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Emma Sky

The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq Hardcover – April 7, 2015

by Emma Sky (Author)

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One of the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2015
One of Financial Times' Books of the Year, 2015
A New York Times Editors' Choice
A New Statesman [UK] Essential Book of the Year 2015
A Times [UK] Book of the Year 2015
Shortlisted for the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction
Shortlisted for the 2016 Orwell Prize

When Emma Sky volunteered to help rebuild Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, she had little idea what she was getting in to. Her assignment was only supposed to last three months. She went on to serve there longer than any other senior military or diplomatic figure, giving her an unrivaled perspective of the entire conflict.

As the representative of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Kirkuk in 2003 and then the political advisor to US General Odierno from 2007-2010, Sky was valued for her knowledge of the region and her outspoken voice. She became a tireless witness to American efforts to transform a country traumatized by decades of war, sanctions, and brutal dictatorship; to insurgencies and civil war; to the planning and implementation of the surge and the subsequent drawdown of US troops; to the corrupt political elites who used sectarianism to mobilize support; and to the takeover of a third of the country by the Islamic State.

With sharp detail and tremendous empathy, Sky provides unique insights into the US military as well as the complexities, diversity, and evolution of Iraqi society. The Unraveling is an intimate insider's portrait of how and why the Iraq adventure failed and contains a unique analysis of the course of the war. Highlighting how nothing that happened in Iraq after 2003 was inevitable, Sky exposes the failures of the policies of both Republicans and Democrats, and the lessons that must be learned about the limitations of power.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

PublicAffairs
Publication date

April 7, 2015
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

9781610395939
ISBN-13

978-1610395939
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq is entertaining because Sky is a wry and intelligent companion. It is sad for its account of how the Obama administration squandered what Sky views as the victory that the surge had snatched from the first catastrophic years of U.S. occupation. It is enlightening for how it helps us unlearn much of what we think we know — for example, that ‘ancient hatreds' rending the Shiite, Sunni and Kurds make Iraq a hopeless case.” -Fred Hiatt, Washington Post

“A fast-paced diary based entirely on [Sky's] recollections and enlivened by her skillful character sketches.” -Foreign Affairs

“Hers was a fascinating world of senior military and diplomatic figures, many of them of the highest quality…She knew all the leading Iraqi politicians, many of whom regarded her as a personal friend. She saw much of Iraq and had some hair-raising experiences. And she always kept her sense of opposition to what was being done to the country. Many people likened her to Gertrude Bell, the British political adviser who helped to create Iraq, and in some ways they were right.” -John Simpson, New Statesman

“Wry and insightful…Vital reading as we start bombing Syria too.” -Jenni Russell, The Times [UK]

One of the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2015
One of Financial Times' Books of the Year, 2015
A New York Times Editors' Choice
A New Statesman [UK] Essential Book of the Year 2015
A Times [UK] Book of the Year 2015
Shortlisted for the 2015 Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction
Shortlisted for the 2016 Orwell Prize

“To counter Iran in Iraq and prevent the alienation that created ISIS would have required…perhaps, a thousand Emma Skys. But there was only one of those.” -Christopher Dickey, New York Times Book Review

"A radiant and beautifully written account, at turns funny and sad, of [Sky's] service in Iraq." -Wall Street Journal

"[A] sober, thorough and ultimately heart-rending examination of what, to this day, keeps Iraq unstable, unhappy and a never-ending foreign policy disaster...a book with a rare perspective... What Sky produced, years later, is worth applauding. The Unravelling may be the most straightforward account yet—and the best that Britain will have for a while—of the failures in Iraq." -Financial Times

"While there have been many accounts penned about the U.S. involvement in Iraq, Sky's (senior fellow, Yale Univ. Jackson Inst.) account supersedes others. As someone who was directly enmeshed in the efforts to help rebuild Iraq after the death of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Sky is able to provide intimate, and at times uncomfortable, details about what went into making Iraq a democracy. Describing situations from undergoing a firestorm on her apartment to enjoying cultural dinners and celebrations, the author endeavors—and mostly succeeds—in providing a comprehensive view of a tenuous situation. Sky's emotive writing makes it impossible to lump her in with generalizations about people who participated in the rebuilding of Iraq, and her poignant longing for her home and her own culture make her sympathetic. The author's at other times analytical tone will appeal to champions of empiricism, and her detailed descriptions of the vibrant and complex cultures at odds in the region will draw in enthusiasts of global culture and anthropology. It becomes undeniable that Sky was very passionate about her work in Iraq. Her book will create a similar enthusiasm in her readers. VERDICT At once informative and emotional, this book will find a wide audience of adult readers, especially those interested in global politics and current events.” -Library Journal

“Emma Sky's The Unraveling is the best new book I've read this year. Fred Hiatt's column told me more about this very unusual woman.” -Don Graham

“One might call the events Sky describes as a comedy of errors, except that there's nothing comedic about it. A tragedy of errors, then, crisply recounted by one who was there.” -Kirkus Reviews

“As an insider's account, The Unraveling is full of descriptions of meetings, events, and key personalities—both Iraqi and American. Of the latter, Sky is especially gifted in capturing, in just a few sentences, the quirks, flaws, and virtues of the individuals who worked in Iraq or who came through as visiting dignitaries. To her credit, she's bipartisan in her skewering… Given Sky's role in Kirkuk, and later under Odierno, The Unraveling is especially useful in detailing just how complex the reconciliation process was within Iraq's splintered society.” -Weekly Standard

“…A charming, insightful account of Sky's remarkable odyssey, of her experiences among Americans and Iraqis.” -Max Hastings, Sunday Times

“America's commanders in Iraq combined great rank with even greater self belief….So it says much for Ray Odierno, a US commanding general, that for three of Iraq's bloodiest years, he chose to have a self-confessed anti-war “tree-hugger” by his side.” -Colin Freeman, Telegraph

“A deft, nuanced, and often funny account of her years as a civilian official in Iraq.” -The New York Review of Books

“Sky skillfully weaves a range of vignettes into her overall story, ranging from dealing with a host of important figures within the Maliki government to meeting then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair and interacting with American battalion and company commanders—including some rather angry exchanges with senior staff officers. Her vignettes and analysis show both her evolving perception of coalition operations and their effect on Iraq as well as an insight into Odierno's ever-growing appreciation of his situation… This important book adds a level of detail to the story of our Iraq venture… Read this book. It is worth the time required to both understand her point of view—as Odierno put it, “another perspective”—and reflect on what happened.” -ARMY Magazine

“A memoir that may be the best book to date on the American war in Iraq…Sky brings unique and unmatched credentials to her analysis of the war. … Her keen intellect and dry, self-effacing wit make the book a thought-provoking, informative, and enjoyable read. With no personal or political axes to grind, Sky's analysis of events and personalities focuses on her immense expertise and access to key figures. This authoritative first-person account is a must-read for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of the complexity of the Iraq war, and the road to the current crises with the Islamic State.” -Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“Sky's narrative is a valuable addition to recent history, even though she can only provide part of the larger puzzle that is Iraq. What she experienced is relevant, and her story and perspective contribute to the ongoing effort to understand and explain the tragic aftermath of the much-criticized Iraq War.” -Booklist

“A chatty, personalistic account of her time in Iraq that often notes various experiences she found moving, frustrating, funny, or tragic. At one level, it is an examination of a liberal British civilian's encounter with the organizational culture of the United States Army at war, and her unexpected bonding with her military colleagues. At a more important level, the book centers on Sky's observations about the progress, setbacks, and heartbreak of the effort to build a new Iraq.” -Middle East Journal / Project MUSE

"Sky's book...is the essential text on how everything fell apart." -Dexter Filkins, NewYorker.com

"A scholar and a strategist, Sky's political perception alone makes worthwhile reading, including a preface that is as succinct a synopsis of Iraq today as you will find: ISIS, or Da'ash, 'is the hideous product of a sacralised determinism born out of secular failure.'” -Military Times

“The Unravelling reads almost like a novel: a detailed and darkly humorous account that tries to understand everyone involved, Iraqis and Americans, on their own terms. Sky's character sketches are as tolerant as they are critical, and her argumentative, chirpy and intelligent personality is thoroughly engaging…. The Unravelling is an indispensable tool for understanding the background to this failure." -The Guardian

About the Author

Emma Sky is a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute. She worked in the Middle East for twenty years and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services in Iraq. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 161039593X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs; 1st edition (April 7, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781610395939
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1610395939
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #706 in Iraq History (Books)
- #1,528 in Iraq War History (Books)
- #2,440 in Middle Eastern Politics

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C. D. Lynn

A vivid insider view of war & politics in iraq

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2015

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Emma Sky volunteered to work in the ill-starred CPA after the US invasion of Iraq in part to apologize to Iragis for the war. She brought the sensibilities of a 'Guardian' reader - liberal, internationalist, anti-war, and mistrustful of Americans - and found herself in a barely-functioning Western civilian structure, dealing with violent and long-standing ethnic hatreds. But she formed a productive alliance with the US military officers with whom she worked, and grew to like and respect General Ray Odierno ('General O') and many of his staff - to the extent that she agreed to come back to work for the general when her first tour ended. She ended up staying as his 'POLAD' (political advisor) until the US withdrawal, contributing humane advice and evidently-considerable negotiation and conciliation skills to the mission.

The book is balanced and quite detailed, and hardly strident - but it is clear that she loves the Iraqi people and regards the whole invasion as a colossal strategic failure, compounded by both the Bush & Obama administrations' misplaced faith in Nuri Al Maliki as Iraq's leader, and Obama's rush for the exit in 2011. She does not quite say so, but it is clear that one can draw a straight line from the righteous Paul Bremer's de-Baathification policy to the rise of ISIS. One is left with a feeling of depression that a dozen years of American, Iraqi and British blood and treasure have brought so little improvement in the lot of the average Iraqi and none at all in the strategic safety of the West, despite the heroic efforts and sacrifices of so many. But we should be grateful for the author's work, and for bringing us such a vivid insider's view of the whole misbegotten venture.

4 people found this helpful

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Thomas M. Magee

A real page turner!

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book is remarkable! It is a story that will draw you into the mess known as Iraq. The book is several stories rolled up into one. It is a story of the Iraqi campaign, a story of a modern real world Forest Gump, and a perfect book about why war is more than just blowing stuff up.

The author of the book is a British citizen who fell into the job as a political adviser to the US Army. That almost is something you would see in a movie. An unlikely person stumbling off of a plane and landing in such a job. That citizen is Emma Sky, the author. She volunteered to go to Iraq to do basic NGO work. She ends up first as a political adviser to a Bde in Kirkuk back in 03. Then she moves up to the political adviser to General Obinero during the surge. The book ends with her coming back in the same role during the withdraw. Through her story you see the complexity of war. You see war is more than blowing stuff up. You need a strong political piece with appropriate personnel to seal the deal. That was Emma's role in the conflict. Now I am not sure why someone from the State Department didn't do that but that is probably the topic for another book.

You see story of Iraq told through a different set of eyes. You see the story from the angle of Iraqi politics. You have three or four internal elements battling each other as well as the enemy. You have a nearby country, Iran also complicating the mess. The average reader will understand the complexity of war in Iraq through her stories about the diplomatic fires she ran to and from putting out. This was occurring in the middle of the US Army fighting a major war.

Her stories about the draw down is a real eye opener. That part is worth the price of the book. She lies the blame on the Iraqi failures on where it needs to be. She provides specific facts to support her contentions. The Obama Administration just wanted to forget that word Iraq. The Clinton State Department provides an ambassador, Chris Hill who didn't want to be there and hated Iraqis. His only goal while in Iraq according to her was to grow grass in the Embassy. Then the big thing that iced the cake was how the Obama Administration did little to stop the Maliki drift to sectarian war. That drift created ISIS.

And the battle of Iraq continues now at the gates of Mosul.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Insider view of how US tried to rebuild Iraq after 2003

Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2020

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The Unraveling, High Hopes And Missed Opportunity In Iraq is the story of Emma Sky’s time serving in Iraq. Sky was a British activist who answered a call from London in 2003 for people to run postwar Iraq. She ended up being the governor for Kirkuk under the Coalition Provisional Authority. Later she returned to be the adviser to General Ray Odierno during the Surge in 2007, and then she went back a third time to be help Odierno again during the American military withdrawal. Her story is about the struggles of the early U.S. occupation of Iraq, then the success of the Surge, which was then undone when the U.S. pulled out.

