Into The Viper's Nest: The First Pivotal Battle Of The Afghan War

by Stephen Grey

Recounts the dramatic three-day battle for the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala that started on 7 December 2007. With a pre-battle population of fifteen to twenty thousand, Musa Qala was the only significant town held by the Taliban at that time. Attacking against two thousand Taliban fighters, who were heavily dug in after occupying the town for more than nine months, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was spearheaded by Task Force 1 Fury: 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, of the 82nd Airborne Division. the Taliban had to be driven out and the town secured. With months of occupation to get ready, the Taliban were prepared to stand and fight. What resulted was one of the biggest and most terrible battles of the war.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, History, Military History, War

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

Stephen Grey is a British writer, broadcaster with over two decades of experience of reporting on intelligence and security issues. He is best know for his exclusive reporting on the CIA’s program of ‘extraordinary rendition’, as well as reports from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A former foreign correspondent and investigations editor with the Sunday Times of London, he has reported for the New York Times, Guardian, BBC, and Channel 4, and is currently a special correspondent with Reuters news agency.
Apart from books, he likes running, everything outdoors, photography, computer programming... and being a Dad.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow soon

[Michael Flanagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written and balanced book. From the dirt, dust and sweat of a patrol to the political machinations and diplomacy of the big picture. A fitting tribute for those who put their life on the line and for those who have lost their future so we can have ours.

[Jimmie Kepler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Into the Viper's Nest: The First Pivotal Battle of the Afghan War" by Stephen Grey is the story of American and Afghan forces cooperation in dealing with the Taliban stronghold on southern Afghanistan. It details the vivid three-day battle for the Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala. The battle started on 7 December 2007 This is an excellent, well-written book. Grey skillfully tells the story of how American, British, and Afghan forces took the fight to the Taliban in 2007.

The town of Musa Qala was a notorious Taliban stronghold. This was the location chosen for everything to change. A local leader decided he was going to leave the Taliban. He was joining the Hamid Karzai's government. This defection needed coalition protection.

Stephen Grey is an excellent writer. He captures all phases of this story. He covers the discussions between President Karzai and coalition leaders. He covers the particulars of the deadly combat to wrest control of Musa Qala from the hands of the Taliban. He paints a picture of International cooperation as he tells the story through the words of the British, Afghani, and American men who were there. The publisher did an excellent job with eight pages of graphics and charts to showing systematically how the battle took place.

I highly recommend this book for any reader looking for a tactical-level viewpoint on the Afghan War. Anyone interested in Afghanistan and the war against the Taliban will benefit from reading the book. I recommend for community and university libraries as well as the personal libraries of all military historians. This is the best I have read on United States involvement in Afghanistan.

[Rob Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel flips between firsthand account of experiences at the frontline through to analysis of the relationships between the Karzai government and those of the West. Of course, there was no frontline and great uncertainty on who the enemy actually was. The US and British armies are portrayed as largely professional but civilians still get killed. The book begins to explore the question of why the US and Nato got involved in the first place: destroying the roots of Islamic terrorism; reducing supply of opium to the west? Hard to say mission accomplished. It seems quite possible that the Karzai government simply provided legitimacy for drug barons and warlords rather than working to eliminate their power. I was left respecting our soldiers and military leaders but less so our government ones.
I felt that the book could have been better integrated; it seems to have been formed from a series of short articles written as the battle for Musa Qala unfolded.

[Toby White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always thought the Afghanistan war was one that wouldn’t ever be won, and this book backs that up. All the same, it’s a very interesting read and focuses on the build up to a couple of big battles around 2007-2008. Also gives a good insight in counter insurgency and the way close quarters battles are undertaken in modern warfare.

[Daniel K]

i liked how this book whent into detail of how the missions were completed and what coused some of the missions to go wrong. I wound recomend this book to anyone who likes to read about differnt milatery battles, but somone who ismore into the books with more action prabably wouldn't like it because it is a informational book.

[William H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fought here (Musa Qal'ah) a few years after the events of this book. The description of the terrain, the places, and the people remain the same. I read this in preparation for deployment, and it was critical that I did.

