Waterstones Task Force Black
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Price: £10.99
Brand: Waterstones
Description: The book the Mo D doesn't want you to read' Daily Mail Soon after British and American forces invaded Iraq they faced an insurgency that was almost impossible to understand, let alone reverse. Facing defeat, the Coalition waged a hidden war within a war. Major-General Stan Mc Chrystal devised a campaign fusing special forces, aircraft, and the latest surveillance technology with the aim of taking down the enemy faster than it could regenerate. Guided by intelligence, a small British special forces team met the car bombers' fire with fire and accounted for thousands of insurgents. Waterstones Task Force Black - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: Waterstones
Product ID: 9780349123554
Delivery cost: 2.99
ISBN: 9780349123554
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Author: N. Brown
Rating: 5
Review: There is a danger that works on such recent history as this and especially those involving the secretive work of special operations forces do not have the benefit of historical perspective nor the access to primary sources necessary for serious reflection on events. I myself tend to avoid books about the SAS and other SOF as they tend to either fall into the exploitive `war-porn' category or are written from the more narrow perspective of the soldiers themselves without the strategic overview that interests me. However, in this case I made an exception due to the pedigree of the author, Mark Urban. A long time ago, I'd read Mark Urban's previous book on the SAS's secret war against the IRA (Big Boy's Rules), but it was more his work as Defence Correspondent for BBC's Newsnight caused me to buy this book. Anyone familiar with Mark's work on that programme will know that not only is he very well informed and has a thorough understanding of the nature and reality of warfare, he is also a journalist of the highest integrity. In an age when `comment and opinion' has replaced factual reporting in so much of our media, Mark Urban stands out as a reporter who is able to stick to the facts and informed analysis without letting either personal or `the company' editorial line get in the way of the story. It is impossible to know from this and his regular TV work what the author's personal views of the invasion of Iraq, George W Bush or Tony Blair are, and for that reason this work carries so much greater weight. Task Force Black continues this high standard of reporting. Whilst this is a serious study of the SAS operations in Iraq, the author brings his journalistic flair to the narrative which means that the story is both clear and very engaging. This is, to use the cliché, a real page-tuner. However, those readers looking for accounts of superman like heroics and detailed operational matters maybe disappointed. Whilst the book does recount a number of the more significant raids and operations by UK SOF's, it achieves this in measured tones rather than tabloid style sensationalism. The real heart of the work though is the strategic and political background to these operations which are illuminating and appear well researched. Perhaps the most interesting and important thing to emerge from the book is the contrast between the SAS operations around Bagdad and the story of the `green army's' experience in the southern provinces around Basra. I was surprised to read how little involvement there was by the SAS in this part of Iraq in support of the UK's main effort. There was a world of difference between those engaging al Qaeda and those regular forces facing the Shia militias. As another reviewer has stated, many of the British Army's senior commanding offices became depressed and fatalistic about their role in Iraq. Even by 2005, the strategy became to seek the quickest exit. The British Army went into Iraq with a rather smug view that it was the most experienced counter-insurgency army in the world. However it quickly found out that Iraq was not Northern Ireland and rather than adapt and change, it retreated into a pessimistic and defeated mindset. The SAS in contrast, was flexible and adapted a more aggressive can-do stance early on. It was only the SAS and their intelligence support from SIS that redeemed UK participation in Iraq. There is so much in this book that warrants further discussion and examination. This is especially true in relation to the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan. Certainly, after reading this work, one feels more positive about the outcome there so long as the lessons are learnt and applied, and western public opinion can be persuaded that `victory'(of sorts) is possible.
Author: P hancock
Rating: 2
Review: I feel duped! I was expecting a thrilling and interesting book written by someone that has ‘been there’ and experienced military operations first hand, this book is written by a journalist. It feels like they have an agenda to push and have done so through this book. Undoubtedly well written (as would be expected from someone making a living from writing) but not what I was expecting.
