Victory Undone: The Defeat of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Its Resurrection as ISIS - Tapa dura

"Victory Undone: the Defeat and Resurrection of al-Qaeda in Iraq is an important and timely addition to the body of literature on the War against Terror. Carter Andress spent five years in the thick of the action, building the American-Iraqi Security Group into the most successful reconstruction and logistics contractor during the critical years between 2005 and 2010 when the fate of Iraq depended on victory over the al-Qaeda-led Sunni insurgency. Andress clearly demonstrates that this hard-won victory was achieved, only to be squandered by the corruption and ineptitude of the Baghdad government. The book is solid history that reads like a thriller." --General (ret.) Tommy Franks, Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command from 2000 to 2003 and leader of both Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom "With Victory Undone, Carter Andress has given us the single best account of life at ground level during Iraq's reconstruction. Controversial and compelling, Carter's propulsive memoir singularly unfolds the rapid evolution of a new breed: the contractor combatant. If you want to know what it felt like to be there, read this book." --Stuart W. Bowen Jr., former Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (2004-13) "Drawing on his army and business experience, Mr. Andress has written a vivid narrative about the key role private contractors played in helping defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq. Mr. Andress, and his coauthor Mr. McConnell, provide clear evidence that the terrorists were defeated by early 2009 when civilian casualties had fallen 90 percent from 2006 levels. But the authors argue convincingly that the withdrawal of American forces two years later, by opening the door for jihadists to invade, may put that victory at risk." --Ambassador Paul Bremer, Presidential Envoy to Iraq (2003-2004)

Here is a dramatic, first-person account of how the United States won the war in Iraq, only to see the peace lost by an unengaged administration, with Iraqis terrorized and the new "caliph" of ISIS promising, "I'll see you in New York." Military contractor Carter Andress was the ultimate boots-on-the-ground "civilian" in Iraq. While reporters, aid workers, diplomats, and even U.S. soldiers were often cut off from the "ground truth" in Iraq by the blast walls protecting the Green Zone and our bases, Andress was in the thick of things: driving through insurgent-infested territory, negotiating with hostile tribes, and witnessing the transformation of Iraq from chaos and violence to a stable multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian democracy that needed only minimal American support to defend itself - support, however, that thanks to the Obama administration was not forthcoming. A page-turner of a story, but also an incredibly important account of what actually happened in the Iraq War and afterwards, Victory Undone is a book every American needs to read.