Irregular Army
How the US military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Member and Criminals
Format:Paperback
Publisher:OR Books
Publishing:25th Jun '26
£16.99
This title is due to be published on 25th June, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
An explosive investigation into how America’s longest wars created a threat from within by flooding the US military with extremists now fueling MAGA, domestic terror, and the global far right.
In Irregular Army, investigative journalist Matt Kennard delivers a searing exposé of how the US military’s recruitment crisis during the War on Terror opened the ranks to some of the most dangerous elements in American society: white supremacists, neo-Nazis, gang members, and convicted criminals. This updated edition deepens the original’s urgent warning, connecting those recruitment policies directly to the rise of MAGA extremism, Trumpism, and the global resurgence of fascism.
Drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting and interviews with extremist veterans and military insiders, Kennard reveals how the Pentagon knowingly empowered violent ideologues in its desperation to staff the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now back on American soil―and in some cases in positions of power―many of these veterans see their mission continuing through race-war fantasies, far-right organizing, and criminal enterprises.
“One of our finest investigative journalists illuminates the terrifying machinery of our ascendant authoritarian state. Essential.”
—Chris Hedges
“A necessary corrective to patriotic bromides about the troops, and a bracing exposé of the declining quality of personnel serving in America’s all-volunteer army in an era of endless war.”
—Seth Harp
“A powerful wake-up call. Time is running out.”
—Lawrence B. Wilkerson, former chief of staff to US secretary of State Colin Powell
“Exposes the growth of extremist elements within the world’s most lethal killing machine . . . a warning cry.”
—Jeremy Scahill
“Couldn’t be more urgent.”
—Huffington Post
“Chilling . . . Illuminating . . . Kennard’s nonpartisan portrait of martial waywardness is foreboding.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Kennard demonstrates a serious weakness in America’s ability to recruit a long- or even medium-term occupying force.”
—The American Conservative
“Exposes both the roots of defective military recruitment and its deadly aftershocks.”
—Daryl Johnson, former senior domestic terrorism analyst, Department of Homeland Security
“Required reading—a compelling explanation for the clear and present danger facing America.”
—Thomas Drake, whistleblower and former executive, US National Security Agency
“A devastating critique of the recruitment policies of our major ally . . . Kennard’s indictment is persuasive.”
—The Independent
“Chilling in its prescience.”
—Spencer Ackerman
“Seminal.”
—Matthew Hoh
ISBN: 9781682194638
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
300 pages
2nd New edition