First In
by Gary Schroen · first published 2005
5mentions
2recommended by
2HN commenters
2010–2013first – last mentioned
100% recommend
While America held its breath in the days immediately following 9/11, a small but determined group of CIA agents covertly began to change history. This is the riveting first-person account of the treacherous top-secret mission inside Afghanistan to set the stage for the defeat of the Taliban and launch the war on terror.As thrilling as any novel, First In is a uniquely intimate look at a mission that began the U.S. retaliation against terrorism--and reclaimed the country of Afghanistan for its people.From the Hardcover edition.
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Restrepo is also pretty amazing in its own right. My absolute favorite work about the whole war in Afghanistan is First In (http://www.amazon.com/First-Insiders-Account-Spearheaded-Afg...) which is how the entire war should have been fought: A CIA man, a couple ODAs (~20 US Army Special Forces soldiers), an old ex-Soviet…
on “This Is What Winning Looks Like – Afghanistan War Diary” ↗A very good account of that part of the war is "First in: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan " by Schroen, Gary. He was the chief of the first CIA team to operate inside Afghanistan. A great read, just not what…
on “Our Newfound Fear of Risk” ↗…own, and the training model for SCUBA is actually a good way to teach a lot of things to consumers (a VC friend who just picked up diving too believes this as well). For actual book as book, probably "First In; How Seven CIA Officers Opened the War on Terror in Afghanistan" by Gary Schroen. They basically went in with $30mm or so and an old helicopter, 2 SF ODAs, and accomplished most of the good accomplished…
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗…of dollars, we continued on for another 11 years (and likely to be at least 13, and possibly more), accomplishing essentially nothing more. The CIA (led by Gary Schroen, who wrote about his mission in First In http://www.amazon.com/First-Insiders-Account-Spearheaded-Afg...) and 2 ODAs, combined with air power and some ground controllers, essentially accomplished all of the world's critical policy objectives…
on “What Went Wrong in Afghanistan?” ↗…to ~2009 in Afghanistan (the 2009 end date is questionable; I'm reluctant to say Afghanistan overall is better right now than it was right after the CIA/ODA 555 operations in late 2001, as described in First In by Gary Schroen). I was in Iraq watching this and was a lot more critical of the way the US was fighting from 2003-2006 than of the actual casualty numbers. It's certainly more rational to be more willing…
on “No Combat Without Movement: Enders Game as Maneuver Warfare Primer” ↗