What do you think?
Rate this book
Twilight Warriors: The Soldiers, Spies, and Special Agents Who Are Revolutionizing the American Way of War
When US troops withdrew from Afghanistan at the end of 2014, the longest conflict in our nation's history came to an end. Yet we are still at war--no longer with other states, but with a host of new enemies, from Jihadi insurgents and nihilistic terrorists to narco-traffickers and modern-day pirates. In Twilight Warriors, the award-winning foreign correspondent James Kitfield introduces us to the tight-knit brotherhood that strives to keep the United States safe from the dimly understood threats it now faces. Together, these men have broken down the boundaries between their respective agencies to engineer a networkcentric way of fighting using a seamless web of intelligence analysts, information networks, FBI forensics experts, and Special Forces units to take the fight to America's enemies as never before.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published October 25, 2016
20 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 14, 2017
If you want a one-book summary of the war on terror, at a high level, this is it. Kitfield is great at picking out the key highlights and describing the twists and turns of our 16 year long descent into continuous conflict.
I subtract one star because Kitfield is a little too close to the military perspective and does not appreciate the policy trade offs at stake that sometimes hamper the military and some of the good reasons that bureaucracy exists to slow down kinetic action. Values questions, beyond patriotism and jingoism, do not get much airing here. His reliance on the Irish Brigade as his primary sources and his clear veneration of their military success blinds him to their often striking political and bureaucratic inadequacies.
However, if you accept that as a given, the rest of the narrative is superb. I found his insight into Mike Flynn to be interesting--you got a sense of why Mike Flynn was a successful soldier, but only an oblique understanding of his political weaknesses and disregard for protocol and procedure, which have just recently been exhibited in Flynn's 24-day tenure as National Security Advisor (the shortest ever). A great book would have included some of these foibles, which were already visible beneath your Flynn's surface.
I subtract one star because Kitfield is a little too close to the military perspective and does not appreciate the policy trade offs at stake that sometimes hamper the military and some of the good reasons that bureaucracy exists to slow down kinetic action. Values questions, beyond patriotism and jingoism, do not get much airing here. His reliance on the Irish Brigade as his primary sources and his clear veneration of their military success blinds him to their often striking political and bureaucratic inadequacies.
However, if you accept that as a given, the rest of the narrative is superb. I found his insight into Mike Flynn to be interesting--you got a sense of why Mike Flynn was a successful soldier, but only an oblique understanding of his political weaknesses and disregard for protocol and procedure, which have just recently been exhibited in Flynn's 24-day tenure as National Security Advisor (the shortest ever). A great book would have included some of these foibles, which were already visible beneath your Flynn's surface.
July 28, 2020
The major turn-off of this book has to be his unequivocal announcement of his politics and uneven handed analysis of political decisions. On one hand, Don Rumsfeld is a "neocon" and on the other, Obama's ramping up of targeted drone strikes doesn't make him a warmonger, but instead "suggested that he was serious". I wish reporters and journalists would stick to writing about what happened and less about the underlying (and possibly unconscious bias) towards their political leanings, which happen to be more and more left as we move forward in time. There's also a bit of anti-semitism in the book when talking about Israel and where and how they fight, but no time spent on the advances they have to make to defend their homeland. That part is disgraceful. If you're going to cover them, give the good if you're going to give your perception of the bad. Making a passing comment about how Israel's invasion of Lebanon was "bad" but ignoring that they were also trying to stamp out another terrorist organization (The PLO and Arafat) reeks of bias and unprofessionalism. There also isn't a statement about how their intelligence services contribute to warding off terrorism - something they do on a daily basis. A great angle and contribution was missed here, but he didn't waste a moment to take a swipe at the state. Again, leave your personal politics and bias at home.....
I like this book though because it gives a great overview of the history of the middle east and wars on terror in a post 9/11 world. It needed to do more to explain the advances of technology and the successes of the warriors and interrogation techniques of the intelligence community to push the US forward and radical islam away. He does a great service to show the ability of the military and intelligence communities to adapt and grow in strength and strategy regardless of political influence.
His relationship with Mike Flynn seems an interesting one and I wonder how it has changed since this book was published, especially given all we know now. Some commentary on how Petraeus and McChrystal were pushed aside for juvenile political reasons to the detriment of the US Military (and America in general if we're being truthful) would have been great evidence of good journalism. Report the facts and leave out the politics (again).
I had high hopes for this book. Leaving a bit disappointed as I knew most of what was covered. Even though it gives a great overview of the events and their happening, little is actually added in the way of what needs to happen to drive forward or how they are revolutionizing the American way of war.
I like this book though because it gives a great overview of the history of the middle east and wars on terror in a post 9/11 world. It needed to do more to explain the advances of technology and the successes of the warriors and interrogation techniques of the intelligence community to push the US forward and radical islam away. He does a great service to show the ability of the military and intelligence communities to adapt and grow in strength and strategy regardless of political influence.
