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6th out of 130 books
—
16 voters
First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan
by
Gary Schroen
While America held its breath in the days immediately following 9/11, a small but determined group of CIA agents covertly began to change history. This is the riveting first-person account of the treacherous top-secret mission inside Afghanistan to set the stage for the defeat of the Taliban and launch the war on terror.
As thrilling as any novel, First In is a uniquely in...more
As thrilling as any novel, First In is a uniquely in...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
May 10th 2005
by Presidio Press
(first published 2005)
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First In, is a first person account of the events between the 19th of September until the 10th of November, told mainly from the perspective of Gary Schroen, leader of the JAWBREAKER CIA squad sent to establish relations with the Northern Alliance in the Panjshir Valley, near the stalemated frontlines of the Taliban. Despite being the lead of US forces in Afghanistan (a 7 man crew), his account is very low to the ground, recounting the incessant problems of Diarrhea and relations and the daily i...more
A very interesting account of how CIA paramilitary operatives work in the field. I had read Jawbreaker in sixth grade first, and came upon the title in the footnotes. I never got around to buying it until ninth grade.
I had first read about Schroen himself in Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, which also provides intersting tidbits on Schroen's career. I would have expected Schroen to include his account of the Isl...more
I had first read about Schroen himself in Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, which also provides intersting tidbits on Schroen's career. I would have expected Schroen to include his account of the Isl...more
While an interesting tale of coalition building and coordination with tribal rebel factions and airport setup and startegy, I was hoping for more. The author claims that there was surprisingly little that he wrote which was censored for national security during the review stages, but this is also because a senior veteran CIA agent such as he had a pretty good idea what he could get away with exposing in the first place - and he self-censored probably 90% of what you'd want to be in the book for...more
How would you like to have your retirement paperwork in and then 911 happens and suddenly you are needed to spearhead a team of CIA operatives in Afghanistan. This is a true story of a team who flew into Afghanistan just after 911 and the assination of the Northern Alliance leader. Their job was to assess the situation and offer help, in the form of cash (lots of it) and arms. It is a wonderful story; I love how when they come home there is no fan fair and they just fit back into society.
This was alright. Mr. Schroen's skill as a CIA employee seems much better than his writing skill. It was definitely not bad by any means, but the writing was a bit stilted at parts. Also, his seeming obsession with discussing his bowel movements was a bit odd.
Overall, not a bad read, but nothing particularly enlightening. We went in, bribed a bunch of people, ignored local politics, and the Taliban got beat down. Rather straight-forward.
Overall, not a bad read, but nothing particularly enlightening. We went in, bribed a bunch of people, ignored local politics, and the Taliban got beat down. Rather straight-forward.
An enlightening insider's tale of the early period of the US/Afghanistan war as told by the leader of the first CIA team into Afghanistan. It's a great read at first as Schroen builds some suspense, but gets boring and monotonous as it becomes apparent that Schroen's team was only peripherally involved in the early stages of the war. Overall it is worth reading to learn how modern war is conducted - FUBAR as usual.
I found the book very interesting. It was a different perspective than other books I've read on the war in Afghanistan. All and all I liked it, it gave a good account of what life was like for a CIA Operative arriving in Afghanistan in 2001 and it described the struggle of dealing with the Afghans as well as the bureaucrats in Washington.
Very interesting topic. I admire Mr. Schroen in many ways and I think his policy recommendations at the end of the text are very well thought out and insightful. However, he is not a narrative non-fiction writer. Text was slightly stilted and I found myself grimacing every time he mentioned his repetitive bowel issues. However, if you're interested in how the war in Afghanistan started, definitely check this out.
Feeling like I needed to revisit the US response to 9/11 and it's first [CIA:] mission to Afghanistan following 9/11 prompted my interest in reading this book now - plus my dad recommended it as a good read! It was interesting to learn about U.S. relations with the Northern Alliance early on, the amount of cash flow CIA agents had on hand was pretty overwhelming, friendly fire mishaps, Starbucks coffee, and gross descriptions of bathroom stalls & male camaraderie[regarding it:] added to the...more
While it is a good account of first boots in Afghanistan after the Sep 11, it also demonstrates the errors the US made starting a conflict in Afghanistan. This book reveals how unprepared the US started a battle that turned into a war. There was no strategy in place and there was no intel available.
Good read to learn about the first operations in Afghanistan, and to learn why the action taken lead to the current situation.
Good read to learn about the first operations in Afghanistan, and to learn why the action taken lead to the current situation.
I suspect few know how important the CIA was in Afghanistan both during the Soviet invasion and the 2001 invasion. Yet they'll be forever remembered for the Iraq WMD mess.
Dec 17, 2010
Steven
added it
Early info on OEF. Love the admission about very few American agents with very many American dollars sent to pave the way.
Great book. An excellent look into activities that we usually don't get to see. This book helps to define all the good things the CIA does for us that we rarely get to hear about.
Fantastic! Very descriptive of life in the field at the CIA.
Very interesting account of CIA's involvement in Afghanistan
Awesome.
Quite an interesting story on the initial CIA team's injection into Afghanistan.
Way overwritten, often too much detail to maintain interest, and too much of an aspect from the ground up, meaning lots of complaining about the stupidity of policy makers. But there is information and insight obtainable skimming and finding the nuggets. Also some amazing narratives, like the Northern Alliance cavalry charge against the Taliban.
Excellent! "The bottom line was that no Spec Ops personnel would accompany JAWBREAKER into Afghanistan. The official reason given was that without SAR (Search and Rescue) capabilities, the mission was considered 'too dangereous' for U.S. military personnel." (page 35). "...our codename would be JAWBREAKER." (page 23).
After visiting the CIA, I was intrigued by the group of men who went into Afghanistan immediately after 9/11. This was a great account of their tremendous risks, conditions and insight into the Special Forces that followed as well as the history preceding them in Afghanistan.
quite liked it. good pacing and described things well.
This book was okay. It gave a detailed account of what the first boots on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11 faced. If you read anything about the invasion you already know a lot about what this book has in it.
Gives a good general overview of the first CIA and ODA teams into Afghanistan after 9/11. Helps to understand how some of the political lines across Afghanistan formed into the present day factions.
Very interesting read. Gives a good background on U.S. Afghan relations going back to the 70s. Also interesting how these guys set up with the Northern Alliance once they got to Afghanistan.
A great view of how uncoordinated our government is. only though the initiative of a few key CIA people did we attack afghanistan so quickly.
It was a little hard to follow but overall I really enjoyed just learning the insiders view of how things work in that environment.
Reading parts of this book for school. Good 'insider' look at the operations and strategy of the afghanistan invasion.
A really well-written, detailed account of operations in Afghanistan up to and during the war there.
Solid read
May 20, 2013
Erick
marked it as to-read
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Nov 14, 2009 06:33am