[Zach Driver · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read was Operation Snakebite by Stephen Grey. Stephen Grey was born in 1968 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and is an award-winning British investigative journalist and author. Stephen Grey studied economics, politics and philosophy at Oxford University. He was an active member of the National League of Young Liberals, and was elected to their National Executive Committee in 1984. After training on the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk, Grey worked successfully for the Sunday Times in London. The book is based on the war in Helmand, Afghanistan. The point that the book is trying to put across is to show the world of one mission that the British, American and Afghan forces in Afghanistan were trying to complete.
This book was very interesting for me to read because I am interested in war affairs. The book takes place in Afghanistan, where the American, British and Afghan armies are all trying to complete one mission, to take back the Taliban controlled city of Musa Qala. The book focuses on squads of British and American soldiers that are training and carrying out missions with the Afghan armies to help rid Afghanistan of its Taliban influence.
In the book, Grey is a reporter from London who is just trying to get the scoop on what is really happening in the war. In the Authors Note before the book begins, Grey talks about this. How he wanted a sense of adventure and how he just wanted the real story to tell everyone what is actually happening and if we are winning the war or not. Many parts in the book are not well suited for people who have easy stomachs, or do not like to think about the sights of blood and men dying. This book has very vivid detail as to what happens to the soldiers and how the medics took care of them.
The representation and the details that Grey has put into this book are remarkable. Personally, I appreciate the fact that the book isn’t censored, or dumbed down because of the violence. This is because it gives the readers an actual idea of what really happens in war times, and in places where danger is always on our soldiers minds. That was one of the biggest strengths of the book in my opinion.

[T. Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the coalition battle for Musa Qala in Afghanistan’s Helmand province is one worthy of a TV drama: political meddling, intrigue by tribal interests, desperate periods of combat, celebration of success, and the final discouragement of failure to secure a strategic area from insurgents. Musa Qala had become a Taliban stronghold in early 2007 and an important centre of opium production.

But Helmand province overall had become a hotbed of insurgency by that time and the British brigade there chose to leave Musa Qala alone as it had its hands full keeping control of the main towns along the Helmand River. However a shadowy figure named Mullah Salaam, who lived on the outskirts of Musa Qala, contacted President Karzai, claiming that he was a Taliban leader that was ready to ally himself with the government. He said that he would lead his tribal fighters to capture Musa Qala for Karzai if he received weapons. This led to secretive meetings and negotiations in the following months which excited Karzai to such an extent that he insisted that the British not only assist Mullah Salaam but in fact mount a major operation to drive the Taliban out of the town.

Despite the British misgivings, the political pressure resulted in Operation Snakebite, the battle to retake the town in December 2007. It was a tough battle that involved numerous British units, a brigade of the Afghan National Army, and a battalion of the 508th Paratroop Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division which carried out the main assault on the town. Stephen Grey, a British journalist, does a good job of drawing out this complex story of one of the biggest battles of the Afghan war, having interviewed 250 participants throughout the US, UK, Afghanistan and Pakistan, from the highest levels of government to front line soldiers who came close to death or saw their comrades die.

This is one of the important readings for anyone wanting to understand the war in Afghanistan.

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was good, but the overall story seemed a bit jumbled. I had to work at reconstructing where I was in the course of the battle. It also took what I think to be a common theme among journalists and spent a lot of time and energy describing the emotional fallout from the deaths of soldiers. I don't deny they have impact, it just seems like a lot of time and space is spent on them. To me, it confuses the theme of the book: is this a soldier's-eye view of the battle, or a description from further away, to gain perspective? Trying to straddle both items detracts from them both.

As for the sub-title, it was hard to figure out why this was the "first pivotal battle of the Afghan War." I don't think the author ever states the reason behind that claim. It did seem to be a turning point in claiming Helmand province, but given that it happened 6 years after the war started, I can't see it being the first.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good read on the battle of Musa Qala Wadi told from the perspective someone on the ground. Overall good detail and author does a good job setting the stage and provides a fair amount of graphic detail.

Worth a read if you are interested in the Afghan War and all aspects and battles.

I gave this a 3.5 stars, did not blow me away but was a decent read.

[Mark Levandoski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly small unit actions in the battle of Musa Qala located in Afghanistan. Explores authors view of the political and military events taking place that developed into this action. Supported by many detailed maps of the phases of the action.

[Brian]

A friend of mine is mentioned in this book not by name, but action

[Jacob Vicente · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was a bit hard at times to follow but overall it was a good read.

[Scottnshana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good play-by-play on coalition fighting in Afghanistan, centered on a pretty intense battle and all the fog and friction that went with it.

[Boozy · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent read on troubles in afghan government and its impact on NATO and US goals in afghanistan.