Former ISW Senior Fellow Michael R. Gordon Publishes Groundbreaking Account of the Iraq War

 The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq,

 from George W. Bush to Barack Obama

WASHINGTON, DC - The Institute for the Study of War is pleased to announce the publication of a comprehensive and heavily researched account of the war in Iraq by Michael R. Gordon, former Senior Fellow at ISW and Chief Military Correspondent at The New York Times. Co-written with Bernard E. Trainor during Gordon’s tenure at ISW, The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama, is a work of investigative journalism and historical reconstruction, which covers the Iraq conflict from 2003 through the first half of 2012.

Gordon and Trainor, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general, outline how American military and civilians failed to adapt as the strategy faltered during the early years of the war.   “These missed turning points might have shortened the conflict and provided more breathing room to establish a more inclusive Iraqi government.” The authors’ research was based on still-classified documents, as well as interviews with key figures in both the Bush and Obama administrations, including senior military officers and officials at State and Defense Departments and within the intelligence community. The authors also drew on interviews with Sunni and Shiite leaders, Kurdish politicians, tribal sheikhs, former insurgents, and senior Iraqi military officers to present Iraqi perspectives on the war.

Gordon and Trainor previously coauthored Cobra II, a well-regarded history of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and The Generals’ War, an account of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. At the New York Times, Mr. Gordon has covered a variety of national security issues, including military conflicts, defense policy, and the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons. Mr. Gordon has reported on the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Kosovo conflict, the Russian intervention in Chechnya, the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the American invasion of Panama.

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The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization. ISW advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives.