Author(s): R. Alan King

Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East and War on Terror

As unconventional as any soldier this side of T. E. Lawrence, R. Alan King was particularly well suited for the new kind of war being waged in Iraq. Armed with a Palm Pilot, a Koran, and a nuanced respect for Middle Eastern culture, King arranged the capture or surrender of almost a dozen of the most-wanted villains from Saddam's regime. He became privy to secrets as weighty as those of Iraq's nuclear weapons program and as light as those behind the outlandish press briefings of the infamous Baghdad Bob. The regional expertise that helped King negotiate with clerics and sheikhs also informs his provocative opinions about what it will take to win the hearts and minds in an ancient, mystifying, and deeply religious culture.