Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground

Robert Kaplan talked about his book Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground, published by Random House. He spent time with the U.S. Armed Forces in several countries around the world to explore the ways in which U.S. foreign policy was being conducted on the ground. In his book he wrote that the men and women of the American Armed Forces stationed abroad make up the front line for American foreign policy. Their duties often included training local police and military, negotiating with tribal factions, rebuilding schools, saving the lives of disease victims, storming terrorist strongholds, and helping to establish democratic governments. Mr. Kaplan examined the differences between those shaping foreign policy at home and those enacting those policies abroad. After his presentation he responded to questions and comments from members of the audience. close