From Library Journal
A Washington Post reporter and the recipient of the 2001 Gerald R. Ford Award for Distinguished Defense Reporting, Priest here assesses the changing role of the U.S. military in the present world. At one time, the military simply fought wars, but as recent conflicts reveal, it must now deal with problems that are socioeconomic or political in nature. In addition, argues Priest, the position of regional commander in chief (CINC) has grown substantially in power and prestige since the Cold War. Priest assesses the role of each CINC in recent conflicts, showing that each has had to use a military solution that was too often limited and shortsighted. In this regard, Priest's book recalls Gen. Wesley Clark's Waging Modern War (Clark himself is a CINC). This engrossing work is a real eye-opener concerning the role of the CINCs, something which lay readers probably know little about-though they should. Recommended for public and academic libraries, especially those with military history collections.
--Mark Ellis, Albany State Univ., GA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
This absorbing survey argues that the State Department, because of a lack of funding, has, in the past decade, essentially handed over to the military the task of international relations. The "mission" of the title is vast, and ranges from chasing drug traffickers in Colombia to monitoring town-hall meetings in Kosovo. Priest profiles colorful regional commanders—one sky-dives for relaxation; another practices falconry with the Saudi royals—who operate abroad with astonishing latitude. On the ground with the Special Forces, she finds that their prodigious combat training has not prepared them for such difficulties as persuading rival Afghan tribes to live side by side, or fielding a request for sewing machines from a Serbian women's collective. If Priest's account, like her subject, is a bit overextended, she has a sharp sense of the nations who know America best not through diplomats but through soldiers—as when she tells of the king of Swaziland remarking to an American captain, "I'd really like to meet your ambassador."
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker Traditionally reluctant to engage in humanitarian and peacekeeping assignments, the U.S. military, by virtue of taking them on in the 1990s, has nevertheless become the dominant day-to-day influence in foreign policy. So runs Priest's thesis, which she supports by interviews and travels with four recent "sinks," commanders-in-chief of the regions into which the armed forces divide the world. They are Wesley Clark, who ran the 1999 war against Yugoslavia; Anthony Zinni, who ran the air patrols over Iraq; Charles Wilhelm, who ran the drug war in Colombia; and Dennis Blair, who just ran to Indonesia to maintain military ties during the East Timor crisis. Besides describing the commanders' activities, Priest gets down in the dirt with regular soldiers, and readers will be most fascinated by her account of special-forces squads instrumental in defeating the Taliban. Not so much declaiming as unveiling her thesis, always an effective expository method, Priest recounts the rounds of officers and NCOs who, in effect, mold policy as much as the local U.S. ambassador. Insightful reportage that integrates the small with the large scale. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
...Priest documents [how] the...armed forces pursue tasks for which they are ill suited, untrained and sometimes only loosely mandated. -- San Francisco Chronicle, John T. Finn, 2 March 2003
...not a dry tome aimed at policy wonks. Written in a journalistic style... [it] conveys its message through colorful stories. -- Wisconsin State Journal, William Wineke, 9 March 2003
A book that is just in time for the great new debate between the hawks and the doves. -- Benjamin C. Bradlee
An important, frequently troubling, portrayal...raises questions that urgently need answers. -- Jessica T. Matthews, president, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Anyone trying to understand the interplay between US military and foreign policy must read The Mission. -- Jody Williams, Nobel Laureate for Peace, 1997
Insightful reportage that integrates the small with the large scale. -- Booklist, Gilbert Taylor, 1 January 2003
Priest has done prodigious research, including travel....The result...is an often fascinating kaleidoscope of the US military circa 2003. -- Washington Post Book World, Max Boot, 16 February 2003
The fine texture of [Priest's] reporting of the views of the personalities involved is impressive....well written. -- Army Magazine, Maj. Gen. Edward B. Atkeson, USA Ret., Ph.D., March 2003
[A] fascinating set of answers to...important questions about America's role in today's world . -- Joseph Nye, Dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
[S]uperbly written....should be required reading for anyone hoping to understand the goals and objectives of contemporary US foreign policy. -- Lawrence J. Korb, Director of Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
About the Author
Washington Post reporter Dana Priest writes and lectures about military and intelligence issues and is the recipient of the 2001 Gerald R. Ford Award for Distinguished Defense Reporting. She lives in Washington, D.C.
