Harp, a former Army reservist and now a lawyer turned journalist, can be tendentious, but he is correct in his central claim that there has been a 'meltdown in special ops.'
Bursting with colorful if choleric characters ... Harp walks his readers through the relevant hierarchies ... Harp’s book refuses to abide by the worshipful clichés or even the occasional 'bad apple' explanations. To the contrary, Harp paints a picture of Fort Bragg...that...shows it to be not only pernicious or criminal but downright fratricidal ... It’s Harp’s portrait of his chosen landscape that hits the hardest.
Engrossing ... Seth Harp argues persuasively that Bragg serves as a perfect living memorial for the forever wars ... Harp expertly braids the brutal, extralegal history of the war with a series of painstakingly reported portraits of the men who moved through these conflicts ... While Harp succeeds in illuminating the contours of his eponymous Fort Bragg Cartel, a few vital details prove elusive.
Harp’s new book tells the story that the older journalist missed ... The cinematics might undermine the point Harp is making, which is that the United States military increasingly resembles and behaves like a successful criminal enterprise ... The most affecting parts of The Fort Bragg Cartel are the vignettes Harp collects showing the devastation soldiers inflict on their families.
Poignant ... The story also shows that the military needs to redouble its efforts to help those damaged soldiers heal from the traumas of war, to save them and their loved ones from pain and tragedy.
Unsettling ... A detailed history of the Army’s entanglement with Afghanistan’s opium trade ... Harrowing ... Harp’s investigative rigor and visceral storytelling make this a disturbing must-read for anyone seeking to understand the full cost of America’s overseas conflicts.
