Zero-Sum Victory: What We're Getting Wrong About War by Christopher D. Kolenda -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Praise for Zero-Sum Victory Half Title Title Page Copyright Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Glossary of Key Actors Introduction The Past as Prologue: The Vietnam War Part I. Toward a War Termination Framework

Part II. The Pursuit of Decisive Victory in Afghanistan

3. Light Footprints to a Long War 4. Plans Hit Reality: A Recent History of Bad Neighbors and Worse Governance 5. The Fall of the Taliban and the Bonn Conference 6. America’s Bureaucratic Way of War Conclusion to Part II

Part III. Persisting in a Failing Approach

7. Accelerating Success, 2003–2007 8. Failing to Keep Pace with the Insurgency, 2007–2009 9. The Good War Going Badly 10. Surging into the Good War 11. More Shovels in the Quicksand 12. Misapplying the Iraq Formula 13. Assessments and Risks Conclusion to Part III

Part IV. Ending the War in Afghanistan

14. Reconciliation versus Transition 15. Reconciling Reconciliation 16. Competing Visions: Karzai, Taliban, and Pakistan 17. Exploratory Talks: Building and Damaging Confidence 18. Coming Off the Rails 19. Fallout: BSA, Bergdahl, and the 2014 Elections Conclusion to Part IV

Part V. Pursuit of Decisive Victory in Iraq

20. Operation Iraqi Freedom: Plans without a Strategy 21. A Complicated Approach to a Complex Situation 22. From Decisive Victory to Transition Conclusion to Part V

Part VI. Staying the Course in Iraq

23. Achieving Milestones While Losing the War 24. Trapped by Partners in a Losing Strategy 25. Mirror Imaging Civil-Military Relations 26. To Surge or Not to Surge: A Possible Win Beats a Certain Loss 27. A New Plan on Shaky Foundations Conclusion to Part VI

Part VII. Ending the War in Iraq

28. The Surge Misunderstood 29. The Absence of a Political Strategy Erodes US Leverage 30. New Administration, Similar Challenges Conclusion to Part VII

Part VIII. Implications

31. Iraq and Afghanistan Compared 32. Implications for US Foreign Policy 33. Implications for Scholarship

Abbreviations Key Events in the Afghanistan Conflict Key Events in the Iraq Conflict Notes Acknowledgments Index