Letters from Baghdad Volume 1: Tea with Terrorists

Letters from Baghdad Volume 1 chronicles COL (Ret) Mike Courts’ first year in Baghdad from 2006-07. Serving as a senior U.S. Army Colonel on the Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I), primarily in the role of Chief Engagements Branch in the Strategic Effects Directorate, Mike had a unique perspective on the U.S. led
Coalition’s efforts to reach out to Sunni Insurgent groups and separate them from Al-Qaeda. Mike describes his team’s work as well as what life working in the in “The Palace” was like. Told in real time, Letters from Baghdad Volume 1 describes the situation and life in Iraq as it occurred. Like life itself, Letters from Baghdad Volume 1 combines theserious issues of the war, insights into daily life of a staff officer and humor into a compelling narrative of this critical period during the U.S, involvement in Iraq. The perspective of a senior staff officer has not been told before. The inclusion of lessons learned from each week as well as topical articles creates a holistic view of this time in the war.

By Michael Courts