Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq During World War II - Hardcover

"You will enter Iraq both as a soldier and as an individual, because on our side a man can be both a soldier and an individual. That is our strength - if we are smart enough to use it. It can be our weakness if we aren't. As a soldier your duties are laid out for you. As an individual, it is what you do on your own that counts - and it may count for a lot more than you think."

The U.S. military could certainly have used that bit of wisdom in 2003, as violence began to eclipse the Iraq War's early successes. Ironically, had the Army only looked in its own archives, they would have found it - that piece of advice is from a manual the U.S. War Department handed out to American servicemen posted in Iraq back in 1943. The advice in "Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq during World War II", presented here in a new facsimile edition, retains a surprising, even haunting, relevance in light of today's muddled efforts to win Iraqi hearts and minds. Designed to help American soldiers understand and cope with what was at the time an utterly unfamiliar culture, this brief, accessible handbook mixes do-and-don't-style tips ("Always respect the Moslem women." "Talk Arabic if you can to the people. No matter how badly you do it, they will like it.") with general observations on Iraqi history and society. The book's overall message still rings true - dramatically so - more than sixty years later: treat an Iraqi and his family with honor and respect, and you will have a strong ally; treat him with disrespect and you will create an unyielding enemy. With a foreword by Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl reflecting on the manual's continuing applicability - and lamenting that it was unknown at the start of the invasion - this new edition of "Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq" will be essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of Iraq and the fate of the American soldiers serving there.