The Operators The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan

by Hastings, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780452298965
• ISBN10: 0452298962
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-11-27
• Publisher: Plume

Summary

In June 2010, Michael Hastings's extraordinary, uncensored "Rolling Stone "article, "The Runaway General," shocked the world and set off a series of events that culminated in the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal. Now, THE OPERATORS will lead us even deeper into the war, its politics, and its major players at a time when such insight is demanded and desperately needed. Based on exclusive reporting in Afghanistan, Europe, the Middle East, and Washington, DC, this landmark work of journalism will elucidate as never before the United States' involvement in Afghanistan in vivid, unforgettable detail. Part wild travelogue, part expose, and part sobering analysis, THE OPERATORS promises an unprecedented behind-the-scenes account of the war from the only journalist uniquely poised to tell it.

Author Biography

 Michael Hastings started his career at Newsweek in 2005. He is a contributing editor to Rolling Stone, covering international affairs and politics. He lives in Vermont.

Table of Contents

The Plan
Delta Bravo	p. 3
It's Not Switzerland	p. 6
Lady Gaga	p. 12
"Intimidated by the Crowd"	p. 18
Arc de Trimphe	p. 24
"A Violent Act"	p. 33
On the X	p. 40
The A-Team	p. 45
"Bite Me"	p. 51
The Photo Op	p. 55
Totally Shit-Faced	p. 59
"Dead Silence"	p. 67
The Horror, the Horror	p. 72
We're Actually Losing	p. 78
Petraeus Can't Do Afghanistan, and We Aren't Going to Get Bin Laden	p. 85
The Elections, Part I	p. 94
Texts to Berlin	p. 100
The Elections, Part II	p. 102
Team America Rolls the Ritz	p. 108
On Principle	p. 116
Spies Like Us	p. 121
"I'm President. I Don't Give a Shit What They Say"	p. 129
The Strategy	p. 137
"Let Me Be Clear"	p. 149
Worshipping the Gods of Beer	p. 153
Who Is Stanley McChrystal? Part I, 1954-1976	p. 158
"The Jerk in Green"	p. 165
Who Is Stanley McChrystal? Part II, 1976-Present Day	p. 171
Reality Checks In	p. 176
Interlude: Dubai	p. 183
Afghanistan
A Short History of a Horrible Idea	p. 201
Bad Romance	p. 210
President Karzai Has a Cold	p. 226
An E-mail Exchange: Come Walk in Our Boots	p. 232
A Boy Born in 1987	p. 235
Where Is Israel Arroyo?	p. 240
Ingram's House	p. 254
An Army of None	p. 267
In the Arena	p. 276
"I Didn't Even Know We Were Fighting There"	p. 284
The Concluding Converations with Duncan Boothby, General Petraeus Face-Plants in Congress, and the Story Breaks While I Watch American Helicopter Pilots Kill Insurgents	p. 290
The Graceful Exit
"Very, Very Bad"	p. 313
The Pentagon Investigates McChrystal	p. 324
The Media-Military-Industrial Complex	p. 328
I'd Rather Be Eating a Burger	p. 331
Once Upon a Time in Kandahar	p. 336
King David's War	p. 344
"Tourism, Not Terrorism"	p. 350
Petraeus Does Body Counts	p. 354
The New Afghanistan	p. 360
Joe Biden Is Right	p. 368
Epilogue: Someday, This War's Gonna End	p. 376
Source Notes	p. 381
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