The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace with America's Military

Walk with America's generals, grunts, and Green Berets through the maze of unconventional wars and unsettled peace. Four-star generals who lead the military during wartime reign like proconsuls abroad in peacetime. Secretive Green Berets trained to hunt down terrorists are assigned to seduce ruthless authoritarian regimes. Pimply young soldiers taught to seize airstrips instead play mayor, detective, and social worker in a gung-ho but ill-fated attempt to rebuild a nation after the fighting stops. The Mission is a boots-on-the-ground account of America's growing dependence on our military to manage world affairs, describing a clash of culture and purpose through the eyes of soldiers and officers themselves. With unparalleled access to all levels of the military, Dana Priest traveled to eighteen countries—including Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Kosovo, Indonesia, and Nigeria—talking to generals, admirals, Special Forces A-teams, and infantry troops. Blending Ernie Pyle's worm's-eye view with David Halberstam's altitude, this book documents a historic and thought-provoking trend, one made even more significant in the aftermath of September 11 as the country turns to its warriors to solve the complex international challenges ahead. 16 pages of b/w photographs.

In this boots-on-the-ground account of America's growing dependence on the military to manage world affairs, a "Washington Post" reporter invites readers to walk with the country's generals, grunts, and Green Berets through the maze of unconventional wars and unsettled peace. of photos.

This account of America's growing dependence on the military to manage world affairs describes a clash of culture and purpose. In the aftermath of September 11, this trend has accelerated, as the country turns to its warriors to solve the complex international challenges ahead.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [399]-406) and index.

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.

Introduction : Pax Americana — A different kind of world — The rise of the American military — The commanders. The CinCs : proconsuls to the empire — The royal CinCdoms of the Persian Gulf — The invisible front line of Central Asia — The special forces. Inside the wire with special forces — A-teams in Afghanistan — Below the radar in Nigeria — Gambling with Green Berets in Colombia — The Indonesian handshake — The CinC and his soldiers in Kosovo. Force trumps diplomacy in the Balkans — Waging peace in Kosovo — Drita's Kosovo — Ellerbe's 82nd Airborne Division — Vitina and the new Mafia — Dishonoring Merita — Vitina, one year later — Afterword : the mission.