Book Review: Who You’ve Got to Kill
Who You’ve Got To Kill. Russell O’ Fiaich. Published October 8, 2012, E-book, 305 pages.
Reviewed by Ed Marohn.
During an ambush by Iraqi insurgents, a squad of U.S. Marines fighting for their lives kill innocent civilians held hostage by the enemy. This incident sets the stage for political intrigue as the current Iraqi Prime Minister uses the event to unite the various tribal factions and avoid a civil war. The problem for the United States government officials involved is that the surviving Marines must be prosecuted for killing innocents in order to help the Prime Minister maintain his fragile coalition; they become the cost of doing business with the Iraqi government, to maintain its loyalty to the United States.
This is a fast moving book with the story alternating between the Marine base in California and Washington D.C., as Defense Counsel Marine Captain Charles Slidell tries to defend one of the surviving three Marines assigned to him.
The ethos and pathos in the novel are spread throughout. The good guy, Slidell, is a flawed hero, battling a drinking problem as he carries the burden for justice and honesty. While fighting his own demons he defends one Marine, discovering the conspiracy by the few government officials and Congressman involved in sacrificing the three Marines for the “good of the nation.”
The author writes with expertise about the courtroom, as he is a trial lawyer. His service in the U.S. Army as a Military Intelligence Officer gives validity to the plot and the characters. Bringing these experiences into his political thriller gives the reader an authentic read about the Marine Corp and also an education about the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It is a very different world from civilian life.
However, this novel is more than a military and political thriller. It is about the frailty of people and how some are corrupted by power. Anything goes, it seems, for the sake of appeasing the powerful in high places of government. Ethics, morality, and law can all be forsaken for a cause—no matter how ludicrous. This is the essence of the book, which makes it a worthwhile story.
If you love military history and political intrigue, or simply enjoy a good thriller you will enjoy this book. It flows, it describes, and it makes one ponder the direction that wars or conflicts lead us as human beings.
As Winston Churchill said, “ War is mainly a catalogue of blunders.” This novel hits home how the wrong decisions are made for the wrong reasons. We live life that way and one can only hope that some good decisions are made along the way.
I recommend Who You’ve Got to Kill.