Irregular Army. Matt Kennard

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Irregular Army - Matt  Kennard

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      IRREGULAR

      ARMY

      How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang

      Members and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror

      Matt Kennard

      First published by Verso 2012

      © Matt Kennard 2012

      All rights reserved

      The moral rights of the author have been asserted

      1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

      Verso

      UK: 6 Meard Street, London W1F 0EG

      US: 20 Jay Street, Suite 1010, Brooklyn, NY 11201

       www.versobooks.com

      Verso is the imprint of New Left Books

      Ebook ISBN: 978-1-84467-905-8

      British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Kennard, Matt.

      Irregular army : how the US military recruited Neo-Nazis, gangs, and criminals to fight the war on terror / Matt Kennard.

      p. cm.

      ISBN 978-1-84467-880-8 (hbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-84467-905-8 (ebook)

      1. United States—Armed Forces—Enlisting, recruiting, etc.—Standards. 2. United States—Armed Forces—Enlisting, recruiting, etc.—Corrupt practices. 3. Soldiers—Health and hygiene—United States—Standards. 4. Physical fitness—United

      States—Standards. 5. Soldiers—Alcohol use—United States. 6. Soldiers—Drug

      use—United States. 7. Gang members—United States. I. Title.

      UB333K46 2012

      956.7044’34—dc23

      2012018558

      For all the people whose lives have been ended

      or brutalized by these wars

      An Army raised without proper regard to the choice of its recruits was never yet made good by length of time; and we are now convinced by fatal experience that this is the source of all our misfortunes.

      Flavius Vegetius Renatus, in his military manual

      De Re Militari, fifth century, as the decline

      of the Roman Empire began in earnest

      He served up our great military a huge bowl of chicken feces, and ever since then, our military and our country have been trying to turn this bowl into chicken salad.

      Retired General John Batiste, former

      commander of the First Infantry division in

      Iraq, on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 2006

      Contents

       Acknowledgments

       Introduction: Breaking Down

       1 The Other “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

       Hitler in Iraq

       Straight Outta Baghdad

       War Criminals

       2 Sick, Addicted, and Forsaken

       Sippin’ on Gin and Hajji Juice

       Collateral Damage Comes Home

       3 Plump, Young, Dumb—and Ready to Serve

       The Baghdad Bulge

       Intelligence Ops

       Child Soldiers

       Grandpa Goes to War

       4 Outsiders

       Green Card Soldiers

       Ask, Tell

       Epilogue: Indiscriminate Trust

       Notes

       Index

       Photo insert

      Acknowledgments

      This is my first book and it spent a long time germinating before it was finally written. Because of that there are lots of people all over the world who helped me make it real as I worked to focus the issues involved. There are two people particularly without whom this book would have been impossible. Jason Yarn helped me put the idea together from its tentative beginnings with great patience and kindness, while Max Ajl gave his time and skills selflessly at the start of the project. Lionel Barber, David Crouch, and Jo Rollo at the Financial Times were generous and understanding when I needed time to write.

      Most thanks and love to my parents, Judy and Peter, for teaching me always to stand up for what you believe in and in turn believing in both this project and me. In their own different ways, they have dedicated their whole lives to trying to make the world a better place—they are my inspiration. Ana for her love, being the best editor and kindest person too, and more than anyone else making this book what it is. Thanks to my brother Daniel for his

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