Now is the Time to Read FIRST IN: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan

The nonfiction book FIRST IN: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan by Gary C. Schroen was published in 2005. Today the book is probably more relevant than when it was published.

In the author's afterword he says: "While there are positive developments taking place in Afghanistan, progress rests on a shaky foundation."

Today as more U.S. troops are sent to Afghanistan to deal with what is clearly a deteriorating situation, these two paragraphs from the book's afterword are very contemporary:

The most significant area of unfinished business in the war on terrorism is centered in the border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our current mode of operations and the structure of our military and CIA forces in those border areas are ineffective in bringing the fight to the enemy hiding in those mountains. The strategy should be reconsidered and U.S. military Special Forces units returned to the area, along with seasoned CIA SAD paramilitary officers.

At the same time, U.S. diplomatic policy toward Pakistan should be reviewed and reconsidered, with the aim of strengthening the Pakistani government's, and their military leadership's, resolve to press hard to root out terrorist strongholds and hiding places in the tribal areas.

If you want to understand what's happening right now in Afghanistan and Pakistan, read FIRST IN now. The author does an exceptionally good job of explaining the Afghan culture that so impacts a military victory as well as explaining the policy constraints in the U.S. that can hinder that victory.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs as a National Internet Business Examiner and at Operation Support Jews in the Military and Fiction Marketing, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life.

Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites that get people to say yes to your brand, book or business. Her newest project is the book/website project In Support of Our Troops.