Best Ground Coverage of the War

If you want the best coverage of the war at the GI level, see Soldier of Fortune magazine. Their website is www.sofmag.com

This month's issue (May 2007) has articles on ground action in Afghanistan and more coverage about the gross misuse of Army sniper teams in Iraq. SOF sends reporters who are combat veterans into the front lines. They patrol with the Soldiers or Marines for many days, and write their stories. There is a delay because of this level of thoroughness (no fancy electronics), but the first hand, experienced coverage is the best. SOF has covered every conflict since Vietnam, including the Central American civil wars, the first war in Afghanistan vs. the Russians, and the Persian Gulf wars. I've subscribed for almost 30 years.

The Army tactics for sniper teams is a disaster. Instead of hunting down terrorists planting IEDs that kill GIs, they waste them on Humvee patrols where they are targets, not hunters. A letter to the magazine points out that Marine sniper teams are properly used. The letter was from a soldier who served in both forces with first hand experience. In Afghanistan, the story shows first hand how Taliban tactics use Pakistan as a safe haven at the patrol level.