Sniper One: On Scope and Under Siege with a Sniper Team in Iraq
Sergeant Dan Mills. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008. 350 pp. Illus. $26.95.
In April 2004, the newly arrived 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales Royal Regiment became immersed in a bloody siege at the city of Al Amarah by the militia-led Mahdi Army. More than seven months and two Mahdi uprisings later, the battalion had endured continuous combat and paid a high butcher's bill.
The author was the sniper platoon commander in a hard-charging outfit that was outgunned and outmanned, but managed to stave off every enemy attack. Although one company lost nearly half its men, Sergeant Mills' 18-man platoon took relatively few casualties.
This book features straight talk. Much as it does in the company of U.S. military forces, the all-purpose F-word abounds. In his "delicate fireside chat" with an Iraqi police chief, the colonel asked, "Your men have had all the training, we've cleared up the enemy for you, so, with respect, sir, is there any reason why they can't start earning their f---ing pay now?"
Sniper One consists of 29 untitled chapters and an epilogue. It includes color photographs of the battalion position in Al Amarah; Sergeant Mills' platoon; an L96 sniper rifle with night sight; and sniper teams deployed in various positions. Posted on the platoon's bulletin board is a newspaper article by Muqtada al-Sadr declaring his readiness for martyrdom. Scrawled over it in bold is, "British Snipers Warn: We Will Help You Get There."
Here is a no-holds-barred account by an experienced noncommissioned officer who previously served his country in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, and the Falkland Islands. It is also an excellent reminder of the critical role played by our British allies in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Enemy of the State: The Trial and Execution of Saddam Hussein
Michael A. Newton and Michael P. Scharf. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008. 305 pp. Illus. Gloss. Notes. Index. $26.95.
The authors, both professors who specialize in international war crimes law, spent a year leading a team that trained judges and prosecutors for the trial of Saddam Hussein. They are eminently qualified to provide readers with fascinating stories and little-known tales of the trial and attempts to bring the rule of law to post-invasion Iraq.
Enemy of the State treats us to the processes that were involved in deciding whether the death penalty should apply, how to hold a fair trial when political and military passions run high, and which of Saddam's many crimes the prosecution should focus on. Not least, it reveals the authors' views of the brave Iraqi lawyers who defended their society and made the entire process possible.
Chapter 6, "Disorder in the Courtroom," gives a full account of a trial that was simply bizarre. Saddam's half-brother often sat with his back to the bench, clothed in long underwear. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the cantankerous defense adviser to the anti-Vietnam War "Chicago Eight," was Saddam's "chief American lawyer." Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz defended Saddam as "the fallen leader" that the country's new rulers wanted to kill.
Featuring exceptional photos, the book gives readers an informative time line that dates from Saddam's birth in 1937 to his assumption of power in 1968, and the subsequent murder of 140 Dujail townspeople for which he was tried. Thereafter, it tracks key events leading to his execution in December 2006.
Newton and Scharf offer a detailed study of an epic if quirky trial, one that, thankfully, does not submerge us in legal mumbo-jumbo.
Fighting to Leave: The Final Years of America's War in Vietnam, 1972-1973
Colonel Robert E. Stoffey, USMC (Ret.). Minneapolis, MN: Zenith Press, 2008. 336 pp. Illus. App. Bib. Gloss. Index.
In his foreword to this book, retired CNO (and former Seventh Fleet commander) Admiral James L. Holloway III writes, "Vietnam was the most intensely reported war in the American experience. Grim scenes on the living room TVs of millions of Americans every night during the evening news exerted an influence on national policy that determined the strategic direction of the war."
The author explains how the final phase of major U.S. involvement in Vietnam signaled "political—not military—defeat." He chronicles the last difficult years that some of us remember so well.
When North Vietnam launched its massive attack on the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) in 1972, offshore U.S. 7th Fleet forces "watched in shock." Vice Admiral William Mack, then-fleet commander, remarked that it was "one helluva invasion. Bigger than I envisioned." After continuous messages to higher headquarters, the Joint Chiefs of Staff eventually directed the fleet to respond—but only with "limited force."
As the situation continued to deteriorate, however, U.S. responses included B-52 strikes on North Vietnam and mining of major ports. Ably supported by U.S. air and naval gunfire support, the RVN counteroffensive resulted in the recapture of key objectives and extremely high casualties in South and North Vietnamese units—especially the latter. Following the peace agreement in January 1973, the dismal events leading to the U.S. evacuation of Saigon in April 1975 are related in detail.
Colonel Stoffey served two tours in Vietnam as a combat aviator and a third tour with the 7th Fleet staff. His last assignment afforded him special insight to the final days of that costly conflict.
Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War inside Iraq
Mike Tucker and Charles Faddis. Guildford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2008. 216 pp. Gloss. Bib. Index. $24.95.
Although the formal invasion of Iraq began in March 2003, it actually started almost nine months earlier, when an eight-man counterterrorist team of Americans crossed into Kurdistan from Turkey. Its mission was to strike at al Qaeda forces and assist in overthrowing Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.
Drawing on interviews of the CIA team leader, this engaging account tells of one dangerous covert assignment that helped pave the way for the U.S.-led Coalition's all-out offensive. His elite troops were nearly all bearded, fluent in the language of survival, and skilled in the clandestine arts.
The leader, "Sam," a former Army armor officer, handpicked his men at CIA headquarters, three of whom had fought terrorists in Afghanistan soon after 9/11. Following refresher training on combat skills and languages, the unit was ready to deploy by March 2002.
In the chapter on operations in Kurdistan and northern Iraq (March to May 2003), Sam notes, "The Kurds were brilliant and did not fail us." Even so, he disputes the impression given by Bob Woodward in Plan of Attack with respect to the bombing of rail lines by Kurds. According to Sam, "the entire sabotage campaign up north was created, planned, and orchestrated by my team."
Operation Hotel California conveys a considerable dissatisfaction with higher headquarters—starting with the White House—which is certainly not surprising among those at the pointy end of the spear. On the other hand, the book's epilogue is disappointing because it detracts from impressive combat actions by lurching to a largely unrelated agenda, such as promoting national service for American males and a counterterrorism tax on U.S. citizens.