymore, it's police enforcement. He criticized Bush's 2003 announcement that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended” as a rather spectacularly ill-informed display of hubris.

While this book is dry at times when he describes the day-to-day military operations, three passages resonated with me.

On pages 50 -51

About going to war in Iraq: "I also suspect rather strongly that the issue had been on the table for quite some time, perhaps long before 9/11".

About WMD's: "There were no hardcore chemical or nuclear weapons anywhere in that country. I don't think there ever were. I think the Bush Administration used the issue of weapons of mass destruction as a legitimizing argument - in other words, for public relations issues".

On page 30

About our next steps: "What I think our next president (whoever he or she might be) ought to do. Bring our soldiers home - now. Start today".

I have always been against the war in Iraq. I remember after 9/11 how everyone wanted justice for what had been done. How we went into Afghanistan to get bin Laden and those responsible for the attacks. Then one day...all of a sudden...out of the blue....I heard on C-Span that there was some sort of threat in Iraq. I remember thinking...Huh?...what happened to Afghanistan?

I remember watching Colin Powell saying things like - we can see the weapons right there - as he pointed to a hand sketched diagram. I remember Codoleezza Rice talking about giant mushroom clouds. They had me scared. But still, I thought....what about Afghanistan and those guys who attacked us?

Reading this book answered my questions. I would like to hear comments from anyone else who has read the book.

(Note: for those who do not know, General Shinseki, as Army Chief of Staff, said we would need more troops if we were to win in Iraq, was ignored, then promptly asked to retire. As we now know, he was correct.)