Download or read book Putting Out The Fire In Afghanistan written by Major Patrick Pascall and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph develops an alternative approach to counterinsurgency, and explains how the current narratives in the field of counterinsurgency are not completely accurate. Counterinsurgents only need to properly understand the environment and then concentrate their efforts in that critical area of the insurgency identified as the sustainer of that insurgency. The U.S. counterinsurgency (COIN) plan does not need to address all those lines of effort not directly related to the root cause of an insurgency, as those efforts may actually fuel the insurgency due to building unrealistic expectations among the populace. This monograph also develops the analogy that the four elements necessary for a fire (fuel, oxygen, heat, chain reaction) parallel the necessary elements of an insurgency (the fuel representing unresponsive government, oxygen representing existing structures/vulnerability, heat representing political/diplomatic factors, chain reaction representing the information environment, and the population). Like a fire, if one has a proper understanding of the environment, and can clearly identify the true sustainer of the insurgency (the root problem), then one only need to remove that one element from the equation, and that insurgency will be unsustainable. Having a simple approach will not only allow the counterinsurgents to better utilize their resources-in an Economy of Force-and allow them to Mass their power on one clear Objective, it will also remind counterinsurgents of the other Principle of War that has proven to be so critical in complex environments-simplicity.

Download or read book Putting Out the Fire in Afghanistan The Fire Model of Counterinsurgency Focusing Efforts to Make an Insurgency Unsustainable written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph develops an alternative approach to counterinsurgency, and explains how the current narratives in the field of counterinsurgency are not completely accurate. Counterinsurgents only need to properly understand the environment and then concentrate their efforts in that critical area of the insurgency identified as the sustainer of that insurgency. The U.S. counterinsurgency (COIN) plan does not need to address all those lines of effort not directly related to the root cause of an insurgency, as those efforts may actually fuel the insurgency due to building unrealistic expectations among the populace. This monograph also develops the analogy that the four elements necessary for a fire (fuel, oxygen, heat, chain reaction) parallel the necessary elements of an insurgency (the fuel representing unresponsive government, oxygen representing existing structures/vulnerability, heat representing political/diplomatic factors, chain reaction representing the information environment, and the population). Like a fire, if one has a proper understanding of the environment, and can clearly identify the true sustainer of the insurgency (the root problem), then one only need to remove that one element from the equation, and that insurgency will be unsustainable. Having a simple approach will not only allow the counterinsurgents to better utilize their resources- in an Economy of Force- and allow them to Mass their power on one clear Objective, it will also remind counterinsurgents of the other Principle of War that has proven to be so critical in complex environments- simplicity.

Download or read book Into the Fire written by Dakota Meyer and published by Random House. This book was released on 2012-09-25 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The story of what Dakota did . . . will be told for generations.”—President Barack Obama, from remarks given at Meyer’s Medal of Honor ceremony In the fall of 2009, Taliban insurgents ambushed a patrol of Afghan soldiers and Marine advisors in a mountain village called Ganjigal. Firing from entrenched positions, the enemy was positioned to wipe out one hundred men who were pinned down and were repeatedly refused artillery support. Ordered to remain behind with the vehicles, twenty-one year-old Marine corporal Dakota Meyer disobeyed orders and attacked to rescue his comrades. With a brave driver at the wheel, Meyer stood in the gun turret exposed to withering fire, rallying Afghan troops to follow. Over the course of the five hours, he charged into the valley time and again. Employing a variety of machine guns, rifles, grenade launchers, and even a rock, Meyer repeatedly repulsed enemy attackers, carried wounded Afghan soldiers to safety, and provided cover for dozens of others to escape—supreme acts of valor and determination. In the end, Meyer and four stalwart comrades—an Army captain, an Afghan sergeant major, and two Marines—cleared the battlefield and came to grips with a tragedy they knew could have been avoided. For his actions on that day, Meyer became the first living Marine in three decades to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Into the Fire tells the full story of the chaotic battle of Ganjigal for the first time, in a compelling, human way that reveals it as a microcosm of our recent wars. Meyer takes us from his upbringing on a farm in Kentucky, through his Marine and sniper training, onto the battlefield, and into the vexed aftermath of his harrowing exploits in a battle that has become the stuff of legend. Investigations ensued, even as he was pitched back into battle alongside U.S. Army soldiers who embraced him as a fellow grunt. When it was over, he returned to the States to confront living with the loss of his closest friends. This is a tale of American values and upbringing, of stunning heroism, and of adjusting to loss and to civilian life. We see it all through Meyer’s eyes, bullet by bullet, with raw honesty in telling of both the errors that resulted in tragedy and the resolve of American soldiers, U.S. Marines, and Afghan soldiers who’d been abandoned and faced certain death. Meticulously researched and thrillingly told, with nonstop pace and vivid detail, Into the Fire is the unvarnished story of a modern American hero. Praise for Into the Fire “A story of men at their best and at their worst . . . leaves you gaping in admiration at Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer’s courage.”—National Review “Meyer’s dazzling bravery wasn’t momentary or impulsive but deliberate and sustained.”—The Wall Street Journal “[A] cathartic, heartfelt account . . . Combat memoirs don’t get any more personal.”—Kirkus Reviews “A great contribution to the discussion of an agonizingly complex subject.”—The Virginian-Pilot “Black Hawk Down meets Lone Survivor.”—Library Journal

