Cobra II
The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
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Narrated by:
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Craig Wasson
About this listen
Written by Michael R. Gordon, the chief military correspondent for The New York Times who spent the war with the Allied land command, and Bernard E. Trainor, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general and former director of the National Security Program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cobra II traces the interactions among the generals, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and President George W. Bush. It dramatically reconstructs the principal battles from interviews with those who fought them, providing reliable accounts of the clashes waged by conventional and Special Operations forces. It documents with precision the failures of American intelligence and the mistakes in administering postwar Iraq.
Unimpeachably sourced, Cobra II describes how the American rush to Baghdad provided the opportunity for the virulent insurgency that followed. The brutal aftermath in Iraq was not inevitable and was a surprise to the generals on both sides; Cobra II provides the first authoritative account as to why. It is a book of enduring importance and incisive analysis, a comprehensive account of the most reported yet least understood war in American history.
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- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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During the last years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union sent some of its most elite troops to unfamiliar lands in Central Asia to fight a vaguely defined enemy, which eventually defeated their superior number with unconventional tactics. Although the Soviet leadership initially saw the invasion as a victory, many Russian soldiers came to view the war as a demoralizing and devastating defeat, the consequences of which had a substantial impact on the Soviet Union and its collapse.
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Correction
- By Alyssa B. Goss on 11-22-09
By: Gregory Feifer
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No Mission Is Impossible
- The Death-Defying Missions of the Israeli Special Forces
- By: Michael Bar-Zohar, Nissim Mishal
- Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In No Mission Is Impossible, Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal return with the intensely absorbing, fast-paced story of 30 of the boldest missions of the Israeli special forces. Bar-Zohar and Mishal depict in electrifying detail major battles, raids in enemy territory, and death-defying commando missions while also sharing the personal stories of both soldiers and top commanders, revealing their hopes and fears. The stories are often of victories, but sometimes they're of immense failures.
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Kept me somewhat entertained. Forgettable though
- By Oliver Nielsen on 05-06-16
By: Michael Bar-Zohar, and others
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A Better War
- The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam
- By: Lewis Sorley
- Narrated by: Basil Sands
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Neglected by scholars and journalists alike, the years of conflict in Vietnam from 1968 to 1975 offer surprises not only about how the war was fought, but about what was achieved. Drawing on authoritative materials not previously available, including thousands of hours of tape-recorded allied councils of war, award-winning military historian Lewis Sorley has given us what has long been needed - an insightful, factual, and superbly documented history of these important years.
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A thought-provoking history of the war 68-75
- By Rodney W. Schmisseur on 02-05-14
By: Lewis Sorley
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Not a Good Day to Die
- The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda
- By: Sean Naylor
- Narrated by: John Henry Cox
- Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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At dawn on March 2, 2002, America's first major battle of the 21st century began. Over 200 soldiers of the 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Division flew into Afghanistan's Shah-i-Kotvalley - and into the mouth of a buzz saw. They were about to pay a bloody price for strategic, high-level miscalculations that underestimated the enemy's strength and willingness to fight.
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50/50
- By Kindle Customer on 11-14-16
By: Sean Naylor
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American Soldier
- By: General Tommy R. Franks, Malcolm McConnell
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command from July 2000 through July 2003, General Tommy Franks made history leading American and Coalition forces to victory in Afghanistan and Iraq, the decisive battles that launched the war on terrorism.
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even more proud of our military
- By Brian on 08-12-04
By: General Tommy R. Franks, and others
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Third Reich Victorious
- Alternate Histories of World War II
- By: Peter G. Tsouras
- Narrated by: David Baker
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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This book is a stimulating and entirely plausible insight into how Hitler and his generals might have defeated the Allies, and a convincing sideways look at the Third Reich's bid at world domination in World War II. What would have happened if, for example, the Germans captured the whole of the BEF at Dunkirk? Or if the RAF had been defeated in the Battle of Britain?
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A fresh look at WW2 - false but makes one wonder.
- By Eggert Eggertsson on 09-05-15
By: Peter G. Tsouras
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The Gamble
- General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008
- By: Thomas E. Ricks
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
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Fiasco, Thomas E. Ricks's #1 New York Times bestseller, transformed the political dialogue on the war in Iraq - The Gamble is the next news-breaking installment. Thomas E. Ricks uses hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers in Iraq and extraordinary on-the-ground reportage to document the inside story of the Iraq War since late 2005 as only he can, examining the events that took place as the military was forced to reckon with itself.
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A Sure Bet
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Thomas E. Ricks
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The Endgame
- The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama
- By: Michael R. Gordon, Bernard E. Trainor
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 32 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The Endgame is Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor's most ambitious and news-breaking book to date. A peerless work of investigative journalism and historical recreation ranging from 2003 to 2012, it gives us the first comprehensive, inside account of arguably the most widely reported yet least understood war in American history - from the occupation of Iraq to the withdrawal of American troops.
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Interesting Perspective, but One-Sided
- By Benjamin on 02-09-14
By: Michael R. Gordon, and others
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Hunting the Caliphate
- America's War on ISIS and the Dawn of the Strike Cell
- By: Dana J.H. Pittard, Wes J. Bryant, General David Petraeus - Foreword by
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain, Shawn Compton
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In this vivid first-person narrative, a Special Operations Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) and his commanding general give fascinating and detailed accounts of America's fight against one of the most barbaric insurgencies the world has ever seen. In the summer of 2014, three years after America's full troop withdrawal from the Iraq War, President Barack Obama authorized a small task force to push back into Baghdad. Their mission: protect the Iraqi capital and US embassy from a rapidly emerging terrorist threat.
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Disconnected and Dry
- By Anthony on 12-19-19
By: Dana J.H. Pittard, and others
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Combining meticulous research with compelling storytelling, After the Prophet explores the volatile intersections of religion and politics, psychology and culture, and history and current events. It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of the Shia-Sunni split.
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A good novel - but poor history
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Degrade and Destroy
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In Degrade and Destroy, the bestselling author and Wall Street Journal national security correspondent Michael R. Gordon reveals the strategy debates, diplomatic gambits, and military operations that shaped the struggle against the Islamic State. With extraordinary access to top U.S. officials and military commanders and to the forces on the battlefield, Gordon offers a riveting narrative that ferrets out some of the war’s most guarded secrets.
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When will we learn…
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The Achilles Trap
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From the Saddam’s Point of View.
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The Endgame is Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor's most ambitious and news-breaking book to date. A peerless work of investigative journalism and historical recreation ranging from 2003 to 2012, it gives us the first comprehensive, inside account of arguably the most widely reported yet least understood war in American history - from the occupation of Iraq to the withdrawal of American troops.
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What listeners say about Cobra II
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sonya B.
- 05-05-23
3rd time through the book
I enjoy this book every time I go through it. Every time I pick up on something new along the way. Well written account that doesn't pull punches.
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- Kappi
- 08-04-20
Valuable Strategic & Operational Perspective
While there are many tactical-level accounts of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), this book has provided the most comprehensive look at the strategic and operational-level decision making involved in planning for and executing the first few months of the war. My overall impression: 1) I can’t believe just how wrong our leadership was in our view of Saddam, the Iraqi military and government, and the limits of our capabilities; and 2) I better understand the perspectives of those that fought in the Vietnam war: they have a holistic understanding of the interplay between the state, military, and people, and had experienced first-hand the failure to those that took this for granted. I’m not surprised to learn from this book that Colin Powell was the one leader closest to forecasting the difficulties we would experience.
By the way...the narration was very good. A little dramatic at times, but he didn’t put me to sleep.
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- grimm79
- 05-25-16
Makes a complex event easy to get into
The narration was very well done. Natural sounding emphases and stresses helped keep me engaged and enjoying the sometimes complex content. I very much appreciated the author's' reminders of some events and concepts; it helped maintain a sense of context while delving into the details.
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- Pen Name
- 03-05-24
standard
As a student studying religion and conflict cobra two is pivotal to understanding how operation araki freedom scuttled out of control
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- chaz baum
- 03-28-20
Outstanding read
This book creates an interesting dynamic for a war history. Providing a detailed account of the US and Bush administration and the parallel story of the Iraqi governments decisions before and at the start of the war. It goes through how both sides really sacked it on decision making and missed clear indicators. It then gives a boots on the ground recounting of the war with ties back to the effects from decisions made by leadership. The book ends by looking at how the US leaders were miss guided, miss informed, and ignorant on how to rebuild Iraq which is honestly more tragic than anything else. It's hard when there was potential and it ends with Iraqis viewing the US soldiers as occupiers rather than liberators. This is great history and I look forward to the next book where I can hear how a second administration sacks it and leaves the Iraqi people out to dry.
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- Jennifer Gray
- 02-25-21
A Must-Read for Every OIF Veteran
Awesome, incredible amount of insight from the White House down to war fighters in the field.
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- Graham
- 09-02-07
Informative military account of the War in Iraq
Cobra II is a comprehensive and elaborately detailed account of the planning, execution and aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Describing in detail meetings, teleconferences and phone calls between CENTCOM, The Pentagon and the White House, this book tells the story of how Donald Rumsfeld’s vision of a new type of warfare leads the war into the quagmire it is in today. The book is written from a military historians perspective and is replete with stories of soldiers bravado and courage. It is filled with interesting sources such as details about initial war planning meetings that were held in a trailer in the CENTCOM parking lot. The book explains the Bush Administration’s false expectations that there would be no need to engage in complex nation building and an extended conflict. After the invasion the Iraqi police, military and bureaucracy would remain intact. These false assumptions, based on bad intelligence, are the reason for the current situation in Iraq, according to the book. The narrator is clear and not dull but often adds a macho emphasis especially when describing weapons and attacks. This audio book is well worth the price.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Robert
- 05-05-16
Really good read
As a vet of the early days of OIF, I am fascinated with the decision making behind the scenes, this book goes into great details of how politicians hamper the warfighter
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- Andrew J
- 04-09-19
Illuminating
One of the most well researched, candid, and honest looks at this war, how it began, and how it was executed... Hardline pundits of both the left and right are sure to be angered by disclosures found this book. Unapologetically honest, it should be required reading for anyone seeking to engage in public discourse on international or military affairs.
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- Paul J. Sechler
- 08-18-21
phenomenal!
super detail and clinical assessment of the political and military at operational and strategic levels. read this now!
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