Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

The mirror test, America at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, J. Kael Weston

eng

contains biographical information

mapsplatesillustrationsphotographs

no index present

non fiction

The mirror test

J. Kael Weston

America at war in Iraq and Afghanistan

A powerfully written firsthand account of the human costs of conflict. J. Kael Weston spent seven years on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan working for the U.S. State Department in some of the most dangerous frontline locations. Upon his return home, while traveling the country to pay respect to the dead and wounded, he asked himself: When will these wars end? How will they be remembered and memorialized? What lessons can we learn from them? These are questions with no quick answers, but perhaps ones that might lead to a shared reckoning worthy of the sacrifices of those -- troops and civilians alike -- whose lives have been changed by more than a decade and a half of war. Weston takes us from Twentynine Palms in California to Fallujah in Iraq, Khost and Helmand in Afghanistan, Maryland, Colorado, Wyoming, and New York City, as well as to out-of-the-way places in Iowa and Texas. We meet generals, corporals and captains, senators and ambassadors, NATO allies, Iraqi truck drivers, city councils, imams and mullahs, Afghan schoolteachers, madrassa and college students, former Taliban fighters and ex-Guantánamo prison detainees, a torture victim, SEAL and Delta Force teams, and many Marines. The overall frame for the book, from which the title is taken, centers on soldiers who have received a grievous wound to the face. There is a moment during their recovery when they must look upon their reconstructed appearance for the first time. This is known as the mirror test. From an intricate tapestry of voices and stories—Iraqi, Afghan, and American—Weston delivers a larger mirror test for our nation in its global role. An unflinching and deep examination of the interplay between warfare and diplomacy, this is an essential book—a crucial look at America now, how it is viewed in the world and how the nation views itself

Prologue: Twentynine Palms, California -- Part I. The wrong war -- Quagmire -- Friends and enemies -- Phantom fury or new dawn? -- Happy birthday -- The potato factory -- Clear, hold, build -- Helo down -- Collaboration -- KIA in Mayberry -- When senators and generals talk -- Sara al Jumaili and the last grand mufti -- A farewell to Fallujah -- The 93 -- To Monument Valley -- Part II. The right war -- Deeper into the Muslim world -- Dilawar of Yakubi -- Khost U -- A handshake, or two -- Reformed Taliban -- The ego has landed -- Life after Guantanamo -- The dead of Sabari District -- The commander and the top student -- Jackpots and dryholes -- Motor City -- Escalation -- Our British friends -- Ask & tell -- A dignified transfer -- Part III. Homefronts -- To Cherokee, Iowa -- To Menard, Texas -- The parade -- Semper fido and the Sierras -- Operation Mend -- Spirit of America -- The library -- A museum of war -- Nick's home -- The mall of America -- Epilogue: New York City -- After war -- A soldier's war journal, a soldier's mirror test -- Angels

America at war in Iraq and Afghanistan