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America's War in Syria

America's War in Syria

Fighting with Kurdish Anti-ISIS Forces

by Dr Till Paasche, John Foxx and Shaun Murray

Imprint: Casemate

248 Pages, 6 x 9 in, 20-30 photographs

Hardcover
9781636241524
May 2022
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$34.95

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9781636241531
May 2022

$20.95

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

A unique assessment of American military involvement in Syria, written by three very different authors who between them participated in all large Kurdish operations between late 2014 and mid-2016, experiencing first-hand the impact America had on the battlefield.

With America’s War on Terror and the subsequent democracy experiments in Afghanistan and Iraq having turned into geopolitical disasters, the US military campaign in alliance with the Kurdish forces in Syria remains a rare success story. Considering the overwhelming military victory, the functioning Kurdish civilian governing structures that followed the fighting, the extremely light military footprint and the strong link to Kurdish partners, many political analysts, military experts and politicians in Washington, DC, judge the intervention against ISIS in Syria as the nation’s most successful campaign since World War II. However, since neither these experts nor many journalists were on the ground during the fighting, they struggle to explain exactly how this particular operation turned into a just war.

The authors, however, were there. Between the three of them, they fought for over two years with the Kurdish forces. They participated in all the large Kurdish operations against the Islamic State between late 2014 and mid-2016. They endured muddy archaic trench warfare, witnessed the first waves of decisive US and British airstrikes against ISIS, and experienced the impact America had on the battlefield.

Later, when American, British and French Special Forces were deployed at the front lines, the authors worked closely with those teams when they evacuated hundreds of wounded from the battlefield together.

Based on the authors' unique insights, this book analyses America’s war in Syria and structures the intervention into different phases including the secretive build up and the ultimate destruction of the ISIS Caliphate.

"...worth buying for multiple audiences, for scholarly research and to satiate interest in the war against ISIS." ~Journal of Military History

"...has relevance for readers studying the conflict in Syria, specifically but also for those looking at American interventions in general. The book would also be useful to those who are studying democratic theory and applying it to developing countries, and the Middle East in particular." ~Aether: A Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower

"The authors take a complex conflict and carefully explain the ever-changing alliances and support from myriad actors...The book was well written and enjoyable. I would suggest it to anyone who works or has interest in national security and modern military history." ~Col. Robert Sherrill, U.S. Marine Corps, Military Review

“The ‘war on terror’ launched by President Bush twenty years ago continues all over the planet in the dark, dirty places most Americans don’t think about. It has never ended. It will not anytime soon. Yet, even as thousands continue to die the conflict seems increasingly some sort of distant abstraction. This book changes all of that. It brings the war into stark focus, not as some Pentagon briefer would with his stack of PowerPoint slides but from the viewpoint of three very different men who for their own reasons put their lives on the line for freedom and the Kurds in Syria. As someone who has been on this ground and been in this fight, this is as real as it gets.” ~Sam Faddis, author of "The CIA War in Kurdistan"

"This first-hand account by combatants from the trenches, with all their grit, uncensored honesty and humanity, offers an unparalleled deeper insight into a conflict that few people really understood. The authors do a wonderful job of making the war against ISIS a detailed and very personal experience for the reader." ~David Romano, Thomas G. Strong Professor of Political Science, Missouri State University

"What makes America's War in Syria so critical to read is that neither Mideast experts nor many journalists were actually on the ground fighting ISIS and thus incapable of describing what truly went on during combat. A must-read, without reservation or qualification." ~ARGunners.com

"...a fascinating and down-to-earth look at the war against the so-called Islamic State from the vanguard. The gritty, honest narrative gives the reader a close look at the war, its participants and its victims. It provides an intimate understanding of a war most Americans know little about." ~Military Heritage Magazine