The "surge" in Iraq was more than an increase of military force. Of greater importance was the change in the way U.S. forces were deployed. Repositioning the US military with Iraqi forces out in neighborhoods, the new strategy emphasized protection of the population and recognized that the only way to secure people is to live among them. This new counterinsurgency doctrine was authored in part by Peter Mansoor.
As executive officer to the commanding general, Mansoor served on a Council of Colonels that advised the Joint Chiefs of Staff to reassess the strategy for the Iraq War. Based in part on this group's deliberations, the United States began the "surge" strategy which resulted in improved security and greater political stability in Iraq. Mansoor was one of the major authors of the Iraq situation report, delivered by Petraeus to Congress in September, 2007.
(Ret.) Army Col. Peter Mansoor is a highly decorated officer with more than 25 years of military service. He led the first army Brigade during the early months and years of the war Iraq, gaining an up-close view of what went right and what went wrong as the U.S. continued its operation in Iraq.
Peter Mansoor graduated first in his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1982, and received masters and doctoral degrees in military history from The Ohio State University in 1992 and 1995. He also has a master's in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. He now teaches at Ohio State as the Chair of Military History.
In his memoir, Baghdad at Sunrise, Mansoor gives us a detailed analysis of the operation, the decisions made and the lessons that should be learned by the military and political leaders.
