The Iraq War was run by twenty people—and none of them knew what they were doing. Former State Department and Marine Corps officer Matthew Hoh joins us to reveal how U.S. reconstruction money funded militias, how corruption ran wild inside the Green Zone, and how counterinsurgency failed from day one. From $26 million in cash stashed in his bedroom to war briefings that never made it to the battlefield, this episode explains why the U.S. never had a chance. Who was really calling the shots—Cheney, Petraeus, or a bunch of 27-year-olds with Starbucks cups?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices