The Iraq & Afghanistan Wars Reading Group discussion
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Eagle Down
Afghanistan
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Eagle Down Discussion
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Darin, I agree with your observations. It is very depressing, looking back, that the corruption and incompetence within the Afghan government made any progress almost impossible or very temporary.
The bigger things that, I feel, this book is highlighting is that the conflict with terrorism is not going anywhere. In fact, the events of the last few months have embolden those hostile actors. Second, the Global War on Terror has created a great reliance on our country's special operations forces. The concern is that as the conflict moves to other parts of the world that these forces will be deployed with very little support. The lack of support being because massive aircraft movements attract attention where sending a couple dozen soldiers does not. We have already seen in Africa what happens when a SOF team does not have the support it needs and their skillsets are over estimated.
Hi Darin and Jay,Just finished Eagle Down. That lens on the situation through the perspective of Special Forces is of course one of many ways to look at the situation, but the extremes and complexity faced is probably most graphically explained through those scenarios so clearly detailed. As you've said - so depressing - but it is difficult to not admire the drive and determination of people of different backgrounds and agendas trying to make something positive out of a political and social quagmire. It is easy without books like this to forget how much selfless bravery is shown in the shadows of these traumatic environments by "normal" people, both military and civilian.
Through the narrative it becomes increasingly apparent how dispensable human assets become as the political and economic objectives disconnect from reality, blur in purpose and then get manipulated for digestible social media wins of competing politicians or lobbyists. I've seen a number of projects in that context that are dictated by massive budget wins and financial year-end constraints rather than accountability and genuine results. The human story is lost when it should be recognised as the foundation for any path forward. When irregular warring parties, militias or opportunistic politicians see foreign troops or bureaucrats as cash cows this appears to be the inevitable result.
Mod
I finished Eagle Down and I was surprised how angry each chapter made me. Most chapters deal with SOF heroically saving provincial capitals on the "brink of perpetual collapse", modern day epic warrior tales of Green Berets against the Taliban/ ISIS horde and then the reality of how each victory was fumbled by our senior military/political leadership. Saving these provinces in other days and other wars would be heralded stand alone books and stories rather than forgotten anecdotes in this conflict.
As Brendan said the complete disconnect from reality as leaders micro-managed troop levels, enforced absurd Rules of Engagement, and treated the Taliban as trustworthy representatives irked me. Craven generals giving no strategic plans and then quick to cover their butts disgusted me. In Vietnam we had strategic plans, even if they were flawed. And then the management by the politicians... keeping things out of the press and basing their actions on election timetables. It seriously made me doubt if we can ever competently prosecute a war again as a country.
All that invective aside - what's the next book? Brendan, it's your turn.
Darin I've just started The Spymaster of Baghdad. How about that for a little change of intrigue?
Mod
I've started reading Eagle Down and have some initial thoughts. I'd also like to hear your initial thoughts.
The book so far seems well balanced and organized. It steers clear of political bias, starkly laying the blame on Presidents Obama and Trump as both saying we should leave but both continuing the AFG war without a clear endstate. I dislike how it paints Special Forces as the only trigger pullers in the military, even though I get that they're obviously the focus of the book. I'm also struck just by how unwinnable and corrupt the Afghanistan government was - that there was never any hope of salvaging that bad government and how limited its hold on provinces always was. Reminds me of comparisons to the S. Vietnamese regime and ARVN.
What are you seeing?
-Darin