Craig Whitlock

#1 New York Times bestselling author Craig Whitlock’s “masterly investigation into one of the Navy’s worst scandals” (The New York Times). All the admirals in the US Navy knew Leonard Glenn Francis—either personally or by his legendary reputation. He was the larger-than-life defense contractor who greeted them on the pier whenever they visited ports in Asia, ready to show them a good time after weeks at sea while his company resupplied their ships and submarines. He was famed throughout the fleet for the gluttonous parties he hosted for officers: $1,000-per-person dinners at Asia’s swankiest restaurants, featuring unlimited Dom Pérignon, Cuban cigars, and sexy young women. On the surface, with his flawless American accent, he seemed like a true friend of the Navy. What the brass didn’t realize, until far too late, was that Francis had seduced them by exploiting their entitlement and hubris. While he was bribing them with gifts, lavish meals, and booze-fueled orgies, he was making himself obscenely wealthy by bilking American taxpayers. Worse, he was stealing military secrets from under the admirals’ noses and compromising national security. Based on reams of confidential documents—including the blackmail files that Francis kept on Navy officers—Fat Leonard is the full, unvarnished story of a world-class con man and a captivating testament to the corrosive influence of greed within the ranks of the American military.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Craig Whitlock’s masterful account of one of the biggest public corruption scandals in American history—exposing how a charismatic Malaysian defense contractor bribed scores of high-ranking military officers, defrauded the US Navy of tens of millions of dollars, and jeopardized our nation’s security. All the admirals in the US Navy knew Leonard Glenn Francis—either personally or by his legendary reputation. He was the larger-than-life defense contractor who greeted them on the pier whenever they visited ports in Asia, ready to show them a good time after weeks at sea while his company resupplied their ships and submarines. He was famed throughout the fleet for the gluttonous parties he hosted for officers: $1,000-per-person dinners at Asia’s swankiest restaurants, featuring unlimited Dom Pérignon, Cuban cigars, and sexy young women. On the surface, with his flawless American accent, he seemed like a true friend of the Navy. What the brass didn’t realize, until far too late, was that Francis had seduced them by exploiting their entitlement and hubris. While he was bribing them with gifts, lavish meals, and booze-fueled orgies, he was making himself obscenely wealthy by bilking American taxpayers. Worse, he was stealing military secrets from under the admirals’ noses and compromising national security. Based on reams of confidential documents—including the blackmail files that Francis kept on Navy officers—Fat Leonard is the full, unvarnished story of a world-class con man and a captivating testament to the corrosive influence of greed within the ranks of the American military.

A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 ? The #1 New York Times bestselling investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock. Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives. Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground. Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.” The Afghanistan Papers is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.

Una impactante historia de investigaci n de c mo tres presidentes norteamericanos y sus comandantes militares enga aron al p blico a o tras a o sobre la guerra m s larga de Estados Unidos, presagiando la reconquista de Afganist n por los talibanes. A diferencia de las guerras de Vietnam e Irak, la invasi n estadounidense de Afganist n en 2001 tuvo un apoyo p blico casi un nime. Al principio, los objetivos eran sencillos y claros: derrotar a Al-Qaeda y evitar que se repitiera el 11 de septiembre. Sin embargo, poco despu s de que Estados Unidos y sus aliados desalojaran del poder a los talibanes, la misi n se desvi del rumbo original y los funcionarios estadounidenses perdieron de vista sus objetivos originales. El ej rcito estadounidense se vio envuelto en un conflicto guerrillero imposible de ganar en un pa s que no entend an. Pero ning n presidente quiso admitir el fracaso, especialmente en una guerra que comenz como una causa justa, y las administraciones de Bush, Obama y Trump enviaron m s y m s tropas a Afganist n y dijeron repetidamente que estaban progresando, aunque sab an que no hab a perspectivas realistas de una victoria absoluta. As como los Papeles del Pent gono cambiaron la comprensi n del p blico de Vietnam, Los Papeles de Afganist n contienen revelaciones sorprendentes de personas que jugaron un papel directo en la guerra, desde l deres en la Casa Blanca y el Pent gono hasta soldados y trabajadores humanitarios en el frente. En un lenguaje sencillo, admiten que las estrategias del gobierno de Estados Unidos fueron un desastre, que el proyecto de construcci n de la naci n fue un fracaso colosal y que las drogas y la corrupci n obtuvieron un dominio absoluto sobre sus aliados en el gobierno afgano. Los papeles de Afganist n es un relato impactante que cambiar para siempre la forma en que se recuerda el conflicto. Una impactante historia de investigaci n de c mo tres presidentes norteamericanos y sus comandantes militares enga aron al p blico a o tras a o sobre la guerra m s larga de Estados Unidos, presagiando la reconquista de Afganist n por los talibanes.

Tutkiva toimittaja Craig Whitlock paljastaa arkistodokumenttien pohjalta Afganistanin sodan taustatekijät. Kirja on todella mielenkiintoinen ja tempaa mukaansa Yhdysvaltoin lähihistorian suuriin epäonnistumisiin. Upea esitys valheille rakennetusta sodasta. Kirja kertoo epäonnistumisista ja niistä valehtelemisesta sekä siitä, kuinka tämä johti yhä pahempiin epäonnistumisiin 20 vuoden ajan. - The GuardianYhdysvaltain hallinnon salaisiin arkistodokumentteihin perustuva paljastuskirja Afganistanin sodan taustoista on tutkivan journalismin huippusuoritus. Se käy läpi kolmen presidentin ja 20 vuoden ajanjakson, jonka aikana Yhdysvallat jumittui historiansa pisimpään sotaan. Pentagonin, Yhdysvaltojen puolustusministeriön salaiset paperit paljastavat, kuinka Bushin, Obaman ja Trumpin hallitukset vuodesta toiseen lähettivät yhä enemmän joukkoja ja rahaa Afganistaniin väittäen voittavansa, vaikka todellisuudessa kunnollista suunnitelmaa ei ollut olemassakaan. Valkoinen talo ja Pentagon joutuivat tunnustamaan, että läpeensä korruptoitunut afgaanihallinto teki mahdottomaksi rakentaa uutta demokraattista yhteiskuntaa toiselle puolelle maailmaa. Edessä oli suurvallan väistämätön ja nöyryyttävä vetäytyminen. Afganistanin sota on koskettanut myös suomalaisia; siihen osallistui meiltä lähes 2 500 reservi- ja ammattisotilasta. Craig Whitlock on Washington Postin maineikas tutkiva toimittaja, joka on kolme kertaa ollut ehdolla Yhdysvaltain arvostetuimman journalistipalkinnon Pulitzerin saajaksi.