Books : Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground

Rating: - lame
This book isn't about the military. Its about Kaplan's ideas for using the American military to civilize the rest of the world. See, anyone who doesn't live in America is either stupid (Europe) or a savage (everyone else). Kaplan sees the whole world beyond our borders as a new wild west and sees all those billions of people living out there as the new Injuns. Injuns either become good little Americans out fighting for strip malls, french fries and starbucks coffee....or they end up dead.

Between all the big ideas in the book is Kaplan playing army man all over the world. He really loves the American Military. He loved it so much that when he was young he volunteered to serve in the army of another country rather than his own. There is lots of hanging out with special forces, being critical of senior officers. There is even a special moment where Kaplan sees the "greatness" of the old Confederacy in modern military officers. But given that Kaplan's ideology toward everyone else in the world is about as enlighted as an old southern planter toward his slaves, it makes a bit of sense I guess.

Oh yeah. We need to get started on a war with China too. Its not that there is a reason for the war, its (in Kaplan's mind) that any country which is growing is a threat to American interests and must be smashed to pieces.

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Rating: - A Rarity Among Modern Journalists
For all who tire of today's medicore journalists, this book is a reminder of the positives in the field. Kaplan's style is engaging, interesting, and blunt. He doesn't couch his stories in qualifiers, addendums, and modifiers. He tells the stories that he sees, and he readily admits when those stories are incomplete or altered. He is also frank when offering his opinion. Although sometimes he reaches on his vocabulary and syntax, his writing is generally fluid, and easy to follow.

His movement with the US military is exciting, and daring. He doesn't dare shy away from his responsibilities when part of the battle; no hiding behind the contrived veil of 'impartiality.' Kaplan is unabashed in his loyalties to the United States, and his role as the recorder of his hosts' actions.

In this vein Kaplan does romanticize troop activity, whether fawning over Army Special Forces, speaking dreamily about the Marine Corps, or enchantedly following Foreign Area Officers (a hybrid of military officer and Ambassador). The bulk of his observations of the 'grunts on the ground' are striking for their lack of gore, violence, and conflict, if that were possible for a journalist traveling from millitary host to host. It's not as if Kaplan downplays the dangers inherent in military operations, but let us not forget that he is writing concurrent with two major military operations for the US Armed Forces. Perhaps this is Kaplan's commentary about the dynamic and changed nature of modern war; perhaps it helps to reveal the relatively few number of casualties in today's wars; perhaps it is simply that although Kaplan was interested in the process, he recognized that carnage is just one component therein. In any event, this reduced emphasis gives the book less of a pulp war story feel, and more of a concerted look at America's military influence abroad.

A minor note: Kaplan focuses on the 'iron majors' in the Army, but in doing so he focuses almost solely on the Special Forces community. Majors in the Army tend toward desk work, staff duty, and other non-command oriented positions, SF notwithstanding. Captains serve as the vast majority of company commanders, and with the expedited career path today, most of these captains are in their mid to late 20s when they pin on their second award. As a result, instead of 'iron majors' with 10 years plus of seasoned experience in the vanguard, the majority of the Army's companies are directed by Captains, many of whom are 5-10 years out of college.

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Rating: - Insightful Opinion
If your looking for a first hand interpretation of what life in Special Forces is like, then this is the book for you.
The author gives us his account of several years traveling the globe observing SF units and it paints a very vivid picture. My only regret is that his inference and implication of how he defines so called American Imperialism is less than academic. Regrettably, this author relies on opinion and asks the reader to accept, carte blanche, without debate, his definition of imperialism.
On a side bar, the book offers great insight into what the future of military transformation should like.
lastly, you may be disappointed in how the book ends. I felt that the author did not do an adequate job of bringing closure and concluding his work.

Terry Tucker, Doctrine Developer/Staff Mentor to the Afghan National Army

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Rating: - The story of the men on the ground
Robert Kaplan's phenomenal book, Imperial Grunts is a wonderful examination of life on the ground for the American military in far away lands. The first in a series, research for the book took him to Yemen, Columbia, to extremely isolated Mongolia, the Philippines, the Horn of Africa, and the two current "hot" war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. He lived with the men for months, listening to them, socializing with them, and going out on missions as well. In essence, he became them, at least to as much of a degree as a civilian can. In return, they provided him with a wealth of information and the experience of a lifetime. Kaplan did get some articles out of it as well (he writes for The Atlantic magazine), but most of it was for this book. This is a must-read for anybody who's interested in what life is like for those troops on the ground, far away from home, just doing their jobs and loving every minute of it.

Kaplan writes from the point of view of these men, getting across all of the frustration they have when diplomacy won't allow them to do their jobs, as well as the sheer joy that some of them get out of what they're doing. The most amazing chapter in the book is on Mongolia, where one lone Special Forces officer (Lt. Colonel Tom Wilhelm) is the glue that holds the relationship between the United States and Mongolia together, said relationship being partly responsible for the deployment of a small contingent of Mongolian troops to Iraq. He's the man on the ground, making decisions based on the knowledge gained from his time there. While he has the support of American diplomats, it's Wilhelm who has done much to earn the respect of the Mongolian military, and this relationship also makes great strides to keep an eye on Russia and China, making his job very important. This chapter is fascinating stuff as Wilhelm takes Kaplan on a tour around some of the border crossings, introducing him to Mongolian officers, showing him their customs and immersing him in what Wilhelm has to do here. While he's there, Kaplan learns a lot about Wilhelm's history in the Special Forces, and we learn a lot about the conflicts in Bosnia and Macedonia, as well as his experiences during the unrest in Tajikistan.

It's things like this that enable Imperial Grunts to rise above a "snapshot of daily life on the ground" that it could have been (not that it would have been bad). Not only do we see things as they currently are (currently as of 2004, of course), but we get an excellent history of the role Special Forces have played in conflicts for the last twenty-five years or so, as Kaplan gets these soldiers to tell him about their life. We learn a lot about the places he visits, but we also hear about Bosnia, Peru, and other places where they are keeping a low profile, going on missions that are important to American interests. And these men have led fascinating lives, which makes the stories even more interesting. Kaplan really seems to have bonded with everybody he meets, and they tell him everything.

This includes the frustrations they feel at times, and Kaplan does not hide any of it. Those in Colombia are extremely frustrated over the Rules of Engagement that keep them out of the actual fighting. They are training Colombian troops in counter-insurgency tactics, but their RoE are so strict that they would have to be in imminent danger before they could actually do anything. In Afghanistan, the soldiers Kaplan meets are doing their best in a sticky situation, but continually lament the top-heavy planning that won't allow them to do what they feel their jobs are: to get the bad guys. A couple of times, Kaplan does point out that the men he's with don't necessarily have the big picture and that their feelings might be in the wrong, but most of the time he sympathizes with them. Then again, the outlook of the men often overcomes this frustration.

After numerous chapters with Army Special Forces, Kaplan spends some time with Marine units, both in the Horn of Africa, and then in the capstone to this first book: the first battle of Fallujah in April, 2004. Marines are a whole different ball game, and Kaplan illustrates the differences clearly. While the Horn of Africa chapter is extremely interesting because it's an area that I'm not that familiar with, the Fallujah chapter is the crowning glory. Kaplan shows us a lot of things: the differences between the actual invasion of Iraq and the aftermath (the unit that Kaplan embeds with took part in the invasion, was pulled out, and was now going back), the frustration with higher-ups who don't give them enough to do their jobs, the extremely disciplined manner in which Marines conduct themselves, and the valor of these men as they are just doing their jobs.

Honestly, the only fault I can really criticize in this book is that the map of Iraq at the beginning of the Fallujah chapter has many cities on it, but none of the cities Kaplan actually talks about are on the map. This was a bit annoying.

Otherwise, Imperial Grunts is an outstanding book for anybody who wants to get beyond American foreign policy, to see what the men who are actually implementing that policy actually think. Some of it will surprise you, and some of the locations will too. I would never have thought of Mongolia, but it's the best chapter in the book. I'm proud to have read it, and Kaplan shows his pride in these men by giving a wonderful portrait of them. The Marines told him that he could write whatever he wanted, report on everything he found out, "warts and all." They had nothing to hide. Kaplan does that. And he does it admirably.

David Roy

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Rating: - I hardly feel qualified to write this review...
...inasmuch as my "time in uniform" was as an officer of the U.S. Public Health Service, and I was never posted outside these United States. That notwithstanding, I've got several branches of the family in XVIII Airborne Corps and considerable experience on the side with DoD civilian consultants in operations analysis and with professional historians. In addition, for the better part of fifty years I've been listening to (and providing medical care for) active-duty and former Coast Guardsmen, sailors, Marines, soldiers, airmen, and their families. Especially their families.

And if I'm not much of a believer in the efficacy, morality, and legitimacy of the government in these United States, I am a true and deeply committed believer in the value of these people, the members of the military (and their dependents) who are dedicated to the defense of this nation.

And so is Bob Kaplan, who speaks to their concerns and for their purposes in a voice both educated and eloquent. *Imperial Grunts* is both a cold-eyed analysis of the political, sociological, and military situation in which Americans presently find themselves and a labor of genuine love for the people who have volunteered to go out into the hard corners of the world to engage the enemies of that moral philosophy which is the foundation of our civilization.

This is one helluva book, and I look forward to everything else Mr. Kaplan thinks proper to put into print.