NYPD BLUES

Generation Magazine - March 6, 2012

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eneration Magazine

Photos Credits and Coutesy of: Page 5 - photos by Benny Higo; Page 7 - (70’s Should Jam) cltampa.com, (Trans-mission Dance Party) buffablog.com, (Bonnie Raitt) htbackdrops.com, (21 Jump Street) www.21jumpstreet-movie.com/; Page 8 & 9 - photos courtesy of Marianas Trench, Page 11 - (NYPD of-ficers photo) http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:NYPD_cops_in_Manhattan.jpg/; Page 12 - photos by Benny Higo; Page 15 - Photo by Duncan Rawlinson: www.photographyicon.com/; Page 19 - Book photo courtesy of Scribner Publishing; Page 20 - Book photo courtesy of Blue Rider Press; Page 21 - Photo by Sarah-Wynne Taylor: http://sarahwynne.name/; Page 22 - www.hmhbooks.com; Page 23 - photos by Benny Higo. All photos and graphics credits goes to respective photographers and designers.

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“....police informants infiltrated hundreds of mosques, student groups, and neighborhoods, even monitoring where people lived and worked.

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“...many of us were really scared we’d been monitored

in

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18 | advice! ubgeneration.com

Edition

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20 | literature ubgeneration.com

“We’d been fighting the wrong war, in the wrong way, in the wrong country,” writes American journalist Michael Hastings, in his new book called The Operators. The powerful statement, about the War in Afghanistan, the subject of the publication, is taken from one of the very last pages. Don’t worry – I haven’t ruined the

story by quoting the epilogue. It’s simply a supporting line for a whole iceberg of information about the corruption, cover-ups, and widespread disagreement between government officials, soldiers, and generals, in the “War on Terror” America is still gravely involved in.

The Operators continues what Hastings’ famous article in Rolling Stone began to reveal —see, “The Runaway General.” Have no idea what I’m talking about? Here are the facts: Hastings traveled to Europe and Afghanistan to write a profile on four-star General Stanley McChrystal in April of 2010. Up until the article was published, McChrystal was regarded as an exceptional army commander. He was a risk-taker, a straight-shooter, a professional. Despite some questionable conduct, such as his alleged cover-up of Corporal Pat Tillman, McChrystal was a highly respected General, a man who had the potential to actually win the war. Hastings, however, saw several flaws in McChrystal and his staff when he accompanied them for the profile.

Michael Hastings, essentially, got General Stanley McChrystal fired. Rather, Hastings’ article got McChrystal fired. And the events leading up to this incident is explained in depth in The Operators, with even more brutal details of the war than the article could cover.

The book is a brilliant piece of war reporting, I would like to note immediately. It was difficult to get through some of the chapters, I also want to point out, since there are so many government officials, policies, and programs that I do not know off the top of my head. But even with temporary confusion, the book’s thesis is clear: The war we are fighting in Afghanistan is beyond a fucking mess.

Hastings weaves in and out of past and present times, detailing events before his month with McChrystal, during his time in Europe and Afghanistan, and everything that happened after his article was published. You feel as if you are reading the account from a top most army and White House insider, not a freelance journalist initially writing a profile for Rolling Stone.

As I said earlier, I think the book is honest, unbiased, and real—something lost in news reports and government publications. Hastings could have disregarded what he saw and heard and wrote a profile glorifying the General, like so many reporters have done before him. But Hastings took his countless hours of tape recordings and notes and compiled an account that uncovers aspects of the war that so many are afraid to admit or talk about.

The one problem I have with The Operators, and this is very personal, is that honestly, it made me angry, and sometimes mildly depressed. I am so far removed from the war, physically and psychologically. News about suicide bombers and soldier deaths are reported, but I rarely know concrete details of the ongoing battle. As I read about McChrystal referring to Vice President Joe Biden as “bite-me” (by the way, that remark is one of many that prompted McChrystal’s firing), or about McChrystal’s staff telling the general that the soldiers had his full support when really the soldiers felt they were being betrayed, or even about how an astonishing number of soldiers feel the war has not even been worth fighting. Hastings revealed other truths too, like how President Obama seems to get easily bullied by McChrystal, and how Obama seems to care more about winning the next election than keeping his promise about withdrawing the troops. Hearing these things made me agitated. The Operators makes War in Afghanistan seems

nothing short of a disaster, not necessarily by any one fact, but because the people who make the decisions - White House, the Pentagon and the Army officials - disagree with each other about the policies that we are employing in combat. Everything from counterinsurgency, used in Iraq and Afghanistan, to what the War in Afghanistan was originally about – dismantling the al-Qaeda terrorist organization – is confused by politics. We said we would not be in Afghanistan to “nation-build,” yet we seem to be doing just that.

If I became annoyed and angry, sitting in my room in Buffalo, New York, I can only imagine how Hastings felt, sitting across the table from McChrystal’s team, hearing shocking candid remarks about the mission.

Possibly my favorite part of the book was the end, when Hastings describes what happened after his Rolling Stone article was published. I find it fascinating how this single reporter managed to capture the attention of everyone in Washington by simply writing what he saw. He even mentions that, before he wrote the article, he was caught between wanting to still be on good terms with McChrystal’s team, but morally being unable to alter his account to fit their needs. It also came as no surprise the backlash “The Runaway General” caused – defenders of McChrystal sincerely claim the remarks were taken out of context and Hastings violated a “gentleman’s agreement” about what counted as “on-the-record.” When you read The Operators, it is very difficult to not see Hastings as completely credible.

I sincerely recommend this book to all, even if you are not that interested in war or politics. Michael Hastings manages to write elegantly about a subject that is less than charming, and it will seriously make you question the integrity of the politics of war.

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