War Today: We Pay and They Serve

Once upon a time war had structure. There was a kind of narrative arc to war. A beginning, a middle and clear end. In the modern era, certainly since Vietnam, they have become what Clausewitz called “protracted conflict.” Even the efforts to find resolution are nothing more than wars by other means.

Most have heard the biblical quote, that “you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but be not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.”

With respect to America's efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan the end has still not come. Few understand this better than the men and women who served. And few articulate it better than Elliot Ackerman in his new work Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning.

My conversation with Elliot Ackerman:

The 9/11 generation

As we approach this anniversary of 9/11, it's worth noting that the Afghan war has become the longest in American history. Also, to think about how many of the men and women who have served in that war, were motivated and inspired to act, by those events thirteen years ago.

Michael Golembesky is one of those. He would go on to become one of the first members of the US Marines Special Operations Team, that was created in 2006.

His story, his eight years of service, is a telling snapshot of both the good and bad of our efforts in Afghanistan.

He shares the personal and military nuances of his story in his memoir Level Zero Heroes: The Story of U.S. Marine Special Operations in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan.

My conversation with Michael Golembesky:

The War Through Afghan Eyes

The war on terror, that began on 9/11/2001, still goes on. The war in Afghanistan that began shortly thereafter, that was once dubbed “the good war,” is America's longest war.  Sadly the landscape of that nation today, does not reflect either the lives or treasure that Americans gave to it.

War is always complicated. Once the battle is joined, the game plans often go out the window. Yet when one looks at the mistakes America made in Afghanistan, they were not so much about battle plans or strategy, they were a reflection of a fundamental misreading of history, culture, nuance and the reality of people being different than ourselves.  In an interconnected and globalized world, this is and will continue to be a recipe for repeated disaster.

Anand Gopal spent years covering the war, embedded with both American and Taliban forces.  His reporting culminates in his debut book,  No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War through Afghan Eyes.

My conversation with Anand Goapl: