The New Ministry of Truth

A searing indictment of the self-delusion that plagued America’s war in Afghanistan. – Sean Naylor, author of Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command This is not a book about epic firefights. It’s not about battlefield heroics. No one will extract a blockbuster movie from these words. Rather, the purpose of this book is to use the story of a combat advisor’s deployment to Afghanistan to illustrate one of America’s gravest betrayals. For nearly two decades, the United States has sent its youth to fight and die in Afghanistan, all the while failing to define a clear political objective to be achieved by these military means. This failure came to a head as 2014 rolled into 2015, and the U.S. government declared an “end to combat operations.” These empty words failed to align with the reality on the ground; they simply forced our nation’s warfighters to shoulder the risk of combat without the ability to defend themselves. This is the story of that time, about America’s new “Ministry of Truth” and the servicemembers sent to carry out its whims. “A solid, down-to-earth narrative that shows the skills a combat advisor must learn…Chipp has the insight and sense of humor to describe the wackiness of our endless mission in faraway and fractured Afghanistan.” —Bing West, author of The Wrong War and One Million Steps: A Marine Platoon at War