"A must read for anyone who wants to understand the new American way
of war." -- General Michael V. Hayden, former Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency
A former special operations member takes us inside America's covert
drone war in this headline-making, never-before-told account for fans of
Zero Dark Thirty and Lone Survivor, told by a Pulitzer Prize-winning
Wall Street Journal writer and filled with eye-opening and sure to be
controversial details.
For nearly a decade Brett Velicovich was at the center of America's new
warfare: using unmanned aerial vehicles--drones--to take down the
world's deadliest terrorists across the globe. One of an elite handful
in the entire military with the authority to select targets and issue
death orders, he worked in concert with the full human and technological
network of American intelligence--assets, analysts, spies,
informants--and the military's elite operatives, to stalk, capture, and
eliminate high value targets in al-Qaeda and ISIS.
In this remarkable book, co-written with journalist Christopher S.
Stewart, Velicovich offers unprecedented perspective on the remarkably
complex nature of drone operations and the rigorous and wrenching
decisions behind them. In intimate gripping detail, he shares insider,
action-packed stories of the most coordinated, advanced, and secret
missions that neutralized terrorists, preserved the lives of US and
international warriors across the globe, and saved countless innocents
in the hottest conflict zones today.
Drone Warrior also chronicles the US military's evolution in the past
decade and the technology driving it. Velicovich considers the future it
foretells, and speaks candidly on the physical and psychological toll it
exacts, including the impact on his own life. He reminds us that while
these machines can kill, they can also be used productively to improve
and preserve life, including protecting endangered species, work he is
engaged in today.
Joining warfare classics such as American Sniper, Lone Survivor, and
No Easy Day, Drone Warrior is the definitive account of our nation's
capacity and capability for war in the modern age.
