Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan

by Michael G. Waltz, Peter Bergen (Foreword)

Grappling with centuries-old feuds, defeating a shrewd insurgency, and navigating the sometimes paralyzing bureaucracy of the U.S. military are issues that prompt sleepless nights for both policymakers in Washington, DC and soldiers at war, albeit for different reasons. Few, however, have dealt with these issues in the White House situation room and on the front line. Michael G. Waltz has done just that, working as a policy advisor to Vice President Richard B. Cheney and also serving in the mountains of Afghanistan as a Green Beret, directly implementing strategy in the field that he helped devise in Washington.

In Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan, Waltz shares his unique firsthand experiences, revealing the sights, sounds, emotions, and complexities involved in the war in Afghanistan. Waltz highlights the policy issues that plagued the war effort, from the drug trade to civilian casualties, to a lack of resources in comparison to Iraq, to the overall coalition strategy. He points out that stabilizing Afghanistan and the region remains crucial to national security and that a long-term commitment to Afghanistan is imperative if the United States is to remain secure.

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

430 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Mike, as President of Metis Solutions provides corporate leadership and strategic vision for a growing defense contracting firm that provides strategic analysis, policy development, intelligence support, and foreign commercial development to U.S. Government and corporate customers worldwide. He is also a Co-Founder and Partner in an international consulting firm, Askari Associates that provides strategic advice and consulting services to foreign governments and commercial entities, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

Prior to joining the private sector, Mike served as Vice President Cheney’s Special Advisor for South Asia and Counterterrorism. His work in OVP culminated with Mike representing that office during President Bush’s Strategic Review of U.S. policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan where he advocated realigning command and control, increasing resources, and modifying our counterterrorism posture in the region.
Prior to his time in the White House, Mike was the Director for Afghanistan policy responsible for shaping policy and providing recommendations to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Secretary of Defense. In the Pentagon, Mike also served in the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counternarcotics where he led the establishment of DoD’s funding, programs, and strategy for counternarcotics activities in Afghanistan and South Asia.

In parallel with his civilian policy work, Mike commanded a U.S. Army Special Forces unit in the reserve component with multiple deployments to Afghanistan and the Middle East. There, Mike commanded a number of SOF teams in four provinces along the border region with Pakistan. In previous deployments, Mike worked closely with UAE, Czech, French, Kuwaiti and Australian Special Forces units in southern Afghanistan, in the Gulf region and other locales. He was awarded four Bronze Stars (including two for Valor) for his service in Afghanistan.

Mike is a Senior National Security Fellow at the New America Foundation and regularly provides expert commentary on counter-terrorism and regional issues for BBC World News, PBS Frontline, and the Voice of America. He also founded the Sumar Ghul Foundation which cares for the families of fallen Afghan National Army soldiers.

Mike is the author of Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan. Mike is a Distinguished Military Graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and currently resides in Alexandria Virginia with his daughter.

Reviews

[Brok3n · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was never going to be an HEA

I picked up Michael G. Waltz's Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret's Battles from Washington to Afghanistan because President-Elect Donald Trump nominated him for National Security Advisor. I saw that he had written this book and read it to get an idea of who he is. First lesson: Waltz is not a buffoon like Matt Gaetz or Robert Kennedy, Jr. "Not a buffoon" is a low bar, but with this administration a nominee who clears it is welcome. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Waltz is an intelligent man with serious experience relevant to the post of National Security.

If you are more than 30 years old, you have probably had this experience. You know a couple -- perhaps one of them is a friend of yours. Their relationship is always on the rocks. They fight, and the fights are serious. Because you're outside the relationship, you can see what neither of the principals can see (or perhaps only what they can't admit to themselves) -- there is never going to be a happy ending. Their differences, for simple or complex reasons, are essential and irreconcilable. After some time, it could be weeks or years, and often after some knock-down drag-out fights, they break up and go their separate ways.

That is Mike Waltz and Afghanistan. Waltz spent many moons in Afghanistan, trying to make the broken relationship work. Simultaneously he held policy positions in the Department of Defense and the White House under both George W Bush and Barack Obama. Warrior Diplomat is a long and, considering that it contains multiple first-hand accounts of lethal battles, surprisingly tedious account of his experiences in both places. The tedium arises in part from his descriptions of the many burocratic impediments to success in Afghanistan and how they impacted his ability to fight.

If Waltz had his way, the USA would still have troops in Afghanistan, not just now, in 2024, but for generations yet to come. His most bitter disappointment is directed at Obama's 2009 announcement that led the USA's allies in Afghanistan to believe the USA would leave in 2014. (In fact, the USA would finally leave Afghanistan, messily, in 2021, on Joe Biden's watch.) In Waltz's view, new tactics in 2009 were making a difference -- the relationship was getting better, this time FOR SURE it was gonna work!



And Obama's announcement destroyed that progress.

Warrior Diplomat is simultaneously an argument that Obama's announcement was terribly harmful and, at the same time, was the right thing to do. Although the opposite of his intention, Waltz convincingly shows that there was never going to be a Happy Ending for the USA and Afghanistan. Three US presidents in a row (Obama, Trump, and Biden) recognized that they had to get out.

Blog review.

[Hannah Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and Insightful

Inspirational, eye opening and a great read that everyone should take the time to open up. There is so little understanding of the outer world in the local American population, it is a shame that so little people see the good that is happening as shown in this book

[The Schmollands · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a unique perspective into the Global War on Terror is a valuable addition to the historic record. Waltz' dual roles in policy and practice provide insight into what is too often a disconnect between policymakers and troops. The account could greatly benefit from a co-author in terms of both writing and balance, but the takeaways are invaluable due to the author's roles and perspective.

[Bryn D · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting critique from our current National Security Advisor of the US’s Afghanistan policies (through 2014) from his perspective as a Pentagon and White House insider who also deployed multiple times as a Special Forces (Green Beret) officer to Afghanistan. He discusses his combat experiences fighting the Taliban and the challenging dynamics of a tribal Afghan society, coming home to implement and influence policy makers and then returning to the fight. Pretty interesting read.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent read and very digestible for individuals who may not be experts in the region that are looking to learn more about the Afghanistan War. I feel that I have a much clearer understanding of the war and the nuances that affected it over the years. Very interesting perspective.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most insightful item I've watched or read regarding the Afghanistan War. This should be a textbook at our military academy's. The wages of the sin of "lack of unified command" is death.

[Jenny Clawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

SF leads the way

I have read the book and I liked it well enough. I am not much for reviewing and commenting on books...