The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan

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More About This Book

Overview

General Stanley McChrystal, the innovative, forward-thinking commanding general of international and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, was living large. He was better known to some as Big Stan, M4, Stan, and his loyal staff liked to call him a "rock star." During a spring 2010 trip across Europe to garner additional allied help for the war effort, McChrystal was accompanied by journalist Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone. For days, Hastings looked on as McChrystal and his staff let off steam, partying and openly bashing the Obama administration for what they saw as a lack of leadership. When Hastings's piece appeared a few months later, it set off a political firestorm: McChrystal was ordered to Washington, where he was fired unceremoniously.

In The Operators, Hastings picks up where his Rolling Stone coup ended. He gives us a shocking behind-the-scenes portrait of our military commanders, their high-stakes maneuvers and often bitter bureaucratic infighting. Hastings takes us on patrol missions in the Afghan hinterlands, to late-night bull sessions of senior military advisors, to hotel bars where spies and expensive hookers participate in nation-building gone awry. And as he weighs the merits and failings of old-school generals and the so-called COINdinistas-the counterintelligence experts-Hastings draws back the curtain on a hellish complexity and, he fears, an unwinnable war.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

In June 2010, journalist Michael Hastings broke the gathering media silence about the conflict in Afghanistan with his stunning Rolling Stone article "The Runaway General." This detailed-packed piece not only set off a storm of controversy; it eventually led to the resignation of General Stanley McChyrstal. In The Operators, Hastings explores the planning and conduct of this long-fought war. In exclusive, behind-the-scenes reportage from Afghanistan, Europe, the Middle East, and Washington, he probes beneath the surface of official statements and public platitudes. Certain to make its own headlines.

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review.

Hastings (I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story) recounts the events behind and beyond his award-winning 2010 Rolling Stone article "The Runaway General," which led to the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal and his replacement with General David Petraeus. Trailing McChrystal and his staff as they travel to Paris, Berlin, and Kabul, Hastings discovers how the nation's foremost "operators"-the special forces and other personnel on "the X...the spot on the satellite map where the action goes down"-regard the war as secondary to their loyalty to each other. Cavalier remarks about key figures and incidents ranging from the infamous cover-up of the cause of Pat Tillman's death to scenes with President Obama reveal the essential divide between military and civilian perspectives. Hastings brilliantly intertwines narratives, whether writing about the halls of Washington, war-torn Baghdad, or rudimentary lessons in counterinsurgency math, a system wherein killing two of ten results not in eight, but twenty insurgents. Hasting's first-class, engrossing reportage reveals unsettling yet human flaws behind one of recent history's most lionized military figures, and a war which purportedly began as a response to terrorism, but whose aims-in the author's estimation-remain ambiguous.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
War correspondent Hastings vividly recounts his explosive 2010 Rolling Stone article that got Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal drummed out of Afghanistan. McChrystal's unchecked remarks caused his firing, but things might have gone down differently if the general had taken a lesson from Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. It happened in the spring of 2010 during a European trip the general made to bolster sagging support for the war. Hastings was invited along. The premise of the movie--a promising band experiences their downfall after the Rolling Stone reporter they accept into their circle writes an unflattering (though accurate) story about them--perfectly mirrors the situation in which McChrystal and his entourage would become embroiled. Like Almost Famous, Hastings' astute war memoir is pitch-perfect in demonstrating the challenges that all diligent journalists face. If someone isn't actively working hard to shut you down, they're busy trying to co-opt you. In this case, a certified war hero and his hotshot staff were too confident in their ability to woo a puff piece out of a young writer. The author's frank discussion of these subtler forms of coercion, continuously employed to undermine accurate reporting, is undoubtedly courageous. According to Hastings, McChrystal and his highly accomplished cadre of elite military men operated in a bubble so thick, they foolishly believed they could mold not only a magazine profile to their liking, but also an entire country. As the situation in Afghanistan grows increasingly muddy, the author's disciplined adherence to solid journalistic practices and his acute eye for sharp scene setting makes much of the chaos comprehensible. Hastings has definitely taken up the traditional banner of the intrepid war correspondent, but he's simultaneously shot it through with iconoclastic holes; the effect is illuminating on many levels. An exciting and enlightening exposé of the war in Afghanistan, the dangers of concentrated power and the public's need to know.
Library Journal
Hastings seems to be just the man to tell us what's really happening in Afghanistan; his Rolling Stone article, "The Runaway General," created a storm that led to the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Here he relies on exclusive reporting in Washington, DC, Europe, the Middle East, and, specifically, Afghanistan to clarify what is really happening in that country. I'm betting that this will generate lots of interest.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780399159886
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 1/5/2012
  • Pages: 432
  • Sales rank: 21,887
  • Product dimensions: 6.44 (w) x 9.20 (h) x 1.40 (d)

Meet the Author

Michael Hastings is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. He regularly covers politics and international affairs for the magazine, including the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. In 2011, he received the George Polk Award in journalism for his Rolling Stone story "The Runaway General." His work has appeared in Newsweek, GQ, Men's Journal, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Slate, Salon, Foreign Policy, The Daily Beast, and The Huffington Post. In 2010, Hastings was named one of The Huffington Post's Game Changers of the year. His GQ story "Obama's War" was selected for Best American Political Writing 2009. The author also of I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story, Hastings lives in Vermont.

Customer Reviews

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( 16 )

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 15, 2012

    Fantastic

    Among the real thinkers in the Army there is a motto that the subjects of this book failed to recognize as a truth: Arrogance does not equal competence.

    This author is a real patriot...he's exposed the Eisenhower wannabes for what they are and what they aren't.

    7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted January 29, 2012

    Yes, We Should be Disturbed by the Afghan War and Its Leaders. Hastings Has the Experience to Tell Us Why

    If you want warm fuzzies about the powerful U.S. military and its exalted leaders, pass on this book. It's not for people who equate war with patriotism, security and heroic leadership. But it is fair, based on cobersationsI have had with current and retired military people.

    The military is its own universe, and Stanley McChrystal is the ultimate insider, not even knowing "what to do with civilians." Example: Hastings writes of McChrystal's contacting a respected author about his definitive book on the Vietnam War. The general asks the author what he (McChrystal) could learn from the author as he prepared to take the command in Afghanistan. The author replied that the U.S. should never have been in Vietnam. That was not was the general wanted to hear and proceeded with on-going, brutal attacks in the Helmand Province. An elite review team advised against even fighting there, where troops were being killed every four or five days.The momentum was there. Our forces would stay and fight. We now know, of course, that even the "great" Gen. David Petraeus did not use the word "win" after he took over the command from McChrystal. The Operators tells us why. It's well-researched - Hasting was there for the strategy and truth sessions - and it will be familiar to people who actually served.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 5, 2012

    Eye Opener!

    I have to admit I could only read so much of this book at one time because I found the behavior of these generals and their subordinates so disgusting. THis was an informative account of the complete manipulation of what went on in Afganistan and how the American people have been lied to so the generals can "play war" at the expense of many American lives. Thank you, Michael Hastings, for again enlightening us! Keep up the great work!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 8, 2012

    The operators

    Michael Hastings introduces humor to a very morbid and moribund adventure of the US in Afghanistan. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of our country.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 9, 2012

    Number 1from a Viet Nam Vet

    Afghanistan, what a waste of life (our soldiers & their civilans - could give a s... about their so called military)! Couple of Generals wanting their Combat Infantry badges, polliticans with no idea what the f... is going on, and civilian contractors raking in $,$$$,$$$'s at taxpayers' expense! Hastings, you are right on, thanks and keep hammering them. A must read if you give a s... about this country and our children and their children if they get to have any!!!

    0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 25, 2012

    Engaging, but it could be written better

    I'm enjoying reading this book, and it's engaging and interesting. However, I cringe when I read things like, "He texted me it." Just a little more attention to good editing could have gone a long way.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 21, 2012

    Very imformitive - you must read it !

    This book gives a close work to the inner workings of politics and the war-machine. One more reason we are not winning these wars, too much political power in the way.

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  • Posted February 7, 2012

    Amamzing

    If you read one book all year this is that book

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 6, 2012

    Don't read save your time and money

    Horrid bad bad bad

    0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 6, 2012

    !

    Revealing...

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 4, 2012

    Reads like a suspense novel

    Spare observations on the waste and futility of war. "The strategy is akin to digging a hole in the desert, then filling the hole with cash and dead bodies and calling it a victory."

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    Posted April 28, 2012

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    Posted January 18, 2012

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    Posted January 30, 2012

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