We Meant Well Reviews FOM

Peter Van Buren, at the blog We Meant Well, knows more than most people about the  Father of Money.  Not only has he been around a few minutes (He served in the US Foreign Service for over 23 years), but he is passionate on the subject-matter. He is also a strident advoate for changing our state-building approach. 

By chance, Peter was responsible for the same piece of ground that I was in Iraq, albeit five years later. That fact results in a comment that I found tragically insightful while reading the  review at We Meant Well:

 "I [Peter] say that with some authority, as the same ground Whiteley covered, and many of the same characters, were in my own area of responsibility as a PRT Team Leader in Iraq 2009-2010. Five years after Whiteley left, al Dora remained a nasty, violent place."

There you have it. Five years, and countless "success stories" later, Iraq is more or less the way it was the day after we got there. The law of averages has prevailed and a long-term reality has consumed each short-term success.  Peter and I know this cycle.  It has outlasted both of us.   

For the full review click here.

Married to the Revolution

This weekend we remember the War for American Independence, a revolutionary act that inspires an annual surge of patriotism and summer barbecues.  I am also contemplating getting engaged, so I am mindful of a few comparisons between revolutions and marriages, namely,  they are both fun to plan, exciting from a distance, and passionate at the outset.  However, it takes a few years to see if either a marriage or a revolution will work.  Take the American Revolution, for example.

As a thrilling tale of daring bravado, the American Revolution is hard to beat, but, even if you are not Sarah Palin, it is easy to overlook some basic premises of revolution that are routinely underestimated.  Click on the jump to read five common perceptions about revolutions.  Chew these over while you have your spouse hand you a Bud Light.

Father of Money Reviews Begin....

A recent review from Military Review provides a good summary of Father of Money by using selected quotes. It is a solid account and I encourage you to have a read. If you order  the book, please feel free to leave your comments and questions here or over at the Father of Money homepage.

Explosive News from Southern Baghdad

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Recently Published Book: “Father of Money: Buying Peace in Baghdad”

In March 2004, Jason Whiteley was appointed the governance officer for Al Dora, one of Baghdad’s most violent districts. His job was to establish and oversee a council structure for Iraqis that would allow them to begin governing themselves. The nature of persuading Iraqis to support the coalition quickly progressed from simply granting them privileges to ignore curfews to a more complex relationship defined by illicit dealing, preferential treatment, and a vicious cycle of assassination attempts. In these streets of Al Dora, Whiteley became feared and loved as the man they called Abu Floos—or “Father of Money.”

June 10, 2011 -  – In his new book, former U.S. Army Capt. Jason Whiteley reveals the dark details of his time spent on the streets of Baghdad as a soldier rebuilding the Iraqi political system from the ground-up. He would discover that it would take more than American ideals to complete the task.

Father of Money hits the street!

June 11, Amazon and other major retailers will begin shipping Father of Money directly to your door.  Visit the link to see the early reader reviews and place your order. 

This promises to be one of the most controversial books to come out of Iraq, so reserve a copy and enter the debate. 

We welcome your thoughts here!

Quoted in Canada

Our good friends in Canada keep a keen eye on Iraq developments. A smoking ban is being considered in the Iraqi Parliament.

Unfortuntely this ban does not apply to smoking debris.

Yours truly serves as the voice of reason in this short piece from Macleans.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/05/23/butting-in-martin/

Early Praise for the Father of Money

A few early copies have slipped out and the feedback has been tremendous. See below for a few of the early comments:

"Jason's story of Iraq is war as it actually is—far from a tale of duty, honor, god, and country, Jason's year in Iraq was filled with moral ambiguity, fraught with fragile loyalties, and progress that was frustratingly ephemeral. He documents the momentous challenges of the U.S. occupation from the ground level, the brotherhood of war, and the imperfect compromises that marked the intersection of the U.S. government and Iraqi culture."

Garrett M. Graff, author of "The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War in the Age of Global Terror."


"... a hugely enjoyable read and I couldn’t put it down until I finished the last page. It swept me along with the intensity of a great novel, yet it was filled with the bitter truths of reality."

Tom Roberts, Director - A Company of Soldiers, PBS Frontline

"Stunning. A timeless and brilliant exposé of the emotions of a soldier. A story about the stories that are rarely told. A fascinating insight into war-time Iraq. Art that moves you like it should; by an author that is truly avant-garde." - James R. Howe, Historian, University of Oxford

Visit http://www.fatherofmoney.com for the latest and don't forget to sign the guestbook!

There Are No Songs About Tea

The Army marches to the cadence of coffee, literally. You know the one. "They say that in the Army, the coffee’s mighty fine." From the first day of basic training soldiers learn that breaking for coffee provides warmth, camaraderie, and, sometimes, a brief respite from the insanity. Ours is a coffee army. So, why have recent articles suggested that the military leadership in Afghanistan was overly influenced by tea, specifically, Three Cups of Tea, the beleaguered book by Greg Mortensen? Because it this is a good story, and if the Army runs on coffee the American media runs on scandal. Nonetheless, the criticism of the military leadership is not entirely unfounded. There are several reasons that the Army has recently migrated towards a lighter caffeine source.

War by any other name is War

In Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein wrote that, “War is controlled violence, for a purpose.” After the recent military intervention in Libya there has been a rush in some circles to distinguish the purpose of this most recent episode of ‘controlled violence’ from those military offensives launched by the United States against Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003 and 2001, respectively. Analyst aplenty, have published observations on the normative use of military force and even provided frameworks for analyzing the latter half of Heinlein’s quotation. However, to better inform ourselves on the context of the question of whether or not to initiate ‘controlled violence’, we, as citizens, must also be certain that we have a common understanding of what is meant by war.

Read more at http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2011/04/war-by-any-other-name-is-war/

Introducing Father of Money

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. I am very excited that you are here. In the coming days I will explain the title of the blog "Travelling Overwatch" and begin an outline of our discussion on foreign policy and global security. I look forward to a wide-ranging conversation, which may also include the occasional observation on Jets (American) football, Arsenal (all other countries) football, life in London, and generally. Please click the subscribe link below to receive these updates before you leave. Many thanks.