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A Soldier's View of Afghanistan

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Who talks to Barack Obama about what to do in Afghanistan? Well, one voice on the campaign trail was young Army captain and veteran of the Afghan front, Craig Mullaney.

Number two in his class at West Point. A Rhodes Scholar. Chief of staff for President Obama’s Pentagon Transition Team. And, in his mid-20s, a platoon commander with the 10th Mountain Division on the Afghan-Pakistan border. Out where the rounds fly and comrades die.

How does he see the war? We’ll ask. This hour, On Point: One remarkable Afghan war vet on the battlefront, and his advice for Obama.

You can join the conversation. What are your hopes and fears for the future of the war in Afghanistan? What’s your experience on the Afghan front? What advice would you give to President Obama?Guest:

Craig M. Mullaney joins us from New York.  A former US Army captain and elite Army Ranger, he served in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2004.  He is a graduate of West Point and Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.  After leaving the military, he served as chief of staff for President Obama's Pentagon Transition Team. His new memoir is "The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education." 

More links:

You can read an excerpt from the book at Mullaney's website, and another that appeared in Vanity Fair.

Mullaney's site also features video episodes based on the book.  And here's a YouTube video showing Mullaney's base in Afghanistan being hit by enemy 107-millimeter rockets in late 2003:

This program aired on February 24, 2009.

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