First published 2013
Mark Mazzetti exposes a fundamental shift in how America conducts war. While public attention focused on Iraq and Afghanistan, a different kind of conflict emerged in remote corners of the globe where conventional armies cannot operate. Mazzetti reveals how Washington embraced killer drones, special operations forces, and assassination missions as alternatives to costly occupations. The CIA recruited private contractors for clandestine operations and built spy networks through unreliable foreign partners and proxy forces. Officials promoted this shadow warfare as precise and cost-effective, a surgical approach to eliminating threats. Yet Mazzetti demonstrates how these tactics generated new enemies while destroying old ones. The strategy damaged relationships with allies, destabilized regions, and created weapons of war that operate outside traditional accountability structures. Through detailed reporting, Mazzetti shows readers how this covert campaign redefined the boundaries between military operations and intelligence work, fundamentally altering American foreign policy.
Genres: history, non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history, academic, american-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: gritty, investigative
Setting: Afghanistan, Iraq
Period: 21st-Century
381 pages · Hardcover · The Penguin Press