The operators : the wild and terrifying inside story of America's war in Afghanistan / Michael Hastings.

Includes bibliographical references.

Contents: The Plan—1. Delta Bravo—2. It's Not Switzerland—3. Lady Gaga—4. "Intimidated by the Crowd"—5. Arc de Triomphe—6. "A Violent Act"—7. On the X—8. The A-Team—9. "Bite Me"—10. The Photo Op—11. Totally Shit-Faced—12. "Dead Silence"—13. The Horror, the Horror—14. We're Actually Losing—15. Petraeus Can't Do Afghanistan, and We Aren't Going to Get Bin Laden—16. The Elections—17. Texts to Berlin—18.The Elections—19. Team America Rolls the Ritz—20. On Principle—21. Spies Like Us—22. "I'm President. I Don't Give a Shit What They Say"—23. The Strategy—24. "Let Me Be Clear"—25. Worshipping the Gods of Beer—26. Who Is Stanley McChrystal? Part I, 1954--1976—27. "The Jerk in Green"—28. Who Is Stanley McChrystal? Part II, 1976--Present Day—29. Reality Checks In—Interlude: Dubai— Afganistan—30. A Short History of a Horrible Idea—31. Bad Romance—32. President Karzai Has a Cold—33. An E-mail Exchange : Come Walk in Our Boots—34. A Boy Born in 1987—35. Where Is Israel Arroyo?—36. Ingram's House—37. An Army of None—38. In the Arena—39 ."I Didn't Even Know We Were Fighting There"—40. The Concluding Converations with Duncan Boothby, General Petraeus Face-Plants in Congress, and the Story Breaks While I Watch American Helicopter Pilots Kill Insurgents -- pt. IV The Graceful Exit—41. "Very, Very Bad"—42. The Pentagon Investigates McChrystal—43. The Media-Military-Industrial Complex—44. I'd Rather Be Eating a Burger—45. Once Upon a Time in Kandahar—46. King David's War—47. "Tourism, Not Terrorism"—48. Petraeus Does Body Counts—49. The New Afghanistan—50. Joe Biden Is Right.