“The U.S. spent billions of dollars to build a secular, professional national Iraqi army but failed because, despite all the U.S.-supplied guns, tanks and planes, the Iraqi military fell apart when challenged by a band of terrorists.”

American journalist and author

Richard Engel is an American journalist and author, best known as the chief foreign correspondent for NBC News. He was appointed to that role in 2008, after working as the network’s Middle East correspondent and Beirut bureau chief. Before joining NBC in 2003, Engel covered the opening of the Iraq War for ABC News as a freelance reporter based in Baghdad. His work has focused on international reporting, especially the Middle East and major conflict zones.