Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
 Superb Book - Buy it February 20, 2010
Douglas Newell (Ayrshire, UK)
44 out of 51 found this review helpful
This is a superb book recounting the story of the SAS (and Delta Force's) secret war against Al Queda and the Shi'ite militias, many of whom were backed by Iran and their revolutionary Guards. The author of this book is a well respected BBC defence correspondent with multiple contacts in the military and who spent time as an embed (as he recounts in the book) with American forces around Baghdad. As such the author is well qualified to narrate this tale and in doing so provides a book that is well researched and authentic.
Be warned though, the author is also a well respected military historian (Big Boys Rules, Fusiliers, Rifles, etc) and while the book includes many stories of derring do, its primary role is to tell the history of this particularly nasty theatre of the Iraq War. In this way it is not a "kill and tell" adventure story like Bravo Two Zero or Sniper One.
The one surprise in this book, I found, was the author's pretty damning revelations about the "defeatism" which permeated certain sections of the British Army officer class, particularly senior officers, and which had a detrimental effect on UK relations with the US allies and with the prosecution of the conflict in Southern Iraq ... eventually culminating in what can only be called a Defeat for the UK.
I'm not sure why a previous reviewer gave this only 1 star and had a pop at the author, maybe he read a different book or maybe he has his own agenda in slagging it off, but rest assured he is wrong. This is a SUPERB book and I would thoroughly recommend it to both readers of the more "populist" books like Bravo Two Zero (it has lots of stories of SAS raids) and for those looking for a more distanced analytical review of the Iraq War (it traces the entire Iraq war, though concentrates on the years 2004 to 2007).
Buy this book, you won't regret it.
A first class work and a balance and informed read. Highly recommended March 18, 2010
N. Brown (UK)
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
There is a danger that works on such recent history as this and especially those involving the secretive work of special operations forces do not have the benefit of historical perspective nor the access to primary sources necessary for serious reflection on events. I myself tend to avoid books about the SAS and other SOF as they tend to either fall into the exploitive `war-porn' category or are written from the more narrow perspective of the soldiers themselves without the strategic overview that interests me. However, in this case I made an exception due to the pedigree of the author, Mark Urban.
A long time ago, I'd read Mark Urban's previous book on the SAS's secret war against the IRA (Big Boy's Rules), but it was more his work as Defence Correspondent for BBC's Newsnight caused me to buy this book. Anyone familiar with Mark's work on that programme will know that not only is he very well informed and has a thorough understanding of the nature and reality of warfare, he is also a journalist of the highest integrity. In an age when `comment and opinion' has replaced factual reporting in so much of our media, Mark Urban stands out as a reporter who is able to stick to the facts and informed analysis without letting either personal or `the company' editorial line get in the way of the story. It is impossible to know from this and his regular TV work what the author's personal views of the invasion of Iraq, George W Bush or Tony Blair are, and for that reason this work carries so much greater weight.
Task Force Black continues this high standard of reporting. Whilst this is a serious study of the SAS operations in Iraq, the author brings his journalistic flair to the narrative which means that the story is both clear and very engaging. This is, to use the cliché, a real page-tuner. However, those readers looking for accounts of superman like heroics and detailed operational matters maybe disappointed. Whilst the book does recount a number of the more significant raids and operations by UK SOF's, it achieves this in measured tones rather than tabloid style sensationalism. The real heart of the work though is the strategic and political background to these operations which are illuminating and appear well researched.
Perhaps the most interesting and important thing to emerge from the book is the contrast between the SAS operations around Bagdad and the story of the `green army's' experience in the southern provinces around Basra. I was surprised to read how little involvement there was by the SAS in this part of Iraq in support of the UK's main effort. There was a world of difference between those engaging al Qaeda and those regular forces facing the Shia militias. As another reviewer has stated, many of the British Army's senior commanding offices became depressed and fatalistic about their role in Iraq. Even by 2005, the strategy became to seek the quickest exit. The British Army went into Iraq with a rather smug view that it was the most experienced counter-insurgency army in the world. However it quickly found out that Iraq was not Northern Ireland and rather than adapt and change, it retreated into a pessimistic and defeated mindset. The SAS in contrast, was flexible and adapted a more aggressive can-do stance early on. It was only the SAS and their intelligence support from SIS that redeemed UK participation in Iraq.
There is so much in this book that warrants further discussion and examination. This is especially true in relation to the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan. Certainly, after reading this work, one feels more positive about the outcome there so long as the lessons are learnt and applied, and western public opinion can be persuaded that `victory'(of sorts) is possible.
Finessing Phoenix April 15, 2010
Dr Neil MacNeill (Ellenbrook, Western Australia, Australia)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Mark Urban: Task Force Black
Mark Urban has a journalist's eye for finding the important issues in the muddied waters of reporting modern warfare. While the overt purpose of the book is to relate the British Special Forces' experiences in Iraq, the standout hero is the American general Stan McChrystal, who re-wrote the special warfare manual.
Vietnam taught the world that external military forces cannot win a war against a determined enemy that occupies the ideological, nationalistic or religious high ground. The Phoenix Program was launched in Vietnam in 1967 to counter the Communists, using the terror tactics. Intelligence identified the communist cadres who were embedded in village structures and they were neutralised. The black clad operators dressed as the Vietnamese communists and if communist retribution in 1975 is a measure of effectiveness, the program was successful, although it had received bad press as an assassination program.
McChrystal faced a massive problem in Iraq as competing groups fought for control. He developed the next iteration of Phoenix, and worked out a program of removing the opposition leadership, and those responsible for allied deaths. So, what was different? McChrystal was able to utilise massive intelligence collection strategies that included Humint and Sigint. The ubiquitous cell phone was the Achilles' heel for many of the opposition, which the Americans milked dry. Computer technology allowed surreptitious vehicle tracking, while the predators relayed real-time vision.
Urban was able to recount the sensitivities that the British faced in Iraq, when working with the Americans. It was sad that the relationship often boiled down to personalities.
This is an excellent book, and Urban's clever writing accommodates the requirements of a diverse range of readers.
A Must Read March 4, 2010
P. Waller (North Yorkshire)
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
For the readers of the SAS and operations this is a must read.
An excellent book.
Interesting and in depth March 26, 2010
S. Fairnie (UK)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
I think this is a great book for those interested in the intelligence, and special operations areas. Many people have said this book lacks any backbone, yes it certainly isn't a story or it doesn't have a strong narrative, but because it is all factual and anecdotal I don't think you need it. Mark Urban provides in-depth information about operations, and how the whole Special Operations community came about and the development throughout it's time in Iraq.
Highly recommended for those who have this as a particular interest. If you just want to read about the SAS and read about the action, this book isn't for you. It's on a level above that for those seeking a bit more information.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
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