Hunting Al Qaeda: A Take-no-prisoners Account of Terror, Adventure, And Disillusionment

by Gerald Schumacher (Foreword)

When the citizen-soldiers of Beast 85 went off to fight the enemy, they could not have imagined that the largest obstacle they would face was not the suffocating heat, disease, or even the enemy itself, but an increasingly risk-averse high command and the modern American military’s culture of ""playing it safe."" Even while being shot at, they were not allowed to shoot back, ending up sitting on their hands for days and weeks on end. Then, the men of Beast 85 did what Green Berets do; they found a way to get the job done. They hunted, cornered, and captured some of the highest-level terrorists in Afghanistan, including 1) one of the Taliban’s top generals, 2) the man responsible for a brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign, and 3) a key player in the assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud (the ""Lion of Panjshir"")—a man who struck fear into Osama bin Laden’s own cold and murderous heart. But their actions only seemed to rile the military’s play-it-safe leadership, who at every turn let the bad guys slip away to fight another day. That did not deter Beast 85, who proved themselves collectively to be one of the gutsiest and bravest units in the war. Written by the men who were there, Hunting al Qaeda takes no prisoners in its critical look at what went right (plenty, when they were allowed to do their job), what went wrong (plenty more), and what happens when Green Berets are unleashed in the most hostile place on the planet.

Genres: Military Fiction

255 pages, Hardcover

First published July 29, 2005

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 2 out of 5]

So - I have mixed opinions about this book. As a former officer in the U.S. Army, I recognize the people and tone of this book, and not for the best. The "we know best what's going on, we don't need anyone telling us what to do, we're the best, every one else is ate up, we're the best unit and no stinking rules are going to keep us from doing our mission" attitude is certainly not rare to encounter in the Army, and the military writ large. I think this book suffers from its informality, changing perspectives (is it first person or third person?), and not knowing whether it's speaking to non-military or a military audience. I also think this book could have had a second pass with its editor - at times, it is as if each chapter is starting all over again -- introducing people we've already met, explaining abbreviations it didn't explain for three chapters, and deciding whether it's going to explain all the terms for a non-military audience or cut down on all the abbreviations (count how many times "FOB" is used). All that said, it was an interesting look at one Special Forces Group's experience in Afghanistan -- for anyone interested in that theater of operations, I would still recommend this book. But if you are looking for a general 21st century U.S. military operations book, I would give this one a pass. I think the soldiers obviously are intelligent and brave, and they certainly deserve praise for the HVT (high value targets) they captured. But I also think the "we're the only ones who want to take the fight to the Taliban/al-Qaeda" is tone-deaf to the greater OEF mission. They may know more on the ground, but what is the actually strategic mission? If it's create a stable government and trained military to prevent that country from remaining a reliable base of operations for al-Qaeda, then maybe different missions are required.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Beast 85 (call sign for Special Forces A-team) conducted operations under the label of 'route reconnaissance' and 'area assessment' for about a month and a half, and they became quite successful, both at catching the Taliban snd al Qaeda operatives and their equipment, and at flying below the CJSOTF radar screen. By fudging the aggressive and overly restrictive guidelines set up by the clowns at Bagram, which would otherwise have delayed their missions, they managed to go out on 45 missions, capture three high-value targets, and destroy tens of thousands of pounds of ammunition." (pages 186-187) (CJSOTF = Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force)

"What really made Beast 85 so successful was our ability to think outside the box, to focus on the mission, and to aggressively pursue the enemy regardless of the obstacles, including the insane administrative burdens placed on us by our own headquarters." (pages 238-239)