For the better part of the last half century, the United States has been the world's police, claiming to defend ideologies, allies, and our national security through brute force. But is military action always the most appropriate response? Drawing on his vast experience, retired four-star general Tony Zinni argues that we have a lot of work to do to make the process of going to war-or not-more clear-eyed and ultimately successful. He examines the relationship between the executive and the military; the challenges of working with the UN, coalition forces, and NATO; and the difficult choices that need to be made to create tomorrow's military. Among his provocative points: Virtually every recent American military operation follows a disconnected series of actions that lead to outcomes we never foresaw or intended. We need to assign accountability for the political decisions that can make or break a mission. Words and ideas are as important to victory in today's conflicts as bullets. From the Oval Office to the battlefield, Before the First Shots Are Fired is a hard-hitting analysis of the history of America's use of military action and a spirited call for change.

A former CENTCOM commander who served in Vietnam and in the Middle East argues that America is threatened more by the global conditions that lead to terrorism than by terrorism itself, in an account that makes recommendations on how the United States can promote a more stable and peaceful world. Reprint. 75,000 first printing.

Looking into the art of war and peace, as seen through the eyes of a retired Marine general, a fourth volume in the Commanders series offers important insights into the practice of leadership, chronicling the evolution of the U.S. Marine Corps through the Vietnam era, through the revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, to the new realities of the military in the post-Cold War, post-September 11th era. Reprint.

Looks at United States defense intelligence and activities in the Middle East, including the role of September 11th, the operations in Afghanistan , and the reconstruction of Iraq.