With his understanding of the Iraqi culture and language, the author was able to gain the trust of Iraqi informants and to alert U.S. Army commanders of impending strikes as well as the whereabouts of known terrorists and insurgents. His frustrations mounted as, time after time, government inefficiencies and poor operational procedures failed to make effective use of this information. As Iraq re-formed, power plays went into effect that U.S. personnel were unaware of. Because of the U.S. policy to not 'interfere' in local matters, informants were often brutally murdered. Our government offered them no protection, and it became more and more difficult to get them to speak. One of the author's informants, a former Iraqi Colonel, told him: 'Listen, my friend. Gangs are the government of Iraq now. To deal with the gangs you will have to replace the entire government of Iraq, including the best friends of the Americans'. Read about the Pandora's box that erupted in Iraq due to poor U.S. policies and decisions, combined with a naive approach to a culture very different from ours. This book will change the way you think about the Iraq War, regardless of your present position on it.