Two leading authorities--an acclaimed historian and the outstanding
battlefield commander and strategist of our time--collaborate on a
landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping
history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin's invasion of the
Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the
past--and anticipate in the future--in order to navigate an increasingly
perilous world.
In this deep and incisive study, General David Petraeus, who commanded
the US-led coalitions in both Iraq, during the Surge, and Afghanistan
and former CIA director, and the prize-winning historian Andrew Roberts,
explore over 70 years of conflict, drawing significant lessons and
insights from their fresh analysis of the past. Drawing on their
different perspectives and areas of expertise, Petraeus and Roberts show
how often critical mistakes have been repeated time and again, and the
challenge, for statesmen and generals alike, of learning to adapt to
various new weapon systems, theories and strategies. Among the conflicts
examined are the Arab-Israeli wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the two
Gulf Wars, the Balkan wars in the former Yugoslavia, and both the Soviet
and Coalition wars in Afghanistan, as well as guerilla conflicts in
Africa and South America. Conflict culminates with a bracing look at
Putin's disastrous invasion of Ukraine, yet another case study in the
tragic results when leaders refuse to learn from history, and an
assessment of the nature of future warfare. Filled with sharp insight
and the wisdom of experience, Conflict is not only a critical
assessment of our recent past, but also an essential primer of modern
warfare that provides crucial knowledge for waging battle today as well
as for understanding what the decades ahead will bring.