Download or read book Putting the Fire Out in Afghanistan The Fire Model of Counterinsurgency Focusing Efforts to Make an Insurgency Unsustainable written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph develops an alternative approach to counterinsurgency, and explains how the current narratives in the field of counterinsurgency are not completely accurate. Counterinsurgents only need to properly understand the environment and then concentrate their efforts in that critical area of the insurgency identified as the sustainer of that insurgency. The U.S. counterinsurgency (COIN) plan does not need to address all those lines of effort not directly related to the root cause of an insurgency, as those efforts may actually fuel the insurgency due to building unrealistic expectations among the populace. This monograph also develops the analogy that the four elements necessary for a fire (fuel, oxygen, heat, chain reaction) parallel the necessary elements of an insurgency (the fuel representing unresponsive government, oxygen representing existing structures/vulnerability, heat representing political/diplomatic factors, chain reaction representing the information environment, and the population). Like a fire, if one has a proper understanding of the environment, and can clearly identify the true sustainer of the insurgency (the root problem), then one only need to remove that one element from the equation, and that insurgency will be unsustainable. Having a simple approach will not only allow the counterinsurgents to better utilize their resources in an Economy of Force and allow them to Mass their power on one clear Objective, it will also remind counterinsurgents of the other Principle of War that has proven to be so critical in complex environments-simplicity.

Download or read book The Afghanistan Papers written by Craig Whitlock and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-08-30 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 ​The #1 New York Times bestselling investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock. Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives. Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground. Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.” The Afghanistan Papers is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.

Download or read book Outlaw Platoon written by Sean Parnell and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-02-28 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting story of American fighting men, Outlaw Platoon is Lieutenant Sean Parnell’s stunning personal account of the legendary U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division’s heroic stand in the mountains of Afghanistan. Acclaimed for its vivid, poignant, and honest recreation of sixteen brutal months of nearly continuous battle in the deadly Hindu Kesh, Outlaw Platoon is a Band of Brothers or We Were Soldiers Once and Young for the early 21st century—an action-packed, highly emotional true story of enormous sacrifice and bravery. A magnificent account of heroes, renegades, infidels, and brothers, it stands with Sebastian Junger’s War as one of the most important books to yet emerge from the heat, smoke, and fire of America’s War in Afghanistan.

Download or read book Toughing it Out in Afghanistan written by Michael E. O'Hanlon and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " ""Michael O'Hanlon and Hassina Sherjan have written a superb analysis of the current strategy in Afghanistan. It is an insightful work by two authors with exceptional knowledge and experience. It is a must-read for those who want a clear understanding of the situation, the strategy, and the path ahead in this crucial conflict."" --General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Retired) In this unique collaboration between an American scholar and an Afghan American entrepreneur, Toughing It Out in Afghanistan provides a succinct look at the current situation in Afghanistan with policy prescriptions for the future. Drawing partly on personal experiences, O'Hanlon and Sherjan outline the tactics being used to protect the Afghan population and defeat the insurgents. They discuss ongoing efforts to reform the Afghan police, to run a better prison system for detainees, to enlist the help of more of Afghanistan's tribes, and to attack corruption. They also discuss the Afghan resistance, including an explanation of how the Taliban mounted a comeback and what it will take to defeat them. The authors also seek to demolish common myths about Afghanistan, such as the notion that somehow its people hate foreigners. And they explain how to use metrics, such as those in the Brookings Afghanistan Index, to determine if the new strategy is succeeding in the course of 2010 and 2011. Included are policy suggestions to further increase the size and capabilities of the Afghan army and police, to facilitate Afghan businesses' involvement in economic recovery, to expand the role of other Muslim nations in the effort, and to create a strong international aid coordinator as a civilian counterpart to NATO's military leader. "

