Customer Reviews

Hunting al Qaeda: A Take-No-Prisoners Account of Terror, Adventure, and Disillusionment

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I thought this was a really good book, and it contains the best explanation I have ever read of the tribal conflicts and ethnic differences in Afghanistan. The main character - "Red" - spent years there with his father, who worked for US Aid, in the 1970s, and he lays out in a chapter that are incredible reading for that history. I thought there would be more action, but the story really shows what war is like in my opinion, especially for the reserve "citizen soldiers" who are fighting this war more than ever before in US history. That's why I bought it, really...there is a lot of down time in the story, but the battles are intense and you get the sense of what it's like to be a soldier waiting for the bureacracy to OK his every move. I had thought that special forces today had the ability to act without the command BS that bogged down Vietnam, guess I was wrong. Also, the Wedding Party massacre was incredible reading - the soldiers basically refute that it was just some gunfire in the air that attracted the airstrikes that killed the civilians in that infamous incident. Also, it was depressing to read about all the Mullahs they caught and were told to let go by the chain of command, including that one Mullah who, from a safe hideout in Pakistan instead of in US custody, recently said bin Laden was in good health. Overall a good read, and when it was slow it was still interesting to read about how the soldiers survive every day in the heat, dust, and fighting in Afghanistan. Anyone interested in the war there or special forces I think will like this book. A special bonus that I did not learn until I got the book home - on the reverse side of the jacket is a military map of the operation zone in Afghanistan, it's excellent for this book but I also use it to follow battles and movements I hear about in the news.

This is a "hands-on", first person account of the courage, tenacity, and valor of America's Special Forces, in this case, drawn from our citizen-soldiers, the Reserves/National Guard. It personalizes and damns the way the military hierachy [REMFs] has impersonally and dangerously blunted the effectiveness of its most effective fighting forces against today's unconventional opponents for their own personal career gains. It is an excellent companion book for "Not A Good Day To Die", by Sean Naylor, which presents the same problem from a slightly different perspective. It is criminal that the military hierachy is allowed to spend enormous amounts of time and money to recruit, train, motivate, and deploy the best our nation has to offer, and then burden them with administrative, make-work assignments; micromanage their field operations; and try to smother their initiative and effectiveness. What is needed is for the military, all services, to shift field decision responsibility down to most the most effective common demoninator - the platoon/squad leader on the ground in the enemy, and do it immediately!

...but it is a good read for war junkies who like to know the nuances of modern day combat. This book has a very hard start and tends to vilify why the army recruits 18 year old soldiers who have not formulated strong opinions about the military.

If you wish to gain insights into the minds of a more aged reservist being call-up for war in the Gulf, then this would be of interest to you. It also does a good job of pointing out the inefficiencies of the military and our war doctrine to date. The author's indictments of the military are timely yet are not unique in whole or in part over the past century of warfare.

One could become dismayed over the lack of military progress as articulated this book but it should be noted that save one, every member of the bull returned to tell the story. Not every soldier over the years could make such a claim. Good or bad, this operational outcome was far more appealing then a Gallipoli.

As for future readers of this book, enjoy the nuances of modern day warfare and remember that even if the author has an axe to grind, he is at least alive to share it with you.

Definitely a book worth reading! With all the focus on Iraq, most have forgotten the earlier and still on-going battle of U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. Considering that the mission is fairly the same...stability, peace, and friendly relations with the U.S., I am surprised by the lack of media coverage in analyzing the successes and failures of Iraq's predecessor. For those who are seeking fast-paced adventure and action heros, stick to Tom Clancy and Hollywood. For those who want to try to understand how the U.S. is running military operations over in Afghanistan, then I would highly recommend this book. It is an unique opportunity to be able to read a first-hand account of what occurred to our men on the ground in a battle that continues. Instead of just buying into whatever the administration tells us, every American should inform him/herself on what our government and military are doing and not doing. Of course this book is just one SF team's account, but the truth it reveals should not be dismissed as "griping, whining, and complaining," especially by those who have not been in the same shoes. A salute for all the men of the Special Forces Team 2085 of the Virginia National Guard...and I commend the two authors for putting together their story despite the criticisms and backlash that they will undoubtedly have to face.

A Special Forces soldier's life is filled with waitings and emergencies. Yes, the 14-hour drives through bleak terrain, the (sometimes) lengthy ethnic, historical and cross-cultural considerations may be boring to some (though not to me) ; but the intense firefights that ensue are great stuff. If you prefer 100% action, then read Tom Clancy. But then this is the only book that truthfully captures the experience of Special Forces in Afghanistan, their victories, their self-doubts. Congrats to the men of Beast 85 for braving the military bureaucracy and coming out with such a rare, truthful account.

