This interview was originally broadcast in August, 2019.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have spanned three administrations, costing billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and untold casualties. Additionally, more than 2.7 million Americans have served in Afghanistan or Iraq since September 11, 2001. But many of these personal stories remain untold.
In his book, The Fighters: Americans in Combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, journalist CJ Chivers embedded with soldiers on the front-lines to describe the personal, physical, and emotional toll of the war on terror – wars in which more questions than answers remain.
CJ Chivers is a correspondent for The New York Times and a writer-at-large for the New York Times Magazine. He’s won the Pulitzer Prize for his writing and reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Chivers served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps in the Persian Gulf War and on peacekeeping duty during the Los Angeles riots. He is also the author of The Gun, about the history of the modern assault rifle.