Download or read book Operation Pineapple Express written by Scott Mann and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-08-30 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An edge-of-your-seat thriller about a group of retired Green Berets who come together to save a former comrade—and 500 other Afghans—being targeted by the Taliban in the chaos of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. In April 2021, an urgent call was placed from a Special Forces operator serving overseas. The message was clear: Get Nezam out of Afghanistan now. Nezam was part of the Afghan National Army’s first group of American-trained commandos; he passed through Fort Bragg’s legendary Q course and served alongside the US Special Forces for over a decade. But Afghanistan’s government and army were on the edge of collapse, and Nezam was receiving threatening texts from the Taliban. The message reached Nezam’s former commanding officer, retired Lt. Col. Scott Mann, who couldn’t face the idea of losing another soldier in the long War on Terror. Immediately, he sends out an SOS to a group of Afghan vets (Navy SEALs, Green Berets, CIA officers, USAID advisors). They all answer the call for one last mission. Operating out of basements and garages, Task Force Pineapple organizes an escape route for Nezam and gets him into hiding in Taliban-controlled Kabul. After many tense days, he braves the enemy checkpoints and the crowds of thousands blocking the airport gates. He finally makes it through the wire and into the American-held airport thanks to the frantic efforts of the Pineapple express, a relentless Congressional aide, and a US embassy official. Nezam is safe, but calls are coming in from all directions requesting help for other Afghan soldiers, interpreters, and at-risk women and children. Task Force Pineapple widens its scope—and ends up rescuing 500 more Afghans from Kabul in the three chaotic days before the ISIS-K suicide bombing. Operation Pineapple Express is a thrilling, suspenseful tale of service and loyalty amidst the chaos of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Download or read book Killing the Cranes written by Edward Girardet and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2012-08-08 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Edward Girardet discusses his experiences as a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan over the last thirty years, including the Soviet invasion, the Taliban gaining control, the American occupation, and interviews with such people as Osama bin Laden, Islamist extremist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Ahmed Shah Massoud.

Download or read book The Afghanistan Poppy Eradication Campaign written by Harry Spiller and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2017-09-11 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 16-man Black Hawk Counter Narcotics Infantry Team served as an advisory and training unit for the Afghanistan National Army during a poppy eradication operation in Helmand province in 2008 and 2009. For 75 days, they fought extreme heat, sand storms and the Taliban to eradicate 11.2 tons of poppy seed and earn the respect of Afghan troops. Although the U.S. team they relieved had lost half its men during operations, the Black Hawks came through unscathed. This book chronicles their mission in a little known theater of the Afghanistan War.

Download or read book Fire Mission The Diary Of A Firing Sergeant In Afghanistan written by Craig Douglas and published by . This book was released on 2019-09-19 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Craig Douglas was a Firing Sergeant for an Artillery Troop in Afghanistan. He spent 6 months in FOB Inkerman, also known as FOB Incoming due to the amount of attacks it was subjected to by the Taliban. His tour was from October 2007 until April 2008. Prior to him arriving, Ross Kemp had been through the base and on patrol experiencing a fire fight with the Taliban.In the month of November the base was practically attacked every day and resupply was few and far between due to the hostile location. Put on your body armour, don your helmet and take cover. The shells fall thick and fast with devastating consequences. Inside these pages you'll find frustration, humour, fear, chickens and a goat.Welcome to Helmand Province through the eyes of an ordinary soldier who found himself in an extraordinary country.

Download or read book The Hardest Place written by Wesley Morgan and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 697 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: COLBY AWARD WINNER • “One of the most important books to come out of the Afghanistan war.”—Foreign Policy “A saga of courage and futility, of valor and error and heartbreak.”—Rick Atkinson, author of the Liberation Trilogy and The British Are Coming Of the many battlefields on which U.S. troops and intelligence operatives fought in Afghanistan, one remote corner of the country stands as a microcosm of the American campaign: the Pech and its tributary valleys in Kunar and Nuristan. The area’s rugged, steep terrain and thick forests made it a natural hiding spot for local insurgents and international terrorists alike, and it came to represent both the valor and futility of America’s two-decade-long Afghan war. Drawing on reporting trips, hundreds of interviews, and documentary research, Wesley Morgan reveals the history of the war in this iconic region, captures the culture and reality of the conflict through both American and Afghan eyes, and reports on the snowballing missteps—some kept secret from even the troops fighting there—that doomed the American mission. The Hardest Place is the story of one of the twenty-first century’s most unforgiving battlefields and a portrait of the American military that fought there.

