Paperback
Retail Price: $37.95
The Impossible Mission
A tremendous contribution to our understanding of the dynamics around the withdrawal of America’s final combat forces from Iraq in late 2011, and of the tragic aftermath of that withdrawal. Then-three-star General Bob Caslen oversaw U.S. forces in Iraq during that time, and in The Impossible Mission he provides a clear-eyed, forthright, and very thoughtful assessment of what transpired as policy-makers in both Baghdad and Washington made decisions that squandered the hard-fought achievements of the preceding five years, stoked renewed Sunni-Shia violence, allowed the Islamic State to reconstitute, and enabled Iran to increase its influence in Iraq. Ultimately, those consequences required U.S. forces to return to Iraq to support Iraqi Security Forces in battling the Islamic State and liberating the areas of Iraq seized by the Islamic State (all of which, ironically, was done without a Status of Forces agreement for U.S. forces, the absence of which in 2011 was the ostensible reason for the withdrawal of U.S. forces). Caslen captures all of this masterfully and also distills invaluable lessons that we need to learn from this tragic episode in our history and in that of Iraq.” - General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army (Retired), Former Commander Multi-National Force – Iraq
Brilliant. An extraordinary account and insightful analysis of a complicated mission in a complex region of the world. Lieutenant General (Retired) Bob Caslen led in one of the most violent times in Iraq and then again as America sought to consolidate any fragile gains in the peace that followed. His insider’s story reflects the acumen of a gifted strategist and the mature reflection of a seasoned leader. The aptly named The Impossible Mission is a cautionary tale of bureaucratic dysfunction and miscalculation that should be required reading for future leaders. - General Stanley A. McCrystal U.S. Army (Retired), Former Commander International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan
I have always found the study of how conflicts end more interesting and more important than the study of how conflicts begin. In Bob Caslen’s The Impossible Mission he shares his experiences and perspectives about how our mission in Iraq evolved after ten years of war. An honest, thoughtful, and important story of leadership in complex and rapidly changing strategic circumstances. - General Martin E. Dempsey U.S. Army (Retired), 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Paperback
Format: 6 x 9 Color Paperback, 327 pages
Publisher: Outskirts Press (Jun 30, 2025)
ISBN10: 1977280544
ISBN13: 9781977280541
Genre: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Military Policy
Lieutenant General Robert L. Caslen, Jr., was commissioned as an infantry officer in the United States Military Academy class of 1975. He served in the U.S. Army for 43 years retiring in 2018 as the 59th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Caslen served as the chief of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq, and was the commander of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth and commandant of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Caslen also commanded the 25th Infantry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was chief of staff of both the 101st Airborne and the 10th Mountain Divisions, where he also served as chief of staff of Task Force Mountain during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He also served in combat and overseas deployments in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Honduras, and Operation Uphold Democracy and the United Nations Mission in Haiti. After his military retirement he served as the 29th president of the University of South Carolina.
Caslen co-authored the book, The Character Edge Leading and Winning with Integrity. He has been married to the former Michele Pastin, from Highland Falls, New York, for 45 years and has three adult sons and five grandchildren.
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