Eagle Down: The Last Special Forces Fighting the Forever War
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- Create Date：2021-01-22 04:15:32
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Jessica Donati
- ISBN：9781541762558
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Summary
“POWERFUL， IMPORTANT， AND SEARING。” —GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS， U。S。 Army （ret。）， former commander， U。S。 Central Command， former CIA directorThe Wall Street Journal’s national security reporter takes readers into the lives of the US Special Forces on the front lines against the Taliban and Islamic State， where a new and covert war is keeping Afghanistan from collapse。 In 2015， the White House claimed triumphantly that “the longest war in American history” was over。 But for some， it was just the beginning of a new war， fought by Special Operations Forces， with limited resources， little governmental oversight， and contradictory orders。 With big picture insight and on-the-ground grit， Jessica Donati shares the stories of the impossible choices these soldiers must make。 After the fall of a major city to the Taliban that year， Hutch， a battle-worn Green Beret on his fifth combat tour was ordered on a secret mission to recapture it and inadvertently called in an airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital， killing dozens。 Caleb stepped on a bomb during a mission in notorious Sangin。 Andy was trapped with his team during a raid with a crashed Black Hawk and no air support。 Through successive policy directives under the Obama and Trump administrations， America has come to rely almost entirely on US Special Forces， and without a long-term plan， is failing to stabilize Afghanistan， undermining US interests both at home and abroad。 Eagle Down is a riveting account of the heroism， sacrifice， and tragedy experienced by those that continue to fight America’s longest war。
Editor Reviews
11/02/2020
Wall Street Journal reporter Donati debuts with a gritty and well-informed look at the current state of the U。S。 war in Afghanistan。 After abandoning a plan to withdraw American troops by 2017， President Obama “turned the war over to secretive U。S。 Special Operations Forces，” Donati writes。 She follows several Green Berets units from 2015 to 2020， and reveals how miscommunication and technology issues led one of her profile subjects to authorize the bombing of a hospital， killing dozens of patients and staff members。 Throughout， Donati documents Afghan government corruption and the mismanagement of local security forces， and details the high costs borne by U。S。 military families。 In 2017 and 2018， the Taliban attempted to seize a series of provincial capitals， provoking Afghan and American troop surges。 President Trump， like Obama， sought to deliver on his campaign promise to end the war， and， in 2020， reached a deal with the Taliban “to withdraw all U。S。 troops and map out a path to reconciliation，” though Donati notes that many impediments still stand in the way。 Skillfully interweaving big-picture policy analysis with frontline reporting， Donati shines a stark light on this shadowy conflict。 The result is a distressing yet vital update on America’s longest war。 （Jan。）
Reviews
Three Dogs & a Book
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Talk about explosive and emotional！ The author does not pull any punches and this is obviously not a book that everyone is going to agree with or understand！ Having been a Military wife for 23 years and my husband was involved in the first Desert Storm and my own son did a tour in Iraq and Afghanistan！ Luckily， he came home physically safe， but definitely not emotionally！ Those tours are brutal as the author Jessica clearly points out。 My son was a Captain in the Army and making decisions for others is agonizing because there is so much that can go wrong！ The author does a phenomenal job with her resources and research and the development of the book is emotionally magnificent！ I was hesitant about this book and I almost wasn’t going to read it， but I took the book and committed and it was time for me to face some of my own fears of what they actually had to endure！ This is so definitely a book I would recommend to everyone and anyone to read because it is beyond just a shootem up book， it’s about the Policies of our soldiers being there and what they have to deal with！ It’s first hand information on the ground from those who are wanting to talk！ I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions。
Maria P
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This book conveys the real experience of our special forces on the ground in Afganistan and the emotional impact on our elite soldiers who are fighting a war for us， we we have mostly forgotten。 This well written account documents the struggles of Green Berets， not only in Afganistan but with our on bureaucracy， the accidental killing of innocent civilians and the awful reality of an ongoing forgotten war。
Francesca Russo
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Complimenti
Jack
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For those who want to know the truths of war， by hearing the true voices of those involved and living through it， then this book is for you。 Jessica Donati bravely lived in Afghanistan for 4 years， putting her life at risk to tell the truth to the rest of the world。 I strongly recommend this powerful book。
Flavia
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Essential reading to understand the latest phase of the afghan war - I will write more after thinking it through。
Adam Bourne
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It takes a very special kind of person to make it in Special Forces， and those that follow in their footsteps， recording these extaordinary events are just as special！ Jessica spent nearly a decade living in a warzone， a veritable GI Jane in the world of journalism。 Following on forays， out on recon， and in country excursions witnessed first hand， Jessica writes from on top of the job。 I have no doubt that this work will made into a film worthy of heralding a new generation of frontline reportin It takes a very special kind of person to make it in Special Forces， and those that follow in their footsteps， recording these extaordinary events are just as special！ Jessica spent nearly a decade living in a warzone， a veritable GI Jane in the world of journalism。 Following on forays， out on recon， and in country excursions witnessed first hand， Jessica writes from on top of the job。 I have no doubt that this work will made into a film worthy of heralding a new generation of frontline reporting， that treats the gruesome topic of war in such a humane， passionate and accute way。 What we also learn from this book is how war can decimate an army's ability to act or think normally under intense duress。 People that have served in these units， will continue to bear the pain for many years to come for the decisions they made and for those that others made for them。 I came away from this book with a renewed profound deep respect for those who fight and write。 If you only read one book this year！ 。。。more
Vicky
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