Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

A book you should read

If you care about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, check out this neat little book, just published: The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa. It is an updated version of the old British book, The Defense of Duffer’s Drift, adapted to the American experience in Iraq. (That classic manual is included in this book.) What’s more, ...

If you care about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, check out this neat little book, just published: The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa.

If you care about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, check out this neat little book, just published: The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa.

It is an updated version of the old British book, The Defense of Duffer’s Drift, adapted to the American experience in Iraq. (That classic manual is included in this book.)

What’s more, the authors, a couple of dedicated young Army officers, also have put together a supplementary series of exercises and lessons and posted them on their Web site. And they are donating all their royalties to charity.

This is a book to give to anyone deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan. ‘Nuff said?

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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