The first section of the book covers Sky’s time working in Kirkuk for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Sky answered an email for help in Iraq and was sent off with no briefing. When she arrived there was no one to meet her. She traveled to Baghdad where she was assigned to be the acting governor in Kirkuk, again with no instructions on what to do. There she worked with Colonel Mayville and his 173rd Airborne Brigade. Kirkuk was a difficult province because it had a diverse population of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Christians, and others represented by a variety of political parties all of which were making demands and complaining about the others. The CPA and London provided little support so Sky and Mayville were left to their own devices. They did the best they could to mediate between the different groups and create an inclusive government. Sky eventually moved to Baghdad to be the Kirkuk adviser to CPA head Paul Bremer. Things were little better there as Bremer’s political plan got shot down by Washington and then Ayatollah Sistani. Sky’s individual approach was to try to understand what Iraqis wanted rather than dictating to them. She was helped by the fact that she had travelled throughout the Middle East before and spoke Arabic which gave her a huge advantage over most people in the CPA who had little experience. Overall, Sky believed that the U.S. faced a strategic failure in Iraq in 2003 because of all of the mistakes it made. Most importantly, not having a plan for the country. That was shown by the fact that Sky and Mayville were never given any orders on what to do. Every province was just left on its own and suffered as a result. There have been many other books about this period and the problems with the CPA. Those mostly focused upon Bremer and what he did in Baghdad. Sky’s book adds what was happening out in the governorates and it was no better.

In 2007 Sky was asked to be the political adviser to General Ray Odierno who was the head of the Multi-National Corps-Iraq. Odierno had met Sky while she was in Kirkuk which was under his overall command at the time, and had been impressed by her work. Sky provided an outsiders view because she wasn’t American, wasn’t military, and wasn’t even a government official. Sky ended up working on several issues. First, she suggested breaking down all the different groups in Iraq that were fighting including the government as it was taking part in the violence to help figure out how to reduce the various causes of the conflict. That eventually became part of a policy to determine who could be reconciled with and who couldn’t, and the latter would be eliminated. Second, the Americans began organizing former insurgents and local militias into the Sahwa to fight the Islamic State of Iraq. The U.S. wanted those forces to eventually be integrated into the government, which was a struggle because Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki didn’t trust the Sahwa. Finally, the Americans entered into talks with the Sadrists after they announced their militia was standing down. Sky provided insider information as to how the U.S. approached the Surge and the different strategies and tactics they tried to use to bring down the violence. Many times these cut both ways like the Sahwa who helped turn the tide against the Islamic State of Iraq, but was never accepted by the government, and led to further mistrust. The talks with the Sadrists also proved inconclusive.

Sky’s last tour in Iraq lasted from 2008-2011 when she was asked by General David Petraeus to be a political adviser again as the Americans withdrew their forces from the country. Sky found that the advances made during the Surge were being reversed by both the Maliki and Obama administrations. The reconciliation commission Sky had worked with during the Surge for example was being investigated by Maliki for trying to integrate the Sahwa. The premier was also exerting his power by taking on Sadr’s militia in Basra and Baghdad, created operations commands across the country to give direct orders to the Iraqi forces without having to go through the chain of command, amongst other things. Maliki was also becoming increasingly paranoid talking about Baathists working against him. Then the new Obama presidency wanted out of Iraq, and didn’t seem to really care about anything else. That caused problems when the 2010 elections came about and Maliki’s party came in second. He claimed massive fraud and another plot against him. The U.S. military and Sky wanted to support the political process and allow the winning list Iraqiya a chance to form a new government even though it would probably fail. The White House at first said that a deal had to be made between Iraqiya and Maliki, but then changed to backing the latter. Vice President Biden especially, believed that the prime minister was America’s man and would assure its interests. Sky was greatly discouraged by all of these events. The Americans hoped that the reduction of violence would lead to reconciliation so that the causes of the conflict could be reduced. Little of that happened, especially because Maliki believed people were trying to overthrow him. That escalated in the 2010 vote which he took as confirmation that there was a conspiracy against him. Rather than support the election, the Obama administration ended up backing Maliki. Sky thought that all the gains that had been made were dissipating as a result.

Sky presented an interesting perspective on the U.S. project in Iraq. Being an outsider she approached things in a completely different manner than the Americans. Unlike people like Bremer who thought they knew what was best for Iraq, she invested in getting to know the leading personalities in Kirkuk and then Baghdad, and worked on negotiating between them. She went from the frustration with the CPA’s dysfunction, to the success of the Surge, only to see the U.S. and Iraqi governments throw it all away. The Unraveling provides some behind the scenes insight into how the Americans and Iraqis attempted to deal with rebuilding the country, and from her view on how it came apart.

