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Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan) profile picture

Wesley Morgan

@wesleysmorgan

Writing about America’s post-9/11 wars and their aftermath. Author of THE HARDEST PLACE @randomhouse. DM for Signal.

linktr.ee/wesleysmorgan
Joined August 2009
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Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)Photo by Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)
Now that THE HARDEST PLACE is out, I'm going to do a photo thread—there was only room in the book's photo insert for 20ish, but people I interviewed shared hundreds more fantastic ones with me.
Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan) profile pictureWesley Morgan@wesleysmorgan4 Mar 2021
Books books books—THE HARDEST PLACE is here! In bookstores Tuesday 3/9!
Image from Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)
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Operation Hawkeye (@op_hawkeye) profile picture
Operation Hawkeye
@op_hawkeye14h
I seldom open this publication but won’t miss this piece by the talented @wesleysmorgan 📰 nytimes.com/2026/10/28/magaz…
Image from Operation Hawkeye (@op_hawkeye)
Image from Operation Hawkeye (@op_hawkeye)
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Todd Huntley (@realToddHuntley) profile picture
Todd Huntley@realToddHuntleyOct 28
Excellent article, a must read for those interested in Special Operations in the GWOT and the military podcast scene. @wesleysmorgan
Katie Bo Lillis (@KatieBoLillis) profile pictureKatie Bo Lillis@KatieBoLillisOct 28
Predictably excellent work by a routinely excellent reporter. nytimes.com/2026/10/28/magaz…
The Special Ops Podcasts Changing the Narrative of the War on Terror (Gift Article)

The Special Ops Podcasts Changing the Narrative of the War on Terror (Gift Article)

Veterans’ complaints about the rules of engagement have reached Pete Hegseth and a generation of new recruits.

nytimes.com
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Wesley Morgan retweeted
Katie Bo Lillis (@KatieBoLillis) profile picture
Katie Bo Lillis@KatieBoLillisOct 28
Predictably excellent work by a routinely excellent reporter. nytimes.com/2026/10/28/magaz…
The Special Ops Podcasts Changing the Narrative of the War on Terror (Gift Article)

The Special Ops Podcasts Changing the Narrative of the War on Terror (Gift Article)

Veterans’ complaints about the rules of engagement have reached Pete Hegseth and a generation of new recruits.

nytimes.com
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Wesley Morgan retweeted
David Fivecoat (@dg5coat) profile picture
David Fivecoat@dg5coatOct 28
Great article by @wesleysmorgan on the SOF podcast space. nytimes.com/2026/10/28/magaz…
The Special Ops Podcasts Changing the Narrative of the War on Terror (Gift Article)

The Special Ops Podcasts Changing the Narrative of the War on Terror (Gift Article)

Veterans’ complaints about the rules of engagement have reached Pete Hegseth and a generation of new recruits.

nytimes.com
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Wesley Morgan retweeted
INTSUM (@INTSUM5_2) profile picture
INTSUM
@INTSUM5_2Aug 9
Drove from eastern PA to Colorado in 2 days and listened to this start to finish. @wesleysmorgan's book is 22 hours and goes over just about 25 square miles of terrain and every chapter is fantastic. Wish we had more books of this depth in other areas in AFG.
Image from INTSUM (@INTSUM5_2)
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ReidAA (@wolfmanreid2022) profile picture
ReidAA@wolfmanreid2022Jun 21
Replying to @ZeeCaptainRon @WarMonitorClips
If you read @wesleysmorgan excellent book a “The Hardest Place” it will begin to make a certain amount of sense, at least as much as anything about GWOT can.
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Kyle Rempfer (@kyle_rempfer) profile picture
Kyle Rempfer@kyle_rempferMar 13
Given other news, I missed this excellent piece by @wesleysmorgan & @mattaikins chronicling CIA Zero Units in Afghanistan. If you did too, it’s worth circling back. nytimes.com/2026/02/23/magaz…
They Fought for the C.I.A. in Afghanistan. In America, They’re Living in Fear.

They Fought for the C.I.A. in Afghanistan. In America, They’re Living in Fear.

A shooting in Washington, D.C., threw their immigration status into jeopardy — and brought attention to a long-hidden dimension of America’s war.

nytimes.com
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Important piece: "They Fought for the C.I.A. in Afghanistan. In America, They’re Living in Fear. A shooting in Washington, D.C., ... brought attention to a long-hidden dimension of America’s war." @wesleysmorgan @mattaikins nytimes.com/2026/02/23/magaz…
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Wesley Morgan retweeted
Matthieu Aikins (@mattaikins) profile picture
Matthieu Aikins@mattaikinsFeb 23
I teamed up with the great @wesleysmorgan for this @NYTmag investigation of the CIA's secret Afghan army, and how they're caught up in the immigration crackdown. Photos by @victorjblue nytimes.com/2026/02/23/magaz…
They Fought for the C.I.A. in Afghanistan. In America, They’re Living in Fear. (Gift Article)

