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Loading... The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace with America's Militaryby Dana Priest
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Four-star generals who lead the military during wartime reign like proconsuls abroad in peacetime. Secretive Green Berets trained to hunt down terrorists are assigned to seduce ruthless authoritarian regimes. Pimply young soldiers taught to seize airstrips instead play mayor, detective, and social worker in a gung-ho but ill-fated attempt to rebuild a nation after the fighting stops. The Mission is a boots-on-the-ground account of America's growing dependence on our military to manage world affairs, describing a clash of culture and purpose through the eyes of soldiers and officers themselves. With unparalleled access to all levels of the military, Dana Priest traveled to eighteen countries--including Uzbekistan, Colombia, Kosovo, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Afghanistan--talking to generals, admirals, Special Forces A-teams, and infantry troops. Blending Ernie Pyle's worm's-eye view with David Halberstam's altitude, this book documents an historic and thought-provoking trend, one even more significant in the aftermath of September 11 as the country turns to its warriors to solve the complex international challenges ahead. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)355.00973Social sciences Public Administration, Military Science Military Science Biography And History North America United StatesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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That said, Priest does do a good job of critiquing how the US has come to use its military for operations that it really is not designed or suited for. She manages to cover both the macro and the micro, giving examples of both strategic and tactical failure. While i believe that in some places she went a little easy on individuals that should be held more accountable for their actions (and often failure to act), this is an engrossing account of the subject matter. And by the end, i had overcome the writing style and came to admire the book. ( )