Blood, Metal and Dust

How Victory Turned into Defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq

Ben Barry

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Paperback

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English

Osprey
31 May 2022

History; Afghan War; Iraq War; Military tactics; Battles & campaigns

SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY 2021, THE BRITISH ARMY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021, AS A FINALIST FOR THE 2020 ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION DISTINGUISHED WRITING AWARD. FIRST RUNNER UP IN THE TEMPLER MEDAL BOOK PRIZE 2021.

'With a soldier’s eye for telling operational details, Ben Barry offers an authoritative, compelling and inevitably bleak account of the American and British campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.'

Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King’s College London

Written by the author of the official British military analysis of the Iraq campaigns, Blood, Metal and Dust is the first authoritative military history of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to tell the detailed story of what happened on the ground.

From the high-ranking officer who wrote the still-classified British military analysis of the war in Iraq comes the authoritative history of two conflicts which have overshadowed the beginning of the 21st century. Inextricably linked to the ongoing ‘War on Terror’, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dominated more than a decade of international politics, and their influence is felt to this day.

Blood, Metal and Dust is the first military history to offer a comprehensive overview of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, providing in-depth accounts of the operations undertaken by both US and UK forces.

Brigadier Ben Barry explores the wars which shaped the modern Middle East, providing a detailed narrative of operations as they unfolded. With unparalleled access to official military accounts and extensive contacts in both the UK and the US militaries, Brigadier Barry is uniquely placed to tell the story of these controversial conflicts, and offers a rounded account of the international campaigns which irrevocably changed the global geopolitical landscape.

By: Ben Barry
Imprint: Osprey
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
Weight: 910g
ISBN: 9781472831040
ISBN 10: 1472831047
Pages: 560
Publication Date: 31 May 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Maps List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements 1 Before the Fall: The military experience of the US and its allies before 9/11 2 Strategic Shock and Response: Afghanistan from 9/11 to Operation Anaconda 3 Economy of Force: Stabilizing Afghanistan 2002–05 4 Operation Cobra II: The invasion of Iraq 5 Descent into Chaos: Iraq 2003–04 6 ‘As the Iraqis stand up we will stand down’: The Transition Strategy 2004–06 7 The Iraq Surge: Regaining the initiative 8 Learning under Fire: The struggle to adapt 9 The Battles for Basra: Britain’ s near-defeat in southern Iraq 10 Endgame in Iraq: Success turns to failure 11 The Enemy Gets a Vote: Afghanistan 2006–09 12 The Afghan Surge: 2009–12 13 The Failure of the Transition to Afghan Security Leadership 14 COVID-19: A dark postscript 15 Bloody Lessons Glossary Recommended Reading Endnotes Index

As Senior Fellow for Land Warfare for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Ben Barry has written extensively for IISS publications including Survival, its journal, and Strategic Survey, its annual assessment of world affairs. He is one of the authors of the annual Military Balance, an authoritative assessment of global military affairs, and his publications with Military Balance include 'Combat and Capability: Military Trends since 9/11', a concise analysis of the decade of military conflict from 2001 to 2011, published in 2012. Before leaving the British Army in October 2010, he wrote A Cold War: Front-line Operations in Bosnia 1995 -1996 describing his battalion's operational tour under both UN and NATO flags in the mid-1990s. The book was shortlisted for the British Army Book of the Year 2009 award. His final appointment was leading the British Army's analysis of the lessons of the Iraq campaign, which informs Blood, Metal and Dust.

Reviews for Blood, Metal and Dust: How Victory Turned into Defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq

At one level Blood, Metal and Dust is a clear, dispassionate and succinct military history of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is much more important than that. As the US and UK turn their backs too quickly on both wars, they are in danger of disregarding the lessons and so failing to profit from their experiences. This book puts that right. Ben Barry is forthright in his criticisms and depressingly correct in his conclusions. Blood, Metal and Dust is essential reading. --Sir Hew Strachan FBA FRSE, Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews and former Chichele Professor of the History of War at All Souls College, Oxford. With a soldier's eye for telling operational details, Ben Barry offers an authoritative, compelling and inevitably bleak account of the American and British campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. --Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London