Raddatz' Book Marks the Explosion of the Iraqi Insurgency

March 1, 2007 — -- When describing her book, "The Long Road Home", ABC News' chief White House correspondent Martha Raddatz says simply, "I wanted to write about the reality of war."

In retelling the 48-hour firefight in Sadr City on April 4, 2004, Raddatz weaves together -- from the perspectives of both soldiers on the ground in Iraq and the families they left at home -- in harrowing, chilling detail, an unforgettable and unique portrait of the war in Iraq.

It was important to Raddatz, a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, not to offer commentary on the origins of the war or the policy and strategy decisions that have taken place since it started.

"Covering this war for so long, it moves so fast. The lead story today is this, the lead story tomorrow is that. And you haven't ever just paused and said: 'This is what it is, this is what happened.' " Raddatz says.

Regarded as a crucial turning point in Iraq, the firefight in Sadr City that spring is viewed as the incident that marked the explosion of the Iraqi insurgency. Raddatz describes the event as "a microcosm of the whole war."

"We went in there unprepared for what we were about to face, without the right equipment, with people who were dedicated to what they were doing and facing an enemy we had no idea existed," Raddatz says.

Under the thumb of Saddam Hussein for so many years, the United States expected Sadr City to be a simple babysitting mission -- the soldiers of the 1st Calvary Division would be gone for a one-year tour of duty, oversee the postwar peace, help rebuild infrastructure, throw candy, get flowers and come home.

"That they attacked U.S. troops, that there was open rebellion on the streets from [Iraqi] citizens and militia was a huge turning point," says Raddatz, "And look today -- it's not solved. It was sort of a silent, festering enemy before -- and it still is."

"The Long Road Home" began for Raddatz in the summer of 2004 after a dinner with retired Gen. Jack Keane, who shared with her the story of these soldiers who had only been in Iraq for four days on what they thought would be a peacekeeping mission.