US Army Releases Critical History of the War in Iraq

Two-volume study is over 1,300 pages long

Years after its completion, the study “The United States Army in the Iraq War,” has been made available on the US Army War College Publications website. Released in two volumes, the study is around 1,300 pages long.

The study was meant to be a critical look at the lessons learned in the US occupation of Iraq, and the failures of US forces in the country throughout the conflict. It was the failures part that made the report highly controversial.

Though many top Army officials praised the study, completed in 2015, it also declared the war “largely unsuccessful,” and some in senior leadership have been resisting publication for years over fear it makes some involved in the war look bad.

The release of the study also sees the release of more than 1,000 newly declassified documents used in the research. In a newly written forward, Army Chief Gen. Mark Milley is downplaying the study as just an “interim work,” promising a more definitive version at some point in the future. This is likely attempt to deflect any focus on the failures, with the assumption they’ll be covered up in later editions.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.