Twilight Warriors: The Soldiers, Spies, and Special Agents Who Are Revolutionizing the American Way of War

Description

With the planned withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the longest conflicts in our nation's history were supposed to end. Yet we remain at war against expanding terrorist movements, and our security forces have had to continually adapt to a nihilistic foe that operates in the shadows.The result of fifteen years of reporting, Twilight Warriors is the untold story of the tight-knit brotherhood that changed the way America fights. James Kitfield reveals how brilliant innovators in the US military, Special Forces, and the intelligence and law enforcement communities forged close operational bonds in the crucibles of Iraq and Afghanistan, breaking down institutional barriers to create a relentless, intelligence-driven style of operations. At the forefront of this profound shift were Stanley McChrystal and his interagency team at Joint Special Operations Command, the pioneers behind a hybrid method of warfighting: find, fix, finish, exploit, and analyze. Other key figures include Michael Flynn, the visionary who redefined the intelligence gathering mission the FBI's Brian McCauley, who used serial-killer profilers to track suicide bombers in Afghanistan and the Delta Force commander Scott Miller, responsible for making team players out of the US military's most elite and secretive counterterrorism units. The result of their collaborations is a globe-spanning network that is elegant in its simplicity and terrifying in its lethality. As Kitfield argues, this style of operations represents our best hope for defending the nation in an age of asymmetric warfare. Twilight Warriors is an unprecedented account of the American way of war,and the iconoclasts who have brought it into the twenty-first century.

James Kitfield is a senior fellow at the centre for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. Previously he was a senior correspondent for National Journal. A three-time winner of the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National defence, he lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

"An enlightening tour of 21st-century counterterrorism."-Wall Street Journal "Simply stated, also, and suspenseful."-Military Times "[Twilight Warriors] reads like a collection of gripping stories about the host of evolving security, bureaucratic, and resource challenges faced by these 'twilight warriors' and their respective responses to them. These stories are packed with tension, drama, human interest, vivid vignettes, and insightful analyses of a fast-changing threat environment and the remarkable people who are still navigating its uncharted waters. It should appeal to a wide range of readers, from policy wonks and security professionals to scholars of contemporary national and international affairs, and to the attentive reading public."-CHOICE "Kitfield's insightful and timely work highlights the gaps between policy makers and military brass."-Publishers Weekly "A compelling chronological examination of the new intelligence-driven, multiagency counterterrorism model the U.S. military now uses to meet the 'Age of Superterrorism'... Kitfield gets inside the U.S. military 'brotherhood' to produce an engaging and chilling report."-Kirkus Reviews "Twilight Warriors is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read. A brilliantly written narrative and real world adventure that draws the reader in, and vividly explains how a group of dedicated professionals helped keep our country safe after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. America faces tough days ahead, but we can take inspiration from this wartime fraternity of twilight warriors who, when confronted with unprecedented challenges, operated on the principle of doing what needed to be done, and asking for permission and forgiveness later."-Gen. Dennis Reimer (ret), 33rd Army Chief of Staff "In his book Prodigal Soldiers, James Kitfield masterfully told the tale of how the post-Vietnam generation of officers rebuilt the U.S. military and marched to victory in the Persian Gulf War. Now with the insightful Twilight Warriors, he tells the story of the next generation of American warriors as they confront the challenges of the 21st Century, battling ISIS, Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other shadowy groups who are determined to take the fight to our own shores, and pose the deadliest threat to the civilized world."-Mark Thompson, TIME Magazine "Twilight Warriors is bar none the best work yet published on the global struggle against terrorism. James Kitfield's riveting narrative reflects 15 years of insider reporting on the soldiers, spies, and special agents who have fought to keep the nation safe, and changed the way America fights. Breathtaking in its insights and revelations on our bitter, ongoing wars of counter-terrorism. Kitfield has hit a home run." -Barry McCaffrey, former General in the US Army "Twilight Warriors provides a uniquely intimate and timely window into the special operations, intelligence and law enforcement counterterrorism efforts of the past two decades. Compelling and insightful, it is the most up-to-date account available of the ongoing war on terrorism. James Kitfield's gripping portraits of the key figures leading this struggle makes this book required reading for anyone wishing to understand the threat that terrorism continues to pose-and what we are doing to defeat it."-Bruce Hoffman, Professor & Director, Center for Security Studies, Georgetown University, and author of Anonymous Soldiers "James Kitfield is one of the United States' leading national security reporters. In Twilight Warriors, he profiles the key players, and delivers a deeply reported and well-calibrated account of the shadowy conflicts that have defined America's post-9/11 wars."-Peter Bergen, author of United States of Jihad: Investigating America's Homegrown Terrorists