America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History (61 page)

Desert Storm homecoming parade, Washington, 1991: well-earned, but sadly premature. (US Department of Defense)

Beleaguered Iraqi Kurds flee Saddam’s wrath, 1991. The victory narrative is already unraveling. (© Daniel Lainé/CORBIS)

Mogadishu, 1993: On a wrecked American helicopter, Somali children celebrate victory. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard)

Bosnia, 1995: The cavalry arrives to avert further bloodletting. (US Department of Defense)

Khobar Towers, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 1996: Stationing U.S. troops in the Land of the Two Holy Places comes at a price. (US Department of Defense)

Operation Allied Force, 1999: Belgrade burns, and the Kosovo Liberation Army prevails.

9/11: America’s War for the Greater Middle East comes home. (Chief Photographer’s Mate Eric J. Tilford/US Navy)

Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001: As Americans charge, the Taliban and Al Qaeda disperse to fight another day. (Scott Nelson/Getty Images)

The Third Gulf War: In 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom initiates a project of epic ambition. (Gordon A. Rouse/US Marine Corps)

Baghdad, 2003: While American generals chill out, the real fight is just beginning. (Karen Ballard-Pool/Getty Images)

Abu Ghraib: The Freedom Agenda collapses. (US Military Police Specialist Sabrina Harman)

Liberated Iraq: Snuffing out insurgency or fueling it? (AP Photo)