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MikeP

"Check Six"

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The Guns of August
Barbara W. Tuchman, Robert K. Massie
Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda - Sean Naylor Not a Good Day to Die is a decent 3-Star account of our first major battle in Afghanistan after we kicked out the Taliban. This operation defines the acronym FUBAR. I decided the author wanted to get that concept across by writing almost 200 pages about the lead up and planning in such a way as to completely confuse the reader. I did not find his account of the plan (or lack of one) as enlightening or analytical as it should have been. I also did not enjoy the obvious slant he brought to the account, using anonymous sources and loaded descriptions to place blame. Not to say his portrayal wasn’t accurate but I felt he should have been more dispassionate in assessing responsibility. He is a reporter, not a trigger puller or commander in the fight (although he was there in theater). Once the battle gets going, you can’t help but hear the Jaws theme in the background as things go wrong. The intel assessment of how many Al Queda and other terrorist fighters proves to be wrong. The fighters stay and fight instead of fleeing from the US forces. The final chapter of the story is about the fight on Robert’s Ridge, where the Navy SEAL fell out of the chopper and the rescue team was shot down when trying to get into to find him. There were a lot of tough fights and brave men out there. His combat scenes are the highlight of the book. This operation ended and touched off a major pissing contest between various services and headquarters. It was FUBAR but the soldiers and airmen tasked with executing the fight performed magnificently. A good read (but what a terrible title for the book)