They Fought for the C.I.A. in Afghanistan. In America, They’re Living in Fear. (Gift Article)

A shooting in Washington, D.C., threw their immigration status into jeopardy — and brought attention to a long-hidden dimension of America’s war.

nytimes.com
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Tooze is a really smart guy, but his FT SOF genealogy is just wrong IMO. A lot of this is just too recent for good academic study, but the Hardest Place by @wesleysmorgan is truly deep in its reporting, and academic history probably won't be able to match it for a long time.
W. W. S. Hsieh - Sometimes Satirical! (@whsieh) profile pictureW. W. S. Hsieh - Sometimes Satirical!@whsiehJan 10
Replying to @FilmFOIA @adam_tooze @FT @sethharpesq
I'd rec The Hardest Place by @wesleysmorgan because SOF actually do different sorts of things, and mil ops are best understood in the context of their time/place. In one river valley in AFG, Morgan shows how different flavors of SOF operate, along w/ the CIA and conv units.
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Replying to @FilmFOIA @adam_tooze @FT @sethharpesq
I'd rec The Hardest Place by @wesleysmorgan because SOF actually do different sorts of things, and mil ops are best understood in the context of their time/place. In one river valley in AFG, Morgan shows how different flavors of SOF operate, along w/ the CIA and conv units.
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Wesley Morgan retweeted
Yew's Finest (@FinestYew) profile picture
Yew's Finest@FinestYew28 Oct 2025
Tirah is Pakistan's Pech Valley. I recommend this book by @wesleysmorgan if you don't understand the reference. Enthralling read about a part of a conflict now lamentably recounted in little more than a few pessimistic sentences. Read the whole thing in one sitting.
Image from Yew's Finest (@FinestYew)
JB (@akki_bauer22_) profile pictureJB@akki_bauer22_28 Oct 2025
JUST IN: 5 Pakistan Army soldiers KIA in Tirah Valley. Ambush by IMP guerillas.
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The Buddy CSM (@TheBuddyCSM) profile picture
The Buddy CSM
@TheBuddyCSM29 Jun 2025
This book is a banger. amazon.com/Hardest-Place-Ame…
The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley

The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley

  Of the many battlefields on which U.S. troops and intelligence operatives fought in Afghanistan, one remote corner of the country stands as a microcosm of the American campaign: the Pech and its...

amazon.com
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INTSUM (@INTSUM5_2) profile picture
INTSUM
@INTSUM5_228 Jun 2025
Replying to @wesleysmorgan
The middle blue circle is where the SIGACT was reported for the shot down helicopter and the location to the right is where the Redwings firefight took place.
Image from INTSUM (@INTSUM5_2)
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Wesley Morgan retweeted
INTSUM (@INTSUM5_2) profile picture
INTSUM
@INTSUM5_219 Mar 2025
Replying to @wesleysmorgan
@wesleysmorgan The thick blue line is the Pech river and the Yellow dots represent small arms attacks from 2004-09. I've highlighted the peaks of the Korengal and you can see the density of firefights that took place there.
Image from INTSUM (@INTSUM5_2)
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Mike Nelson (@mikenelson586) profile picture
Mike Nelson
@mikenelson58622 Feb 2025
Replying to @wesleysmorgan
one correction, he was SOJTF-OIR dep commander vs SOJTF-I
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Trump met and was impressed with then-Brig. Gen. Caine (he kept talking about his name afterward) on his visit to al-Asad in Iraq during his first term, when Caine was the SOJTF-I deputy commander. Air National Guard SOF officer who rose to be become JSOC’s Air Force one-star.
Image from Wesley Morgan (@wesleysmorgan)
Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) profile pictureJack Detsch
@JackDetsch22 Feb 2025
NEW: President Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. CQ Brown, and is set to tap retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine in his place. Friday night massacre appears underway at DoD. Trump says he's asked Hegseth for noms for 5 additional high level positions."
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He’s retelling the story:
Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) profile pictureRapid Response 47
@RapidResponse4722 Feb 2025
.@POTUS: "What's your name?" "My name is Caine, sir." @POTUS: "What's your first name?" "They call me 'Razin.'" @POTUS: "I said, 'Wait a minute. Your name is Razin Caine? I love you. I've been looking for you for five years!'" 😂🤣
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Monke fight Queen Mary Psalter, London 1310-1320 (BL, Royal 2 B VII, fol. 176r)
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I’m surprised not to have seen more coverage of Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Mexico, a retired Green Beret colonel with 1980s advisor experience in El Salvador who went on to a long career as a CIA paramilitary operations officer. english.elpais.com/usa/2024-…
Ronald Johnson, Trump’s hawk in Mexico

Ronald Johnson, Trump’s hawk in Mexico

The ambassadorial candidate will be responsible for faithfully implementing the immigration and anti-drug policies of the incoming Republican president

english.elpais.com
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