Limit search to available items
Book Cover
E-book
Author Gallagher, Brendan R., 1978- author.

Title The day after : why America wins the war but loses the peace / Brendan R. Gallagher
Published Ithaca, New York : Cornell University Press, 2019
©2019

Copies

Description 1 online resource (xi, 308 pages)
Contents Introduction : why do we win the war but lose the peace? -- Kosovo : not perfect, but tolerable -- Afghanistan : a road to incoherence -- Iraq : the worst of all worlds -- Libya : a slippery slope -- Conclusion
Summary "Since 9/11, why have we won smashing battlefield victories only to botch nearly everything that comes next? In the opening phases of war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, we mopped the floor with our enemies. But in short order, things went horribly wrong.We soon discovered we had no coherent plan to manage the'day after.'The ensuing debacles had truly staggering consequences--many thousands of lives lost, trillions of dollars squandered, and the apparent discrediting of our foreign policy establishment. This helped set the stage for an extraordinary historical moment in which America's role in the world, along with our commitment to democracy at home and abroad, have become subject to growing doubt. With the benefit of hindsight, can we discern what went wrong? Why have we had such great difficulty planning for the aftermath of war?In The Day After, Brendan Gallagher--an Army lieutenant colonel with multiple combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, and a Princeton Ph.D.--seeks to tackle this vital question. Gallagher argues there is a tension between our desire to create a new democracy and our competing desire to pull out as soon as possible. Our leaders often strive to accomplish both to keep everyone happy. But by avoiding the tough underlying decisions, it fosters an incoherent strategy. This makes chaos more likely.The Day After draws on new interviews with dozens of civilian and military officials, ranging from US cabinet secretaries to four-star generals. It also sheds light on how, in Kosovo, we lowered our postwar aims to quietly achieve a surprising partial success. Striking at the heart of what went wrong in our recent wars, and what we should do about it, Gallagher asks whether we will learn from our mistakes, or provoke even more disasters? Human lives, money, elections, and America's place in the world may hinge on the answer"--Publisher's description
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Description based on online resource; title from resource home page (EBSCOhost, viewed March 5, 2021)
Subject Nation-building -- United States -- Case studies
Peace-building, American -- Case studies
Postwar reconstruction -- Case studies
Kosovo War, 1998-1999 -- Participation, American
Afghan War, 2001-2021.
Iraq War, 2003-2011.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Security (National & International)
Diplomatic relations
Military participation -- American
Military policy
Nation-building
Peace-building, American
Postwar reconstruction
SUBJECT Libya -- History -- Civil War, 2011- -- Participation, American
United States -- Military policy. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140379
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1989- http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh93001742
Subject Iraq
Kosovo (Republic)
Libya
Serbia
United States
Genre/Form Case studies
History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2019018062
ISBN 9781501739637
1501739638
9781501739644
1501739646