Download or read book Friendly Fire written by Mike Friscolanti and published by Wiley. This book was released on 2006-07-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The text below is an excerpt from Friendly Fire. it is the early morning of April 18, 2002, following the mayhem of a bomb attack on a section of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, outside Kandahar, Afghanistan. the Edmonton-based soldiers were conducting a live-fire training exercise at a former al-Qaeda compound when a U.S. fighter pilot mistook them for the enemy. At Tarnak Farm, A Company begins to board the trucks that will take them back to camp. Out of habit , Lt. Luft conducts a roll call of his platoon. 1 Section. Here. 2 Section. here 3 Section. Alastair stops himself. there is no 3 section. Except for Cpl. Chris Oliver, the troops are either dead or in the medical tent. The guys left behind watch the trucks drive away. For nearly two hours, everyone has been operating on instinct, on training. but now, all the noise, all the adrenaline, are gone. It's suddenly real. Four men are dead. Outside the ambulance, Wilson and Speirs are chain-smoking Korea 88s, replaying the chaos and confusion of those first few minutes. could we have been faster? Did we save everyone who could be saved? there will always be doubts... By now, there is little doubt about what happened. Some of the guys heard the jet. Some even saw it. They don't know the details yet. Nobody really does. but the Taliban doesn't have any F-16s. that was a U.S. bomb. " How could this happen to us? Sgt. Favasoli asks Cpl. Filis. how could this happen to coalition forces?"

Download or read book Afghanistan the Perfect Failure written by John L. Cook and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2012-09-26 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LONG BOOK DESCRIPTION: Unparalleled access to all levels of the Afghan government and coalition forces is the result of John Cooks tenure in Afghanistan. Over the past four and a half years, he has developed an intimate and alarming insight into what has become a hand-wringing quagmire of politically correct, socially and culturally sensitive policies and programs that continue to be implemented, and that can only result in catastrophic failure for the United States, the coalition and the average Afghan. Mr. Cook offers unprecedented insight as he digs deep to rip away at the misguided and destructive policies, including the infamous Rules of Engagement that doom our soldiers for the sake of political correctness and cultural sensitivity. This raw and disturbing account covers the truths regarding the appalling and cruel treatment of women, the squandering of foreign aid by, and corruption of, the Karzai-centric government that includes the betrayal of its own people. He presents eye-opening insight into the tribal structure that has traditionally guided the Afghan mindset and, despite efforts to westernize, will not go away. He details the inexplicable and infuriating policies regarding failures associated with poppy eradication, and it is the poppies that are the fuel for terrorist activities. He further provides explanations for the Talibans continuing control and the problems associated with our well-intentioned but misguided counterinsurgency strategies against the Taliban and al Qaeda - strategies that fail our mission and our soldiers. In this reasoned, forceful and intellectually honest treatise, he also courageously dissects the disturbing role of Islam and forces the reader to come face to face with the reality that Islam, not the Taliban, is the real enemy in Afghanistan. After reading Afghanistan: The Perfect Failure, we can only conclude we must no longer turn a blind eye to what is happening in Afghanistan. Mr. Cooks dissection is powerful and provocative. The American public deserves more than the thin veil of reporting that has been done on the subjects in this expose. Due to his longevity in this war torn country and high- level access, few, if any, have had the opportunity to gain the inside and knowledge afforded John Cook; none have had the courage to publicly reveal the shameful truth.

Download or read book Afghanistan to Zambia written by Dick Pellek and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2010 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Not one to miss an opportunity to see what was nearby; a restless tropical forester scheduled or planned trips to or through nearly 100 countries during his working career. Afghanistan was the first country he jotted notes about, and when his official duties later took him to Zambia, the title Afghanistan to Zambia: Chronicles of a Footloose Forester began to emerge as his memoirs. This personal memoir is about capturing in print the more vivid reveries of over 80 countries; and some themes that form his viewpoint about what he saw and did there. It was never intended as a travelogue or historical account, merely as a receptacle of personal adventure stories. Thus, as he wandered and crisscrossed the globe over a span of four decades, he was not overly concerned about a chronological order. In the case of Viet Nam and Haiti, however, it spurred two or three chronicles that serve as poignant accounts of both past and present.

Download or read book Why We Lost written by Daniel P. Bolger and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2014 with total page 565 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A high-ranking general's gripping insider account of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how it all went wrong. Over a thirty-five-year career, Daniel Bolger rose through the army infantry to become a three-star general, commanding in both theaters of the U.S. campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He participated in meetings with top-level military and civilian players, where strategy was made and managed. At the same time, he regularly carried a rifle alongside rank-and-file soldiers in combat actions, unusual for a general. Now, as a witness to all levels of military command, Bolger offers a unique assessment of these wars, from 9/11 to the final withdrawal from the region. Writing with hard-won experience and unflinching honesty, Bolger makes the firm case that in Iraq and in Afghanistan, we lost -- but we didn't have to. Intelligence was garbled. Key decision makers were blinded by spreadsheets or theories. And, at the root of our failure, we never really understood our enemy. Why We Lost is a timely, forceful, and compulsively readable account of these wars from a fresh and authoritative perspective.

Download or read book Fire Strike 7 9 written by Paul Grahame and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-06 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Sergeant 'Bommer' Grahame. He's just an ordinary squaddie but on the battlefield he wields more power than any other soldier. 'Fire Strike 7/9' tells the story of Bommer and his five-man fire support team on their tour of Afghanistan.