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Before the First Shots Are Fired: How America Can Win or Lose Off the Battlefield Audiobook
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For the better part of the last half century, the United States has been the world's police, claiming to defend ideologies, allies, and our national security through brute force. But is military action always the most appropriate response? Drawing on his vast experience, retired four-star general Tony Zinni argues that we have a lot of work to do to make the process of going to war—or not—more clear-eyed and ultimately successful. He examines the relationship between the executive and the military; the challenges of working with the UN, coalition forces, and NATO; and the difficult choices that need to be made to create tomorrow's military. Among his provocative points:
- Virtually every recent American military operation follows a disconnected series of actions that lead to outcomes we never foresaw or intended.
- We need to assign accountability for the political decisions that can make or break a mission.
- Words and ideas are as important to victory in today's conflicts as bullets.
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"One of the most respected and outspoken military leaders of the past two decades."
— 60 Minutes
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About the Authors
Gen. Tony Zinni (ret.) was commander in chief of CENTCOM from 1997 to 2000, and Colin Powell’s special envoy to the Middle East from November 2002 to March 2003. He has also led special missions to Turkey, Pakistan, Kenya, Russia, Yemen, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other nations—a role he continues to serve in today. Among his many commands, he has served as head of the Special Operations and Terrorism Counteraction Section of the Marines; chief of staff of the Marine Air-Ground Training and Education Center at Quantico; deputy director of operations, US European Command; director of operations, Somalia task force, 1992–1993; commander of the Combined Task Force protecting the withdrawal of UN forces from Somalia, 1993; and commanding general, 1 Marine Expeditionary Force. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Tony Koltz, an American writer, is the author of two Choose Your Own Adventure books, The Vampire Express and Terror Island. He is also coauthor, with General Tony Zinni, of The Battle for Peace.
About Johnny Heller
Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.