His relationship with Mike Flynn seems an interesting one and I wonder how it has changed since this book was published, especially given all we know now. Some commentary on how Petraeus and McChrystal were pushed aside for juvenile political reasons to the detriment of the US Military (and America in general if we're being truthful) would have been great evidence of good journalism. Report the facts and leave out the politics (again).
I had high hopes for this book. Leaving a bit disappointed as I knew most of what was covered. Even though it gives a great overview of the events and their happening, little is actually added in the way of what needs to happen to drive forward or how they are revolutionizing the American way of war.
March 13, 2018
Since 9/11 the Intelligence communities and the US military have to been fighting non-stop, trying to stop terrorists and protect US citizens. This is the story of a handful of leaders from the FBI and the US Army and how their cooperation made a difference.
Why I started the book: One of my guilty pleasures is reading about Navy SEALs and other Special Forces and from the cover, I thought that this would be it.
Why I finished it: So this book was more about the relationships built between the FBI, CIA and the military leaders. Kitfield comes down firmly on the side of the military. I have to admit that it is a very flexible book that can decry the policy decisions and failed personal relationships of Obama and Kitfield's chosen military leaders and completely avoid talking about President Bush and his policy decisions. Kitfield talks around President Bush, all his legal advisors that okayed torture, Donald Rumsfeld's lean mean fighting force, etc. but not a peep about the main man himself. Plus Kitfield's singing of Michael Flynn's praises sounds false, as we learn more about the former General's Russian indiscretions, Turkish payments and more.
Why I started the book: One of my guilty pleasures is reading about Navy SEALs and other Special Forces and from the cover, I thought that this would be it.
Why I finished it: So this book was more about the relationships built between the FBI, CIA and the military leaders. Kitfield comes down firmly on the side of the military. I have to admit that it is a very flexible book that can decry the policy decisions and failed personal relationships of Obama and Kitfield's chosen military leaders and completely avoid talking about President Bush and his policy decisions. Kitfield talks around President Bush, all his legal advisors that okayed torture, Donald Rumsfeld's lean mean fighting force, etc. but not a peep about the main man himself. Plus Kitfield's singing of Michael Flynn's praises sounds false, as we learn more about the former General's Russian indiscretions, Turkish payments and more.
January 28, 2017
I don’t read many books about modern history but I’ve been struggling to follow what is happening in the war that has been raging on for nearly half of my life. Because of that I picked this up and was not disappointed.
I’m not sure how much my own political views focused my perceptions while reading, but I was finally able to feel some sympathy and respect for political characters who’s views I normally found completely alienating. This book disserves the praise others and I give it because it sheds light on one of the most obfuscated political quagmires in American history and humanizes a conflict that has been about demonizing the other.
The book doesn’t perfectly explain war waged between networks and ideologies rather than the ones of armies and nations like I learned about in school; Twilight Warriors just beings to make sense of nonsensical violence that has come to characterize the early 2000’s. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for its insight into this generation's conflict.
I’m not sure how much my own political views focused my perceptions while reading, but I was finally able to feel some sympathy and respect for political characters who’s views I normally found completely alienating. This book disserves the praise others and I give it because it sheds light on one of the most obfuscated political quagmires in American history and humanizes a conflict that has been about demonizing the other.
The book doesn’t perfectly explain war waged between networks and ideologies rather than the ones of armies and nations like I learned about in school; Twilight Warriors just beings to make sense of nonsensical violence that has come to characterize the early 2000’s. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for its insight into this generation's conflict.
August 15, 2017
This was one of the more surprising reads of the year. I picked this up in part for research, and in part for my enduring quest to understand the wars we as a country have engaged in over the past 15 plus years. As a veteran, I'm partial to advocating for better national security, but I'm also clear-minded enough to want to really understand the hard lessons we can learn from. This book was magnificent in putting all of the past hard lessons into perspective that anyone can grasp quite easily, for those who care to know what we should do going forward, and not repeat again. And I feel as if I have a much better idea on what those lessons are.
February 28, 2018
Excellent Survey of the history of the GWOT from 2001-2015. As the title goes, it shows how Spec Ops, the Intel community, and Law Enforcement worked together to create the first network-centric battle groups to fight insurgent and terrorist groups.
July 28, 2019
A thorough look at the contributions of military special operations, the CIA, the DIA, and the FBI to the global war on terror. Kitfield is well sourced and uses his personal or first-hand accounts to tell this story.
Read
July 3, 2017If you want to know all about the longest war of America or the whole military insider maneuvers of US after 911 in 2001, read it! Never knew so much about how these individuals shaped a crucial part of the US history growing out of the two wars after 911: David Petraeus Mike Flynn, McChrystal, James Clapper, Edward Snowden, Martin Dempsey, Susan Rice, Barry Obama
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews