First casualty

First casualty The untold story of the CIA mission to avenge 9/11

Toby Harnden

Book - 2021

America is reeling; Al-Qaeda has struck and thousands are dead. The country scrambles to respond, but the Pentagon has no plan for Afghanistan--where Osama bin Laden masterminded the attack and is protected by the Taliban. Instead, the CIA steps forward to spearhead the war. Eight CIA officers are dropped into the mountains of northern Afghanistan on October 17, 2001. They are Team Alpha, an eclectic band of linguists, tribal experts, and elite warriors: the first Americans to operate inside Taliban territory. Their covert mission is to track down Al- Qaeda and stop the terrorists from infiltrating the United States again. First Casualty places you with Team Alpha as the CIA rides into battle on horseback alongside the warlord Abdul Rashid ...Dostum. In Washington, DC, few trust that the CIA men, the Green Berets, and the Americans' outnumbered Afghan allies can prevail before winter sets in. On the ground, Team Alpha is undeterred. The Taliban is routed but hatches a plot with Al-Qaeda to hit back. Hundreds of suicidal fighters, many hiding weapons, fake a surrender and are transported to Qala-i Jangi--the "Fort of War."

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Location Call Number   Status
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Subjects
United States. > Central Intelligence Agency > History > 21st century.
September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001.
Afghan War, 2001-2021 > Campaigns > Afghanistan.
Afghan War, 2001-2021 > Participation, American.
Published
New York : Little, Brown and Company 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Toby Harnden (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Maps on endpapers.
Physical Description
xviii, 412 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-394) and index.
ISBN
9780316540957
  • Preface
  • Who's Who
  • 1. Zero Hour
  • 2. Blue Sky
  • 3. Third Option
  • 4. Showtime
  • 5. Kill Box
  • 6. Talisman
  • 7. Two Cadillacs
  • 8. Wild Thing
  • 9. Devil's Water
  • 10. The Fort
  • 11. Goat Rodeo
  • 12. Not Surrendered
  • 13. The Irishman
  • 14. Pink House
  • 15. Trojan Horse
  • 16. Cleared Hot
  • 17. Absolutely Wrong
  • 18. Yeah, Baby!
  • 19. Lucky Boots
  • 20. No Secrets
  • 21. Tomorrowland
  • 22. Days of Thunder
  • Acknowledgments
  • Author's Note on Sources
  • Select Bibliography
  • Notes
  • Photography Credits
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

In sync with the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, foreign correspondent Harnden (Dead Men Risen, 2014) revisits the chaotic early days when the first steps of America's counterattack on Al-Qaeda was led by a handful of CIA operatives and Green Berets in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. These teams of specialists coordinated with Afghan warlords representing the diverse ethnic groups of the Northern Alliance to overthrow the fundamentalist Taliban regime harboring the terrorists. Harnden presents behind-the-scenes events and recently declassified facts in this exceptionally detailed guide to Afghanistan's geography, ethnic groups, and persistent and dire conflicts, culminating in the Al Qaeda uprising at the Qala-i Jangi fortress where America suffered its first casualty in the war on terror. Harnden scoured the archives and extensively interviewed surviving witnesses to shed light on this pivotal time. First Casualty is the closest most readers will come to really knowing a spy; Harnden intimately portrays who these men were and are as America attempts to extract itself from its longest war.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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