I just finished reading Michael Yon’s Moment of Truth in Iraq:  How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope. If you are interested in the future and not the past, especially regarding the US policy in Middle East, then this is worth the 4 or so hours it takes to read.

Yon is a former Green Beret turned photo and print journalist.  He has probably spent more time in Iraq than any other reporter.  And, of this time, Yon spent his time with combat units and not in the relative safety of the “Green Zone” in Baghdad.  He was an on the ground eye witness of events.

Yon is not an administration apologist.  The book begins with stinging, and on the mark, criticisms of how the war was mishandled.  He does not waste time on debating the merits or wisdom of the war, he goes straight to the conduct and execution.  Among the first direct hits that Yon triggers is the fatal blunder of the appointment of Paul Bremmer and his decision to literally dissolve the old Iraqi bureaucracy.   Yon also goes after the Administration and pundit friends who failed to see and admit to an insurgency (catalyzed by the Bremmer blunder) which turned into a civil war and then failed to admit to the civil war that nearly ended in catastrophe.

Moment of Truth in Iraq proceeds to explain how and why things have changed in the last 18 to 24 months.  The factors include the depravity and evil of al Qaeda and its contribution to the Sunni Awakening, the brilliance of a new leader – General David Petraeus, and the great moral power and resourcefulness of the U.S. soldier.   Yon repeatedly drives these three fundamental points home with concrete example after example.  More than once this writer caught himself holding his breath.  

American military leadership, with its tradition and emphasis integrity, have ultimately played a larger role in the amazing change than firepower.  Yon cites how Iraqi infantry seeing American officers in combat “leading from the front” soon insisted upon the same qualities in their officers.  There is story after story of how Iraqis have come together because of their trust in the American military.  The horrible calumny of Abu Grhaib is in the past – there is the very recent incident of an Iraqi father bringing his sons into US military custody rather than to the local police, he did not know if his sons were guilty of terrorism but he knew the American would treat them with justice.  Indeed, one of General Petraeus’s first acts on taking command was a letter of instruction demanding from his soldiers-- morality in war.  Yon compares this letter with a similar instruction from General George Washington.

Yon does not argue that the war is over or won.  He does strongly take the position that defeat was near and that now victory is possible.  This is the underlying concern of the book.  Victory is possible and by this he means the solidification of a reasonably decent and unified Iraq at peace with itself and its neighbors.    Victory is possible because of the great learning that the US military underwent and has now proved itself to be “world class” in counterinsurgency warfare.  (If you read Learning to Eat Soup With a Knife, you’d see that the US military has been an A++ student.)

For Yon, the key to victory is political and moral courage on the home front. (Courage is not lacking in the US military, although there is the frequently heard remark about the military going to Iraq and America going to the mall.) Now that the right tactics and strategies are being conducted on the ground, it is time to continue them and reinforce them.  Exiting prematurely from Iraq in Yon’s view would be a disaster several magnitudes worse than the ignominy of surrender and defeat in Vietnam.

On this final point may hinge much of the future for the Middle East and for American influence and American interests.   Regardless of one’s position on this matter, Yon’s book is a document that one should honestly confront.  However, it is a report from a soldier turned journalist; there are a few descriptions and expressions that are disturbing.  Sometimes truth is disturbing.

Finally, near the end of the book, Yon relates how he recently said to an Iraqi soldier, “You know, some day Americans and Iraqis will be the best of friends.”  The Iraqi officer responded in disbelief:  “We already are good friends.”