Summary of Andrew Cockburn's Kill Chain

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 In 2010, two small SUV’s and a four-door pickup truck headed down a dirt road in the mountains of southern Afghanistan. They had set out soon after midnight, traveling cross-country to reach Highway 1, which would lead them to Kandahar and north to Kabul.

#2 The video was being watched at Hurlburt Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle by a dedicated team of young men and women, who were in charge of sending the videos out to their various destinations.

#3 The ultimate beneficiary of all these complex arrangements was a sergeant attached to the raiding party. He was responsible for communicating via radio with any air support, and relaying orders and intelligence to and from the young captain commanding the party.

#4 The video received by the troops on the ground that night in Uruzgan was even poorer. It was described as crap, full of static and crackling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822526907

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Andrew Cockburn's Kill Chain

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

In 2010, two small SUV’s and a four-door pickup truck headed down a dirt road in the mountains of southern Afghanistan. They had set out soon after midnight, traveling cross-country to reach Highway 1, which would lead them to Kandahar and north to Kabul.

#2

The video was being watched at Hurlburt Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle by a dedicated team of young men and women, who were in charge of sending the videos out to their various destinations.

#3

The ultimate beneficiary of all these complex arrangements was a sergeant attached to the raiding party. He was responsible for communicating via radio with any air support, and relaying orders and intelligence to and from the young captain commanding the party.

#4

The video received by the troops on the ground that night in Uruzgan was even poorer. It was described as crap, full of static and crackling.

#5

The Americans on the ground were ambushed by Taliban reinforcements, and the Predator camera above showed them as indistinguishable blobs. The OH-58 Kiowa helicopter gunships that were sent to assist them were low on fuel.

#6

The drone crews, who were far removed from the scene of the action, spoke of the same combat stress experienced by fighter pilots. They had successfully demanded combat pay and awards.

#7

The two-second video delay imposed another layer of separation between the crew and the reality on the ground. Any MAM (military-aged male) became by definition an enemy fighter, and therefore a legitimate target.

#8

The system was fail-safe in paper. The pilot and sensor operator could check each other’s assessments, and if that was not sufficient, they had the mission intelligence coordinator and the safety observer right there beside them.

#9

The American commanders on the ground had interpreted the convoy’s movement away from them as confirmation that the enemy was maneuvering, and that it contained an HVI, a priority target for American forces in this war. They gave the order to strike.

#10

The passengers in the first missile hit the pickup, instantly killing eleven of them. The two following SUVs jerked to a halt, and the passengers began frantically to