The Story Behind the U.S. Troop Surge in Iraq
(Editing by Gaby Bruna; Interview by Amanda Zamora, Gaby Bruna; Images Courtesy Capt. Samuel Cook)
Capt. Samuel Cook details his unit's efforts to implement an insurgent amnesty program in the Sharqat area of Iraq's Salahuddin Province. "When we started negotiations, there was a lot of discussion about whether or not this was the right approach," Cook said. "This was a very risky strategy that I felt was worth the risk."
Excerpts: The Gamble
The Insurgent Who Loved Titanic
BY THOMAS E. RICKS
Special to The Washington Post
Special to The Washington Post
This excerpt was taken from "The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008" by Thomas E. Ricks, Penguin Group © 2009
Capt. Samuel Cook, who was commanding the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's C troop in the northern Tigris Valley in Salahuddin Province, had been pursuing the local leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, whom he considered a "very passionate, eloquent speaker, well educated." The terrorist leader offered to talk, and Cook took him up on it. "He was tired of being on the run, and he no longer believed in what he had once been preaching," Cook said. FULL STORY »
