Ep.17 Kael Weston, author of The Mirror Test: America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan

For nearly a decade Kael Weston represented the U.S. Government in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan as a state department official. In Iraq, he was the State Department representative in Fallujah, both during and after the biggest battle in that war. Kael and the Marine leaders were responsible for rebuilding the city’s infrastructure, facilitating the return of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians back into the city, establishing a new city council despite numerous assassinations of local politicians, and working closely with Iraqi governors in Ramadi and central Iraqi government representatives in Baghdad. In Afghanistan Kael served as the U.S. representative in Khost Province, the one-time home of Osama bin Laden, where he partnered with local government leaders to help prioritize over $50 million dollars in U.S. reconstruction funds. In Helmand Province, he worked closely with Marine commanding General Lawrence Nicholson and Together, they oversaw the frontline strategy guiding the deployment of approximately 20,000 U.S. troops in the Taliban-filled area where many American service members were killed-in-action and wounded. Kael is also the author of The Mirror Test: America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he details his wartime experiences through his unique perspective as a State Department Official.