When pressed, I have to rate this book 3 stars for two reasons. (1) It was a very easy and enjoyable read. I read it in one sitting (7 hours), therefore I have to give kudos to the author(s) writing style. (2) At least the authors had the courage to stand up and tell the world not all military soldiers think going to war is perfect.

However, instead of calling this "Hunting for al Qaeda" a more apt title may be "Whining about War". I'd have to say about 3/4 of the book was deploying and arriving in theater, and how "this is messed up" and "that is messed up" and everyone is "messed up"..that is of course, everyone except the author(s). It became a bit irritating after a while. I used to tell my troops if they weren't part of the solution, they were part of the problem.

As far as the account of "terror, adventure and disallusionment"..I found this a bit lacking also. I did not find their situation any different than the hundreds of thousands of other soldiers who have rotated through Iraq or Afghanistan. But being military myself, I could be a bit biased.

The most most interesting thing about this book is the fact it is written by reservists. Their successful "hunts", and the fact they were quite adept at wading through the BS to get the job done...should put this book on the weekend reading list of all West Point freshman.

"Hunting al Qaeda: a Take-no-Prisoners Account of Terror, Adventure, and Disillusionment" by Anonymous lives up to its title. This is the story of 'Beast 2085', a National Guard Special Forces Operational Detachment - Alpha -- or more commonly known as an "A-Team". This is the story of their hunt for the terrorists in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003.

Two of the team members collaborated on the book, which is a memoir of their experiences. Yearning to make a difference, the team tested the limits imposed on them by higher headquarters. By establishing a rapport with the locals, they gained access to actionable intelligence resulting in operations to snag "high value targets". In their relatively short time in Afghanistan, this team certainly made a difference.

Coalition forces in Afghanistan are formed around two different task forces. The majority of coalition forces serve in the task force that is concentrating on providing security and rebuilding the country. The second task force is primarily American, and focuses on 'kinetic' operations. I highly recommend "Enduring the Freedom: A Rogue Historian in Afghanistan" and "Confronting the Chaos: A Rogue Military Historian Returns to Afghanistan" by Sean Maloney for an outstanding study on these organizations and the contributions of the coalition Special Forces. Also of note, Maloney's works corroborate the value of human intelligence for gaining the truly actionable intelligence. SIGINT is good enough in a non-permissive environment, but we absolutely need a human intelligence capability.

There are two common rules of thumb about conversations with men who served in small units in the military. Most service-members will tell you how much they loved what they did. The second group of conversations will focus on complaining about something, be it the food, lodging, or how the 'system' let them down. This book would have been much better if it focused on only the first, because it is an incredible story about men who succeeded in making a difference.

Great book! Has wonderful insight about SF operations and shows the ingenuity SF guys will use in the face of adversity to accomplish their missions. Those who are in the military and understand the frustrations that regular army and Special Operations guys deal with, will fully appreciate this book. Civilians who are not in the special operations community and those who are just looking for a pure adrenaline rush from start to finish, will not find it in this book. Needless to say, this book needed to be written and I wish more people had the "balls" to expose things that are inherintly wrong with our military today. This book should be required reading for all special operations commanders. I know the commander of beast 85 personally and he is an incredible person, to say the least. It is people like him, who continue to sacrifice day after day for this country, that allow us all to sleep well at night. Keep up the fight Alan, and Good hunting!
Go and buy the book!!!

Zap

On the one hand, I found this book really optimistic, I mean it shows "average Americans" going off to war and fighting in Afghanistan against Al Quida. I found that aspect really kind of uplifting, because it shows the strengths of America. But it is depressing to learn that even in special operations areas, the U.S. military is dominated by careerist officers and bureaucracy. The fact that our "tip of the spear" forces have to ask for permission many hours before engaging the enemy (filled out in triplicate, etc.) is just depressing. In end effect, bureaucracy no doubt helped Al Qaeda escape. So the book is a mixed bag. It is a very honest look at the "war on terror". One reason I gave it only 4 stars is, the pictures made me want to learn more, but the writing didn't go into it. For example, one picture details how good the M4 rifle is, "much better than what the enemy has", etc. But I didn't find anything in the book about that. I expected the text to go more into that. Still a really good book, that I highly recommend.

I purchased this book last year and read it in a few days. As a former Guardsman I totally understood their plight and sentiments. Treated as the 'red headed step child' by their active duty SF counterparts, even though they all underwent the very same training process and some were former active duty SF, the book tells of their adventures in Afghanistan and how they made the best of a war bungled by career minded beauracracies. This team in fact found tons of munitions and captured one of the more notorious terrorists during their tour, all due to personal initiative instead of sitting around. That aspect of the story does in fact remind me of another excellent book I recently read, 'Roughneck Nine One.'

As a footnote, the book reveals that in fact this particular Guard unit was used as a "test run" to see how the National Guard SF component compares to their active duty counterparts.