In his new book, Inside CentCom: The Unvarnished Truth About the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq retired Gen. Michael DeLong details the painstaking work that went into building two, separate coalitions to fight terror and tyranny in two different countries:

There was much talk in the media that our attacking Iraq jeopardized our Coalition. As the one who personally put the Coalition together and presided over it, I can say with confidence that this was not the case. There were indeed countries in the Coalition who were uncomfortable with the war against Iraq—mostly for political reasons. For this reason, we simply made a second coalition, dedicated solely to countries who would be with us against Iraq. We requisitioned another parking lot at CentCom, filled it with additional trailers—wired with cables for secure phone lines and video teleconferences—and put the Iraqi coalition in there.

Because of the need for many countries to work together against terrorism, he said, the coalition has become - and still is - more important than the war itself.

Tapped by Gen. Tommy Franks as the second-in-command of the busiest unit in the U.S. military, Gen. Michael "Rifle" DeLong had one of the toughest tasks in the country after the 9/11 attacks. He and Franks had to prepare the country to fight a war where, just years earlier, the Soviet Union lost 15,000 men in its worst quagmire ever. After Iraq snubbed U.N. ultimatums to come clean about its weapons programs, Franks and DeLong had to prepare a second front - in Iraq.

And once hostilities started in each place, he had to hear the critiques of "armchair generals" on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and elsewhere who, he said, were often out of the loop and speculating blindly about what the troops were doing.

"Inside CentCom" is no partisan book. DeLong is no partisan; he's been praised by both Franks (who has endorsed President Bush's re-election) and retired Gen. Anthony Zinni, the retired CentCom commander (a leading critic of Bush.) In 240 pages, including a lengthy appendix, DeLong manages to pack in a number of eye-popping details - including where he thinks Osama bin Laden is hiding, why he believes the Chinese, Russians, Germans and French opposed the Iraqi war (substantial financial interests, which he details), and the quick transformation of the U.S. military into a speedy, flexible fighting force that coordinated its various branches as a single, cohesive team.

He also writes that he came face-to-face with a jailed Chemical Ali, came to believe Iraq most definitely had WMD and says he believes he knows where they put them, and that about 80 percent of Iraqis like Americans. As DeLong told The Command Post:

What they don’t like is being occupied. What they would like is free and open elections. Whether democracy will work or not is to be seen. If they are going to elect people, they would like to elect Iraqis and not expatriate Iraqis who were not there during the hard times, during Saddam’s reign.

He also cautions that, because of animosity between the various ethnic and Islamic groups in Iraq, there is still a chance of civil war and that attaining a democratic society is still an uphill battle there.

DeLong's book lives up to its title: it's unvarnished, and it's a deep look into the inner workings of the Central Command and America's war-fighting apparatus. He not only talks about the successes of the quick, overwhelming military battles in Afghanistan and Iraq, but of the miscalculations and thorny political and diplomatic issues, as well.

And the release of "Inside CentCom" - officially scheduled for Saturday though some bookstores are selling it now - comes in the middle of a heated presidential election and a critical time for restoring the peace and stability in Iraq. But as DeLong also told The Command Post, one of the reasons he wrote the book was to give Americans a look at what's happening behind-the-scenes and what the stakes truly are:

Sadly, some people have forgotten that 9/11 happened. Sadly, some people have never thought about what happens if we lose the war on terrorism. This is not like coming back with your tail between your legs after Vietnam. This could be the downfall of the United States and the downfall of the world. You can’t afford to lose that war.

DeLong now works for a private, U.S.-based company that is working to re-build Iraq's infrastructure and, after a few stops on his book publicity tour this week, was headed back to that country to resume his work. For anyone interested in the military's war on terror, behind-the-scenes, "Inside CentCom" is essential reading.