THE
GAMBLE

GENERAL PETRAEUS AND THE UNTOLD STORY OF
THE AMERICAN SURGE IN IRAQ, 2006–2008

THOMAS E. RICKS

ALLEN LANE
an imprint of
PENGUIN BOOKS

ALLEN LANE

Published by the Penguin Group

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First published in the United States of America by The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2009

First published in Great Britain by Allen Lane 2009

Copyright © Thomas E. Ricks, 2009

The moral right of the author has been asserted

All rights reserved

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book

ISBN: 978-0-141-91041-3

ALSO BY THOMAS E. RICKS

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2003–2005

Making the Corps

A Soldier’s Duty