A piercing, illuminating, and recent military history of the shadows and glimmers only touched on by Hollywood

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	• Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team Michael Smith St. Martin's Press, 2007 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 29 reviews view larger image
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A piercing, illuminating, and recent military history of the shadows and glimmers only touched on by Hollywood

I can pretty well guarantee you that Tom Clancy has already read this book - it assures us that the people who need to die have been doing just that in the US/British war against terror worldwide. (I've personally thought about this theme of Clancy's re: playing God but it's a non-issue for me in the present context). The rules have changed for the military - mercilessly exposed are also the bureaucratic and cowardly butt covering bungling within the inner workings of the military organization proper. The one bright light is ironically the resurgence of a secret unit to serve this purpose via new support for it at the highest levels of government...post 9/11. If you're interested in how things really get done around the world, or if you know the significance of the word "special" when applied to the military, (another Clancyism), are interested in electronic communications, or possibly in politics, this book will broaden your horizons. Unless ofcourse you just don't want to know - as Jack Nicholson famously said on screen ... "You can't handle the truth ... we live in a world with walls lieutenant..."

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A good read, but dry in places

I enjoyed Killer Elite, it is a very interesting look into a military unit many people don't even know exists. There are a myriad of books available on top secret commandos like Delta Force and the SAS, but precious little is written about the people who enable them to do their jobs.

That being said this book can be very dry in places and tough to get through. It is also written from a big picture view point, meaning you aren't going to get war stories from the grunts in the weeds doing the work. It is a good read if you are interested into the subject matter. But if you are looking for an exciting book detailing some amazing special forces stories that is a true page turner, this book isn't it.

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A very compelling work but not the best wrting style ever. Still, I recommend it only...

if one can't find any Bo Gritz books
at Bo's site or here on amazon. Bo
gets good mention in here as well!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

A top-secret U.S. Army Special Operations unit has been running covert missions all over the world, from leading death squads to the hideout of drug baron Pablo Escobar to assassinating key al Qaeda members, including Iraqi leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and, in one of their greatest missions, capturing Saddam Hussein. 'The Activity," as it became known to insiders, has achieved near-mythical status, even among the world's Special Operations elite. Now journalist Michael Smith gets inside this clandestine military team to expose their explosive history and secrets.

The Activity?s story begins with the abortive attempt to rescue the American hostages from Iran in 1980. One of the main reasons Operation Eagle Claw failed was a chronic lack of intel on the ground, so in January 1981, U.S. military chiefs set up the ?Intelligence Support Activity,? a cover name for a secret army surveillance team that could operate undercover anywhere in the world. Hidden from the politicians and the government bean counters, it would carry out deniable operations preparing the way for Delta and SEAL Team Six.

Michael Smith has spoken to many former members of the Activity, and we follow them on operations from the war on the drug barons that led Colombian "death squads" to the hideouts of Pablo Escobar and his men. We learn of more recent missions, including snatching war criminals from their safe houses in the Balkans (at one time disguising themselves as French soldiers to lull a Serb warlord into a false sense of security), and operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa. Killer Elite reveals the incredible truth behind the world's most secret Special Operations organization, a unit that is at the forefront of the War on Terror.

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