JRF's #19 - Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer

Jon Krakauer is one of my favorite living authors.  Whether he is writing an article about the fatal last ride of surfing legend Mark Foo or a book on the nefarious origins of the Mormon Church, I always enjoy the way Krakauer can turn non-fiction into a journey of discovery.   I may not always agree with his final destination, but how he gets there is always captivating.

In Where Men Win Glory Krakauer explores the extraordinary life and tragic death by friendly fire of football player turned Army Ranger turned political pawn Pat Tilman.

The first half of this book was by far my favorite.  Krakauer simultaneously introduces us to Pat Tilman while deftly weaving his story together with the modern history of the land where he would eventually meet his death, Afghanistan.  Watching Tilman grow from child to young man to NFL star, fall in love with, remain faithful to during college and the NFL and marry his highschool sweetheart, and overcome personal and professional odds through sheer force of character gave me a deep sense of appreciation for this man.  It also reminded me of the power of personal integrity, even in unbelievers.

Learning about the modern history of Afghanistan was also enlightening.  In short...what a mess!  A mess in which the United States has been involved in long before 9/11.

The book hits a speed bump in the mid-section.  Here I felt that at times Krakauer weakened his case of a government coverup (which the facts clearly point to without any embelishing needed) by trying too hard to paint all military senior officers and government leaders as corrupt.  Particularly unhelpful was his chapter in which he discusses the questionable results of the 2000 election, in which Bush came out victorious.  Krakuer ended this seemingly out of place section by writing, "...thus did Bush become the forty-third president of the United States, a turn of events that would have no small impact on the life of Pat Tilman."  He goes on to imply that the Bush administration knew about an imminent threat from Al-Qaeda but turned a blind eye to warning signs...something Krakaer apparently believes Al Gore wouldn't have done.  This section sounds particularly foolish in light of the fact that Krakauer had previously so skillfully shown that the conflict with Al-Qaeda was a storm that had been brewing since at least the 80's and was inevitable.  In addition, while most of the narrative about Tilman's life comes from primary sources such as his family, his journals, and interviews, the sections on the Bush administration rely almost exclusively on books written about the Bush administration by other, often biased authors.  Of course things would have been different in Pat Tilman's life (and many others) if Bush had not been president, but to conjecture what those differences would have been is futile.

Portions of this book were truly heartbreaking: the vivid account of Tilman's heroic death by fratricide, Pat's brother Kevin's - who was only yards away at the time of Pat's death - discovery that his big brother had just been killed, the pain that Tilman's loved ones experienced by losing such a dynamic part of their family, the betrayal they felt once the truth of a coverup became known, and the lack of integrity and accountability by some in Tilman's chain of command.

But by far the most heartbreaking aspect of Tilman's story from a Biblical perspective is his determined atheism and self-worship.  He put his faith in no one but himself, and did some truly amazing and admirable things.  However no matter how strong of a person he was, his strength could never overcome his greatest enemy -the slave master of sin.  And thus he passed from this world an enemy of the enemy of sin - the One, True, Holy God.  His lack of fear was admirable, but his lack of the Fear of the Lord was tragic:

"I've never feared death per se, or really given a **** what happens 'after'.  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.   My concerns have to do with the 'now' and becoming the man I envision....I think I understand that religious faith which makes the holy brave and strong; my strength is just somewhere else - it's in myself....I do not fear what awaits me, though I'm equally confident that nothing awaits."

Where Men Win Glory is truly a classic account of a tragedy.  A tragedy from every perspective.

Marks #18 - Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan (400 pages)

Horse Soldiers is a compelling story of how a small band of CIA and Special Forces  troops forged alliances with Afghan warlords to push out Taliban forces in the days following the September 11^th attacks. I picked up this book based on the rave reviews I had read as well as my desire to have a greater insight into the lives of the Special Forces community of whom I minister to in Okinawa.  Stanton does an excellent job of setting the scene in the days following September 11^th.

The first insight that I learned was how little America’s military knew about Afghanistan and how to best begin an assault.  Thankfully, the CIA had some insight and preparation to this end.

The strategy of sending in just a handful of SF troops to partner with several Afghan warlords (who happened to be enemies of one another), and to get them cooperate and solidify the Northern Alliance in a common goal of defeating the Taliban, which turned out to be one of the most successful operations in our nations military history.

The title Horse Sodiers comes from the fact that the Northern Alliance troops, along with the SF guys, rode horses to battle and to various positions in the mountains of Afghanistan.  In so doing, it was as one American General noted, “It’s as if the Jetsons met the Flintsones.”  The strategy for the Americans was to call in various airstrikes against Taliban positions using GPS coordinates and laser markers… all while toting the equipment on mules and horses.

One very interesting side story throughout the book was the story of John Walker Lindh – the American teenager from California who had converted to Islam, traveled to Pakistan, and eventually joined forces with Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan.  Through the book, Stanton traces Lindh’s journey and eventual capture by these same SF soldiers.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history and current situation in Afghanistan.  In the epilogue, the author gives the reader more insight on both the lives and eventual deaths in Iraq of many of the SF soldiers, as well as some unique and well informed recommendations to our ongoing battle in Afghanistan.   At a bare minimum, any soldier, Airmen, or Marine stationed in Afghanistan should read this book, if for no other reason as to better understand what they’re fighting for.