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Book Club - By All Means Available

By All Means Available

BY Michael Vickers

In 1984, Michael Vickers took charge of the CIA’s secret war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. After inheriting a strategy aimed at imposing costs on the Soviets for their invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, Vickers transformed the covert campaign into an all-out effort to help the Afghan resistance win their war. More than any other American, he was responsible for the outcome in Afghanistan, which helped trigger the last chapter of the Cold War.

In By All Means Available, Vickers recounts his remarkable career, from his days as a Green Beret to his vision for victory in Afghanistan to his role in waging America’s war with Al-Qaeda at the highest levels of government. He depicts his years in the Special Forces—including his training to parachute behind enemy lines with a backpack nuclear weapon in the event of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe—and reveals how those experiences directly influenced his approach to shaping policy. Vickers has played a significant role in most of the military and intelligence operations of the past four decades, and he offers an informed analysis of the greatest challenges facing America today and in the decades ahead.


Join us each month to discuss a pre-selected book presenting a foreign policy topic. First Wednesday of each month (12pm).

We are proud to partner with the Loudoun County Public Library who makes available multiple copies of this book for checkout at the Rust Library.

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July 17

Off Duty - David Taylor: The Inspiration Behind “The Great Escape”

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October 16

Off Duty - James “Spider” Marks: Marshall’s Mission to China and China Today