Musings on Iraq blog

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Top reviews from other countries

C. F. Cooper

Required reading for all politicians

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 14, 2015

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book which is a very well written and detailed account of the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq war. The author was in a unique position to observe the motives, actions and deliberations of not only the American commanders with whom she was working, but senior Iraqi politicians of every religious and ethnic faction. She vividly describes the complexity of the task facing the military and the abject political leadership of both the Republican and subsequent Democratic administrations in dealing with the aftermath of the war. Emma Sky has a real empathy for the people of Iraq and on many occasions showed she was willing to put herself in harms way in order to achieve a particular objective. Her loyalty to General Odierno was extraordinary and clearly reciprocated, but I never felt this compromised her objectivity. This war had its roots in the carve up of the Middle East by the British and French after the First World War and the failure to consider the realities of conflicting ethnic, tribal and religious divisions when creating new nation states within arbitrary boundaries. Iraq was a tinder box from its creation and was never likely to thrive as a Western style democracy. The first President Bush understood the political and strategic realities and in 1991 stopped short of deposing Saddam. His son did not. The failure of the American ( and British) political leadership to plan for post war Iraq was negligence of the first order and left the military in an almost impossible position. The incompetence the author describes in the setting up and manning of the CPA is breathtaking. I found it incredible that after returning to the UK from her first assignment she was not even debriefed. In the absence of effective political leadership the individual agency of many very able people such as the author and General Odierno is doomed to failure and we should not be surprised at the rise of Islamic State and chaos that now envelops Iraq and indeed the wider Middle East.

12 people found this helpful

globalgilroy

A Sky Secret Weapon?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2016

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A SKY SECRET WEAPON?

Very readable. If any future reader requires an overview of Iraq post 2003 invasion, this book should set the scene. Interesting to note, that when the author was recruited for this role in Iraq, she received no terms of reference, no induction process and no location to report to. This aptly sums up the in-country chaos, where it was obvious to the world that no post-conflict plan was in place - or even considered by the coalition forces. She began work in a Northern Iraq city and through her Middle-East knowledge was soon utilised by senior multi-national civil and military staff throughout the country, on several contracts over an extended period of time.

Part 1 is much better and has more impact than the remainder of the book. Thereafter the narrative becomes less engaging and quite congested recording the author’s time in country, changing work assignments, constant flow of meetings, social life & description of characters met, as she attempts to cover all events over the long and complicated period.

Nevertheless, recommended material and ‘The Unravelling’ makes my library alongside Hans Blix.

Nadia Kamolz

A Wonderful Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2015

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I simply loved this book. I was expecting some information, which I got and I'm sure I'll read it again as there is so much in it. I liked it from page one and just couldn't put it down. I watched the news once a day and then turned my TV off to continue my reading. It was a book which made me sad, mad me cry and also made me laugh so hard. Although sad, it is also an uplifting book.
My attention was drawn to this book by The New York Times for which I will forever be grateful. It is really beautifully written. I appreciate the pictures and poems in it as well. I can't praise it enough. It should be required reading for anybody in, or attempting to go into politics. A real eye opener.
A big Thank You to Emma Sky! Simply wonderful.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Depressingly good!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2018

Verified Purchase

Confirms all my fears about the aftermath of the 2nd Gulf War. The ineptitude of the Bush & Bremer administration who managed to squeeze catastrophe out of triumph, through lack of preparation, political incompetence & insensitivity. Parachuted in, without support or training, Emma Sky is clearly a voice of reason and gives an intelligent account and appraisal of what went wrong. The US Army, from the best of intentions, seems to have tried hard to learn but was ignored by the US Government and its representatives. Very sad.

JohnN

A fascinating read for anyone interested in current affairs beyond the headlines

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2015

Verified Purchase

This is an amazing book by a feisty and articulate English lady who put herself in harms way in Iraq for for long periods from 2003 until the present day. Starting from a position where she originally volunteered to go to Iraq out of a desire to help the Iraqi people who, she felt, had been so wronged by the coalition invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, she found herself at the centre of events as an adviser to the top generals in the US army. She was outspoken with them but they recognised the value of her ability a) to understand different factions in Iraq as they developed and b) to make friends who trusted her on all sides at the highest levels. She was highly influential in shaping the coalition policy, which in fact stood a very good chance of success after the surge, until America, at the very top, backed the wrong man after the close election of 2010. This book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in current affairs beyond the headlines but a must-read for all politicians and would-be statesmen contemplating interference in nations that they barely know.

One person found this helpful

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