# "Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green: A Year in the Desert with Team  America"



## The Bread Guy (10 Jun 2007)

_- edit to include Amazon.ca ref, fixed grammar - _

I had to shake my head that the Telegram's editor didn't seem to "get" the Johnny Rico reference.  

I also shook my head at the reviewer's paraphrase (highlighted):  "_*Rico relates that, on numerous occasions, army officers denied their men permission to return fire against Taliban attackers, because that would belie the notion that Afghans generally welcome the Americans, and that there is no violent insurgency against their presence*_" - I'm guessing that may not have been the only reason to hold fire (can you say "preventing collateral damage?").

Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.

Soldier's journal depicts year spent in Afghanistan
Brian Jones, The Telegram (St. John's), 10 Jun 07
Article link - Link to publisher's listing - Amazon.ca listing

Author Johnny Rico changed his name prior to his 21st birthday. Previously, he had been Stephen Hites, of Davenport, Iowa. It wasn't an attempt to be cool, but was, rather, an "ideological move," he writes - he wanted to choose his own name, and exercise the freedom America endows upon its citizens.

Five years later, at 26, Rico was working as a probation officer in Colorado. One month after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he enlisted in the U.S. army as an infantryman, to go fight his country's enemy.

He had a master's degree and a career, and a very liberal ("left-wing" we would say in Canada) view of the world. But Rico joined up, and headed to basic training and, later, Afghanistan.

While in Ghan, as U.S. soldiers apparently call it, Rico decided to write a book about his one-year stay deep inside Taliban country.

The resulting book, "Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green: A Year in the Desert with Team America," is something of a "Catch-22" for a new generation and a new war.

The essential difference is that Rico's book is non-fiction. The title of the book comes from a U.S. army training chant. And his first-person account is unlike anything you'll have read or heard or seen in the media about Afghanistan - not because of any failings by journalists, but because Rico can provide the perspective of an active participant rather than that of a mere observer.

_Irreverent views_

He sets the tone early, even before the reader reaches the table of contents: "Dedicated to Sergeant 'Petey' Billy, who, in exchange for this dedication, gave me Ritz crackers when I was hungry."

Rico uses irreverence and a terrific sense of humour to convey the futility of foreign intervention in Afghanistan. U.S. soldiers generally hate the Afghans, and the locals share the sentiment toward their would-be liberators.

It is astounding that the idealism that prompted Rico to take such a drastic redirection in his life does not develop into despair or bitterness. Instead, he wittily conveys his very sophisticated and intelligent view of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and life as a soldier.

(Some of his chapter titles are "Angry Arabs"; "Satan and his League of Army Recruiters"; "Eating Doritos in the Middle East"; and "The Folly of Well-meaning People from Places with Names Like Ohio.")

When his unit's lieutenant gets into an argument with a "fat Afghan" general about a weapons cache found by the Americans, Rico writes: "Realizing I just might be in the presence of my first Afghan warlord, I produce a big smile. I've always secretly hoped I'd get to meet one. I wonder if he'll give me an autograph and let me take a picture with my arm around him."

Rico spends a lot of pages describing futile excursions in search of Taliban fighters. Even when his story gets violent, and the reader worries about the safety of the author and his colleagues, he can't resist a lighthearted touch.

"(Some) soldiers start singing 'Video Killed the Radio Star.' Aileen, our strange, mysterious, indigenous ally, dressed in a turban wrap covering his entire head except for a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses to conceal his identity, is a self-styled Taliban hunter. His identity is unknown, and for the present circumstances he finds it convenient to work with U.S. forces. And although Aileen has not said much the entire helicopter ride to the objective, suddenly he starts tapping his foot and smiling to the beat of the song. This makes me smile, too.

"Nothing brings my spirits up like Taliban hunters who tap their feet to 'Video Killed the Radio Star.' "

_Refreshing commentary_

"Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green" is first-rate war reporting, told by someone who lived it. Rico's commentary is a refreshing break from the political experts, of all shades, who regularly pontificate about Afghanistan, Iraq, 9/11, etc.

His descriptions of death in Afghanistan are shockingly graphic, but not of the sort we're accustomed to on the news. His account of what happens when a rocket-propelled grenade hits an armoured personnel carrier will sear itself into your brain, as will his story of kneeling over a dying Afghan teenager who was shot when he fled from U.S. soldiers.

_*Rico relates that, on numerous occasions, army officers denied their men permission to return fire against Taliban attackers, because that would belie the notion that Afghans generally welcome the Americans, and that there is no violent insurgency against their presence.*_ In other instances, some soldiers continued playing video games even while an attack on their base was occurring.

The lunacy of the situation, the great writing, and the author's insight and wonderful sense of humour regularly bring "Catch-22" to mind.

If you liked that classic book, you'll appreciate "Blood Makes the Grass Grow Green."

You might also wonder, "Can all this really be true?"

I sent Rico an e-mail, and asked him, "Was there really a Taliban hunter named Aileen, and did he really tap his feet to 'Video Killed the Radio Star'?"

He answered, "Yes sir, there really was. I swear on my mother's future grave."

 Brian Jones is the editor of The Sunday Telegram. He can be reached by e-mail at bjones@thetelegram.com


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## Emenince Grise (14 Jul 2007)

I'm reading the book. If you can get past the repeated masturbation (every hour?), it has some funny moments. It's a parallel to Catch 22 but more in line, I think, with MASH (the book, not the TV series).


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